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August 24, 2020
Dear Families,
The start of a new year is filled with excitement and the anticipation of a new beginning. While we know this year includes many other feelings, please know that we are excited to welcome all of our students back, in person or online. While our procedures and locations may be changing we will continue to be a strong community of learners.
The changes for the coming year have caused us to adjust class lists as students registered for their learning choice. To accommodate those choices we will need a few extra days to share teacher assignments. Families should plan on receiving an email on Wednesday, August 26th with their teacher information. We thank you for your patience.
Supporting Your Child’s Social & Emotional Health
Whether your child is returning to school in-person or in a digital format, there will be differences and changes. Differences might be new ways of doing things, new teachers and classmates, and a new look to the spaces where we learn. Other differences may be social and emotional. As we navigate the days and weeks ahead, your child’s teacher and school team are focused on supporting your child. We are all experiencing the same event, but how this impacts us as individuals varies and our support will help each individual with the tools needed to manage their experience. More information is linked on this document.
In-Person Supplies
As of last week, our in-person and virtual supply lists have been updated. We ask that all students bring a refillable water bottle each day as we will not be able to use the drinking fountains. Additional water bottle filling stations have been installed and students will be able to fill their bottles as needed. We ask that students only bring water to drink during the school day.
Students are also asked to bring a large bath or beach towel to keep at school each week. This will give students a chance to work in different environments (carpet, outside) and serve as a visual reminder to social distance. Students will be asked to take the towel home each week for washing.
Face Coverings Are Required
All students and staff are required to wear a face covering inside Greendale’s school buildings. Acceptable types of face coverings include cloth masks, bandanas, and gaiters. Information on the importance of face coverings, how to wear and keep them clean is shared in this video prepared by our school nurse. A slideshow about face coverings is also provided.
Digital “Meet Your Teacher” on Tuesday, September 1
All students will attend school virtually on Tuesday, September 1. In the past we have held a “Meet the Teacher Night” in which students and families could meet their new teacher, see the classroom, and walk through the building. This year, due to our safety precautions, we are unable to hold an in-person “Meet Your Teacher”. To welcome their students and meet them without wearing face coverings, our teachers will be meeting digitally with their classes on Tuesday, September 1. Your students’ teacher will be contacting you, via email, this week after class lists are shared with more information.
On Tuesday, September 1, all students will log onto their devices for a full class “Morning Meeting.” Students will be able to introduce themselves to the other students in class and participate in community building. We will stagger the start times of the Morning Meetings to help families with students in multiple grades as they login:
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5K = 8:45 a.m.
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1st Grade = 8:50 a.m.
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2nd Grade = 8:55 a.m.
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3rd Grade = 9:00 a.m.
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4th Grade = 9:05 a.m.
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5th Grade = 9:10 a.m.
After the Morning Meeting, students and their families will have an opportunity to meet with their teacher in scheduled 10-minute meetings. This will allow students and families to meet their teacher before the first day of in-person learning. Teachers will send a Sign-Up Genius to families once class lists are sent out. If your family is unable to meet with your child’s teacher during the available times, please contact him/her about how to get the necessary information. Please note, teachers are available for meetings during our regularly scheduled school hours.
There is NO SCHOOL for elementary students on Wednesday, September 2. Wednesday child care for families previously signed up is available that day.
Student Bus Routes
Bus routes for the school year are now available for you to view in PowerSchool. Please note that while it is highly unlikely, there may be some adjustments to routes once our First Student bus drivers perform their "dry run" later this week. If stop times change significantly after driver feedback, the District will directly notify the affected families.
Specials Instruction Begins Wednesday, September 9
All students will attend specials in Music, Art, and Spanish from home or through onsite child care in a digital learning environment on Wednesdays. This instruction begins on September 9. There will be both live instruction (synchronous) and pre-recorded instruction (asynchronous). Students enrolled in Wednesday child care should bring their Art, Music, and Spanish supplies to school in a small plastic tub with their name on it. This will allow students access to their necessary supplies on Wednesdays. Supplies for students enrolled in the District’s Wednesday child care will be stored at school.
