Dear Parents and Guardians;
I know everyone has been anxiously waiting for news on what school will look like for the upcoming school year. After many discussions about what is in the best interest of our staff and students, we have developed the following model.
All students will start school on September 9th.
*High school students will be returning to school in a hybrid model having 1 day in person, followed by 1 day of remote instruction. Their daily schedule will also be 8:30-1:30.
If parents do not feel comfortable with this arrangement, please notify the school by August 24, 2020, to elect to be in the full remote option to start the school year. Both options will be detailed in this letter.
GHS wants to reassure our families that we are following all guidance from the CDC, The New Hampshire Department of Health and the New Hampshire Department of Education. All decisions or changes to the learning plan moving forward will be done in accordance with their guidance and recommendations. All families are encouraged to reach out to Sarah Attwood, Assistant Principal, and COVID Coordinator for GHS at sarah@162.241.240.79 with any questions or concerns.
GHS High School Hybrid Learning Plan:
- Students will be grouped into two cohorts. These cohorts will alternate days coming into the school for in-person instruction and then remote instruction. All students will be in school (either remote or in-person) from 8:30-1:30 each day. Students will be required on remote days to sign in to their classes on the same schedule as in-person days. Classes offered remotely will have a similar structure as in-person classes and have the same time requirements. Please see below for a sample A/B schedule.
- Each student will be exposed only to the other students in their cohort and the staff in their building. There will be no overlapping staff between the middle school and the high school on the same school day. Students are not allowed to go back and forth between the buildings.
- Despite the differences between the Reopening Plans created by the various sending school districts, we will be running on our own plan for re-opening. Transportation will be provided in accordance with each student’s IEP. Students are expected to attend GHS based on our calendar and schedule.
- All students and staff will be required to wear face coverings. Students will need to provide their own face covering and GHS will have some on hand for those that cannot provide one or forgot theirs. All face-covering graphics must adhere to the principles of GHS’s Mission Statement. Face coverings will not be required outside when 6 ft distancing is possible or once a student is seated at their desk. Students must be prepared to wear their face covering on the bus and in all common areas.
- Classrooms will be free of any material that cannot be properly sanitized. All desks will be placed 3-6 feet apart and no classroom will exceed 8 people. Each student will be issued a case to hold all necessary school supplies that will be throughout the day. Students will need to take this case with them from class to class. There will be no sharing of items between students.
- When students enter the classroom they will sanitize their hands and then go to their assigned seat. Teachers will take attendance each class period for both in-person and remote class sessions. Students will be required to sanitize their desk and chair before they leave to go to the next classroom.
- All class curriculums at GHS will be delivered through Google Classroom. During the first week of school students will be given a thorough overview of how to use Google Classroom and the other Google tools. Each student will be provided with a computer for school use. This computer will be taken home when the student is on a remote day.
Transportation:
- Before getting on the vans each morning, all students will be screened and their temperature will be taken. Once students have been screened, they will be allowed on the bus. Students who have a fever or do not pass the screening will not be allowed on the van and must return home. The bus driver will notify the parent that the student was not allowed on the bus. All students and the driver must wear a mask for the entire ride into school. Students must sit in their own row and cannot change seats during the ride. Drivers will drop off students one van at a time. Students must wait in their van until it is their time to exit the vehicle.
- All students and staff must enter GHS through the front main entrance. All students and staff must sanitize their hands upon entering the school. Hand hygiene will be practiced throughout the day with students sanitizing their hands each time they enter a new classroom or office. All students and staff must wear their mask throughout the building. Students may remove their mask once they are seated at their assigned desks.
- Students will be dismissed at the end of the day by their bus. Each student will wait till their bus is called and then they may exit the classroom and board the bus. Students must go directly from the classroom to the bus. Once all students have boarded their bus, the next bus will be called.
Meal Delivery:
- On in-person days, all meals will be served to the students in their classrooms. Students will eat their breakfast in their A block class. For lunch, students will eat in their C block class.
- Each day prior to dismissal, students will be given a bagged breakfast and lunch for the next school day, as they will be in a remote session the next day.
Rewards:
- Hybrid:
- All students will remain on their point sheet, which will be maintained digitally by the teachers. Students will be on their points sheet for remote and in-person instruction.
- In addition to earning points for pro-social behaviors, students will also earn points for attendance and participation.
- Each student will be eligible to earn up to $10 a week for making his or her percentage. This money will be issued on Thursdays or Fridays for when the other cohort is back in school for in-person instruction.
- Students will be given information about the new rewards program on their first day of in-person instruction.
Additional Information for In-Person Instructional Days:
- Bathroom Breaks: Students may leave the classroom for a bathroom break. The teacher will have notified the main office that a student is going for a bathroom break, in order to keep the number of students in the hall to a minimum. All female students will use the girl’s bathroom and male students will be broken down into 2 groups and assigned one of the boy’s bathrooms. This is to minimize exposure. Students must only use the assigned bathrooms.
