Dear Burke High Families,

This week, Omaha Public Schools shared details of our upcoming return to five days of in-person learning per week. The phased transition begins with students returning in our Family 3/2 Model in January as scheduled. The shift to five days of in-person learning takes place in February. Here are the important dates to remember during this phased transition:

Phased Return to the Family 3/2 Model:

• Monday, Jan. 18 - No school for all students. Staff do not report.
• Tuesday, Jan. 19 – Students return in the Family 3/2 Model, following the Family 3/2 calendar, until they transition to attending in person five days per week.

Transition to Five Days of In-Person Learning:

• Monday, Feb. 1 – No school for elementary and middle school students. Half building-based professional learning and half teacher planning day.
• Tuesday, Feb. 2 – Elementary and middle schools transition to in-person learning five days per week.
• Tuesday, Feb. 16 – No school for high school students. Half building-based professional learning and half teacher planning day.
• Wednesday, Feb. 17 – High schools transition to in-person learning five days per week.

The Remote Learning Program will continue to be available for families who feel it is best at this time. If you would like to change how your student is learning, whether it is in person or through the Remote Learning Program, please contact your student’s school.

As we continue through the second semester, schools or classrooms may need to temporarily shift to remote learning based on contact tracing in our schools or community conditions. Our focus is a responsible transition to serving students five days per week in-person.

Learning Group Assignments:

On February 15, students participating in the Family 3:2 In-Person instructional model will be automatically adjusted to the 100% In-Person Learning Group. Students participating in Remote Learning prior to February 15 will automatically remain in the Remote Learning Group. If you would like to change a student’s current Learning Group Assignment or have any questions concerning a Learning Group Status of a student, please contact Chad.Price@ops.org.

College planning for our seniors is on-going and can be stressful. We are providing our senior students and families an opportunity to connect with our counselors weekly to get assistance with college planning. Senior students and families can join the Burke College Channel within TEAMS and connect with our counselors every Tuesday and Thursday from 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

We know we have health and safety protocols in school. What we do outside of our school doors will most likely determine whether we are learning together or remotely. Please do your part to limit the spread of Covid-19 in our communities.

Please check into our school website frequently for any updated information. We will also update this link with important information.

We are providing updated information to this link weekly to help keep our students and families informed of information related to remote learning and the return to in-person learning at Burke High School.

Burke is expanding its attendance notification system in the second semester.

Parents/guardians in the primary households who have active cell phones are notified at 10:45 am if they had a student with an unverified absence. The parent/guardian can then respond to a link in the text message to tell us why the student was absent. At the end of the day, those absences are put into Infinite Campus. This will only change an attendance status if we have received no communication prior to the text. If a parent does not have a cell phone registered with the district but they have a valid email, they will receive this notification via email. Afternoon robo calls are still in place for absences taken after the 10:45 am distribution.

The text message will look like this:

Your student was absent from one or more classes. Please use the link to tell us why they were absent.

An email will look like this:

Greetings Parents and Guardians,

The Attendance Navigator Assistant (aka A.N.A.) is being piloted at your school during the 2020-21 Spring semester. Traditionally, when your student was marked absent without a specified reason parents would receive an automated phone call letting you know and asking parents to call into the school to indicate why the student was missing. With A.N.A., parents with valid mobile numbers registered with the district will receive an SMS text message that allows them to submit an absence response instead of calling the school. The whole process takes less than a minute!

You are receiving this email because your student was absent from one or more classes today. Please take a minute to tell us why using the link below.

What do I need to do?

We encourage all parents and guardians to ensure that you have an active cell phone on file with the front desk.

You can call us at 531-299-2580 and update your information! You play an important role in your student’s success. With this communication we can work together to ensure your student is present and ready to learn everyday!

Remote Learning vs. In Person Learning Status

Second Semester begins January 5th with all students participating in remote learning until January 19th. On January 19th, learning groups will begin in the 3:2 model. The status a student has at the end of First Semester will remain the status assigned to a student Second Semester unless a parent/guardian informs our Academic Director, Chad Price, if a switch needs to be made.

