Dear Burke High Families,

As we begin the second semester, Covid infections continue to impact many of us. We will continue the same protocols that were in place the first semester such as masks being worn while in the building, hand sanitizing frequently, and disinfecting high touch areas as much as possible. It's important to monitor your own personal symptoms and if you are sick, please remain at home and communicate with our school. We all take responsibility to adhering to the protocols to keep us healthy.

As cases are identified, our district health department reviews the data from our schools and will work with our school communities to determine if additional measures need to be made, such as short-term closures of classrooms or schools. We continue to partner with the Douglas County Health Department to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. There may be a time that based on cases numbers, staffing limitations or other conditions, we need to temporarily transition an individual classroom or school to remote learning. If an individual class or school needs to temporarily transition to remote learning, we will communicate as proactively as possible with our staff and families.These decisions are not made at the school level but in collaboration with our district health department.

Vaccination clinics are being held frequently within our community and we want all of our students and staff to consider the vaccine and/or booster. We encourage students to bring their own personal or disposable mask. We do have masks available but we go through about 1600 per day.

As we begin the second semester, we will be reviewing our procedures and routines with grade level assemblies in the opening days. We all play a role in making this the best semester possible. Students will be registering for courses for the 2022-2023 school year and be receiving information to take home and review with parents/guardians to help make the best decisions for future coursework. These course registrations are due by January 28th.

We have had a mild fall and winter thus far but it appears to be changing. In the event of snow and school related cancellations, please monitor the Omaha Public Schools messenger systems, local news, and school social media sites for any cancellation notices. We do have our winter weather information and procedures for remote learning if it is called for within this update.

We continue to reinforce to our students about representing Burke High School with loyalty, integrity, and honor. We have spent hours and hours on strategies to reinforce our expectations and procedures and routines. We reinforce being Proud, Accountable, Willing, and Safe weekly within our advisory time. Please help reinforce these expectations at home with our Bulldogs.

Attending school on-time and regularly helps our students succeed and stay on top of their academics. We strive to have our students attend school 95% of the school year. This means that students could accumulate up to 9 school days of absences throughout the year to meet our goal. Remember, every minute counts and school starts at 7:40 a.m. each day. Please reinforce good attendance practices.

Face coverings remain required for all indoor activities such as sporting events, clubs/activities, and public meetings. We encourage the use of hand sanitizer upon entering our building for events.

We will continue to send communications home through email of positive cases of Covid-19 that we become aware of. Please take the daily health assessments prior to sending our students to school.

If you have questions about school, feel free to contact us at 531-299-2580.

Go Bulldogs!

We are providing updated information to this link weekly to help keep our students and families informed of information related to Burke High School and student learning for the 2021-2022 school year.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Health and safety remain our priority. To assist us with our effort in keeping students, staff and families safe, we are asking you to conduct a daily health screening on your child(ren) every day prior to sending them to school.

Please assess and/or ask your child(ren) the following screening questions before sending them to school. Does your child have one of the following?

• New cough

• New onset of shortness of breath

• New loss of taste or smell Does your child have two or more of the following?

• Fever of 100.4 or greater

• Chills

• Muscle aches

• Headache

• Sore throat

• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

If you answer yes to the above questions, please do not send your child to school.

Instead:

• Notify the school of your child's absence

• Contact your child's health care provider

• Get your child tested for COVID-19

• Do not send your child to school until they have a negative test result or have been cleared by their health care provider

For information on testing sites, contact the Douglas County Health Department at 402-444- 3400 or https://www.douglascountyhealth.com/109-covid-19/773-where-to-get-tested

For information on COVID-19 vaccine sites please contact the Douglas County Health Department at 402-444-3400 or https://www.douglascountyhealth.com/109-covid-19/812- where-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccine

Anyone 12 years of age are older is eligible to be vaccinated. Minors, 12 thru 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult/guardian to be vaccinated

We've been fortunate thus far but that can change quickly this time of year. Winter weather is upon us and we have a remote learning plan and schedule in the event of school closings due to weather. Teachers will create and deliver learning content using the schedule below. Students are expected to complete assignments as provided and this may be re-teaching or new content.

The schedule will not incorporate "zero hour" classes and no advisory time will be included. Classes are 25 minutes in length.