- Choice Breaks: Choice breaks have been moved to the revolving classroom to accommodate up to 3 students at a time taking a break. Seating will be 3-6 feet apart and students will be allowed to remove their masks once seated in the break room. The conference room and the old break room will be utilized as well to accommodate additional students on breaks. Students must sanitize their seats before going back to class.
- Sent Visits: All students sent from the class are to go to the Assistant Principal’s office. Students will be seen one at a time and must wear their masks until seated and 3-6 feet apart. The conference room and old break room will be utilized for overflow as necessary.
- One on One Instruction: Due to the nature of our population, students will need to work outside of the class with one of our support staff. Rooms throughout the building will be utilized to still provide this for our students. All efforts will be made to accommodate the individualized educational needs of our students while maintaining safety for our staff and students.
- Specialized Designed Instruction: Students will continue to get SDI in accordance with their IEP. SDI will be delivered in the provider’s office in a one on one situation. Students must wear their mask but may take it off once at a desk 3-6 feet from the provider. The provider’s desk will be equipped with a Plexiglass barrier to increase safety for staff and students. Students will need to sanitize their hands upon entering and will need to sanitize their work station before leaving. SDI sessions will be scheduled to stagger students and to minimize students in the hall. The provider will only work with students in one cohort each day.
- Counseling: Students will also receive counseling as stated in their IEP. Students will have scheduled times to meet with the provider, to minimize students in the hall, as well as to make sure to meet everyone’s needs equally. The provider will only see students from one cohort a day. Students will need to wear their mask into the office and then can remove the mask if they can sit at least 3 feet from the provider. They must sanitize their hands and then sanitize their seat upon leaving the office. Students who are experiencing an issue that needs attention outside of their scheduled time may ask their teacher for a break and speak with the Assistant Principal to get a meeting with the provider. All efforts will be made to assist students who need social/emotional support. The provider will be out of the high school building at least one day a week to meet the needs of the middle school students.
COVID Response:
If a student or staff member develops COVID symptoms during the day, he/she will immediately leave the classroom and will go straight to the ‘Isolation Room’. Upon arrival in the Isolation Room, a designated staff member will do an evaluation and will follow GHS’s procedures for determining if the student or staff member needs to leave the building. If a student needs to be sent home from school, the parent will be notified and the student will remain in the Isolation Room until they are picked up. At no time will GHS’s transportation be used to bring a sick student home. Parents are responsible for picking up their sick child in a timely manner. Once an isolation room has been used for a sick individual, it will be closed up for the remainder of the day and sanitized before the next school day.
If a student or staff member proves to be symptomatic for COVID and requires a test, the Department of Health will be notified to get additional guidance. The Department of Health will guide GHS through the next steps if that test comes back positive. Students and staff will only be notified if there is a positive test. GHS will follow all guidance from the Department of Health in responding to a positive COVID test. Students or staff that go home with COVID symptoms cannot return to school until they have a negative test, which must be documented by a doctor’s note. Students may access their classes remotely while home waiting for their test results or if they are required to quarantine.
Cleaning and Sanitation:
- Twice a day a staff member will go around to disinfect all doorknobs and other high use touchable surfaces. Teachers will be responsible for sanitizing their classroom as needed in between classes.
- A conscious effort has been and will continue to be made by GHS teachers to only have things in their classrooms that are necessary for that day’s lesson. Doing so makes disinfecting easier and more successful.
- Each evening the GHS building will be cleaned and sanitized to prepare for the next day’s cohort.
Visitors:
At this time there will be no visitors allowed in the school buildings. All IEP meetings will be conducted using Zoom or Google Meet. If an in-person meeting needs to occur, it will be scheduled after the students leave and held in a room able to accommodate a larger group. If a student must be picked up for an appointment or other reason mid-day, upon arrival the person picking up should call the main office from the parking lot using their cell phone or the call box. The student will then be dismissed. Students will need to wait in class until they are dismissed. No students will be allowed to wait for a ride in the main office.
Remote Only Instruction:
Students who opt for remote only instruction will be required to commit to that for the first quarter of the school year. Each quarter the student can reevaluate which learning option they would like.
- Students who are learning remote will be issued a computer to use for remote learning purposes.
- Students will also be given a remote demonstration on how to use the different applications in the Google platform.
- Students will be attending school each day for classes from 9:00-12:00 and then 12:30-1:30.
- Students must log in to Google Meet to attend the live classes that are in session, according to their class schedule.
- In addition to the classroom teacher, the support staff will be assigned to classes that have remote only learners for increased assistance.
- Attendance will be taken for each class.
- It should be noted that no time is being offered outside of the class day for additional instruction for remote learners. All learners must access their teachers during the school day between the hours 8:30-1:30. Students who need additional support will be given the opportunity during the breakfast and lunchtime to work with support staff if requested.
- Students may always work on their work outside of the school day if additional time is needed.
I know this is a lot of information. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Sarah Attwood
Assistant Principal and COVID Coordinator
Granite Hill School
603-863-0697