I hope this Wednesday update finds your family healthy and safe. There are a few updates for this week that I want to share with you.
Registration
This week we started registration for the 2020-2021 school year! Miss Lisa sent an email to our current email list with information on how to register. Families that are returning to Morningside can register online through the Parent Portal. If you need help creating a Parent Portal account or need registration instructions, please call or email Lisa at 385-646-4924 or lsturner@graniteschools.org. You can also find the registering instructions here: https://www.graniteschools.org/studentlearning/school-registration/.
Families that are new to Morningside can come in any day between 8-2:45 to register; please bring your child’s birth certificate and their immunization records. Families that are new to Morningside may not be receiving our emails because they may not be registered yet and therefore not added to the email lists. Please feel free to forward our emails on, we are working to reach all incoming students.
Learning commitment form
Thank you to those that have already returned the form that lets us know whether your child will be attending school in person this fall or engaging through distance learning. We are asking that all parents return the form by Thursday, August 6th (tomorrow). You can send the learning commitment form to me at areese@graniteschools.org or you can bring it to the school. I have attached the form here if you need another copy. This commitment form tells us how your child will be engaging with school for first term (Aug. 24-Oct. 22), we will send another commitment form for second term in October.
Teacher assignments
Many of you have asked which teachers will be instructing on the distance learning platform and which teachers will be instructing in the classroom. Unfortunately, I can’t answer this question until we have the parent commitment forms returned and know how many teachers we will need to allocate for distance and in-person learning. Teachers are back in the building on Aug. 13, we will be meeting then and deciding on teacher assignments for 1st term. We will let you know what our teacher assignments are as soon as possible.
COVID-19 policy updates
Last week the Utah Department of Health and our local health agencies along with the Governor’s office and the State Board of Education published a COVID-19 School Manual. This manual provides details on how we will respond to COVID in our schools, prevent the spread of COVID in the schools, and describes how we will respond to COVID outbreaks in our schools, including school closures. You are welcome to read the manual here https://coronavirus-download.utah.gov/School/COVID-19_School_Manual_FINAL.pdf . Many have emailed me with questions about the “modified quarantine” policy. After reaching out for clarification, we have been told that there is a revised version of this policy coming very soon. I will include it in an update when we have it.
Masks
We have become increasingly aware of research that shows that face masks are more protective from germs than other kinds of face coverings. We are providing 2 face masks for each child; one is already in the building and the other is on the way. Our PTA is generously providing a face shield for each child, these shields may be used in the classroom during periods that the teachers need to see the student’s mouths or need to hear them articulate a sounds/words. Teachers will teach a procedure for when and how shields will be used. Teachers are also receiving a mask and shield for their use during the day- teachers may find that a shield is useful when providing direct instruction and need students to see their mouths.
Thank you for your support, we look forward to seeing you child online or in-person very soon!
Anne