We have really enjoyed seeing your kids' faces again. They are the reason we get excited to come to work. Seeing them read, problem-solving, engage with others and play bring us joy. Thank you for sharing your kids with us.

This was a very cold week. Please know Parkway uses a weather index number to determine whether students can learn and play outside. The index takes into account the temperature and the wind chill. When kids can not go outside, HCR teachers are creative to get their bodies moving. They use GoNoodle, dance parties, movement, and more in the classroom. As well, when it is too cold to eat snacks outside, teachers space the kids throughout the classroom and often in the hallways.

Don't forget to check out the calendar below. Many events have turned virtual or have been postponed. The Art Fair is postponed. Six-grade transition meetings have become virtual.

Please join us for our PSO meeting Thursday the 12th at 7:00 pm. A link will be posted on the PSO Facebook page on Wednesday morning. We love to see you all there!

January 2022

• 10 CANCELED The Art Show at CHS has been canceled

• 11, at 6:00 p.m Central Middle School 5th Grade Informational Night
  

• 12, 6:30 p.m.-7:00 pm or 7:30 pm-8:00 pm West Middle School Information Night for 5th Grade

• 12 PSO Meeting

• 13 Half-day AM - End of 2nd Quarter

• 14 Records Day - No School

• 17 No School

• 19 Running Club (8 AM)

• 24 All Read 3:20 PM

• 24 Progress Reports sent out

To see events for the year click here.

As a reminder, Parkway is asking parents to consider sharing vaccination records if their child is fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

Sharing proof of vaccination is entirely voluntary. Your child’s vaccination record will be kept confidential. If your child is vaccinated, please complete this voluntary form to share your record with our school. The form will ask for your child’s name, school, grade and will have a place where you can upload a photo/image of your child’s vaccination card. You will need to log into your personal Google/Gmail account or use your child’s Parkway Gmail account to complete the form.

Providing your vaccine information will help us measure vaccination rates within our school communities. If you have any questions

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Nurse Hubert at (314) 415-6410

Hello Highcroft Families,

Wow! What a wacky few weeks it has been! COVID is running rampant and if I could guess which strain we had I would say Omicron, but I don’t run the lab so we will never know.

As you all know, for the next half of the school year starting January 18th, 2022, Parkway may decide it to be no longer required to wear masks. It is not a decision to make lightly for sure. Please feel free to send your students in with a mask. If our positive numbers are above 2% of our enrollment which is eight students then we will continue to wear masks for 2 more weeks when numbers suggest it.

Currently, we are at 6%.

I will still need to send home students who come to school with symptoms. Not all cases of illness will be COVID. We do have cases of strep, Influenza, and other viral illnesses. When your child is sick please contact their primary care physician first. If they aren’t able to see them, then follow their directions on what to do next. Avoid ER visits if possible unless you have a true emergency. Urgent care is a great place to go if your doctor can’t see you.

Stay safe and healthy. I want to see all those smiling faces after the New Year!

Look for up-to-date Health Information coming out over break from Parkway.

Have a good restful break, come back to school with warm coats, hats and gloves so we can all go outside when the weather permits. Get plenty of sunshine and be safe.

I can’t say that enough!

Thank you for all your support thus far this year! Your children’s health is my biggest concern!

I am always here to help and answer questions!

Blessings of a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Love to all,

Cathy Hubert BSN, RN, NCSN

Highcroft Ridge Elementary School

Nationally Board Certified School Nurse

314-415-6410

chubert2@parkwayschools.net

This week, Parkway sent communication regarding health and safety and the implications that staff shortages could possibly have on learning. To prepare for learning each and every school day, all students will begin bringing their Chromebooks home each night. Chromebooks will travel back and forth between home and school for several purposes:

1. If Highcroft Ridge could not provide a safe in-person environment, adequate supervision, or quality instruction due to staff shortage, students would learn virtually at home. This would operate much like a snow day with notification going out the night before or morning of the need for the switch.
2. If Parkway School District exhausts the 3 built-in snow days and there is a need for a 4th snow day, students would learn virtually at home. For more information on closings and emergencies please click here.
3. Parkway is no longer putting students on quarantine, however, if your child is ill (Covid related or not), and needs to stay home, they could access some of the programs that they use in their classrooms while recovering at home.

Please remind your children that Chromebooks are NOT being sent home for their recreational use. It would actually be best if they just remained in students' backpacks unless needed for virtual learning. This way they will stay safe, clean, and stored properly.

Thank you for all your support in keeping learning consistent throughout the rest of the year.

Happy New Year! We hope this email finds you well. One thing we have learned throughout the past two school years is the need to be flexible and adapt to change. 5th Grade Parent Night is a special event in our community and we are always eager to welcome you in person. Due to the level of community spread, we are going to move our 5th Grade Parent Night to an online event. While we are sad to miss the opportunity to connect with you in person, our excitement and dedication to your family remains high.

Here are some updates due to this change:

• Please register for the Zoom Webinar on Tuesday, January 11, at 6:00 p.m. After you register you will receive a confirmation email containing the information needed to join the Zoom. We anticipate the webinar will last approximately 40 minutes and will allow for a Q/A session. We will record the Zoom and email it out to families who are unable to attend. We strongly encourage all families to attend this event to learn more about the transition process and course offerings for rising 6th graders.

• Parents of students with IEPs may join a special session from 5:30-6:00 via this Zoom link.

• You may submit questions ahead of time by completing this form. Our goal is for this session to be meaningful and informative. We will do our best to answer frequent and common questions.

• Please review the course guide for Central Middle school here. Discuss the course offerings with your child.

• Mrs. Campbell, School Counselor for the rising 6th-grade class will host virtual registration lessons with all 5th-grade students on Thursday, January 13th. Your child’s 5th-grade teacher will send home the 2022-2023 6th Grade Course Request Form following this registration lesson. Your child should return this form to their 5th-grade teacher by Friday, January 21st.

We look forward to future opportunities to welcome students and families into our school building. It is our hope to offer in-person tours and transition activities for rising 5th graders this spring.

Sincerely,

The Central Middle School Team

Dr. Lorenz, Principal

Dr. Edwards, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Campbell, School Counselor

Dear Fifth Grade Students and Parents,

At this time of the year, we are in the midst of planning for August when you will be joining us. We want to take this time to welcome you. Our goal is to ensure that your middle school experience will be an excellent one.

We invite you to attend an evening program to help in the getting acquainted process. We will have the grade level administrators and grade level counselors presenting on January 12 via Zoom to share important information about transitioning to middle school. At the end of our program you will have the opportunity to meet our Special School District Area Coordinator, if your child receives services. The Academy parents will have an opportunity to meet the Academy team for additional information. These will be in a breakout room setting.

January 12th (Wednesday) 6:30 p.m.-7:00 pm or 7:30 pm-8:00 pm

If you have a conflict with these times, we will be recording the session and emailing it to all parents.

Please register to attend the Zoom meeting and review the course guide prior to the meeting.

6:30 pm-7:00 pm Meeting registration link

7:30 pm-8:00 pm Meeting registration link

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

To further assist with the transition to middle school, our team will be visiting 5th grade classrooms via Zoom in the next couple of days to get to know the students and answer questions. Our intent is to help them understand what to expect in middle school in order to create a smooth transition to West Middle.

Attached is the 6th Grade Registration Handbook to review course choices. After making your student’s choices, use this link: WMS Online Course Request Form . This form will be available on January 12th through January 21st 2022.

Again, we welcome you to West Middle School! We look forward to working with you over the next three years!

Sincerely,

Anne I. Miller

Principal