|
Parents/Guardians and Students
I hope this communication home finds you healthy and excited as we near the holiday break at the end of December. In this communication home, I need to share a few important things as we head towards the holiday break on December 23. If you have any questions, please reach out to me by email sweeret@hilbertk12.org or by phone 920-853-3558.
1. Please see the attached document with changes as to how we will handle our COVID-19 CLOSE CONTACT Quarantine situations moving forward. These new guidelines have been approved by the CDC (Center for Disease Control), WDHS (Wisconsin Department of Health Services) and the Calumet County Health Department. We will be working with the Calumet County Health Department in utilizing these guidelines to make decisions that are in the best interest of our staff and students as a whole. Depending on the information we have, we will be able to make the decision of using the 14, 10 or 7 day quarantine knowing that the 14 day quarantine is the safest. The key to these new changes is that the close contact must monitor their symptoms throughout the 14 day quarantine even if they are returning to school prior to day 14.
2. In regards to testing, we are asking that if someone in your household (Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, etc.) is being tested that you please keep your children (our students) home until they receive the results of their test. If the test comes back negative, the student can then return right away. What we have found is that when tests come back positive, it puts us in a difficult situation in trying to establish close contacts and we end up having to quarantine more students or staff home then we would like to because of timelines. Thanks for your help and cooperation on this.
3. With the extension of Governor Evers’ Mask Mandate, we will continue to require masks/face coverings through January 19, 2021. The Board of Education will determine at its January Board Meeting, based on recommendations from the Calumet County Health Department, whether it will need to continue beyond January 19, 2021.
4. The Hilbert-Potter Optimists will be sending home “Holiday Treat Bags” with all of our students on Friday, December 11th. We truly appreciate our partnership with the Optimists and all that they do for our students throughout the year! If you get an opportunity, please thank an Optimist member.
5. Thanks again for your flexibility and understanding with school lunch at the end of November and early December. We truly appreciate your help in making those days work, so we could keep our students in school and learning. In regards to this, I need to send a shout out to the “Official’s Den” for their assistance in helping us provide pizza for the students on November 30!
Finally, I conclude by wishing all of you a Happy Holiday Season! As a school community, we have truly worked together during a very difficult time to provide OUR students the best opportunity to learn! The School District of Hilbert is a very special place and I am very fortunate to be able to lead an incredible group of staff members, to interact with awesome kids each day, and to partner with our community to INVEST in their teaching and learning. Have a great day!
Anthony Sweere
District Administrator
INVEST, INTERACT, INSPIRE…EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY!
Changes to the Co-Vid 19 Quarantine
Spanish Changes to Co-vid 19 Quarantine
|
Our Pathway Forward
Parents and students please look over the most recent version of our reopening plan Our Pathway Forward as updated at the August 17 school board meeting.
|
|
Parents and Students in the School District of Hilbert. Please see August 11 Parent Letter in the District Communications (right side bar) for important information regarding the following topics:
1. Open House Procedures (August 27 and 28).
2. COVID-19 Parent/Student Information Packet (Please use this as a guide during the school year. We will continue to add to this as the year starts).
3. Class lists for the Elementary School.
4. Chromebook/Device Loan Agreement
- This document will need to be signed and returned with $50 during Open House to receive your device for the start of the year.
- This only pertains to students in grades 5 through 12 who have requested a Chromebook from the District and for any students K-12 who have elected to opt out for virtual instruction to start the school year).
Chromebook/Device Loan Agreement
Chromebook/Device Loan Agreement Spanish Version
5. Cyber Security Presentation from the Department of Public Instruction Here is a link to a Cyber Security Presentation from the Department of Public Instruction. This is important for all family members to see as we continue to use technology more and more each day.
A copy of this information will also follow in the mail this week. If you have not received this by Monday, August 17, please let the main office know.
Have a great week and we are looking forward to the start of the 2020-2021 School Year on September 1, 2020!
|
|
Families of the Hilbert School Community -
I hope this communication finds you and your family healthy and enjoying the summer together. As we move through the summer, our staff at school has been doing a lot of planning on how to bring everyone back to school safely on September 1. Our school reopening plan entitled “Our Pathway Forward” was approved by our Board of Education on July 20 and we will continue to plan and make changes to this as we get closer to the first day of school. Please know that is is a very fluid document that will probably change a number of times before September 1, so please be patient and know that we are making decisions that are in the best interest of our students and staff. The plan is built around safety, equity, flexibility and sound instructional practices.
