IHMS Weekly News
October 23 - October 30, 2020
Upcoming IHMS Events:
10/25 (Sunday): Picture ID and Yearbook Photographs: 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.
10/26: Picture ID and Yearbook Photographs: 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
10/26-27: Hybrid A-group in-person days (A-Lamb)
10/28-29: Hybrid B-group in-person days (Lamc-Z)
10/30: Remote learning day (live instruction from home)
Section 1: New This Week
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Picture ID and Yearbook Photo Days Sunday and Monday!
- Sunday, October 25: 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the IHMS cafeteria
- Monday, October 26: 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. in the IHMS cafeteria
We are asking all Indian Hills students (option 1: in-person and option 2: remote) to prioritize one of these two dates to ensure that they are pictured.
You will drop your student off at entrance 2 in the front circle drive, they will enter the school (masked), a PTA member will guide them to the picture area, and you will circle around the building until your student exits the cafeteria on the north side of the building. Please do not park or create traffic backups.
If you can make it work with your family, please adhere to the following suggested time periods on Sunday and Monday:
- Sunday, 12:00-1:00 p.m.: Student last name A-G
- Sunday, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.: Student last name H-O
- Sunday, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Student last name P-Z
- Monday, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.: Student last name A-G
- Monday, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.: Student last name H-O
- Monday, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.: Student last name P-Z
If your family is unable to accommodate the suggested time frames, you can still attend at any time during the Sunday or Monday windows.
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Jr. Board is Going Remote!
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General PTA Meeting Recording
For those that were not able to attend our general PTA meeting this week, the recording can be found below. Although not available yet, the meeting will be posted on indianhills.smsd.org this coming week.
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NEW SMSD Food Service Information
Food Service welcomes every student to enjoy FREE & SAFE school meals.
FREE meals are offered to all SMSD students regardless if they are learning remote, hybrid, or in person. This includes breakfast and lunch meals. Meals are funded entirely by USDA as part of their Summer Meals Program extension. These free meals will continue through the end of the 2020-21 school year. We encourage families to continue to apply for free and reduced meals. Qualifying may allow for other support through the district.
Students will receive their in-person meals at no cost during the days they are in school. Any extra ala carte purchases the students make will require money to be on their food service account.
Remote meals pick up are on Fridays from 6:30-7:45 a.m. These new pick up times are effective on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. This time change is necessary in order to keep the students safe as we transition to in-person students on Fridays. We apologize if this is inconvenient and realize this isn’t ideal for some families. We remain committed to serving all students.
Meals are prepared with the utmost of care to ensure each child's safety. The Food Service department and employees take food safety and the health of all students and staff seriously. We continue to follow all health department food and COVID-19 guidelines including:
- All employees wear masks
- Gloves are worn and changed frequently
- Proper hand-washing followed
- Acrylic shields are used to ensure social distancing for the cashier and in food preparation areas
- High touch areas are disinfected regularly
- All side dishes are individually packaged
- Entrees are served to students upon request
- Disposable compostable trays, individually wrapped silverware and individual condiments are utilized
- Cashiers utilize software to charge elementary students and secondary students will use ID cards with scanners instead of pin pads
Please contact the Food Service office with questions at (913)993-9710 or foodservices@smsd.org.
The school breakfast & lunch menus, remote meal information and other nutrition information are available on the district’s website athttps://www.smsd.org/about/departments/food-service.
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Section 2: Remote Learning News
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Attention Remote Learners!
Section 3: Hybrid Learning News
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Arriving at IHMS
It is important to note that students who arrive prior to 8:20 a.m. will not be allowed in the building regardless of weather conditions. In addition, students arriving prior to 8:20 a.m. will not be supervised until entering the building at 8:20 a.m.
See the three sections below for specific directions for bus riders, car riders, and bikers/walkers.
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Bus Riders - Main Entrance Loop
Bus riders will arrive at school during staggered times from 8:25 - 8:40 a.m. each day. Each bus will immediately drop students in the front circle drive and then exit. Students will need to ensure they stay socially distant from one another while entering the building.
