March 26, 2021
Hello Dunham Families,
I hope all of you have a wonderful spring break. When we return we will be in our new hybrid schedule! This means materials pick-up & drop-off will now happen on Mondays (starting April 12) from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Below is a letter that was sent out earlier this week to parents of families that are returning to campus in our hybrid model. It contains a lot of important information so I have included it in this Friday Folder as well.
Dunham School District Return to School Parent Guidelines
This is a welcome back to school letter designed to provide information about health and safety protocols and procedures as we prepare for a safe reopening of school for the 2020-2021 school year. Many of the Dunham expectations and routines have been modified so we can comply with Health Department guidelines and to ensure the safety of all students and staff at school.
We appreciate your support in a) adhering to these guidelines and b) communicating with your child so s/he understands expectations and transitions safely and smoothly back to school.
The more detailed CSP (COVID-19 Safety Plan) can be found on the school district website. Here is some more specific information about expectations of families during students’ at-school days.
At Home/ Before Leaving for School: Health Screening
Each day, prior to leaving for school, you must conduct a home health screening on your child. Please use this list of reminders to assess for symptoms as well as conduct a temperature check before coming to school. Please be advised of the following:
In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we are asking you to use the “screening” questions below. For the safety of our staff, other students, your child, and yourself, please use this list daily and be thorough.
The following is the COVID-19 PARENT/GUARDIAN NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF HOME HEALTH SCREENING:
Screening Questions
1) Does your child currently have COVID-19?
2) Has your child been exposed to anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days?
3) Does your child have a fever?
4) Does your child have shortness of breath?
5) Does your child have a dry cough?
6) Does your child have a runny nose?
7) Does your child have a sore throat?
8) Is your child sneezing or does s/he have watery eyes and/or sinus pain/pressure that is unusual and not related to seasonal allergies?
9) Is your child experiencing headaches, fatigue, or weakness?
10) Has your child lost his/her sense of taste and/or smell?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, do not bring your child to school. Contact your child’s doctor for further information and medical guidance. Parents / guardians must notify the school immediately if their child or household member tests positive for COVID-19 or if a household member may have been exposed to COVID-19. Call Maggie Vasquez (707) 795-5050 at the Dunham School District Office. This information will be kept confidential.
Upon arrival, your child (or you on behalf of your child) will be asked these questions by a staff member prior to exiting the vehicle. We will also take your child’s temperature with a touchless thermometer as an additional precaution.
Arrival
Parents are expected to drop off students between 7:45 and 8:00am in front of the school without parking or getting out of the car.
Families will drive through the parking lot, coming all the way around the full circle, passing 6th grade, arriving at the double doors under the bell for drop off. Once students arrive and are health-screened/temperature checked, they will walk to the playground area through the playground entrance on the Roblar Road side of the school (near the garden). These areas have been marked with spots where they can sit or stand, physically distanced, with their classroom group peers. Staff will supervise and teachers will meet students at 8:00am and escort them to class.
Please remember that there is no parking or getting out of the vehicles. If a younger student needs support unbuckling themselves, an adult (one adult) that is wearing a facemask can get out of the vehicle to help the child exit or enter (and strap them in) the vehicle safely. Then that adult would need to promptly return to the vehicle.
At School
Face Coverings
Students in all grade levels are required to wear COVID mitigating face coverings at all times while at school. Proper face coverings refer to face masks only.
A face covering means: a covering made of fabric that covers only the nose and mouth and surrounding areas of the lower face. Approved types of face coverings are double layer cloth masks and disposable 2 or 3-ply medical face masks only. Bandanas, gaiters, plastic masks and masks with exhale valves/vents are not acceptable.
If your child has not been used to wearing a mask, we suggest having her/him spend time getting used to wearing one for an extended period of time.
The school will have extra face coverings/masks on hand in case students do not bring one to school.
Daily Schedule
The at-school instructional day is from 8:00am to 11:30am. Teachers will be focusing in-school instructional time on reading, writing, language art and math.
Activity Break
During the activity break, students will also have an opportunity to play with their class group. Each class will have their own separate bag with balls and other playground equipment to share. We will adhere to physical distance guidelines, face coverings, and regular hygiene routines.
Snack and Water Bottles
Students will have a 15-minute snack/activity break mid-morning. Please provide a healthy snack that your child can easily open. Have them come to school with a full water bottle. Please label your student’s water bottle with their name. We have installed water bottle filling stations on campus where your child can refill as needed. The school will provide students with bottled water as needed.
Visitors
Visitors will not be permitted on campus.
In the case you need to relay a message to your child or talk with someone at school, please email or call. We will have a table set up outside the school office if you need to drop something off, or if there is an emergency requiring you to come to school.
Illness
In the case a student becomes sick while at school, s/he will be placed in an isolation room, close, but not in the school office. The family will be called immediately to pick up their student. The student should get tested as soon as possible after they develop one or more COVID-19 symptoms or if one of their household members or non-household close contacts tested positive for COVID-19. Students will be referred to their own health provider for testing or to local testing centers.
Dismissal
At the end of the instructional day, students will be escorted to their designated playground areas (same as morning drop-off).
Parents will wait in their cars in the pick-up line. Staff will call students, who will walk from the playground to pick-up area. Staff will be located in areas to assist students proceed safely and efficiently to your car.
Again, there is no parking or getting out of the vehicles. Please understand that this is not how we want to do things but more of how we have to do things in order to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 as much as possible.
Distance Learning Day Expectations
Students are expected to work from home for the required time (180 minutes TK/K; 230 minutes grades 1-3; 240 minutes grades 4/6). This time will consist of asynchronous (independent) learning activities to support the work they did during their at-school days as well as synchronous learning activities via Zoom.
Teachers will provide daily schedules for students’ stay-at-home learning days.
We are very excited to have our students back on campus!
See you soon,
Daniel Hoffman
Daniel Hoffman
Superintendent / Principal
