Dear Pine Ridge Prep Families,

The month of February has been flying by! It is hard to believe that next week is Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences. You should have received information from your child's teacher about scheduling a conference. If you have not, please reach out! It is the expectation that we meet with 100% of our families and we are so excited to share your child's progress with you! You will receive a reminder about your conference time with all the Zoom information included.

Please ensure you are sending your student to school dressed warm and prepared to go outside for our outside times. Per district policy, we go outside if the windchill is 20 degrees or above, even if only for a few minutes to get some fresh air!

We are very quickly running out of extra student masks. We simply can not keep up with the number of students that are coming without them daily. We are at the point of asking those regularly coming without a mask to leave with your student and come back with one. Please ensure your children are coming to school with masks each day. It is a good idea to send a spare mask as well. We appreciate your support in ensuring students come to school prepared to learn and masks are essential to a safe learning environment.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to us!

Thank you for the privilege of serving you ~

Mrs. Gabrielle Tanner, Principal

Mrs. Shelley Banzhaf, Building Leader Intern

• February 14 - Valentine's Day
  
• February 16 - Virtual Parent/Teacher Conferences @ 4:00-8:00
• February 17 - NO SCHOOL! Virtual Parent/Teacher Conferences @ 8:00-8:00; Random Acts of Kindness Day!
• February 18 - NO SCHOOL!
• February 21 - President's Day - NO SCHOOL!
• February 21-25 - National Public Schools Week
• February 24 - Conscious Discipline @ 4:15-5:15
• February 26 - National Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on February 14. Students are welcome to send Valentines for their classmates. Any candy that comes with their Valentines is okay to send, knowing we will send it home in backpacks to be consumed at home. Other treats, such as cupcakes or cookies to be consumed at school, are not able to be brought in due to Head Start regulations.

Check out the February Health and Fitness Tip here!

Topeka Public School District uses a wide variety of communication tools to engage its families. You can get more information here.

As we continue to respond to the community spread, if your student has tested positive for COVID-19 or had a COVID exposure, please complete the TPS COVID-19 Self Reporting form located on our website, and a district health official will contact you within 24 hours. Your child should not return to school until given guidance from school health officials.

Due to the volume of exposure in our county, all COVID student exposures being reported to Topeka Public Schools are to be reported online by going to TopekaPublicSchools.net. This process will allow us to address the current parent COVID needs and allow nurses to carry out their regular school duties and meet daily student needs. Please click on the link labeled Reporting a COVID-19 Exposure, which is on our main web page. Based on the information parents provide, an emailed response will be given informing you of the date your child can return to school and your child's school principal and nurse will be notified.

If you do not have the internet and need to report your exposure through this call, please provide your name, phone number, email address (if you have one), your child's name, birthdate and the date of the COVID-19 positive exposure. If you have school-related questions regarding a COVID-19 exposure, please leave a message and a health professional will return your call within 2 business days. Messages are only checked once every afternoon as our nurses are focused on patients for the majority of the day.

Families are asked to complete the self-reporting form for any COVID exposure. If a parent does not have internet access, they can call the COVID-19 reporting line at 785-438-HELP (785-438-4357) to report a COVID exposure. Schools will redirect families to the form on our web page or to the number to call.

Student dismissal is from 4:00-4:15 each day. Students must be picked up by this time. Continued patterns of late pick-up will be addressed by school administration.

Attendance Policy

*As established by SCDC Head Start Policy Council and based upon Topeka Public Schools rules and regulations.

1. The Topeka Board of Education believes that attendance at school is a key factor in student achievement and success. Students are expected to regularly attend school, participate, and learn.

2. If your child is ill, has an appointment, or other reason that will constitute an excused absence, you must call into the office between 8:00-9:00a.m. Advanced notice is appreciated.

3. A phone call attempt will be made on any child that does not arrive at school by 10:00am and 11:00am on late start Friday.

4. Head Start performance standards require children to be in attendance at a minimum of 90% of the time. Students who drop below 90% attendance will be placed on an attendance plan to improve student attendance. Any child who has been absent for 10 consecutive days, or 15 cumulative days, risks being dropped from the program and placed on the waitlist.

5. After 2 days of unexcused absences, staff will conduct a home visit or make other direct contact with the child's family, determining what assistance is needed to remedy the problem.

6. Tardies are cumulative and can affect attendance just like absences do. Students must arrive at school on time each day. Excessive tardies may result in the family being placed on an attendance plan.

7. Although Kansas law does not require students to be in school prior to the age of 7, ANY child enrolled in public school does fall into the state truancy policies. Truancy reports may be made to the district truancy officer for any student with excessive absences and/or tardies.

FCC has announced a permanent AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM that will provide eligible families, who apply, a credit of up to $30 per month to cover the cost of Broadband services with various providers, including Cox. Eligible families include those who qualify for free and reduced lunch, SNAP, WIC or those with an income level at or below 200% of the federal poverty guideline for family size. Click one of the next links for information from Cox in either ENGLISH or SPANISH.

The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education voted on August 5th to follow the CDC Universal masking guidelines to start the school year. This means that masks will be required indoors for all staff, students, and visitors regardless of vaccination status. Masks will not be required during outside times. Please be sure you send your student to school with a clean face mask each day. This is part of their required dress code and we appreciate your assistance with ensuring we are providing a safe environment for our students! We will also be continuing with frequent handwashing/sanitation, disinfection protocols, and maintaining a social distance of 3 feet. Follow this link to view the entire "TPS Safe to Return to School Plan".

You can find the 2021-2022 Academic Calendar HERE.

Did you know that you can check out a WiFi Hotspot from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library for FREE? Get more information here.

This updated document provides a list of food pantries and food resources available in English and in Spanish.

The Nest, Pine Ridge Prep's food and clothing bank, is up and running! Ms. Heather is available to assist families with needs. You can reach her at 785-329-7876.

You can find the link to the 2021 Community Resources Council Resource Directory here. This directory provides contact information for a variety of community resources.