Dear Geggie Parents,
As we prepare for our K-2 Return to School, Geggie will welcome 261 TIGERS in person and 28 TIGERS virtually. We are ecstatic to be together again and look forward to the remaining year ahead!
As we make this exciting and much anticipated transition, we want to provide you with as much specific Geggie insight as we can to keep you informed of the necessary changes that have been made to ensure the safety and well-being of all our students and staff. We also encourage you to visit the District website to learn more. Rockwood Safe Together
K-2 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL DROP-OFF
To prevent children from having to carry so much in their backpacks upon their return, we have scheduled an OPTIONAL instructional material drop-off date on Monday, September 28 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. These are the instructional materials that your child WILL NEED for in-person instruction throughout the year. All Rockwood provided materials/technology that has been checked out to your individual child will need to be returned to the school at this time. In an effort to prevent high volumes of visitors gathering at the same time, please follow the designated times noted below.
Monday, September 28
A-C 3:00-3:30 M-O 5:00-5:30
D-F 3:30-4:00 P-R 5:30-6:00
G-I 4:00-4:30 S-U 6:00-6:30
J-L 4:30-5:00 V-Y 6:30-7:00
If your scheduled date/time does not work for you, please feel free to come at a time that works for you prior to our K-2 return. The building is OPEN from 8a.m.— 4:30 p.m. daily.
K-2 NO ZOOM DAYS — September 28 & 29
Monday, September 28 and Tuesday, September 29 will be NO ZOOM DAYS. All learning will be done asynchronously so that K-2 classroom teachers and specialists can plan and ready themselves for the in-person transition. Group “check-ins” with students will be done at both the 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. times to answer questions and/or offer support if needed. Specialist classes will be accessible in Canvas on these two no zoom days.
NURSE RESPONSE/TRAINING
I am so excited to welcome children back into the building here at Geggie! Returning in person to school will require all of us to work together more than ever before. Rockwood nurses across the district have been busy making changes to our policies and practices that will help to limit the chances of spreading COVID-19 in our community. Teachers and staff will teach and encourage preventative behaviors at school, like mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. Likewise, it will be important for families to emphasize and model health behaviors at home, and to talk to your children about changes to anticipate as they return to Geggie.
1. Daily Health Screenings AT HOME
Each morning parents/caregivers will need to do a health screening with their children before sending them off to school. Please screen your child for:
High-Risk Symptoms:
Students should stay home from school if they have one or more of these high-risk symptoms:
- A new persistent cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- A new loss of sense of taste or smell
Low-Risk Symptoms:
Students should stay home from school if they are experiencing one or more of the low-risk symptoms (listed below) that are not usual for them (e.g. seasonal allergies can cause congestion or a sore throat). If they have two or more of these symptoms, parents should contact their doctor:
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
- Fever (100 degrees or greater)
- Headache
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Body aches
- Runny nose or congestion
- Sore throat
***Additionally, close contact with a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 means a person should stay home for 14 days since their last contact.
2. Wearing a Mask at School
Masks are to be worn when inside the building, except while eating, drinking, and when active during indoor PE class. Students are asked to bring a mask with them daily to school from home. Please consider having multiple cloth face coverings so they can be washed daily, and have back-ups ready. Choose cloth face coverings that:
- Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- Completely cover the nose and mouth
- Are secured with ties or ear loops
- Include multiple layers of fabric
- Allow for breathing without restriction
- Can be washed and machine dried without damage or change of shape
- Label your child’s cloth face coverings clearly in permanent marker so that they are not confused with those of other children
- Before school starts, practice with your child putting on and taking off masks without touching the fabric
3. Care in the Nurse's Room
- Care in the nurse's room will look a little different this year, as we are making every effort to try and decrease the spread of COVID-19. Students will be encouraged to stay with their class and with their cohorts as long as they are safely able to do so. I encourage parents to provide their children with a healthy breakfast every morning, a snack and a water bottle to take to school daily.
- Under the guidance of Washington University physicians, the Rockwood Health and Wellness team have developed a COVID Student Procedure Flowchart to help guide the care of students with any potential COVID 19 signs/symptoms at school. Please review this flowchart here: COVID 19 Student Procedure Flowchart Another version, published by Washington University is here COVID 19 Student Procedure Flowchart - WashU version
Thank you, and please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have.