Digital Learning Information
Families who signed up for digital learning will also be receiving information regarding their teacher on Wednesday. Technology distribution for students entering grades K-2, and for students new to our district will be taking place on Thursday, August 27 and/or August 28.
Teachers will be setting up times for parent/guardian orientation prior to the start of the school year. There will be time to meet with students on Tuesday September 1st. Wednesday will be a day for Specials instruction along with students’ in-person peers.
Remote learning will take place in “real time” this school year. Students are expected to be online and ready to learn each day at 8:45 a.m. Lessons will be live and interactive, followed by independent work time and opportunities to conference with teachers or work in small groups. Students will have two movement breaks each day along with a 45-minute lunch break. The school day will end at 3:30 p.m. each day.
Supplies for students enrolled in the digital learning option can be found on this document: Digital Learning Supplies.
Parents/Guardians who have questions regarding digital learning may contact College Park Principal, Kerry Owens, at kerry.owens@greendaleschools.org. Ms. Owens is the contact person for all elementary school digital learning students.
Bridge for Kids/Wednesday Child Care
The Greendale Park and Recreation Department has been working diligently to put together the Bridge for Kids/Wednesday Digital Day child care for the 2020-2021 school year. We are adding Wednesday Digital Day child care for $20.00 per week. This service will operate on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. These child care opportunities are only available to students enrolled in in-person learning through Greendale Schools.
If needed, please review the following information:
If your family is planning to use care in September, the registration form and September calendar, MUST be completed and dropped off, with payment, to the Park and Recreation Department (5647 Broad Street, Greendale, WI 53129) by August 25, 2020. This information was also emailed to families on August 14. Checks should be made payable to “Greendale School District.” Registrations are accepted during normal office hours of Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Child care is NOT guaranteed for September if registrations are received after August 25.
Complete information packets will be mailed on August 28 to the homes of families from whom we have received the completed registration form and fees ($35.00 or $65.00 registration fee and payment for the September care, if needed).
Lunch and Digital Learning
In addition to school lunch service in each of our five school cafeterias, Greendale Schools' Food Service will offer lunch service, in a drive-thru manner, for Elementary Students enrolled in digital learning, and Middle and High School students on their Digital Learning days during the fall term. Meals will be served from the circle drive at Greendale High School. This will be a PAID service. Regular prices will apply. Free/reduced menu prices will apply for families qualifying for the free and reduced meal program. The lunch menu is shared here.
Technology Devices
The district’s Technology Director sent out a message on Friday afternoon regarding device pick up for students in Kindergarten through Third Grade. If you haven’t already signed up for a time to pick up your child(ren)’s devices this Thursday and Friday, August 27 and 28, please do so as soon as possible. The Signup Genius is linked here.
Families new to the district (with students in ALL Grades) should also sign up to pick up student devices using the Signup Genius form. All Greendale Schools students have a device assigned to them for their use. Kindergarten through second graders use iPads and third through fifth graders use Chromebooks.
School Pictures
We have scheduled school pictures for later this school year. We will let parents know when the date is set. All students, whether they are attending virtually or in-person, will have an opportunity to have their picture taken and be included in the Highland View yearbook. All pictures will be ordered online this year; and we will share the process prior to pictures being taken.
Become a Part of Our Highland View/Time 4 Learning PTO!
The Highland View PTO is an important partner in our school. This organization helps in so many ways and does so with the support of our families. Joining the PTO is so easy! The first PTO meeting of the school year will be Monday, September 14 at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom or Google Meet. More information will be forthcoming prior to the meeting. For more information about our PTO, please click here!
Student Health & Wellness Information & Reminders from Greendale Schools
Greendale Schools has outlined mitigation measures the schools will take for the health and safety of students and staff. These measures are included in the document sent by Mrs. Amidzich on July 31. Here is a reminder of the statements families agreed to comply with for each of the safety measures in place:
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My student will be monitored at home daily for symptoms of COVID-19 which include: fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea.
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I will not send my student on the bus or to school if symptoms of COVID-19 are experienced.
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I will follow the health department quarantine and isolation procedures when exposed to or diagnosed with COVID-19.
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I must pick-up my student within 30 minutes if my student experiences COVID-19 symptoms while at school.
