Hello Heavilin Families! As of today, the school office is once again open. We are so happy to be back in the building. We will have some new practices and procedures and will be working to help you understand them all in the coming weeks. We are eager to see you all again! If you plan to stop by the school, please make an appointment with our office in advance. All visits need to be scheduled so that we can assure we minimize the amount of people coming in at one time. Of course, if you haven't been feeling well, please do not come to the school. And please plan to wear your masks when you arrive. Thank you!

July

20-24 Returning Student Registration on Skyward

21 8-11am, 12:00-3:00pm New Student/Kindergarten Registration by appointment

22 4-7pm New Student/Kindergarten Registration by appointment

23 8-11am, 12:00-3:00pm New Students/Kindergarten Registration by appointment

28 2-5pm Device Return by appointment

29 8-11am Device Return by appointment

August

12 First Day of School

Many families have read through the VCS Return to Learn plan, as well as the Return to Learn FAQ, and are making the decision about which learning option is right for your family. You will be asked to make your selection during the registration process this week, July 20-24. To register, please use your Skyward account to login and you may go through the process at home at your leisure. Your selection of learning option, as well as your selection of dismissal option, will be very important to us as we plan the details of Return to Learn in the coming weeks.

While we do not have specifics worked out in every area yet, we can already see that our big, beautiful school is going to be an asset to us as we plan to socially distance our students. At this time at Heavilin, it is our working plan to have Specials (Art, Music, PE, STEM) in the Specials' classrooms. We will adjust the schedule to assure time for sanitizing the classrooms between classes, as well as to assure that classes are not in the hallway at the same time as they transition to and from Specials. PE will be outdoors as much as possible. We are able to seat students in the cafeteria to assure 6' distance for lunch time as well. And, we are working on a schedule that will allow students to be outdoors for recess and allows time for sanitation of the equipment between groups.

While remote learning will look different in different grades and different classrooms, we do anticipate that remote students will participate daily and sometimes at specific times of the school day. Remote students will experience the same content as their in-person classmates, and teachers will have contact daily. We anticipate using Canvas for daily interactions, along with other online tools.

If you have specific questions about the Return to Learn plan at Heavilin, please contact Dr. Stephens.

We have been told that there is at least one store in Valparaiso that has a Heavilin school supply list posted. We did not distribute that list to them yet, and while it may have a lot of the same items, we did have some changes for this year. Please use the list below for your school shopping.

We suspect that the hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes may be hard to find. Please do not worry if you are unable to get those. Perhaps send it in whenever you come across it later in the year.

We are asking for every student to bring one refillable water bottle to school everyday. We are unable to use our water fountains and will be installing water bottle filling stations. Remember to put your child's name on their bottle and send it freshly filled in the morning.

All students must have a clean mask daily. Please label your child's masks.

If you are choosing the remote learning option to start the year, some supplies may not be needed at-home, and you can work with the classroom teacher on which supplies are necessary.

Please remember to login to Skyward this week, July 20-24, to register your child. You will be asked to select in-person or remote learning. If the learning option you choose no longer works for your family, you can switch at the quarter. Please contact Mrs. Szmagaj at mszmagaj@valpo.k12.in.us or 219-476-8820 if you have any issues with logging in to Skyward or registration.

As outlined in the Valparaiso School Community registration guidelines, we are setting up appointments for kindergarten and new student registration for July 21, 22, and 23. If you have not yet reserved your date/time, please use this link and choose a slot that fits your schedule.

To help your time go quickly, please bring the following documents with you:

Student’s Birth Certificate

Student’s Immunization Records

Parent/Guardian Driver’s License

Proof of Residency (all 3 documents):

1. Lease Agreement if you rent your residence OR Mortgage Loan Papers/Tax Receipt if you own your residence. (your lease agreement must have an end date included)

2. Utility Bill

3. Another Bill or Bank Statement

Custody Paperwork if applicable

Enrollment Paperwork

To help minimize the number of people in the building, we ask that one adult (parent/guardian) attends registration at this time and that students do not come, if possible.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

https://signup.com/go/SHfRhXS

We will be conducting a return of school loaned devices (iPads and Chromebooks) from any student in K-4 on July 28 & 29 by appointment. All students in grade K-4 will return library books and pick-up left behind materials upon return to school in August.

Our 5th graders will be asked to return their loaned devices, library books, and any other materials on July 28 & 29 as well. In addition, we will be returning materials left at school in March to our 5th graders at this time.

To schedule a time, please click the following link: https://signup.com/go/kAVfnAt

In order to encourage social distancing, we cannot accept walk-ins without a reserved time.

To assist with safety precautions, we recommend wearing a mask. The process outlined below will be followed to promote safety of students, parents/guardians and staff:

Families should proceed to the location listed below. Families should remain in their car and a staff member will collect the device/materials being returned. If you are a 5th grade family, your student’s belongings have been bagged and will be given to you at this time. 5th grade families with a K-4 student will report to both locations during their time slot.

• 5th Grade Exchange: Front of School, use North Entrance

• K-4 Device Return: Back of School, use South Entrance

Please remember to bring your device charger as well!

Due to the pandemic, we are unable to host our annual Back-to-School Ice Cream Social. Students will bring their school supplies on the first day of school, August 12. We will also return student supplies and belongings that were left here in March to students when we are back in school.

Likewise, we will need to make adjustments to our annual Parent Orientation Night. We will send out information as soon as we have it.

We have always enjoyed allowing our parents to walk their children to class on the first day of school. However, we cannot do that this year. We encourage parents who come to our school campus on the first day to wear masks, practice social distancing with other families, and take a photo outside the school if they so choose.

Yearbooks will be handed out to students upon their return to school in August. 5th graders will be given their yearbooks when they drop off their devices and pick up their materials on July 28 & 29.