August 20, 2021
Alto All Star Gazette
From the desk of Principal Papes
Dear Alto Families,
We are excited to welcome students back to school for our “Meet the Teacher” open house on August 23rd and our first day of school on August 24th!
“Meet the Teacher” Open House - Monday, August 23rd – 4:30-6:00 PM
We are excited to be able to host an open house again this school year! We encourage all families to come in to meet the teacher and visit your classroom. The format of the open house will be different this school year to follow safe COVID protocols. A sign-up genius link was shared via e-mail this past Tuesday. Each family has the opportunity to sign up for a 15 minute time period. Each 15 minute time period will offer five slots. We ask that you only visit the classroom within your scheduled 15 minute time. Classroom exterior doors will be utilized for entry and exit. Other areas of the building (hallways, cafeteria, media center, etc.) will not be open during the open house. Wearing a mask is strongly recommended.
New Staff
In addition to the updates that were provided last week, we have several new additions to the Alto Team to make you aware.
Nicole Crocker - Nicole is an Alto parent and will be joining our excellent group of para educators in an AM and lunch supervision role.
Stacey Watson - Stacey Watson has been hired as our new Speech-Language Pathologist. Stacey received her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from GVSU. She worked most recently as a speech-language pathologist for Newaygo County Regional Educational Service Agency.
Volunteers/Visitors
We are excited to be able to start welcoming volunteers back into the school. Parent visits will need to be scheduled in advance with school personnel. At this time, we are not allowing drop in visits, including lunch visits. All visitors are asked to always stop in the office to sign in and obtain a visitor’s badge.
COVID-19 Mitigating Measures
We continue to appreciate the efforts of our school community to help keep all students and staff safe and to preserve in-person learning opportunities for our students as we continue to navigate our way through the pandemic.
We continue to strongly recommend the following mitigation strategies for our students:
The wearing of a well fitting mask indoors at school
Staying home when sick
Maintaining physical distance when possible
Practicing hand hygiene
We ask students and staff to stay home and seek a healthcare evaluation when exhibiting any one of the following symptoms:
New cough
Loss of taste or smell
Shortness of breath
We ask students and staff to stay home and seek a healthcare evaluation when exhibiting two or more of the following symptoms:
Fever (measured or subjective)
Chills
Headache
Extreme Tiredness/Fatigue
Sore Throat
New congestion or Runny nose
Body Aches
Nausea/vomiting or Diarrhea
On August 6th, The Kent County Health Department issued a public health order that outlined contact tracing procedures when there is a positive case of Covid-19. The following procedures will be in place to start the school year: As a follow up to the order, the health department released a chart to explain contact tracing procedures. Below is a summary of those procedures:
Any student or staff member who tests positive for Covid-19 will be required to isolate at home for at least 10 days.
Household members of a positive case will be required to quarantine for at least 10 days after the household member’s isolation period unless fully vaccinated.
In the event of a positive case in the school setting that is not part of an outbreak, close contacts will be notified. The distance to determine close contact will be 3 feet. It is recommended that unvaccinated close contacts quarantine, but not required.
Vaccination status will be determined by producing a valid copy of the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or some other form of proof of vaccination.
Outbreak Determination
If the health department determines an outbreak of Covid-19 in the school setting, quarantines of unvaccinated student close contacts will be mandatory based on the following criteria:
Students who are within six feet of a positive case for more than 15 minutes will be required to quarantine.
If both students correctly and consistently wear well fitting masks, the distance to determine close contact will be 3 feet.
An Outbreak will be determined by the health department.
Please let your children know how excited our Alto Staff is to see them soon. We have missed our students and families, and we’re looking forward to an amazing 2021-2022 school year!
With Gratitude,
Paul Papes
Principal
Alto Elementary
Lowell Area Schools
Pink Arrow Is Coming!
*extra cost for larger sizes
**Student Financial Assistance Form attached. Please return form no later than 8/24.
Breakfast and Lunch Menu week of 8/23
8/24: Mini blueberry pancakes or cereal
8/25: English muffin egg sandwich or cereal
8/26: Strawberry cream cheese bagel or cereal
*each breakfast served w/ fresh fruit and milk
Lunch:
8/24: Mini turkey corn dogs w/ smile potatoes or Cheddar, grapes and cracker snack lunch
8/25: Mini strawberry pancakes w/ sausage and hashbrowns or Muffin & Goldfish fun lunch
8/26: Classic cheeseburger w/ fries or Nachos fun lunch
*each lunch served w/ fruit, veggies and milk
Student Accident Insurance Information
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Lowell Area Schools does not provide student accident insurance. As a service to students and their families, Lowell Area Schools has coordinated the ability for families to purchase student accident insurance plan through FIRST AGENCY, INC for any enrolled child in grades Pre-K thru 12, at a very nominal cost. The most basic plan covers your child while s/he is at school and involved in supervised events (classroom, halls, playground, etc), this plan excludes interscholastic sports. Plan purchase options allow for additional coverage, up to 24-hours including interscholastic sports, except grades 9-12 football. Some plans offer extended dental coverage as well. Grade 9-12 football participation insurance is available as a stand-alone policy.
These plans would be a secondary plan to any other insurance your child may be covered by. If you have no insurance at all for your child, this is an opportunity to provide at least a base level of coverage during the school day. Plans will provide benefits for medical expenses incurred because of an accident. Deductibles and co-pays in your current health plan require you to pay out of pocket costs first, while these plans allow benefits to be applied to your deductible or co-pays.
For more information, or to purchase coverage, go to contact First Agency. Lowell Area Schools makes no warranty or guarantee on this insurance plan and is not responsible in the administering of benefits. We are not an agent of FIRST AGENCY, INC and receive no compensation, of any kind or form, for offering this service or any enrollments generated. Coverage does not become effective until the later of the date premium is received at First Agency, Inc. or the first day of school. All questions regarding this coverage should be directed to First Agency, Inc. at (269) 381-6630.
Alto Elementary
Website: lowellschools.com
Location: 6150 Bancroft Avenue Southeast, Alto, MI, USA
Phone: 616-987-2600
Facebook: facebook.com/altoelementary