On Monday, August 31 and Tuesday, September 1, families will come to the school to pick up their student's learning materials and have their school picture taken. The pick-up plan is highly structured in order to promote the safety of students, families and staff. If you do not feel you or your child can safely participate or comply with the safety procedures outlined below, please email staff, and we will happily make alternative arrangements.

In order to limit the number on campus at any one time, we have created a schedule based on your child's last name. If the individuals in your family have more than one last name, feel free to come at a single time that works well for you. We also have a few spots available on Tuesday afternoon.

Pick-up time should be attended by a single adult and Sycamore students. From the time you arrive until you exit campus, you will be outside, and you and children over two will need to wear a mask, remain together, and practice physical distancing.

The traffic flow will move in one direction. You will enter campus at the front steps of the school. Your child's picture will be taken outside in the courtyard. Please follow the directions and markings laid out by our photographers. When pictures are complete, you will move west down the hallway to the front of the multipurpose room. At that station, you will sign out your child's technology or decline the offer. We are fully prepared to provide an iPad for every student K-6, and we hope you will make use of this resource. As a last step, you will walk around to the north side of the multipurpose room to pick up the materials your child's teacher has prepared. Families will then exit campus onto Yale Avenue.

Monday, August 31

8:30 AM-10:00 AM ----------Last Name A-E

10:00 AM-11:30 AM --------Last Name F-J

11:30 AM-1:00 PM ----------Last Name K-O

1:00 PM-2:30 PM ------------Last Name P-S

2:30 PM-4:00 PM ------------Last Name T-Z

Tuesday, September 1, (for those who cannot attend on Monday):

1:00 PM-2:00 PM Last Name A-H

2:00 PM-3:00 PM Last Name I-P

3:00 PM-4:00 PM Last Name Q-Z

Again, if you do not feel comfortable participating in this way or you cannot comply with the safety procedures I've outlined, please let us know in the school office and an alternative will be provided.

As mentioned above, we will be taking school pictures on August 31 and September 1 during materials pick-up times. In order to promote safety, we will take pictures outside, and we are offering an online option to pay for any pictures you'd like to purchase. We will have payment envelopes on campus, if you would rather pay in person. See the flyer to purchase online:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zgkW619MlZJlkVbsamm1XPQ6ao8aJMMb/view?usp=sharing

Pictures will be distributed to families in October during a drive-through pick-up. A plan for retakes will be shared at a later date.

On Wednesday evening, we gathered for a Parent Night, a community Zoom with about 200 of our new and old Sycamore friends. Your questions and comments were so helpful and supportive, since they allowed both needs and potential solutions to surface. The following document includes a link to the recorded presentation, on overview of phase 1 Distance Learning at Sycamore. It also includes a summary of common questions and topics raised during the meeting. This is also posted on the homepage of our school's website.

https://syc-claremont-ca.schoolloop.com/file/1500178973464/1317566921453/7842095412395502886.pdf

During distance learning, students in CHAMP, CORE and the Blended model will need to use technology to meet with their teacher. We are fully prepared to provide a district iPad for EVERY student. The district device is encouraged for several reasons. It will include all the instructional apps your child needs. The district's tech team can support any problems with a district device, and having one per child eliminates the need to share a device. You may use a personal device, but you would need to purchase apps used by your child's class. Insurance for the device is available for those who would like to purchase it.

During the materials pick-up time, families can either receive or decline a district device. The link below allows you to review related forms prior to material pick-up time. The following link provides more information. We will have all forms ready for you at the school. Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions or if you need help securing wifi.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mYcXWZdP_JXM1jpuqCUOdkKVgkaiY6_M?usp=sharing

As most of you are already aware, Canvas will be our district's learning management system, the home to your child's educational content and activities. Your student's passwords for Canvas and other resources will be inside your child's bag of class materials. Please keep in mind, we do not expect you to be able to access Canvas until the first day of school. During Back to School Night, your child's teacher will share more information about what they'd like you to do on the first day of school.

I am very pleased to introduce Laura Olsen as our school's Educational Specialist. Laura comes to us with experience in Claremont and Ontario-Monclair School Districts both as a special day class and RSP teacher. Her warm nature, experience and commitment to students make her a wonderful addition to our school. She and our Speech and Language Pathologist, Elizabeth Copple, will be joined this year by our skilled and compassionate team of para-educators, Sandy Alfaro, Patricia Meza, and Josie Gallo, as well as our Speech and Language Assistant, Leslie Roberts. During the first week of school, our team will begin to assemble schedules for Individualized Education Plan (IEP) services. If your child has an IEP, you will receive information via email.

During Phase 1, the District's after-school care program, BLAST, will not be operating. This means our students will not be able to see these beloved staff members. If your child would like to send a card or note to BLAST staff, please bring that note to school during pick-up day. We will get those notes mailed to staff members at home.

Under Phase 1, our campus is closed to visitors. Essential staff may be physically distancing on campus as they support student learning, but we are not able to host visitors, students or volunteers. If you need any resources or need to speak with a staff member, please contact them by email or call the school office at 909-398-0324. Any meetings we need to hold, such as Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings or conferences, will be held virtually with staff. Thank you for your understanding.