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I understand my child will be expected to wear a face covering while at school and on the bus unless eating, drinking or engaging in physical activity, unless medical documentation is submitted to the District Nurse.
Daily symptom screenings for students will take place at school. Families should NOT administer fever reducing medication or other symptom reducing medications to their students before sending them to school. If your student is not feeling well, he/she should not attend school. Students who show symptoms of COVID-19 will be sent home.
More information on symptoms, screenings, and a student’s return to school following an illness is shared on this Returning to School after COVID-19 Document and the When Can I Return to School Chart. Information on how students will be cared for if they have symptoms at school is shared on the COVID-19 Symptom FlowChart.
Families have asked how they will find out about COVID-19 cases in school. Health records are confidential student information. When a student or staff member has a positive test result, the Greendale Health Department is informed and, working with the Greendale Schools District Nurse, takes the lead on contact tracing with support from the school district. Families who reside outside of Greendale should inform their local health department that the children in their family attend school in our district. The families’ local health department will then make contact with Greendale's to proceed with contact tracing.
All guidance shared here is based on the best current evidence and is designed to produce the safest school reopening for our community. Just as our COVID-19 knowledge and evidence base continues to evolve, so will guidance about how to safely maintain school operations. The Reopening Greendale Schools webpage will be updated frequently with new information as it is available.
Reporting a Student Absence
Students absences should be reported using the same process as in past years. Parents or guardians should call the school office attendance line and report when and why their child will be out of school. You will be asked to report if your child has symptoms of COVID-19. Our District Nurse will monitor daily attendance of students and staff related to COVID-19 symptoms. This data will be an important part of the district’s criteria to move learning delivery. If your student is attending school virtually, all absences should still be reported to Highland View, as virtual attendance will be taken each day.
Criteria to Move Learning Delivery
The ReOpening Greendale Schools Team is considering factors including case(s) in the school population, staffing, trends in the community, and contact tracing in making decisions regarding intermittent cohort, classroom, grade level, or a full school moving to digital learning. Decisions will be made by analyzing the factors in our specific school community and using this information to help mitigate spread of COVID-19 and with guidance from the Greendale Health Department. The health department is not advising rigid counts and percentages for automatic decisions. There are a limited number of situations in which a whole school or the whole district would transition to digital learning, and those parameters will be posted weekly.
Student Immunizations
Please see the 2020-2021 All Student Immunization Letter from Greendale School District Nurse, Kelley Kraniger, RN, BSN.
Over the Counter Medications - NEW for 2020-2021
We strongly discourage the use of medications that can mask any COVID-19 related symptoms. Cough medicine and cough drops will not be administered by Health Room staff. If your child has a sore throat and/or cough, or upset stomach they should remain home in accordance with DPI/CDC guidelines. All over-the-counter or as needed medications will require a physician’s signature and reason for needing that medication. If your student is not feeling well, they should remain home.
MultiAge Classrooms
Both virtual and in-person multi-age classrooms throughout the District will be led by teachers with experience in the grade levels. Multi-age classrooms are an increasingly common practice in supporting students as they reach grade level standards and expectations. Because we teach to standards and do not depend solely on a textbook to cover our curriculum, students are able to progress at their own pace. Teachers “coach in” to support when additional help for a concept is needed and encourage students to continue to grow when standards are met quickly.
Placement in multi-age classrooms is not based on student ability. Oftentimes, it is assumed that higher achieving students in lower grades, and struggling students in the upper grade are placed together. This is not accurate. As this is a new structure for College Park, we looked for students who are capable of working well with others, are able to complete tasks independently or in small groups, and who have positive attitudes toward learning. With in-person class sizes of 15, we will be able to easily meet the standards of both grade levels by providing instruction on general learning concepts, then differentiating to meet the needs of all learners in the class. This is the same structure used in our single grade learning classrooms.
Toward the end of the week, I will also share the Highland View plan for arrival and dismissal, as well as our arrival procedure for our first day of in-person learning on Thursday, September 3. The district will have more information on various reopening topics to share as soon as they are known and available. Please continue to reach out with any questions you have. We appreciate everyone’s patience, flexibility, and kindness as we navigate this extraordinary time together.
Respectfully,
Tracy Flater, Principal
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