Principal's Corner
Bartley Elementary 8/5/2020
All updates to our Return to Learn Plan will be bolded throughout this newsletter
August - Back To School
I hope that you have been able to relax and enjoy this summer. I know that it has been a crazy ride since last March but it is that time of year to start talking about back to school!!! Our district has been working hard all summer to come up with a plan of return that is safe for students as well as teachers.
I am really going to focus on two key words this school year - patience and grace. It is going to be a year of many unknowns and changes. Be mindful of how you speak about back to school to your kids at home. Your amazing example at home makes such a difference at school!!
I am excited to see students back in our building even though it is going to look different this year. We know that there has been a lot of time outside of the classroom and we are going to do everything we can to get all students where they need to be.
Arrival
Doors open at Bartley Elementary at 7:55. We are asking that parents not drop off, or allow their students to walk to school prior to this time. As there is no way for students to social distance standing in lines in front of the building prior to the doors opening. Please use the circle drive to drop off your student(s). The circle drive is shown on the map of the parking lot below. Also note on the map, the X. This is where you will need to park if you are planning on walking your student up to the front doors or waiting until the doors open. Unfortunately, at this point, we are not permitted to have parents walking their students to class. As soon as this restriction is lifted we will allow this to take place again, as Bartley has worked to be very open for our families.
Buses will no longer all dismiss at once for students to enter the building in the morning. They will be called on the radio and directed when to dismiss their students from the bus into the building one at a time to avoid big crowds of students.
When students (and staff) enter the building, thermal cameras will automatically scan their temperature. Any temperature above 100.4 will send a notification to the office to have that individual assessed for symptoms of Covid-19.
Students will report immediately to their classroom. Students who take part in the free breakfast program will no longer go to the designated areas to pick up their breakfast, it will be available for pickup outside of their classrooms.
Staff members will be expected to wear a mask or face covering in any instance where social distance cannot be maintained including arrival and dismissal time.
Dismissal
Bartley begins dismissing car-riders and walkers at 3:20. Bus riders will stay in their classrooms until their bus arrives.
Kindergarten car riders will stay in the Art/Music room.
1st-3rd Grade car riders will stay in the library in designated sections.
4th - 5th Grade car riders will stay in the gym in designated sections.
If a 4th or 5th Grade student has a younger sibling(s), that younger sibling will go to the gym and the sibling group will sit together in the middle of the gym 6 feet apart from the other students.
A staff member outside will radio in the name of the student being picked up in the circle drive. Each parent will be given a hanging tag that they will keep in their car so our staff member can easily see who they are picking up. We will no longer have car riders waiting outside because we are trying not to mix grade levels.
The office will make an announcement for each bus that arrives at Bartley. When a student’s bus arrives they will walk down the hallway and walk out the Bac Pac doors to meet Mrs. Fisher and Mrs. Quick to walk to their bus.
Students in Bac-Pac will be dismissed by the office to the Bac-Pac area.
Walkers will be dismissed by the office.
Please refer to the map below to view the procedure Bartley will be following for dismissal.
Staff members will be expected to wear a mask or face covering in any instance where social distance cannot be maintained including arrival and dismissal time.
Masks - Updated 8/14/2020
Requirement of Mask/Face Covering
Mask/face covering will be provided and expected for students in grades 3-12 when social distance cannot be maintained. In grades PreK - 2 mask/face covering will continue to be strongly encouraged when a social distance cannot be maintained.
All staff are still required to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible. According to the CDC, acceptable face coverings include masks, gaiters, and bandanas - it MUST cover the nose and mouth. FPS will provide each student with 3 cloth masks and will have disposable masks available. A face shield is an extra precaution. It is not a face covering per CDC guidelines.
Teachers will ensure that face covering breaks can happen throughout the day. Students will be able to take face covering breaks as needed throughout the day. During recess, face coverings may be removed with social distancing.
When a student doesn’t have on a mask/face covering that should be wearing one, staff will ask them to put on the mask/face covering. If the student continues to refuse, an administrator will be notified. If the student continues to refuse for the administrator, a parent will be contacted. If the student continues to refuse for the parent, the student will be sent home.
Sanitation Schedule
Custodians will have a schedule where each bathroom is shut down and sanitized during the day. Classrooms and work spaces will be sanitized every evening/morning by the custodial staff.
During school hours, custodians will thoroughly clean high touch surfaces throughout the building on an ongoing rotation throughout the day, including bathrooms, water bottle fill stations, doorknobs, entrance/exit handles, handrails, walls, etc.
