 The Amity Weekly Minute:
January 17, 2021
What's New?
From the Desk of Mr. Drouhard
Dear Amity Families,
We hosted our spelling bee competition this week. While everything is a little different this year, it was great to see our students get to participate in the competition. I enjoyed seeing students practicing words at lunch prior to the event and their excitement in getting their first word correct! Our champion this year was Molly Wermuth, who spelled “superintendent” for the win! Serenity Kimball was our spelling bee runner up!
All of the students did a f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s job!
Take Care,
Josh
No School on Monday, January 18th:
Martin Luther King Day
Just a reminder that there will be no school for grades PreK-12 on Monday, January 18th as we celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
Arrival and Breakfast At Amity
I just want to give a reminder on several items from the beginning of the year, and to help our parents of students returning from the virtual model.
We currently don’t offer breakfast in the morning because of COVID-19. We do offer breakfast pick-up on Sunday’s from 1:00-2:00 at Amity. This is by the back cafeteria entrance where students would have traditionally entered for breakfast.
Student Pick Up Cards- For Car Riders
Please print or create a Student Pick-Up Cards for your student. This greatly helps speed the process of notifying students that their parent has arrived and getting them into their cars. Any sheet of paper with the students first and last name along with their grade will do. Just put it on the dash and our staff will get your student to you.
For Car Rider Dismissal
Kindergarten and 1st grade car riders will be picked up in the east parking lot. (Outside the main entrance of Amity). It is important for Kindergarten parents not to arrive early, as our preschool students let out at 10:30 and 2:30.
2nd-6th grade car riders will be picked up in the west parking lot (This runs through the playground area). Families with students in grades K-1 and siblings in 2nd-6th will be picked up in the west parking lot this year. Our K-1 students will be brought to the 2nd-6th students in the west parking lot by a teacher within the building.
Please stay in your cars during dismissal and remember to pull all the way forward to maximize the cars entering.
For Walker Dismissal
Parents that meet their students and walk home with them together will have designated locations for these pick-ups. These walker waiting areas are designated in yellow on all sheets and also have routes in blue that students should take to get to various points. Please note that we would like our K-1 parents to go around the outside of the parking lot to reach the walker locations.
Please remember that masks are required while on Amity’s property and we ask that you maintain social distancing standards of 6 feet while you wait.
Grading With A Return To In Person Learning
I wanted to make parents and students aware that with a return to 5 day a week in person learning we will be grading as we did prior to the pandemic. If we are able to make it the remainder of the quarter in this model, our grade card will reflect a percentage grade instead of a checkmark system. In the event that we have to go back to hybrid learning the check mark system will be reinstituted.
Semester Awards
We will recognize our students that received a semester award on Wednesday, January 20th. Unfortunately we can’t invite parents into the building to view the awards ceremony due to COVID19 safety measures. We are working to provide an individual picture of the students who receive an award. Following the ceremony, teachers will be reaching out by phone, email, or a note to inform you of why the awarded student received the honor.
MAP Testing
We will begin our winter MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) testing for grades 1st-6th grade this week. MAP testing allows us to measure academic growth in our students in the areas of Reading and Math. While it is not a high stakes test, we want our students to do as well as they can on it.
Writing Circles Opportunity
Please see the flyer below for an opportunity for students in grades 4-6 to get involved in a writing group put on by Women Writing for a change.
6th Grade Remote Learning Academy Information
Please remember that to be counted as present in school, you must be working 5.5 hours per day in Apex or have green progress bars in all classes. You can see the progress bars on your Apex dashboard.
Apex emails "Coaches' Reports" to parents/guardians/coaches every Sunday evening. Please make sure these are not going to spam or junk mail. The reports let you know how much time students are spending and how they are progressing.
Completing all study guides AS you are learning the material will help you to pass quizzes the first time. Plus, you can refer to the guides as you are taking quizzes and tests!
Please consult the following document every week for helpful links and access to fun weekly activities and help sessions:
In Case You Missed It
K-5 Virtual Students: Accelerate Workbook Pick Up
If you were unable to pick up your Accelerate workbooks prior to winter break, please stop in to the Amity front office to pick them up. The office will be open for book pick up from 8:30-2:30.
January Lunch Menu
Outdoor Recess
With a return to cold temperatures, please remember to send your child to school with appropriate outdoor attire for recess. We are currently going outside whenever the “feels like” temperature is 25 degrees or above. This gives our students time to burn some energy and allows for a time that our students can take a socially distanced mask break. Our recesses are 30 minutes in length this year so it is important that our students be comfortable while they are outside.
Attendance
Please remember to call our attendance line (513-891-2414) or email Betty Jung (jung.b@dpccsd.org), our attendance secretary, if your student is going to be out.
This is especially important with the number of people that are either required to quarantine by the health department, or quarantining on their own accord. We need to be aware of these situations outside of school so that we can appropriately mark the attendance and provide guidance from the district if necessary. Thanks for all your help!
Amity Cat News
The Amity Cat News is up and running. Our student led morning announcement is scheduled to post every morning at 7:45 so your student can stay connected with what is going on whether they are at school or at home. The link to the youtube channel is below
Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Information Page
A page on the Deer Park website has been created which is dedicated to bringing you the most up-to-date information on all things affecting Deer Park Schools. It includes several quick links to local, state, and national health organizations, along with a frequently asked questions section. Please visit the page to stay up to date with all COVID-19 information.
|
