Alamo Headlines
Summer/Return to Learning Edition III - August 24, 2020
Return to Learn Procedures and Reminders
Thank you in advance for your help in supporting these safety measure by discussing and continually reinforcing them with your child(ren). With your help, we can keep everyone safe and have a great start to the year!
Morning Arrival Procedures
In an effort to keep all students, staff, and parents/guardians as safe as possible while following CDC guidelines, we have created a new morning drop-off procedure for students who will not be utilizing bus transportation.
- Doors will open at 8:20 a.m. Students MUST stay in their vehicles until that time.
- Please pull up as far as possible when utilizing the drop-off zone.
- Students are to be dropped off on the curbside ONLY.
- Parents who are dropping off in the morning should NOT exit their vehicles. Please give hugs and kisses at home or in the car and remind students to physically distance themselves from others as they enter the building.
- Staff members will be available to ensure each student arrives safely and directly to their classroom.
- Students must wear a mask upon entering the building and will head directly to their classrooms.
- If parents have a need to visit the office, we ask that they wait until the school day begins before entering the building. Masks are required to enter the building.
- Please be safe and slow down when driving through the parking lot.
Face Masks
- Every student needs to have a mask or cloth face covering each day when they come to school.
- Face masks are required on buses, in hallways and any additional common area. They are not required on the playground.
- A lanyard will be provided to each student from which to secure their mask once they have arrived at their destination.
- Cloth face coverings or masks should be washed frequently.
Hallways
Moving through the halls:
- When walking in the hall, students must wear their mask.
- Students should stay to the RIGHT and maintain a safe distance from others.
Cafeteria
- Students must wear a mask when walking from class to the cafeteria.
- Students will come to the cafeteria on staggered times.
- Every student will have an assigned seat in the cafeteria that will ensure physical distancing from others.
- Cold lunch students will bring their lunch with them to the cafeteria.
- Hot lunches will be delivered to the students at their assigned seat.
Specials
- Some specials will be taught in the home room.
- When travelling to specials that are taught in a remote location, such as the gym, must wear a mask when travelling from their class to the specials classroom or gym.
Good Hygiene
New Dismissal and Pick-Up Procedures
All students not using school transportation will have a designated outdoor pick-up location which parents/guardians will access from their vehicles only. We are asking all parents to stay in their vehicles while school staff direct students to parent/guardian vehicles once they are stopped in the pick-up lane. No one will be allowed outside their vehicle to meet their child(ren). All students will be waiting outside with their teacher, using proper social distancing so as not to mix student cohorts among grade levels.
All parents/guardians will need to to follow the parking lot arrows around the outside of the parking lot to access the pick-up area. Parents will pull into the “pick-up lane” parallel to the sidewalk, come to a stop and have their student safely enter from the school side of the vehicle, and then proceed carefully back into the drive to leave.
Students will be picked up according to their grade level. Each class will be lined up using proper social distancing and wearing their face coverings.
- Kindergarten students will be picked up along the west sidewalk of the parking lot.
- 1st grade students will be picked up along the north sidewalk in front of the office area.
- 2nd grade students will be picked up along the north sidewalk in front of the cafeteria.
- 3rd-5th grade will be picked up along the east side of the parking lot near the grass area.
Parents will be allowed to park in the parking lot prior to dismissal, but will be required to enter the pick up line to pick up their student(s). Parents will not be allowed out of their vehicle and students will not be allowed to walk to a parents parked car. Students can only be picked up through the pick up line.
We ask for your support and patience as we work to perfect this new procedure. We know it will take a little bit of extra time each afternoon, but we believe it can work. Please drive slowly during student pick-up times, and remain focused when pulling out into the driving lane after being stopped in the pick-up lane. We are committed to keeping everyone as safe as possible and therefore need to make sure we are not allowing for large groups to gather in any location.
We are doing this pick-up procedure on a trial basis. After a couple of weeks, we will evaluate and share with you any required improvements to the procedure. Thank you for your patience!
Teacher Welcome Videos
Kindergarten
Avery
Cramer
1st grade
Gallup & Hughes
2nd grade
Myers & Hughes
3rd grade
Engbers
Trumley
4th grade
Trumley
Haase
5th grade
Breese & Sparks
Specials Teachers Welcome Videos
Mrs. Watson - Literacy
Mr. Uramkin - PE
Mrs. Bronkema - PE/Health/Technology
Mrs. Hardaker - Music
Mrs. Garton
Mrs. Rogers - Spanish
Miss Pixley - Art
Miss White - Art
First Days of School
The first three weeks of school are four-day weeks, so schedules will be slightly different.
August 24 - Sept. 3
- Blue - attends school in person on Mondays and Thursdays
- Gold - attend school in person on Tuesdays and Wednesday
Sept. 8 - 11
- Blue - attends school in person on Thursday and Friday
- Gold - attends school in person on Tuesday and Wednesday
Sept. 13 - Regular alternating schedule begins as follows:
- Blue - attends school on Mondays & Thursdays, remote learning takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
- Gold - attends school in person on Tuesdays and Fridays; remote learning takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Wednesday is chosen as the remote learning day for all students as this is our usual delayed start day; we are hopeful to be able to return to our regular school year calendar in 2020-21.
COVID-19 School Health Screening Agreement
Every student who is returning to school under the hybrid plan must have a parent/guardian fill out the Health Screening Agreement BEFORE the first day of school. This agreement will be in effect while we are under Phase 4 of the Michigan Safe Start Plan and eliminates the need to perform a health screening each day. Please take a minute to complete THIS FORM as soon as possible. Thank you very much!
Alamo Elementary
Email: nknight-lucas@otsegops.org
Website: https://alamo.otsegops.org/
Location: 8184 North 6th Street, Kalamazoo, MI, United States
Phone: (269) 694-7600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/415538888654020
Twitter: @otsegoschools