|
Dear Families,
On behalf of the Columbia staff, we want to wish you and your families wonderful winter break. We hope you find time to relax and enjoy the holidays. This has been a difficult year and we all deserve this break to recharge and rejuvenate. The school office will be closed over the winter break and will resume normal operations on January 4, 2021.
You may remember that new school bell schedules were announced in July. Our school’s bell schedule was changed. However, given the all-virtual start to the school year, there was no need to implement the new bell schedule.
At the School Board Work session on December 10, Superintendent Brabrand presented a revised phased- plan to return all students who have selected the in-person option starting in January, 2021. Staff worked to improve start times and end times for all levels.
Barring any changes to the plan that may be impacted by the pandemic, the following bell schedule will be in place effective January 12, 2021 for both virtual and in- person instruction. Our new bell schedule will be 9:45 am to 4:15 pm.
The fifteen (15) minute reduction in the school day is due to the increased cleaning time required between bus runs. Additionally, as more students return to school, the number of students allowed on each bus will be reduced substantially to meet social distancing requirements. With fewer students able to ride a bus at the same time, FCPS has no choice but to adjust the times that our buses are transporting students.
We understand that changes may present a hardship to some of our families and staff. However, it is the only way we can return all our grade levels to in-person learning, while following the critical guidelines to help keep our students and staff safe.
Wishing you a wonderful winter break,
Michael Cunningham
|