Alyssa Hesser, BSN, RN
hesseralyssa@rsdmo.org
START–END TIMES
Grades K-2 students will resort back to our published school times starting at 9:09 a.m. and ending at 3:59 p.m.
Grades 3-5 students will remain on their current Virtual Schedule 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
K-2 VIRTUAL LEARNERS
K-2 Virtual learners will join their teacher’s class meeting via zoom at the 9:10 a.m. start time using their existing zoom link. The use of Canvas will continue to be the main platform for accessing instruction and assignments. Individual teachers will be communicating with their virtual students/parents on specific schedule changes and designated times for small-group instruction and assessment. Virtual learners should keep all technology and instructional supplies with them for at-home learning.
COMMUNICATION & MESSAGING
Kid friendly messaging signs are posted throughout the building promoting everyday protective measures and describing how to stop the spread of germs. Signage locations include: entrances, cafeteria, restrooms, classrooms, office, and common areas. Short instructional videos will be shared with students to promote appropriate mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing, and hand sanitizing upon return.
MASK WEARING
All students and staff are expected to wear masks throughout the day. Mask breaks will be scheduled by the classroom teacher and individual mask breaks may be requested by a student when needed. Interventions for mask instruction, frequent reminders, and individual mask supports will be initiated, however, students who are unable to reliably wear a mask throughout the day will be addressed in collaboration with parents.
It may be helpful to begin talking with your children about the expectations for mask wearing, social distancing and hand sanitizing. Students will be issued a “breakaway colored lanyard” to clip to their mask to ensure they have their masks with them at all times. The colors will also assist students as they are color coded by grade level and class in the cafeteria and on the playground to minimize crossover and the mixing of students. We ask that students bring the colored lanyard to and from school daily clipped to their mask.
NON-ESSENTIAL VISITORS LIMITED
Visitors are limited in the building during this time. If a parent needs to access the building, we ask that they follow the district guidelines by wearing a mask, buzz into the office, identify their purpose of visit, and report to the main office. Our secretaries will be available to assist. In addition, no parent volunteers will be utilized during this time. No parents will be able to join their child for lunch.
DISINFECTING & PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Custodial staff are routinely scheduled to ensure routine cleaning and sanitizing of high touch areas.
Nightly Disinfecting — Custodial crews will be spraying/misting all daily occupied spaces within our buildings on a nightly basis with a disinfectant. Each classroom/special and common area has access to PPE equipment including: additional student masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, and paper towels.
RESTROOMS
Classroom teachers will work to schedule “class restroom breaks.” A limited number of students will be allowed into the restroom (depending on the number of stalls). Students will be allowed individual restroom breaks as necessary. Messaging on restroom doors will remind students to determine if at capacity. Students will wait outside the restroom until availability.
DRINKING FOUNTAINS
Students who approach a drinking fountain will follow social distance floor marking while remaining masked while waiting. WATER BOTTLES ARE ENCOURAGED! Water filling stations are located in the second grade hallway and at the new restrooms by the cafeteria.
HALLWAYS
Students moving through the hallways will remain masked, walk single-file formation and follow the directional “paw” social distancing markings.
BREAKFAST
Students eating breakfast will enter at the main lobby entrance from the bus, or from the gym doors, and move directly to the cafeteria. Cafeteria tables have been spaced to meet the social distancing guidelines to the extent possible. Students will wear their masks as they move through the hallway and remain masked as they enter the cafeteria. Students will follow the directional social distancing floor indications as they move to the serving line. Masks will be worn until they are seated and ready to begin eating. Tables will be color coded by grade level with assigned seating reflecting classroom cohorts.
After eating, students will re-mask, discard trays, and exit the cafeteria, following the directional social distancing floor markings to the classroom. Custodians, Cafeteria Staff, and/or CAs will wipe down/disinfect tables immediately following. All staff will wear masks and gloves when assisting/monitoring in the cafeteria.