As a parent, if you feel you are not ready to send your child back at this time for health reasons, you will be able to indicate that in our survey and the School District of Hilbert will provide a virtual learning option for your child. We are asking that you make that commitment for a quarter at a time for planning purposes for our teachers and support staff.
Read through the reopening plan. Our Pathway Forward
August 3 School Board Meeting Information
At a special board meeting on Monday, August 3, 2020, the Board of Education approved the following details for the reopening of school on September 1, 2020.
1. We will be adding a part-time maintenance position to assist in enhancing the cleaning of our building. This position will be posted today and we will accept applications in the main office until August 20, 2020. An application can be found on our website at www.hilbertk12.org.
2. Our four year-old kindergarten program will now be a full day program for two days a week. Students will be placed into classes on a Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday schedule. No class will be held on Wednesday because that will be our family/community outreach day for our teacher and we will complete a deep cleaning on the classroom.
3. Until further notice, Wednesdays will be an early release day for all students k through 12. Elementary students will be released at 11:50 a.m. and middle/high school students will be released at 12:00 p.m. Because staff will be expected to teach students in both an in-person and virtual setting, they will be using the afternoon to prepare and plan for this new opportunity. The afternoon will also be used to keep certain students in the building for additional academic support and opportunities (technology education labs, science labs, band or choir large group opportunities, etc.). The maintenance staff will also be using this day to complete a deep clean of the school facilities. We have attached a calendar for the school year so you are able to prepare for the early release dates. If at some point, we do not have students in a virtual setting then we will discontinue the early release days. Students will still have the opportunity to take a lunch home through our food service department on these days.
4. In regards to OPEN HOUSE, we are currently working on the details at this time. It will occur on either August 27 or 28. We will get this information out to you as soon as possible.
Have a great rest if the summer and we will keep you posted on changes and further information regarding the start of the school year via email, our website and social media (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook). Another update will be coming the week of August 17.
|
Our Pathway Forward 2020-21
Return to Learning Goals
As we look to reopen our doors for the 2020-21 school year, the safety of our students and staff continues to be our top priority. Our Hilbert leadership team collaborates weekly with staff members and state/local health officials to address the current situation and update our reopening plan as needed. Additionally, we sought family input through online surveys sent June 1, 2020 and a more detailed survey sent on July 22, 2020. The June 1st survey had 75% of parents answer, with 94% of responses indicating their student would come back to school with health and safety guidelines in place.
We have the goal to be back in school 5 days per week beginning in September 2020. However, we understand that flexibility will be necessary as the recommendations surrounding containing the spread of COVID-19 may change frequently. Based on this need for flexibility, we have outlined potential return to learning scenarios:
4k -4
- Option 1: 5 days of Classroom Learning
- Option 2: Virtual Learning
5 - 12
- Option 1 : 5 days of Classroom Learning
- Option 2: Blended Learning with 2 groups staggered with 2 days of Classroom Learning and 3 days of Virtual Learning
- Option 3: Virtual Learning
View our current fluid-document Our Pathway Forward for more information on our specific goals, factors influencing our decisions, safety protocols, and next steps.
Timeline & Key Dates
We will communicate our planning progress on this webpage throughout the coming weeks, in addition to sending regular family communication via our notification system. As of today, and as described in our reopening plan, our current, board-approved 2020-21 calendar outlines the following back-to-school important dates:
- August 17: Regular School Board Meeting
- August 24-28: Staff in-service
- August 27 - 28: District Open House
- More Details to follow about the Open House Format
- September 1: First day for all students
|
Lunch Procedures to Start the School Year
Virtual Students:
Lunch will be provided to families who have chosen to keep their children home for virtual learning. In order to receive a lunch, you must email Lori Ott at ottl@hilbertk12.org by 8AM the day of with how many lunches you will need. Pick up for lunch will then be from 11 to 11:10 in front of school. If she does not receive an email by that time, you will not be able to pick up a lunch.
