Dear Families,
We enjoyed another successful week with students, and we are eagerly awaiting the reinitiation of our hybrid learning model next week. We greatly appreciate the patience of our school community as we navigate this transition. I look forward to seeing some students back in person within the coming weeks and am excited to see our NEAT Bar technology back in action so that we can simultaneously and effectively meet the needs of our in-person and remote learners. We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Kindly,
Christine Pfaff, Principal
NEW *Returning to In-Person Learning Need to Knows*
Lunch - During lunch, students will be seated at classroom tables and will be six feet apart. Masks will only be off while a student is eating.
Specials Transition Times - As we return to in-person learning next week, please know that our specials teachers do have to transport the students at school to their next class by walking the group to their next location. This may cause a slight delay in the teacher opening up the Zoom classroom. Please be patient during this brief time frame until the teacher can admit the students to class.
Bus Route Times for In-Person Students - For students who will be attending school in-person and will be taking the bus, routing information will be emailed to parents from the District next week.
Proactive Population Screening Info for Parents of Students Attending In Person - Students learning in-person will need to participate in proactive population screening, providing a saliva sample once per week on a designated schedule.
Please CLICK HERE for information about the collection process, the schedule for the weekday your student's sample will need to be provided, and a saliva sample collection demonstration video.
Approved Snack List - The District has not revised the APPROVED SNACK LIST from the 19-20 school year. The items the list includes are free of the Top 8 allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. This list includes the foods that are approved for students' daily snacks eaten in the classroom.
IMPORTANT: All items for daily snacks– with the exception of fruits and vegetables– MUST be prepackaged to allow staff to easily check that snacks meet the approved requirements.
Hybrid Lunch Procedures - Students will eat in the cafeteria. Social distance seating will be in place. If your child will be in-person next week on Thursday and Friday (January 21st and 22nd), please place your order online, via the LINQ Website, by 6:00pm Tuesday, January 19th. For future weeks, please place your orders by 6:00pm Thursday for the upcoming week.
Arrival/Dismissal Procedures -
*Parent pick-up and walkers will enter and exit Prairie at door #1, the main entrance.
*Drop off by car - please utilize the front circle drive. Please pull up as far as possible. The driver needs to remain in the vehicle and the student will exit the car curbside.
*Bussers will arrive and depart from Kingsbridge Circle Drive.
*As always, there will be ample adult supervision and assistance for students and parents/caregivers.
Attending In Person - Students learning in person will need to participate in proactive population screening, providing a saliva sample once per week on a designated schedule.
Please CLICK HERE for information about the collection process, the schedule for the weekday your student's sample will need to be provided, and a saliva sample collection demonstration video.
PLEASE NOTE: If you send your child to school without their sample on their designated collection day you will be asked to come to school with your child's testing materials to collect the sample from your child before they enter their classroom, or pick your child up to change to remote learning. I encourage you to set reminders and alarms on your phone or whatever means to best support this routine.
NEW *In-Person Learning Protocols (REVISED) - Parents whose hybrid in-person students will be learning in person, please be sure to review the Revised IN-PERSON LEARNING PROTOCOLS for information about health and safety protocols and expectations for families and their students who will be learning in-person in our schools.
NEW *Commitment to Partnership*
We know that some surrounding districts or schools that began their in-person learning plan have had to revert to full remote for a period of time. In many situations, this has been due to positive cases about which families were not truthful with the school or with the health department regarding symptoms and the diagnosis or with those conducting the contact tracing process.
We are confident that the District 96 community will rise to the occasion and partner with us to ensure safety and success. Please think carefully about your commitment to our partnership before sending your kids to school.
NEW *Upcoming Dates & In-Person Learning Report Dates*
January 18th: No School - MLK Day
January 19th: No School - State Allocated Planning Day
January 20th: Virtual learning resumes for all students
January 21st: 1st/2nd Grade students with last names beginning with the letters M-Z who selected the in-person hybrid learning option will begin to report to school.