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Car Riders - Delmar and 63rd Loops
Once again, students dropped at either entrance will not be able to enter the building - and will consequently be unsupervised - until doors open daily at 8:20 a.m.
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Bikers and Walkers - Any Entrance
Once again, bikers and walkers will not be able to enter the building - and will consequently be unsupervised - until doors open daily at 8:20 a.m.
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Finding Your Way to Knight Time
Today, during Knight Time, each teacher specifically indicated to their in person learners how to navigate the building to get to their Knight Time classroom. It's important that we follow the arrival procedures outlined above, but once a student enters the building, they will head directly to their Knight Time classroom (the only exception is to drop off a band/orchestra instrument in the band/orchestra room first).
All in-person families should have received an email from their Knight Time teacher today that indicates - by group - specific instructions for Monday. The brief video below explains how students will access the building on Monday morning to get to
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Know Before You Go!
The following information will be covered with your students during orientation on Monday and Wednesday of next week - plus much more! The videos culled below will be helpful for our entire community to review as we seek to ensure the safety of everyone at IHMS.
Please speak with your students this weekend about the importance of following school masking rules, the importance of proper hand-washing, and the hourly hand-sanitizing procedure (sanitize in and sanitize out) found in the classroom expectations presentation.
Mask Wearing
Stairwell and Hallway Procedure
Restroom Usage
General Health Reminders
Accessing the Nurse
Classroom Expec-tations
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Knight Time Attendance
- If your student checks into Knight Time, they will be marked present for the day.
- If your student does not check into Knight Time, they will be marked absent for the entire day.
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Lunch Procedures at IHMS
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Daily Dismissal from IHMS
- Bus riders will be released 5 minutes prior to the end bell each day (at 3:40 p.m.) by floor.
- Car riders will be dismissed to their respective exits by floor at 3:45 p.m.
- Please see the maps for arrival to review where students will be picked up. 8th graders will be picked up in the 63rd car loop. 7th graders will be picked up in the Delmar car loop.
- Bikers and walkers will be dismissed after bus and car riders. They are able to exit the building through any exit.
Social distancing, hallway rules, etc. will still be in effect during dismissal.
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Hybrid Reminders from last week's news:
School supplies are not going to be shared this year, so do not worry about anything other than your own child in this domain. Here is our school supply list for you to peruse. A couple of additional notes:
- There will be no tissue usage in the classroom, blowing noses, etc.). If your student needs tissues, have them bring a small package.
- A personal water bottle is highly recommended.
- Hand sanitizer will be available in every classroom, but it is encouraged to bring a personal supply of sanitizer as well.
- Headphones or earbuds are close to a necessity this year.
Hallway Lockers:
Check it off of your worry list because hall lockers are not being utilized during the pandemic.
Dressing out for PE and PE Lockers:
Check this one off as well because students will not be asked to dress out on a daily basis and PE lockers will not be issued during the pandemic. Please remember the following:
- Students enrolled in PE or Personal Fitness should remember to wear attire appropriate for exercise on days they are in person.
- Like PE days in elementary school, please make sure you student wears athletic shoes on days they are in person.
- If students do not have appropriate attire on, they may be asked to wear a school-provided t-shirt for that particular day. That t-shirt will be taken off at the end of the hour and remain unused by any other student until it has been thoroughly washed and cleaned.
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Hybrid Attendance Procedures
Attendance is paramount to success at the middle level. Therefore, we want to make sure that we relay a few extremely important details regarding your student's classroom attendance in the hybrid learning model. As you can see below, logging into Knight Time is imperative each day for attendance purposes - especially on remote days!
For students in hybrid group A (A-Lamb) the following applies:
- On Monday/Tuesday, your student will be counted absent or present depending on whether they attend class in person. These are in person learning days.
- On Wednesday/Thursday, your student must login to Knight Time at 8:45 each morning. Your student's attendance for the entire school day is dependent on their check in with their Knight Time teacher each morning. Please relay the importance of this detail to your student.
