Parents and Caregivers,
Happy Wednesday! There are new important updates below, I apologize if the email gets a little long, I want to make sure you get all our updated information as you are making decisions for your family.
2020-2021 school registration will take place the first week of August. Families that attended Morningside last year will be able to complete registration online, detailed instructions on how to do this are coming soon, you are also welcome to register in person using the online sign-up form we will send out. Families that are new to Morningside will need to come to the office to register, please bring your child’s birth certificate and their immunization records. We will send out a sign-up next week for parents to sign-up for a time to come to the school and register so that we can maintain correct distancing and group size. Miss Lisa will be back in the building July 27th, she will be available to call and email then. Thank you in advance for registering for school and attending Morningside, without students registering for school our staff numbers will not be able to remain at their current levels.
There is a new important survey found here and at the end of this email, your responses to the three questions on the survey will help shape our plans for Morningside.
What will school look like in the fall?
The Granite School met last night (7/14/20) and gave some updates for how schools run in the fall. The plan remains that parents will still be able to choose online distance learning or in-school face to face learning for their child, however a change was made to the plan in response to teachers reaching out with concerns about how they will manage an online classroom as well as a physical classroom of students. It was decided that parents will be asked to commit one term at a time, to their child learning in the school or via distance learning at home. Depending on what parents decide, some teachers may be designated as “distance learning teachers” and some teachers would be “face to face teachers”. This poses a unique situation at Morningside with some of our ALC (Accelerated Learning Classroom) and DLI (French Dual Immersion Instruction Classroom) classrooms needing teachers with a unique skill set. Please know that I have been talking with district leaders all morning and afternoon about what this will look like at Morningside and they have asked that, before we can make plans, it would be best to check in with our community and see, as of right now, if you intend on learning at home or at school. The link to the survey is here, as well as at the top and bottom of this email.
Safety
As I am sure you are aware, Governor Herbert issued a mandate last week that everyone inside of a school building will need to have a face covering while they are in the building. We will be giving all students a reusable face mask, you are also welcome to explore the quickly expanding world of face coverings and see if there is an option that would work best for your child (masks, PPE shields, bandana, etc.). Teachers will be given masks and PPE shields to be worn at different times of the day, this will allow students to be able to see their teachers mouth when necessary. We will still be using social distancing measures, updated recess/lunch schedules to keep group sizes reduced, and intensive cleaning within and outside of the building.
There is a forthcoming policy for how to address what happens if there is a positive occurrence of COVID-19 at Morningside, including how patrons will be notified and what decisions are made. We will continue to be under the direction of the Utah Health Department, I will share this information with your when it becomes available.
Cleanliness
We are currently working on a school-assurances document that will be approved by district officials and posted on our website on August 5th. This plan will detail risk mitigation for situational characteristics (movement, duration, proximity, group size, respiratory output, touch, and congestion) as well as specific school settings and mitigation planning for areas such as classrooms, transition spaces, entry/exit points, restrooms, cafeteria, large group gathering, unique situations (library, P.E., art, patron meetings, etc.), recess and playground, and related services. We are excited to have students back in the building in August and we are committed to a clean and safe learning and working environment for all.
Distance Learning
As noted above, on 7/14/2020 GSD School Board has decided to have parents to commit, one term at a time, to distance learning or in-person instruction. An email will be sent out in the coming weeks with a link to a form where you will mark your preference. For our planning purposes I am asking that you take our informal three (3) question survey found here and additional places in this email that will help us know how to best plan for 1st term.
Please forward this email on to those who may be new to Morningside, they may not be on our email list yet. All previous Wednesday update emails are posted on our website https://schools.graniteschools.org/morningside/.
Thank you for your support and please reach out if you have any questions,
Anne Reese