January 25th: 1st-5th Grade students with last names beginning with the letters A-L who selected the in-person hybrid learning option will begin to report to school
January 28th: 3rd-5th Grade students with last names beginning with the letters M-Z who selected the in-person hybrid learning option will begin to report to school
NEW *Kids Heart Challenge 2021!*
For the past 4 years, our Prairie Pumas have had the opportunity to participate in the “Kids Heart Challenge” (formally known as Jump Rope for Heart) whose focus is on children’s total wellness-including heart as well as social-emotional health. Covid has stopped many things but keeping active and taking care of your health is always important especially now! Please consider signing your child up for the “virtual” KHC this year. The website has tons of activities to keep your child and family active. Raising donations is always optional and much appreciated. To sign up your child on the Prairie KHC website click here.
Thank you for being a Heart Hero,
Mrs. Lehtman & Mr. Nickle
PTO News: Cookie Kits
Looking for a fun Valentine's Day activity to do, the PTO is selling cookie kits from Couture Cakery with a Valentine's day theme. The kits cost $17 and are on sale through January 27th. The kits will be ready for pick up on February 11th and 12th at school. Also, all families who purchase a kit will be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card to the bakery. Head over to MTK for more information and to place your order.
NEW *Classroom/Specials Classes Materials Needed*
Please remember to check the Classroom/Specials Classes Materials Needed document to see which materials your child will need for class. If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate teacher.
NEW *Free Meal Pack Pick-Up*
Free meal pick-up will continue on Mondays and Thursdays at the middle schools, from 11am to 2pm as we begin to transition back to a hybrid learning schedule. However, parents no longer need to pre-order these meals. If you would like to view the menu, you can find it on the district website, labeled as Remote Learning Menu. This menu will no longer appear on the Linq website.
NEW *In-Person Learning Meals*
If your child is returning to in-person learning and you would like to take advantage of school meals, which will also be free, please pre-order only for the days that your child is in-person, NOT for remote learning days. If your child will be in-person next week on Thursday and Friday (January 21st and 22nd), please place your order online, via the Linq website, by 6:00pm Tuesday, January 19th. For future weeks, please place your orders by 6:00pm Thursday for the upcoming week. SEE MORE INFO about the process to create your account and preorder in-person meals.
REPEATING *MAP STUDENT REPORTS FOR GRADES 3-8*
At approximately 3pm today, you will receive a message from Jeanne Spiller, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning with your Winter MAP Reports for your child(ren). Please contact Jeanne at [email protected] if you do not receive a report or if you have any questions.
REPEATING *Pre Register for 2021–22 Kindergarten Beginning Jan. 11*
Preregister incoming 2021–22 kindergartners beginning January 11 and no later than January 31 to receive a free T-shirt for your incoming student. SEE MORE INFO
LINK: https://www.kcsd96.org/wg/preregistration-program-for-kdg-parent
REPEATING *Preordering Free Meals in 2021*
***Preorder by 10 AM on Thursdays***
Pick up preordered meals from 11 AM–2 PM on Mondays (3 breakfast/lunch meal packs) and Thursdays (2 breakfast/lunch meal packs) at either Twin Groves or Woodlawn Middle School.
The first step to preorder is for families to create an account online and add each child receiving meals to the account. Please see this webpage for details and brief instructional videos of the account set-up and pre-ordering process.
Please direct questions to the public information coordinator [email protected].
REPEATING *Tech Hub*
KCSD96 Family Technology Hub! The District 96 Family Technology Hub is designed to guide families through technology tools related to Enhanced Remote Learning. On this site you can find links to the recordings and the corresponding Slides decks for the parent/family informational sessions from last week. You can also find tutorials on how to use ZOOM, Schoology, Seesaw, Clever, Notability, and other iPad essential tools for student learning. Additionally, there is a link to email the technology support desk. Please save or bookmark this site. It will be updated with tools, resources, and tutorials through remote learning to better support your family.