Additional No School Days:

January 17 - Martin Luther King Jr Day - No School

February 4 - Curriculum Day

April 1 - Professional Development Day

April 15 - Teacher Planning Day

April 18 - Articulation Day

Burke High School has a strong tradition representing the Alice Buffett Outstanding Teaching Award. Each year this award is given to 15 Omaha Public Schools teachers who go above and beyond in making a difference in the lives of students. Let's keep this tradition going by making a nomination today. The deadline for making a nomination is January 15, 2022. It is an easy process. Click on the following link to nominate an outstanding Bulldog teacher.

Award | Alice Buffett Outstanding Teacher Award (buffettoutstandingteachers.org)

We are pleased to inform our families that free breakfast and lunch will be provided to all of our students for the 2021-2022 school year. If students wish to purchase additional items, money can be deposited into school lunch accounts or students can pay with cash.

Breakfast begins in our school cafeteria as early as 6:55 a.m. and students are assigned a lunch period within their schedule. We ask all students to wear a face covering in the cafeteria if they are not actively eating or drinking. Hand sanitizer will be available at all entrances and lunch lines. Disinfecting tables between lunches will take place.

We are sharing our Standard Response Protocols for emergency situations. School safety is everyone's responsibility. We will be having discussions and practice drills for all of the situations outlined within our Standard Response Protocols.

• Safety is everyone's responsibility!

  If you or someone you know is in need of support, or you would like to report a safety concern, Safe2Help Nebraska Hotline is available 24/7 at 531-299-SAFE or Safe2Help Nebraska.

Due to the on-going pandemic, we encourage students to bring with them a water bottle to use during the school day. We have a few water bottle fill stations available to refill water bottles. Water fountains with the bubbler are off limits for health and safety reasons. Thank you for your cooperation.

Jostens graduation cap & gown deadline approaching.

We are encouraging everyone to order online at Jostens.com with a credit or debit card. Jostens provided this online ordering service last year with excellent results.

However, if you wish to order in person, paper order forms are available in the Guidance Office. Completed paper order forms can be returned to the Guidance Office with your deposit.

You can also order in person at the Jostens/School Traditions office at 12100 West Center Road in Bel Air Plaza.

Burke High School has our graduation commencement scheduled for Wednesday, May 25th at 7:00 p.m. at Baxter Arena.

Infinite campus has been with us for many years and the opportunities to connect with our school will be increasing through the parent campus portal. OPS is adding opportunities for on-line payments and updating personal information such as addresses and phone numbers. Most of our students who attend Burke have access to the student portal. Having access to the parent campus portal requires and activation code that only our school can provide. We are attaching a couple of documents that can assist with downloading Infinite Campus Parent onto your devices. Please contact 531-299-2580 for assistance in getting the activation code once you feel comfortable with it and are at that point. We are here to help.

Our block schedule operates on an Odd/Even rotation. A Day/Odd days will have students reporting to their blocks 1, Dog House, 3, 5, and 7 block classes. B Day/Even days will have students reporting to their blocks 2, Dog House, 4, 6, and 8 block classes.

Metro Transportation announced the K-12 Rides Free Program which will allow all K-12 students in the Omaha metro or surrounding area to use any Metro service (bus, MOBY, and ORBT) for free, any time a service is in operation.

What Do Students Need to Do?

Metro is asking that high school students show a valid school-issued ID when boarding. For those that do not have a school-issued ID, Metro will provide one. Elementary and middle school students can simply inform drivers that they are students. The program will run from May 10, 2021 through June 1, 2022 and is being funded by a local philanthropic grant.

More Information

Families who have specific questions can find more information at ometro.com/k-12 or can call Metro’s Customer Service line at 402.341.0800, or k-12@ometro.com.

We have included the most recent district calendar that reflects the additional no-school days for students due to the addition of teacher planning days and professional development days.

Online Payment is a reliable and secure electronic payment processing solution for fees and fines transactions. The Infinite Campus Online Payment has been launched and parents or guardians can set up a payment method and select fees to pay through their Campus Parent Portal account.

Parents or guardians must have a Campus Parent account to do this. If a parent or guardian needs to set up their account, they should contact their child's school. Please contact our school at 531-299-2580 for information on setting up the Campus Parent Portal Account if you haven't done so.

January 17 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School

January 18 - Burke High School Open House for Incoming 8th Grade Students; 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

February 4 - Curriculum Day; No School for Students

February 17 - Parent Teacher Conferences 12:00 - 7:00 p.m.; No School

February 18 - Teacher Work Day; No School