Welcome back to school, and welcome to 2021! We hope that your child had a great first day back yesterday, and for our virtual learners, we hope that the first day back went well also!
There are many in-person updates that need to be communicated to our families at this point in regards to how our middle school will function for second semester.
Lockers
We are going to roll out locker use this Thursday. Our 7th and 8th grade students are practicing their locker combinations today and tomorrow and we will begin locker use Thursday morning. Lockers will only be used for storage. Students will not be able to go to their lockers between each class period, and mingling in the halls around lockers will not be permitted. With winter clothing and crowded classrooms becoming a real issue, we thought the use of lockers made sense at this point and feel we can implement before and after school locker use in a safe way.
Cafeteria Use (Lunch)
On Thursday, we are going to be transitioning our students into the cafeteria (or upper level of the HS gym) for lunch. Students will be split into three lunch periods and will be spaced out 6 feet at each table. Each student will have an assigned lunch table. They will be able to choose where they sit on Thursday/Friday and the seating chart will be implemented on Monday. We will have 2-3 lunch supervisors monitoring the cafeteria during each lunch. Students will not be permitted to get up and walk around during lunch and will need to remain seated during this time. We do plan to roll out open gym passes for gym use during lunch, but will limit how many students are allowed in the gym at any time due to social distancing. Additionally, masks will be required during open gym. We are excited that students will now be able to use the cafeteria, and are confident we have a plan to ensure proper social distancing can occur in this space!
Semester Exams
Due to the complexities with this school year in regards to remote learning, self-contained classrooms etc. we are not going to hvae middle school exams for first semester in-person learners. Next week, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will all be full days of instruction instead of Thurs/Fri being half-days.
NWEA Testing
NWEA testing for reading and math will take place next Thursday and Friday. Please let us know if your child will not be in attendance during one or both of these testing days. Results will be mailed to parents once all students have completed their tests.
Second Semester
Second semester begins on January 19th. We will not be in session on the 18th. Grades will be available by the end of the day on January 20th for Marking Period two and the final semester.
Please let me know if you have any questions on anything. We are so excited to have students back in the building and had a great first day yesterday!