What does this mean? If a student is currently a remote student, they will remain a remote student second semester unless a parent contacts Chad.Price@ops.org

Following winter break, all students will follow a remote learning schedule similar to the schedule we started the school year with in August. Please see the visual of our schedule we will be using from January 5 through January 15.

We are sharing our January monthly calendar that includes the A/Odd and B/Even day rotations for planning. Students who have chosen in-person learning will return on Tuesday, January 19 through the Family 3/2 learning model.

Friday, January15: No School for teacher professional learning

Monday, January 18: No School for observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day

Senior Yearbook Information

As a senior in the Burke High School class of 2021, you may make arrangements to use your senior portrait in the yearbook. Please, read the following direction carefully to ensure your picture is included correctly.

1. A professional photographer should take our senior portrait. You may use any photographer as long as they follow all of the guidelines. If you do not use your own photographer or follow all of the guidelines, your Scholastic school ID photo will be used.

2. Only head and shoulder shots will be accepted. We will not accept other poses such as face only, profiles or side views, full-length, or double exposures.

3. Background colors are best when neutral. Use medium grays, tans, or light backgrounds. If you choose an outdoor pose, try to keep the background as plain as possible.

4. A JPEG digital copy of the photo must arrive at the main office or email by, Sunday, January 31st. In order for use to meet our deadline, this date is final and will not be changed.

5. SCREENSHOTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. We need the original photo from the photographer.

6. The correct spelling of your name must be sent with your file. It is best if the file name is the student name.

7. This is a full color yearbook. Please submit a color photograph.

8. Purchase of portraits from the photographer is a private transaction between the student, their parents, and the photographer; it does not involve Burke High School.

We suggest you show these guidelines to your photographer so that he or she is fully aware of the regulations regarding your portrait. Remember: your portrait must be delivered or emailed (by you or your photographer) to:

Angela Wolfe, Yearbook Adviser email: burkeyearbook@ops.org

BY: SUNDAY, JANUARY 31st

Purchase Senior Ad space at

yearbookforever.com

You can purchase space in the yearbook to leave your son/daughter or friends a special message and pictures. Go to yearbookforever.com and enter “Omaha Burke” into the search. From there, find the link that says “personal ads.” Clicking on that link will give you the option to 1. Simply purchase an ad and let the yearbook staff design it for you. 2. Upload an ad from another program that you designed yourself. 3. Create an ad using their online templates. Prices vary depending on the size. What a great way to leave something special that your senior will keep and remember forever. Prices: Full Page - $240, Half Page - $145, Quarter Page - $85, Eighth Page - $50.

OTHER OPTIONS:

The Burke Yearbook staff will also be offering $10 senior portrait sessions throughout the year. If you would like to have your portraits taken on campus during the school day, you can schedule a time with one of our Burke photographers to do so. The $10 fee will cover a 30 minute photo session and we will release all of the photos to you when we are finished in JPEG format. You can choose one of these poses as your yearbook photo and the images are yours to use as you see fit. If you are interested in this opportunity, please send us an email at burkeyearbook@ops.org.

Students returning from Winter Break will be phased into in-person learning. Burke High School students, with the exception of our ACP and Hearing Impaired students, will begin in-person learning on Tuesday, January 19 through the Family 3/2 model. ALL students will connect remotely beginning on Tuesday, January 5th.

If students are having technology issues during our temporary remote learning, please email Burke Technology Support at burke-ts@ops.org

This email will go directly to our building tech support team and they will work to assist your needs.

We have partnered with Scholastic Photography to provide school picture opportunities for our virtual learners and anyone who would like a re-do. Please see the information below and schedule your appointment today! Book your picture date and time at www.scholasticphotography.com

We have attached a downloadable PDF of our bell schedule when as we return to in-person learning and for our remote students. This will be an alternating Odd/Even day block schedule. This schedule will begin on January 19th.

Recognizing Those Who Make a Difference Everyday

The Alice Buffett Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes the achievements of skilled and dedicated educators in the Omaha Public Schools (OPS). Given to 15 teachers annually, the Award has recognized and rewarded nearly 300 teachers over the past two decades. Any Omaha Public Schools teacher or counselor (Pre-K through 12), with a minimum of two years experience, is eligible for nomination.