- On Friday remote-learning days, your student will be counted absent or present depending on whether they attend class remotely each hour.
For students in hybrid group B (Lamc-Z) the following applies:
- On Monday/Tuesday, your student must login to Knight Time at 8:45 each morning. Your student's attendance for the entire school day is dependent on their check in with their Knight Time teacher each morning. Please relay the importance of this detail to your student.
- On Wednesday/Thursday, your student will be counted absent or present depending on whether they attend class in person. These are in person learning days.
- On Friday remote-learning days, your student will be counted absent or present depending on whether they attend class remotely each hour.
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Hybrid Bell Schedule
Option 2 students will follow the remote learning schedule Monday - Friday each week, and they do not need to worry about lunch letter designations. Lunch remains from 11:51-12:16 daily.
All students (option 1 and 2) will follow the remote bell schedule on Fridays while in hybrid learning. Below, you can find the hybrid and remote schedules in PDF format to print and/or copy at your leisure.
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Hybrid Group A: Last Name A-Lamb
The information below is specific to families whose last name begins with the letters A-Lamb:
Every week, Group A students will be attending IN PERSON at Indian Hills on Mondays and Tuesdays. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, your student will be staying home to do VIRTUAL learning. On Fridays, your student will also be staying home, but participating in remote learning.
- Virtual Learning (Wednesdays & Thursdays) =
- WebEx in (required for attendance) during Knight Time at 8:45 a.m.
- Work through Canvas to complete assigned work (no live sessions)
- Remote Learning (Fridays) = WebEx in for live classes every hour (just like your child is doing now)
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Hybrid Group B: Last Name LAMC - Z
The information BELOW will be specific to families whose last name begins with the letters LAMC - Z:
Every week, Group B students will be staying home to do VIRTUAL learning on Mondays and Tuesdays. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, your child will be attending IN PERSON at Indian Hills. On Fridays, your child will also be staying home, but participating in remote learning.
- Virtual Learning (Mondays & Tuesdays) =
- WebEx in (required for attendance) during Knight Time at 8:45 a.m.
- Work through Canvas to complete assigned work (no live sessions)
- Remote Learning (Fridays) = WebEx in for live classes every hour (just like your child is doing now)
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Section 4: Still Relevant
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Eat and Support IHMS!
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Did You Buy Your Yearbook?
This yearbook will truly be a one-of-a-kind keepsake of this school year - through a pandemic - that your child will want to show others throughout their lifetime. We will capture and ask for photos related to school and the lives of our students both within our building and wherever our Knights are learning and living. Payments for yearbook are completed through e-funds linked here. If you have any questions, contact Veronica Rodriguez through our school office phone number (913) 993-0400 or veronicarodriguez@smsd.org.
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Please Pay Your School Fees!
Mandatory Fee Explanation:
Textbook Fee:
Although a physical copy of a textbook is not necessarily standard issue anymore, we do have contracted companies like Pearson, Big Ideas, and more that provide our online textbooks to our students. In addition, each student took home an English Language Arts consumable this year. This fee is mandatory.
Student ID Fee:
All students have a printed ID badge that will be given to them. This fee is mandatory.
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Where Do I Go To See My Actual Grade?
Check Canvas to view your student's grades, assignments, work, etc. It can be the one-stop-shop.
On the back end, because it is our official record keeping system, Skyward will eventually be synced correctly. However, that sync may only happen once per week or so. Therefore, please navigate to Canvas as your first step.
NOTE: There are currently a few scenarios where a teacher may not be able to work solely in Canvas until the beginning of quarter 2. If this is the case, your teacher will reach out to you in the near future.
Section 5: Mainstay News
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20-21 PTA Membership: Please Join Us!
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Library Book Checkouts Available to Students
Students can put physical books on hold through our library site. On the “Books & Stuff” → Destiny Discover page is a video on how to reserve a library book as well as check out our eBooks.
Once students have put a physical book on hold, it will be ready for them to pick up from a cart in the front office.