Hello Mariposa families. We hope that you are doing well. As Mrs. Hunt sent out a message last week, it indicated that it is our plan to get our students back to our school building on August 17th to begin their year of learning. This may change if directives come from the Governor or any other official and we will keep you updated immediately. During the week of August 10-14 we will have “grab and go” meals available for your pick up and we will be in touch as it gets closer with the details. Our staff will be calling you this week to check in with you.
To ensure our staff and students are healthy, we have put many safety procedures in place in planning for our return to the building. They include but are not limited to: daily temperature checks for students, a prescreening questionnaire that will be done by families at home for potential sickness, protective shields in places such as the restrooms, limiting school capacity to 50%, adjusting lunch and recess schedules for students to ensure distance in the cafeteria, shields and strategic planning in the classroom to limit students at work stations, individual student materials to limit shared touch points, one way directional passing in hallways with guiding footprints to support student distance, hand sanitizing stations and hand washing stations throughout the building, cleaning protocols throughout the day for staff and student used materials, and no guests or building visitors to begin the school year.
At this time, in order to be compliant with the with the Governor’s Directive 024 in July 2020, Mariposa will require the use of face coverings for staff members, visitors, and students age 10 and above while on Mariposa property. Additionally, Mariposa is highly recommending the use of face coverings for students 9 years of age and younger and reserves the right to mandate use in situations such as close personal contact. Mariposa will request that ALL students bring a mask to school on a daily basis for personal use. Mariposa will provide disposable masks on an as needed basis to students. Some of our students may not be able to wear a mask or face covering due to medical reasons. A doctor’s note must be provided by a medical physician on their letterhead. IEP/504 students may not be required to wear masks based on individual needs. This mandate may change based on Governor or official directives.
If it is necessary to move to distance learning, we will check out student computers to all students to use for their at home learning. Wifi will be necessary for students to access their school materials. When our staff calls this week, please let us know if you have Wifi access for your child in the case that we would need to be on a distance learning plan.
Prior to school starting, we will be providing you with opportunities to meet with teachers via phone, online, and limited in person occasions to discuss and learn about our school policies and protocols. We will also have videos for you to show your children to prepare for our first day back. We are excited to see your students, we want to provide them with a safe and healthy learning environment, and we want to work in partnership with you. These times can be uncertain and complicated, and we are here to help and be a team with you. Our goal is to support our students and make their day at school “as normal” as we are able. As noted earlier, our staff will be calling each of you this week to answer any questions that you might have and to gather some information from you so that we can best plan for the upcoming year. Please be prepared to let them know if your child will be returning to school and if we need to move to distance learning will you have Wifi available for your child.
Be well and we will talk with you soon!