Each year we receive nominations from students (current and former), parents, other teachers, administrators, and the general public. Our deserving winners are publicly recognized and awarded with the following:

• $10,000 gift
• Alice Buffett Outstanding Teacher Award Medallion
• $1,000 in McDonald's gift cards

Submit a nomination today! The online form is available here: https://buffettoutstandingteachers.org/nominate

COVID-19 Close Contact Exposure

Two key critical factors that determine whether or not a person is in direct close contact with a known COVID-19 positive individual is as follows:

1. Close Contact: A person is considered a close contact when they have been within 6 feet of the COVID-19 positive individual for 15 cumulative minutes

2. Unmasked Individual: A person is considered a close contact when they have been within 6 feet of the COVID-19 positive individual for 15 cumulative minutes and face coverings are not worn by one or both individuals.

Omaha Public Schools Community,

Every day before they leave home, families must complete a self-health assessment, asking themselves three vital questions:

1. Has your child had a fever of 100.4 or greater, a new cough, new onset of shortness of breath, new loss of taste or smell in the last 24 hours?
2. Is your child waiting for a COVID-19 test result due to symptoms or a close contact exposure?
3. Has anyone in your household been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 14 days?

If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, you will be expected to stay home.

We are offering after-school virtual tutoring to students who are interested. This tutoring will be provided on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday from 3:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. Students must sign up for an appointment with one of the tutors through Bookings. Information and links to Bookings are on our school website (within the daily bulletin) and included in this update. After booking an appointment, students will receive an email with a link to the Team for the tutoring. Subject areas include: English, math, science, technology support, ELL, French, and Spanish. Each slot is for 30 minutes. If you have addition questions, Laura Geiger can assist my emailing her at Laura.Geiger@ops.org

Click the DogHouse Bulletin for link to tutoring sign up:

https://burke.ops.org/

Teachers take attendance daily at the start of the day & in each secondary class. We ask families to help make sure students are on time, logged in & prepared. We ask families to call in to the attendance office when your student is unable to attend class, at school or remote.

All students should be logged into their device and first block class at 7:40 a.m. and preparing for their first block class. This time is the official start to the school day.

If your student will be absent, even for remote learning, please contact our school attendance secretaries before 7:40 a.m. each day. If you leave a voicemail or email, please include your student's name and the reason for the absence. We appreciate your partnership and support and look forward to learning together in person soon.

Email addresses for attendance:

Cindy.Shulewitz@ops.org

Melanie.Pistillo@ops.org

Burke High School Attendance Phone Numbers:

531-299-2588

Burke High School Fax Number for Medical Notes:

531-299-2619

Student schedules are available to view through our Infinite Campus Parent/Student portal. The parent portal provides families and students opportunities to check grades, missing assignments, attendance,, view student schedules and many other features. If families or students do not have access to the parent portal, we ask that you contact Nyla Bodfield via email at nyla.bodfield@ops.org for assistance. Ms. Bodfield can also be reached at 531-299-3928.

Burke has a Community Counselor available to provide both in-person and telehealth counseling services to support you and your families during this difficult time. Visit www.bestcare.org/CCP to complete paperwork or contact the counselor directly for more information. Need immediate assistance? There is also a covid-19 emotional support talk line with counselors available Mon-Fri 8am-4pm.

Shelly Taylor, LCSW, LIMHP

Burke High School 531-299-2586

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner

We are attaching the latest district calendar for the 2020-2021 school year.

2020-21 School Year Calendar Update

Attached, please find a copy of the updated 2020-21 school year calendar. All updates reflect adjustments to the Family 3/2 Instructional Model schedule

• Family 3/2 Instructional Model shading through second semester, in 2021

January 15 - No School; Professional learning day for teachers

January 18: Martin Luther King Jr Day; No School

January 19: The Family 3/2 Model returns with our A-K students reporting in-person

February 10: The Family 3/2 Learning Model ends. Students will transition to 5 day in-person learning beginning February 17.

February 11: Parent Teacher Conferences 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.(virtually); No School for students

February 12: Parent Teacher Conferences 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (virtually); No School for students

February 15: No School; President's Day

February 16: No School for students; Teacher prep day for 5 day in-person learning