Attea Flyers
School Newsletter for Parents
For the week of September 21
Hello, Attea families.
We hope last week's Curriculum Night was enjoyable and informative for you. Thank you for viewing the presentations and for sharing so many compliments and kind remarks about the staff.
The Transition to Hybrid: With the official news about the transition to a Hybrid mode, this week has been focused on preparations for starting to see students regularly next week. Thus, this newsletter focuses on various aspects of what Hybrid will look like. We may not cover everything below, but please continue sharing questions and suggestions and we will continue working to answer them.
Our goal, as always, is to offer the best possible learning and growth experiences for all of our students. We appreciate your encouragement, patience, and support as we navigate this unusual time for schools.
Have a great week. Go Flyers!!
Preparation and Plans for Hybrid at Attea
As you may imagine, quite a lot of new processes and procedures have been created in order to promote the health and safety of students and staff, while at the same time trying to adhere to more typical school operations. The information below intended to provide a general "picture" of what school will look like in the hybrid mode. Of course, there may be things we need to change or new procedures we need to develop as needs or questions arise.
Assigned Hybrid Days and Bus Transportation
Families have been sent communication with some key pieces of information:
- Assigned days for in-person instruction (Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday)
- Bus drop-off and pick-up times for students who students who take the bus
Drop-off and Pick-up Procedures
- Buses will continue to use the east parking lot.
- Parent drop-off and pick-up will be near the main entrance.
**The map below shows the traffic flow and drop-off/pick-up points.
Student Entry: Self-assessment Verification and Scanning In
As shown in the map below, scanning stations have been set-up in the east bus entrance and the main entrance. In order to maximize safety, the following steps will be followed:
- The Self Assessment - before coming to school parents/guardians must fill out the Self Assessment for their child. The link can be found by logging into a parent's PowerSchool account. The Self Assessment must be done each day a student will be coming to in person learning and must in the morning. Self Assessments done the night before will not register in the following morning. (More information about the District's health and safety protocols can be found here.)
Students should have a mask on during their entire bus ride, when on school grounds after walking or riding a bike to school, or when exiting a parent's vehicle from drop-off. (Please note that masks with vents, gators and plastic shields without a mask are not permitted.)
Stickers and dots have been placed on the pavement 6 feet apart for students to line up.
Students will use their ID or their iPad to scan in and certify that submitted their Self Assessment has been submitted.
Students who "pass" the Assessment (scan will indicate in green) go directly to their first class.
Students without a Self Assessment submitted will be directed to a different location for assistance.
Students whose scan shows up red will be brought to the infirmary (not the nurse's office) to be picked up by a parent/guardian.
A How To Guide for completing the Self Assessment can be found here.
Movement On Stairs and In Hallway
In order to promote efficient yet distanced movement in the building, tape has been placed on floors and near stairs to provide directional and distancing guidance to students.
Signage throughout the building will help remind students about expectations and safe practices.
Students have been taught to:
Walk 6 feet apart
Walk on right side of the hallway
When walking up or down stairs, only hold railing if necessary
How Will Students Have Their Different Classes?
- Classroom Cohorts: students have been scheduled in cohorts based on their math class, and, for the most part, they’ll remain in the same classroom with these students throughout the day. This helps limit the number of contacts that each student will have each day. We expect class sizes to range from 10-15 students.
- Teachers Rotate: rather than students moving from class to class as typically happens, teachers will be rotating classrooms to minimize student movement in the building. There will be some exceptions to this to accommodate students in different math, ELA, or Global Language classes, and to ensure that class sizes are small enough to allow for social distancing, though these situations are the exception.
- Fine Arts and Global Languages: instruction will also take place in the cohort classrooms.
- PE: Students will continue to have daily PE. We expect that PE classes will begin in classrooms. Locker rooms will not be used and students will not be changing clothes for gym since there is no way to ensure a sufficient distance between students in this space. PE teachers will be scheduling some of the lesson time to take place either outside or in the gyms. Students will be able to use some equipment, though the equipment will stay with the student the entire class (weights, resistance bands, etc.) and be disinfected between each class. Students will not use equipment, like balls, bats or Frisbees that students throw or exchange to each other. Students at home will be given a corresponding PE activity or learning task to complete independently.
School Supplies
- Students will not be using lockers. Instead, students will be able to keep their backpacks with them for all of their basic school materials.
- Classrooms have hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, but students should probably have their own supply of hand sanitizer as well as facial tissue.
- Students should be sure to bring their iPad charging block and charging cable to school on their in-person days.
- Students should bring their headphones to school on their in-person days.
- Since students cannot share supplies, so they should come prepared with basic supplies (pens, pencils, notebook paper, folders, etc.)
Breaks
There will be breaks during the day, and the specific nature of the breaks will depend on what the classroom teachers decide to do. Breaks may be inside the classroom or staff may take students outside the building.
Lunch
- Students will still have the option to either bring their lunch from home or get lunch at school.
- For students who will get their lunch at school, they’ll have several lunches to choose from each morning.
- Students will place their orders with the teacher for their first class of the day, and their teacher will submit these orders in PowerSchool.
Students will remain in their cohort classroom for lunch.
