Dear Parents,

There are not enough words to express how grateful we are to be back in a face-to-face environment and we are looking forward to seeing our students on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.  As we enter the 2020-2021 school year, we face unchartered territory and are committed to do the best we can to provide a safe learning environment for our staff and students. 

Please be aware that information and guidelines for COVID-19 change frequently, so be aware that this is a working document that will periodically be updated.  The school district has provided overall guidance to all schools, and the Centerville Leadership Team used those guidelines to create the safest environment possible as we restart school this year. We have taken into consideration the layout of the school building, classrooms, and other areas to create our plan.

Establishing these guidelines and procedures are to ensure the safety of all students and staff.  Please be aware that these guidelines will be followed and enforced and we ask you to be understanding as many procedures have changed to ensure everyone’s safety.

Our goal is for you to be informed and feel comfortable sending your child back to school.  Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,

Jenifer Seymour, Principal

Visitation to the School

·         For the safety of all students and staff, no parents are allowed in the building beyond the front office.

·         All visitors must report to the front office and maintain social distancing.

·         Only two visitors are allowed in the office area at a time.

·         All visitors are required to wear a mask when entering the building.

·         Parents/Guests will not be allowed to visit the school or walk students to class.  This includes the first day of school.  We will have staff available to walk students to their classroom if assistance is needed.

·         NO VISITORS-Parents, Grandparents, or others will not be allowed to eat lunch with students.

Arrival

·         Doors will open for car riders at 7:00 a.m.

·         Car riders will enter the building and will go to their hallway, with the exception of 4^th grade students.  They will report to the cafeteria.

·         Students will sit in the hallway outside of their classroom, social distancing with their cohort class.  Fourth grade students will social distance within their cohort in the cafeteria.  All students will be monitored by staff members.

·         Students will enter classrooms at 7:45 a.m.

·         Students will eat breakfast in their classroom. 

·         The car rider gate will be closed at 7:57 a.m.  If you arrive after the gate is closed, you must report to the front office and sign your child into school.  Please remember only two visitors will be allowed in the office at one time and masks are required.

·         Please do not drop you child off in the parking lot beside the gym and let them walk to the front door.  This is a major safety concern!

·         Students are marked tardy if they arrive after 8:00 a.m.

·         We anticipate having more car riders this year, so be proactive so your child is not late.  The traffic at Centerville can get very congested and will cause a delay.

Dismissal

·         No child will be allowed to leave without the school issued car rider tag. 

·         If you do not have a car rider tag you will be asked to drive to the front office, and show your ID.  Your child will then be called to the office for dismissal.

·         Old car rider tags and names written on a sheet of paper will not be accepted.

·         Your child’s first and last name, as well as his/her teacher’s name, and grade level needs to be written in very large and bold font on the car rider tag so the name is easily seen from a distance.

·         Car rider tags need to hang from the mirror to ensure the car rider line moves quickly.  It is difficult to see a student’s information when the car tag is lying on the dash.

·         To ensure everyone’s safety, students will be called to be dismissed from their classroom rather than sitting in the Kindergarten/First grade wing.  This is going to cause dismissal to take longer than usual since students have to walk from their classroom to the dismissal area.  We ask for you to be very patient with us during this time. 

·         Please be sure that the door/area closest to the curb is easily accessible for students to enter the vehicle. 

·         Car tags will be issued in an orientation packet that will be passed out to parents at a drive through.

·         Buses and Day Care will be dismissed from the front of the school.

Bus Transportation

·         The district is strongly encouraging parents to provide their own transportation if possible to reduce the bus capacity.

·         Bus drivers and assistants will wear masks.

·         Students will be seated near family members. 

·         All students are required to wear masks while waiting for the bus, riding the bus, and exiting the bus. 

·         Buses will be disinfected after morning and afternoon routes.

 Student and Staff Illness

·         A private isolation room will be utilized for students or staff members who are experiencing COVID like symptoms.  If a person has symptoms they will be excluded from work or school until they test negative, symptoms have improved, and a medical evaluation determines symptoms are due to another cause.

·         The school nurse will be using the symptoms protocol provided by the CDC for determining if a student or staff member must leave.  No exceptions will be made.

·         If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they must isolate until:

ü  10 days pass since symptoms started AND

ü  3 days fever free without taking any type of fever reducing medication AND

ü  Symptoms have improved

·         If a student or staff member tests positive but has no symptoms, they are REQUIRED to stay out of work or school until 10 days after the specimen was collected for testing.

