Spring Lake Park High School
September 9, 2020 Newsletter
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A Message from Principal Boucher
SLPHS Parents and Families,
Tomorrow, we begin the 2020-2021 school year. It’s a more complicated beginning than other years, and I am expressly grateful for all the understanding, support and grace our families and community have extended to us as we design school this year in ways that provide choice for families and meet the unique needs of each of our learners. I am confident that together we will be able to work through this unique start to the school year and create safe and engaging learning opportunities for students as they learn at home and at school.
Reminders: What happens September 10 and September 11
These days are designed for introductions and orientation for students attending school in both the Modified Campus Schedule (Hybrid) Model and the Extended Flexible Learning (Distance Learning) Model.
- Students in 9th grade and new to the school 10th – 12th grade students attending in the Modified Campus Schedule (Hybrid) Model: Grade 9 students and students new to the district in Group A (last names A-L) will come to school September 10 for their orientation day. Grade 9 students and students new to the district in Group B (last names M-Z) will come to school September 11 for their orientation day. These will be full days at school running on a normal schedule. School starts at 8:10 a.m. and ends at 2:55 p.m. If you ride the bus, a postcard was mailed last week with your bus route and times. Transportation questions can be directed to Transporation@district16.org
- Students in grades 9-12 attending in the Extended Flexible Learning (Distance Learning) model: Students should log in to Schoology at the start of the school day at 8:10 a.m. and follow the schedule below to interact with their instructors and get oriented to their courses.
Course Start time:
- Course 1: 8:10 a.m.
- Course 2: 9:10 a.m.
- Course 3: 10:10 a.m.
- Course 4:11:10 a.m.
- Lunch: noon
- Course 5: 1 p.m
- Course 6: 2 p.m.
- Students in 10th – 12th grade attending in the Modified Campus Schedule (Hybrid) model. Log in at the start of the school day at 8:10 a.m. to meet instructors and engage in live and on-demand course introductory materials and activities posted to each of their course Schoology pages.
What happens Monday, September 14
All course instruction begins on September 14 in both learning models.
- For students in the hybrid model, Group A students (last names A-L) in grades 9-12 will come to school on Monday, September 14. For Group B students (last names M-Z) students in the hybrid model, your first day learning at school in in-person classes will be Tuesday, September 15.
- For all students, learning at school and at home starts at 8:10 a.m. and ends at 2:55 p.m.
- If you will ride the bus for learning at school days, a postcard was mailed last week with your bus route and times. Transportation questions can be directed to Transporation@district16.org.
Face masks are required for students riding the bus and coming to school. It is very important to remember this and be prepared. Together, we can make school safe for all.
Thank you again for your understanding and patience as we design for and establish entirely new school routines, both in-person and online. Together, we will make this a valuable and productive year of learning.
Matthew Boucher
Principal
Welcome to the 2020-2021 School Year!
Taking and Tracking Attendance
This fall, we will be taking attendance in our different learning models following guidance from Minnesota Department of Education.
Modified Campus Schedules (Hybrid Learning)
For Grade 9-12 students who are participating in the modified campus schedules, attendance will be taken in the following ways:
- On "learning at school" days, attendance will be taken based on a student's presence at school for each period.
- On "learning at home" days, attendance will be taken based on students posting completed work for each period as assigned
Extended Flexible Learning (Distance Learning)
For Grade 9-12 students who are participating in full-time extended flexible learning, attendance will be taken and recorded at the end of each period based on student attendance in the "live" session for the period.
Parents are asked to call the attendance line at 763-600-5109 to report a student absence when a student is too ill to attend school in person, and/or participate in "live" sessions, and/or complete daily work expectations. Parents should also call the attendance line if a student will miss instruction for other reasons, including vacations, appointments, etc.
If students in either learning model are experiencing frequent absences, students and families will have follow-up conversations with school staff to identify and resolve access concerns or other barriers to participating in instruction.
School meals this fall
Students need access to nutritious meals in order to learn well. Spring Lake Park Schools' Nutrition Services Department continues to participate in the USDA Summer Food Service Program which has now been extended through December 31, 2020 for as long as federal funds are available. Through this program, breakfast and lunch is provided at no cost to all enrolled students.
Here is what you need to know about available meal service as school begins:
- Students learning at school will have access to breakfast and lunch at no cost.
- Students learning at home can pick up a daily meal pack that includes one breakfast and lunch at the Spring Lake Park High School, 1100 81st Avenue Northeast; Door #32 (look for the blue tent). Meal pick up is available Monday – Friday, 9-11 a.m. and 1-2:30 p.m.
Families should still complete the application for free and reduced-price meals as soon as possible, even if you don’t believe you’re eligible. It is necessary to apply for this benefit each year, and funding supports families directly and a variety of needs in our schools.
Guidelines for families on peanut/nut aware classrooms
Spring Lake Park Schools is continuing to emphasize practices that make our schools safe for all students. This work includes partnering with parents in adopting peanut and nut aware practices. Many students in our schools have severe allergies to tree nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, and/or products which contain nuts. Strict avoidance is the best way to prevent a severe allergic reaction. Accidental ingestion or even touching a tiny trace of a nut may cause a potentially fatal reaction for some students.
In an effort to ensure all students are safe throughout the school day, we are asking parents to partner with us to ensure the safety of our students. We need help in supporting the following guidelines to make our classrooms peanut/nut aware:
- All classrooms will be peanut/nut aware throughout Spring Lake Park Schools
- Please do not send any classroom snacks containing nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, or other nut products for daily snacks
- Students who have nut products in their lunch or snack will be removed from the classroom to eat in an alternate location.
- Please be aware of products that may be produced in a plant that contains peanuts/nuts
- Check out the Snack Safely website to reference what snacks and lunch items are safe to send.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Health Care Specialist at your child’s school.
First Day of School Signs for the 2020-2021 School Year
Download the MyStop Bus Tracking App
Is your student riding the bus this fall? MyStop is a web-based application which allows parents and students access to live GPS information for morning and afternoon school bus routes. MyStop displays the school bus’s approximate location on a map, as well as the estimated time of arrival (ETA) to a specific student’s bus stop.
To download the MyStop app, go to the iTunes store for iOS devices (iPhones and iPads) or Google Play for Android devices. Look for “Versatrans MyStop and click to download.
10 Tips for Successful Learning at Home
We asked for tips and tricks to help students and families be successful learning at home. Here are our SLP top ten:
- Establish a routine and limit distractions.
- Designate a learning space for students where they can be productive, preferably not where they sleep.
- Make WebEx, Flipgrid and other technology resources easy to access. Write down codes and passwords on a piece of paper and tape it in the student work area.
- Take a break. Build exercise into a break. Eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and snacks.
- Use a bucket or a box for learning supplies that are needed each day. Put all items back in the bucket at the end of the day so it's easy to find the next day.
- Keep iPads charged.
- Complete school work throughout the week. (Don't put everything off until the weekend.)
- Check in to see how things are going each day -- academically and emotionally.
- Communicate with teachers. We're all in this together. Connect and ask if you have questions or concerns.
- Organize a study group where students can connect and work together.
Spring Lake Park High School Picture Days
- September 30 - Online Students
- October 1 - Day A students
- October 2 - Day B students
Watch for more information.
In case you missed important information from last week's newsletter, check out the topics below and click to learn more.
- One-Page Overviews of What Students and Families can Expect for Learning Experiences Model - Within the Overview of Learning Models and Schedules section
- Make sure your child's immunization records are up-to-date
- View School Supply Lists
- Apply now for Free or Reduced-Priced Meal Benefits for the 2020-2021 School Year
- Make a Plan for Internet Access
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