Each student will be provided with a plastic divider for their desk so they can remove their masks and eat safely.
- When it’s time for lunch, our cafeteria staff will bring lunches on carts, along with an ID scanner. Students can use their ID or the ID bar code on their iPad in order to purchase lunch.
- Lunches will be in bags, and they will include plastic ware and napkins that can all be thrown away when students are done.
- There will be more than enough lunches to accommodate each student’s choice.
- Students will be released from classrooms in small groups in order to prevent large groups of students from congregating in the hallway.
- A la carte ordering will not be an option while we’re in hybrid.
Bathrooms
- To help ensure that students maintain a safe distance from each other in the bathrooms, our plan right now is to allow only one student in the bathroom at a time.
- When a student leaves their classroom, her/his teacher will provide a color-coded sticky note corresponding to an assigned bathroom. Students will place the sticky note on the front door of the bathroom so signify that the bathroom is in use.
- When they leave the bathroom, they’ll take the sticky note with them and throw it away when they re-enter the classroom. If a student goes to the bathroom and sees a sticky note on the door already, they’ll wait 6 feet from the door until the student inside is finished.
Drinking Fountains
- Students need to bring their own water bottle from home.
- There are contactless water stations on each floor of the building.
- Standard push-bar drinking fountains will not be available.
Cleaning and Sanitizing Practices
As has been shared by the District, the custodial crew will be thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing the school each evening and will provide ongoing touch-up cleaning and sanitizing throughout the day. Students and staff will work together to adhere to safe practices during the day and to help maintain the safety and cleanliness of the school by following some basic practices.All classrooms and offices have been equipped with hand sanitizer bottles and a bin of disinfecting wipes.
Students will be reminded and encouraged to use sanitizer upon entering a classroom or office.
Desks in classrooms have been spaced to provide 6 or more feet of distance between students.
Students will be assigned to a desk and will be reminded to wipe down their desk at the start of a new class and before/after any transition periods.
Will Academic Expectations of Students Change?
As a staff we have committed to maintaining our "during the school day" focus in regards to class work emphasis for at least the first couple of weeks after Hybrid begins. We want to monitor how students are doing socially, emotionally, and academically through our weekly check-in process as well as through anecdotal reports from teachers. We will then discuss as a staff the needs of the students in terms of the District's curricular goals and objectives in the different subject areas.
Attendance Procedures Reminder
With the start of more regular in-person learning at school, it is useful to share the school's general attendance guidelines and procedures.
Regular Attendance and Absence Reporting
Teachers mark an “A”(Absent) for each student who is not present in their virtual or physical classroom for an assigned period. In person attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class period. However, teachers may take attendance at various times during a Zoom session. If a student is having connection issues an “N”(Note) with a description may be placed for the class period, if the teacher has been made aware of the issue.
The attendance marking in the HR (Homeroom) field signifies the daily attendance code. If the field is blank the student was present for the required number of hours for a full day. Markings that you may see in the HR field include:
FT= scanned in for in person learning day
A= full day absence
H=½ day am absent
P=½ day pm absent
N=late arrival, early dismissal or appointment that does not constitute full or half day absence.
If there is a concern about a class attendance marking, students are encouraged to contact that class period’s teacher. If there is a concern about the homeroom field marking please call the attendance line, (847) 486-7712 or use the Contact the Office link on the Attea website.
Late Arrival
The school day officially starts at 8:15am. Students who arrive late need to sign in at the main office. A student’s tardy to school is regarded as “excused” if a medical appointment or a family emergency was the cause of the late arrival. Students who are late for other reasons that are otherwise within their control are regarded as “unexcused,” and we will help students monitor their tardies to school to help them cultivate good time management habits. And since students arriving late to school require special office attention and whose late arrival to class can disrupt the flow of classroom activities, there is a trimester limit (5) to the number unexcused tardies. After signing in, the late arriving student will be issued a pass to class.
Early Dismissal
If parents need to pick up their child before the end of the school day, please send her/him to school with an explanatory note. Be sure to include the time you will be at school to pick-up your child. Instruct her/him to bring the note to the Main Office upon arrival at school. A staff member will issue an Early Dismissal Pass, which she/he will present to the teacher whose class she/he will be leaving. At the designated time, the student will pack up her/his belongings and wait for her/his parent in the Main Office. A parent or parent-authorized person indicated on the note must come to the office to sign out the student. Students are not permitted to wait outside.
Students are required to have a note even if they will be leaving during passing period or lunch. They should present the Early Dismissal Pass to their next teacher so their whereabouts will be known.
On rare occasions, if a student needs to leave early for an issue that has come up after the child has left for school, parents should call the Main Office to request an Early Dismissal Pass be sent to their student in class. These requests should be made as early as possible and will be only taken until 2:45pm.
As a rule, office staff does not call into rooms to give students messages so as to avoid interrupting instruction. Parents' adherence to the Early Dismissal Pass procedure will help ensure prompt and efficient departure from school.
Attea Middle School
Email: attea.website@glenview34.org
Website: https://at.glenview34.org/
Location: 2500 Chestnut Avenue, Glenview, IL, USA
Phone: 847-486-7700