·         If a family member of a student or staff tests positive for COVID-19, the student or staff member will need to quarantine until 7 days after the household member has been cleared from their isolation period.  The student’s parent(s) or staff member should monitor their temperature and symptoms during this time.

·         The nurses’ health room will be used for dispensing medications, injuries, and assisting students who may have illnesses with symptoms not related to COVID-19.

Parent Conferences

·         Conferences with teachers will be held virtually through Google Meet. 

·         In the event a face-to-face meeting is required, all participants must wear a mask and social distance.

Breakfast and Lunch

·         Breakfast will be served in the classroom at 7:45 a.m.

·         Kindergarten and First Grade students will eat lunch social distancing in the cafeteria.  The schedule was created to provide ample time to sanitize the cafeteria.  Students in grades 2-5 and Learning Lab will eat lunch in their classroom.

·         All food will be served through the serving line.  Food will be served on disposable trays by the cafeteria staff only.  Students will not be allowed to self-serve.  Napkins, utensils, condiments, and milk will also be placed on student’s trays by the cafeteria staff.

·         Students may bring their lunch from home in their own lunchbox.

·         NO OUTSIDE FOOD FROM RESTAURANTS OR FAST FOOD CHAINS WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE SCHOOL.  STUDENTS ARE NOT TO BRING THIS TYPE OF FOOD AND FOOD CANNOT BE DROPPED OFF FOR STUDENTS AT THE SCHOOL TO EAT FOR LUNCH OR BREAKFAST.  NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE.

Registration and Fees

·         All fees should be paid online. A link has been sent through School Messenger and is also posted on the school webpage.

·         Materials Fee $15.00

·         Technology Fee $20.00

·         Registration Gateway must be completed for new and returning students and all required documents must be turned into the school office.

Teacher Reveal

·         Once fees are paid and the registration process is completed, the school will send your child’s teacher name for the 2020-2021 school year via email.

Kindergarten Orientation

·         We are providing the opportunity for Kindergarten students to meet their teacher and visit their classroom.

·         The Kindergarten teachers will invite their student’s families to attend an orientation.  Your child’s teacher will schedule a time for the parent and Kindergarten student only to meet their teacher, visit their classroom, and tour the school on Thursday, September 3^rd.

·         Social distancing will be required, as well as wearing masks.

·         Rooms will be sanitized after each group visits the classroom.

Kindergarten Staggered Start

·         We are extremely excited about our Kindergarten students joining our Centerville Family!!!   In an effort to better serve the needs of our students, we will be staggering our opening of Kindergarten this school year through a hybrid model.  This staggered opening will provide students and teachers with several positive opportunities, as well as completing Kindergarten Readiness Assessment on each student.  Having a small group of students at a time will allow students to become better acquainted with the school building as well as learn procedures and expectations.

·         During this hybrid opening, your child will report to school only ONE DAY during the first four days of the 2020-2021 school year, September 8^th-September 11^th.

·         Each teacher will assign days from September 8^th-September 11^th for the students to report to school.

·         After that date, your student should not return to school until September 14, 2020, at which all Kindergartners will report.

Students New to Centerville Orientation

·         We are providing the opportunity for students new to Centerville to meet their teacher and visit their classroom on September 1^st.

·         Parents and students new to the school will be contacted by their child’s homeroom teacher to set up a time on September 1^st, to come meet their teacher and tour the school.  Only parents and their child will be allowed to visit.

·         Social distancing and wearing masks are required.

Open House Information

·         We are not able to hold an Open House with all families in the building at this time.

·         Teachers will send out a video to the email you provided in Registration Gateway to introduce themselves.

·         We will have a drive-through Orientation for you to pick up your child’s informational packet.

·         Drive Through Dates and Time:

ü  September 1^st – First and Second Grade from 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

ü  September 2^nd- Third-Fifth Grade from 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

·         Please make sure you complete all the paperwork and return with your child on the first day of school.

·         Learning Lab students will visit the school and receive their orientation packet on September 3^rd.  Mrs. Marsengill will contact parents to set up a time.

Additional Safety Measures

·         Hand sanitizer will be available in all classrooms and other areas throughout the building.

·         Floor decals have been placed in the hallways and in other areas to help students social distance.