LUNCH
To limit time while unmasked in the cafeteria, students will eat first and then go to recess. Cafeteria tables have been spaced to meet the social distancing guidelines to the extent possible. Escorted by the classroom teacher, students will wear their mask as they move through the hallway and remain masked as they enter the cafeteria. Students will follow the directional social distancing floor indications as they move to the serving line. Masks will be worn until they are seated and ready to begin eating. Tables will be color coded by grade level with assigned seating reflecting classroom cohorts. Students will eat lunch at the same table/same student groups as they eat at breakfast.
Teachers will release “lunch bringers” to their identified tables (toss-away lunch sacks are encouraged). Four students will be ALLOWED in the serving line at a given time. One goes out…the others move up (following the social distance markings). Again, masks remain on until students sit down at their table.
Students will raise their hand to indicate they need help or need anything (straw, napkin, restroom). Classroom Assistants/Administration will be on staff to supervise and support. Once a student is finished eating they may mask up, excuse themselves from the table by taking all of their trash and discarding waste, and go directly out to recess. Masks must be worn until outside and at play. Classroom Assistants/Custodians will wipe all tables before the next lunch can begin. Additional time has been added to the schedule to accommodate disinfect/wipe downs.
OUTDOOR RECESS
Students will go to recess immediately following lunch. They will remain masked until they are outside and begin to engage in play. FIVE recess play locations have been identified to minimize group crossover (kindergarten blacktop, wood chip area, soccer area, back parking lot, tetherball court/patio area -- play equipment will be designated for each area and disinfected between recesses). Students will follow their identified play location by a color cone matching their class mask lanyard. Classroom teachers will meet the student at the colored cone to transition students back into the building. Students will mask up and remain 6 feet apart following social distancing expectations while in line.
All playgrounds will be sprayed with a disinfectant first thing in the morning on a daily basis. This application will occur before the structures are utilized by students each day.
INDOOR RECESS
Classroom students will elect an indoor recess play activity and remain in their classroom during the indoor recess time. All shared game activities will be disinfected after the duration of recess.
CLASSROOMS
Teachers have arranged seating following the social distance guidelines to the extent possible. Removal of unnecessary furniture supports open space for social distancing. Flex seating will be limited and assigned seating will further support small groupings or pods of students.
SPECIAL CLASSES
Students will transition to their special classrooms and sanitize hands as they enter and leave a classroom. Adequate supplies will minimize the sharing of objects or limit use to one group of students at a time, and clean and disinfect. Classroom student pods will be followed in the special classes when possible to minimize student crossover. Outdoor spaces will be utilized to the extent possible.
BUS RIDERS
Students will board the bus with a mask and disinfect hand using a pump dispenser. Bus drivers will ASSIGN seats on the bus. To limit student crossovers, students will be assigned to sit with family members. ALL STUDENTS will be required to wear a mask while riding the bus. Students will disinfect hands using the pump dispenser when exiting the bus. Busses will be loading from back to front to limit crossover to the extent possible.
Students ARRIVING to school will be asked to enter the building from the exterior door closest to their classroom. Door #3-Kindergarten Hallway, Door #2-2nd & 3rd Hallway, and Door#1-1st, 4th, 5th Main Lobby Entrance.
Students wishing to eat breakfast will enter at Door #1 the Main Lobby entrance doors following the directional social distance floor paws to the cafeteria.
ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL
With limitation on visitors, parents will not be allowed to escort their child to their classroom. Know that from the bus and parent drop-off Geggie staff will ensure your child gets to their classroom. Siblings or a neighborhood friend will be allowed to escort a younger child to their classroom if additional comfort/support is needed.
PARENT DROP-OFF
Parents dropping off their child will drive to the back of the building where our Geggie staff will be positioned to open car doors and assist children out of the vehicles. Students K-2 will enter through the gymnasium and go directly to breakfast or to their classroom. Parents will be issued CAR TAGS to support vehicle/student identification.
PARENT PICK-UP
Students will be dismissed from their classrooms to the gym for parent pick-up. Students will remain masked within the hallways, following the directional one-way social distance paws on the floor. Once in the gym, students will sit on identified SIT SPOTS, spaced 6 feet apart. Families will sit together. Students will be called to line up by following the social distancing floor markings, remaining masked until they are in the vehicle.
