Alice Smith Weekly Connections
September 25, 2020
Alice Smith Families - Message from Principal Navidad
Alice Smith families and scholars,
We have officially completed our SECOND week of school and our scholars and staff have quickly and effectively integrated safety protocols and daily routines of hand washing, keeping social distance, and wearing masks into their daily school experience. I know this has and will continue to be a new experience for our scholars, but I know these steps will keep our entire Alice Smith family safe and healthy. Another visible change our teachers are integrating into our school experience is the use of our outdoor learning classrooms. We have 7 outdoor classrooms that not only provide our scholars with a connection to nature, but also allow them to learn without the need to wear a mask.
Parent Teacher Conference Update:
- This week, we sent out a survey for all families that would benefit from an interpreter for their Fall parent teacher conferences. Please complete this survey by Monday Sept 28th!
- Next week on Thursday October 1st, we will be sending out the SignUpGenius for all Parent Teacher conferences. Please note that some teachers will provide options to meet in person-outside or virtually. Note that all conferences after 6pm will be held virtually due to darkness.
Parent Teacher Conference Times:
- Monday October 12, 2020 (12:00pm (Noon) - 8:00 pm)
- Tuesday October 13, 2020 (8:00 am - 4:00 pm)
It was nice seeing and connecting with some parents this morning during my weekly virtual google meeting with families called "Cafe con Navidad". Remember I will host this every Friday from 8:00-8:30am (English) and 8:30 - 9:00am (Spanish).
Thank you for your collaboration
952-988-4201Changing our Classroom Experience! 7 NEW Outdoor Classrooms for our Scholars/Teachers
Peace Garden FLEX Outdoor Classroom
2 of 5 FLEX outdoor classrooms!
3 of 5 FLEX Outdoor Classroom
Alice Smith Courtyard Classroom!
Mrs. Kohlstedt Takes ART Outside - Year Round!
Important Dates - Sept 28th - Oct 2nd
School Nutrition News
Dear Alice Smith Guardians,
Please continue placing your Lunch orders through the School Store so that our nutrition department can plan accordingly how many lunches to make on a daily basis. The lunch menu for the next few weeks is: Hopkins Menu September 28 - October 9
CRITICAL Information NEEDED!
In order to better support our scholars' academic and nutritional needs, this year will be critically important that ALL of our families take a few minutes to complete the Free & Reduced Lunch Application. This application is completely CONFIDENTIAL and if you do qualify, it does bring funds to our school that will help me better provide academic supports for ALL of our scholars!
All digital applications are done through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!
Hopkins Attendance Guidelines
Attendance for all Distance Learning days will be counted the following day based on the student’s day-before activity in Canvas. This applies to students enrolled in Distance Learning and students who are in the Hybrid program during their Distance Learning days. We recognize that families are not always able to participate in scheduled activities on Distance Learning days. Any activity that is scheduled for a specific time will be recorded so students have the flexibility to complete the lesson at a later time. As a reminder, always report absences due to illness to your school nurse the same day.
Alice Smith Nurse's Corner
We are working very hard to keep students, staff, and families safe and healthy. For more information check out this link on the important protocols we have in place so we can be Healthy in Hopkins.
https://hopkinsschools.org/district-news/news/healthy-hopkins
Please continue to:
1. Check your student for signs or symptoms of illness every morning before they come to school. You can find the Hopkins School Daily Screening Tool by clicking the link below
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pcOtoER94f91vxl-g-X8cXrb_c6hTGeAbA_jqdIizKQ/edit
2. Contact the school nurse at 952-988-4213 if your child is ill with COVID-19 symptoms to determine when they may return to school, or if you have questions about whether your child should come to school.
3. Call the attendance line (952-988-4210) to report an absence due to illness and include the reason for the absence, including your student’s symptoms.
Thank you for everything you are doing to help keep our school community safe and healthy!
myHealth October 7th Dental Clinic
Children’s Dental Services will be providing low cost dental care at myHealth For Teens & Young Adults on Wednesday October 7th. They have implemented COVID policies to protect their staff, our staff and their patients. Clients are only aloud one guest with them to their appointment if they are under 18, they must wear a face mask, clients wait in their car till the staff call them to come in, their staff wear face masks and face shields, they do deep cleaning between each client, they are screening for COVID symptoms, and taking temps of all clients that come into the building. They are making dental care safe! Please see flyer in our ebackpack.
Alice Smith PBIS/SEL Corner
Alice Smith PTO Corner
Mark your calendars for the next virtual PTO meeting on Tuesday, October 6th from 7-9pm. We will be discussing and brainstorming ways to raise funds for Alice Smith during a pandemic. Come with your best ideas no matter how incomplete or developed they may be! It's a great time to get creative in our efforts to support our Alice Smith community. The link to the virtual meeting will be sent out closer to the meeting. Please reach out with any questions or comments to Abby Taylor (abby7taylor@gmail.com) or Jen Snell (snell.jennifer@gmail.com)
Picture Day is Coming!
Picture Day is coming to Alice Smith on October 5 (A Day) & October 8 (B Day), with a new vendor this year, Strawbridge Studios. We aim to make this a safe experience for your student. Like previous years, photos will be taken in our gym. Only one class will be in the gym at any particular time. Students will line up in a socially distanced fashion and will wear masks right up until the moment before their photo is taken. The photographer will be 8' away from the students.
For students who are Distance Learning and would like to participate, you may do so between 2:30 - 3:30 pm on either day. Strawbridge will also stay in the building from 4:15-5pm, so that Distance Learning students can be photographed after the majority of students & staff have already left the building. Parents cannot accompany students for the photos. Please park, bring your student to the office, and wait for your student outdoors. A designated volunteer or staff will get your student to our gym for the photo and bring him/her back outdoors.
Please visit our electronic backpack for online order information. If you order online, please note that only the 10/5 date will appear, but rest assured, this will cover the 10/8 date also. Paper order forms have been sent home to Hybrid learners in backpacks. Extra paper order forms are available in the front office.
Strawbridge Studios offers this link which allows you to sign up to receive email updates regarding your child's school portraits. When entering student information, be sure to enter your student's name as it is listed in Infinite Campus.
Retake dates will be on November 9 & November 12.
Last Year's Yearbooks for Sale
Electronic Backpack Flyers & Forms
https://www.hopkinsschools.org/schools/alice-smith-elementary/electronic-backpack
Young Rembrandts Virtual Art Lessons
Lifelong Athletics Virtual Program for Kids
Low Cost Dental Services in Hopkins
Cracking open a good book!
Fourth grade gaga ball excitement
Fifth graders working on an outdoors project
Beautiful day for an outdoor lunch in Kindergarten
Great participation in 1st grade Distance Learning
Second grade recess on the playground
Alice Smith Elementary
Website: https://hopkinsschools.org/schools/elementary-schools/alice-smith-elementary
Location: 801 Minnetonka Mills Road, Hopkins, MN 55343, USA
Phone: (952) 988-4200
Facebook: facebook.com/AliceSmithElementarySchool
Twitter: @AliceSmith270