·         The custodians #1 Priority throughout the school day will be cleaning contact surfaces.

·         At the end of the day a sanitizing fogger will be used to sanitize all classrooms and the school.

Classroom Instruction and Safety

·         Each homeroom is considered a “cohort.”  This means that each homeroom/classroom will stay together as a group throughout the day and we will limit movement in and around the school.

·         Social distancing within a cohort/classroom is our overall goal, but may not always be feasible; however, teachers will do everything possible to utilize the learning space to promote social distancing.

·         Students within a cohort/classroom will learn together, play together at recess, eat lunch together (either in their classroom or in the cafeteria for Kindergarten and First Grade, and will stay as a cohort during arrival and dismissal.

·         Furniture is limited within the classroom to items that are essential to the learning environment and to allow the most space possible to social distance.

·         All staff, teachers, and students are required to wear masks.  At times, the teachers may wear face shields when teaching at the front of the classroom.

·         Anderson School District Five will provide all students with a face mask.  The use of cloth face coverings is extremely important in settings where people are close to each other or where social distancing is difficult to maintain.  Teachers will guide the students as when it is appropriate to wear masks to prevent exposures to others.  Masks will be required when walking through or around the building, transitioning in the classroom, small group activities, etc.

·         Face masks should be washed daily, so you may want to provide multiple masks for your child.

·         Students will not be allowed to share items such as drawing tools (crayons, markers, colored pencils), pencils, scissors, glue and erasers.  Students should have their own pencil box to store their belongings.

·         Fifth grade teachers will not departmentalize this year.  All fifth grade students will remain in their classroom for instruction in all content areas. 

Special Services-GT, ESOL, Resource, OT, PT, Speech, and Intervention

·         Students who are provided with services will still receive services.

·         GT and ESOL teachers will push into the classroom to provide services.

·         Resource, Speech, OT/PT, and Intervention will be provided.  The location of these services will be on a case-by-case determination.  We have tried to arrange the classes so students who receive similar services can be pulled from their cohort classroom.

·         If students travel to a different room to receive services, the room will be sanitized after each group is served.

Related Arts

·         All Related Arts (PE, Music, Guidance, Library, and Art) will push into the classroom.  PE may take place in the classroom or outside.

·         Books and/or any other equipment returned to the Media Center will be quarantined for at least 72 hours before checking in, shelving, or checking out to other students.

·         Only one cohort/classroom will be allowed in the Media Center at a time.

·         Students will not be allowed to checkout their own books.  The librarian will scan all books in and out.

Recess

·         Students will participate in recess with their class only.  Students will not mingle with other classes during recess.

·         Each classroom has a set time and location in which to play outside.

·         Students will not be allowed to use any of the playground equipment.

Substitutes

·         In the event a teacher is absent, a substitute teacher will be allowed to teach in a cohort classroom.

·         If a substitute is not available, a certified staff member will substitute in the classroom.

·         Classes will not be split as cohorts are to stay together.

eLearning

·         In the event of school closure due to COVID-19, all students will take Chromebooks home daily.

·         If school is closed, teachers will instruct students virtually following a 2:2:1 format.  For 2 days, the students will interact with the teacher on Google Meet.  For 2 days students will have Google Slides instruction and assignments.  One day will be for follow-up and communication.

·         During eLearning, the student (and parent of elementary students) must check-in every day with the teacher, participate and complete assignments to be counted present. 

·         State Attendance Laws are enforced during eLearning.

Clubs

·         There will be no after-school clubs for the 2020-2021 school year.

Field Trips

·         There will be no field trips planned.  The district will revisit field trips after Spring Break.

Classroom Celebrations

·         There will be no classroom parties of any kind for the 2020-2021 school year.  Snacks, cupcakes, pizza or treats of any kind may not be sent in by parents. Students will only be allowed to eat food prepared in the school cafeteria or food in their lunchbox brought from home.

Assemblies/Performances/Special Events

·         At this time, the following events are suspended:  assemblies, musical performances, school-wide Open Houses, dances, Grandparents’ Day, Awards Day, Fall Festival, etc.

Drinking Fountains/Water Bottles

·         For the safety of all students all water fountains throughout the school have been turned off.

·         Students are allowed and should bring non-glass water bottles that do not leak to school.

·         Students will not be able to refill water bottles so you may want to have your child bring more than one if needed.