In School Students:
Teachers will be doing a lunch count every morning to see who is eating hot lunch. Your child will not be able to change their mind after the lunch count has gone in.
Lunch will be available for grab and go on early release Wednesday’s. The student should indicate to the teacher at morning lunch count if they would like to take a lunch home.
MS/HS Changes:
There will be NO OPEN CAMPUS at lunch for the start of the year. Please have your child plan on eating here or bringing a lunch.
There will be NO microwaves available for the start of the year.
Vending machines will be turned on (with only 1 student allowed by them at a time)
Students will spread throughout the commons and in classrooms.
|
Facility Use
We are currently in the process of reopening our facilities slowly. We have started with some summer school classes, which include driver's education, summer speed and strength training, oil painting, and a variety of elementary classes. Staff are required to wear face coverings during these classes and students are highly encouraged to wear face coverings during classes. If you are entering the main office, we are requiring face coverings for the safety of you and our staff. See the attached guidelines and liability sheet that we have developed to return our students and staff safely.
Cleaning Procedures
Hilbert School District has a routine cleaning regimen in place to help reduce the spread of germs and communicable disease. In addition to our regular cleaning and disinfection, we are increasing the cleaning of high-touch areas and hard and soft surface items throughout the day. We will follow as many guidelines as possible that were recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and our local and state health departments.
Healthy Environment
Hilbert School District is dedicated to ensuring the safety of students, staff, and the community. In order to provide a healthy environment, some new additions can be see in the school.
- 1 to 1 in electronic devices
- k - 1 I-pads
- 2 - 12 Chromebooks
- Plexiglass barriers in public spaces
- Safety Signage about hand hygiene, social distancing, and symptoms
- Increased placement of sanitation stations
|
We are ONE Team!
We all play a role in not just helping reduce the spread of communicable disease, but also supporting one another through these unique times. We are asking our students, staff and families to encourage our district/school-wide behaviors of being safe, respectful, responsible, and kind as we move forward together during these unprecedented times. Additionally, we ask that everyone continues to practice regular preventive actions including:
- Wash your hands regularly, for 20 seconds, using soap and hot water. Make sure to wash your fingertips. This is especially important after using the restroom, coughing or sneezing into your hands, and before preparing or consuming food.
- Avoid coughing or sneezing into your hands or in the air. Always try to cough or sneeze into a tissue, and then throw the tissue away. If you don’t have a tissue, cough/sneeze into your arm.
- As much as you can, avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose.
- If children are feeling sick, please keep them home from school. Families should have a plan in place for keeping your child home, picking up your child if they are sent home sick, and if schools are closed.
Learn more about the symptoms and treatment of Coronavirus at the CDC website. Those at highest risk for Coronavirus complications are older adults and individuals with compromised immune systems or heart, lung and kidney disease. See how Coronavirus is spread. It can take two to 14 days for a person to develop symptoms after initial exposure to the virus; the average is about five days.
|
|
In addition to practicing the recommendations listed above, we are balancing broad safety/health-related measures we can take as a district with individual expectations for those students and staff members in the school building(s). This is an on-going discussion and will be further outlined in our reopening plan as details are finalized.
Student and Staff Expectations
We are reviewing guidelines and working closely with our local health officials to determine what steps to put in place relating to bus, classroom, and open area safety protocols for students and staff. At this time, these protocols have been approved by the board of education and include:
- Daily Self-screening process for staff and students to complete before coming to school
- Handouts will be provided with the process.
- Face coverings mandatory for staff throughout the day
- Face coverings mandatory for students entering school. Face coverings are required at this time due to Emergency Order #1 issued by Governor Evers to start on August 1, 2020 and expire on September 28, 2020. This will be re-evaluated at the end of the Emergency Order on September 29, 2020.
- Bus protocols include: face coverings required on the bus for driver and students, students will be limited to one per seat unless seated with a sibling or family member, and high touch areas will be cleaned frequently
- For the time being, no courtesy busing will be provided for students in the Village of Hilbert
- Staggered lunch times and procedures are being planned at this time
|
|
We appreciate your patience with this fluid situation and we will continue to update you. Please rest assured that we will continue to put the safety of our students and staff as our first priority. If you have any questions, reach out to District Superintendent Tony Sweere at 920-853-3558 or through email.
|
|