Teachers will sanitize surfaces when their class will be out of the room for a minimum of fifteen minutes.
Hand washing/Sanitizer Schedule
Classroom
Cleaning materials and hand sanitizer will be placed in every classroom. Staff will be expected to support cleaning and disinfecting of classroom surfaces and supplies as needed.
Assigned seats (with required seating charts) will be implemented in classrooms. As we know there is limited space in classrooms, these seating charts will be made to provide the best social distancing possible in that space. In spaces where social distancing cannot take place, Plexiglas shields are being installed.
The practice of students sharing supplies such as scissors, crayons, markers, pencils, etc. will no longer be permitted.
Non-essential furniture and other soft surfaces such as carpets and seating will be removed for sanitation purposes.
Classroom libraries and stations will be altered for sanitation times between student use.
Specials
Physical Education
Students will go to the gym for physical education. Coach Braun has worked it into her schedule to have sanitation time for PE equipment between classes.Face coverings will be worn unless social distancing can be maintained or strenuous activity is taking place. Classes will take place outside as much as possible.
Music
Mrs. Sayler will be rotating music classes between the students’ classrooms and the music room so that no grade level meets back-to-back in the music room. Music equipment will be sanitized between uses. Singing will only be permitted when face masks and social distancing are possible when in the building. Singing will be permitted without a mask outside of the building with distancing.
Art
Mrs. Azdell will be rotating art classes between the students’ classrooms and the art room so that no grade level meets back-to-back in the art room. Art equipment will be sanitized between uses.
Library
Classes will go to the library during their scheduled library time. Due to the space in the library, classes will be able to utilize different parts of the library with sanitation time in between classes. Mrs. Vaughn will have a system in place to ensure that books are sanitized before being returned to the shelf for another student to access.
Special Education Services
Interventionist
Lunch
Recess
Visitors
In order to minimize the exposure of all students and staff to others outside of their assigned small groups, non-essential visitors and parents will not be permitted beyond the secure vestibules or entrances at school buildings. Due to these restrictions, traditional Family Involvment events will not be held at schools this fall.
Any essential visitors who do enter the building will be required to enter through the main entrance, provided with a mask while in the building, scanned by the thermal temperature cameras, and will be tracked in a visitor log to include symptom screening questions, date and time of visit, where in the building they travel to, and which, if any, students or staff they have contact with.
Building Notes
We are working to limit student movement in the building, as well as avoiding limiting student to student contact outside of their grade levels. Students will be in contact with other students in their grade level.
Until further notice, Bartley will not be able to have in-person assemblies or family nights.
As per the FPS Return to Learn plan, students in grade 3rd-5th are expected to wear masks where social distance cannot be maintained.
Hand washing stations with soap and/or hand sanitizer will be available in classrooms, commonly used areas, and at the entrances and exits of all buildings.
Drinking fountains with refillable water bottle stations have been installed to be used for individual drinking containers such as cups or bottles. Students will not be able to drink directly from the fountain. It is encouraged for a student to bring their own bottle with their name on it that they can refill at this station.
Students or staff who display symptoms of COVID-19 while at school will be moved to a designated area within the school building to minimize contact with others until they go home.
Open House
The Kindergarten teachers will be having a supply drop off on Monday, August 24th from 4-6pm. This will be a chance for Kindergarten students and parents to drive up (stay in your vehicle), drop off supplies, and see your teacher.
First Day of School Notes
Due to Open House being cancelled, and visitors not being permitted in the building, we will have extra staff on hand to assist students coming in the building the first day, and to guide them to their classrooms.
During arrival and dismissal, staff will pass out hanging tags to vehicles for future use. Please use a marker to write your student(s) name in large print to speed up the process in the future.
Protocol for Possible Exposure
Return to School
The County Health Department and District Administration will determine if and when any groups within the building or district need to quarantine.
The return to school guidelines below will be used to allow for a student/staff member’s re-admittance to school in the ABSENCE of a diagnosis related to COVID-19 such as allergies, strep throat, ear infection, pink eye, etc.
Return to school guidelines if a student or staff member subsequently has a positive COVID-19 test or is diagnosed as presumptive COVID-19 positive by their provider. FPS will follow the CDC and MDOHSS guidelines for return to school, which are as follows:
Bartley Elementary
Email: tquick@fulton58.org
Website: http://www.fulton58.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/Bartley%20Elementary
Location: BUS Hwy 54 S
Phone: 573-590-8300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bartleyelem/
Twitter: @bartleyelem