Frequently Asked Questions for Re-Entry 9/7/20
re entry q and a for parents (3).docx
Robo Call from 8/26/20
Hello T. A. Lowery families! This is Mrs. Martin, Principal of T. A. Lowery Elementary School with some information and updates for you. A copy of this message will be on the T. A. Lowery website and the T. A. Lowery PTO Facebook page.
We have not received our yearbooks yet, but will notify you when they come in.
We have scheduled a pick up time for families to retrieve their child’s belongings from last year, on Wednesday, September 2nd from 9 AM to 3 PM. If you have text books or library books, please put them in your trunk, we will retrieve them as we place your child’s belongings in your trunk. In addition, we will provide Book Fair orders from March at the time of pick up. Please pull up in the privately transported loop with your child’s name on a sign. There will be staff there to help direct you and assist.
This school year will certainly look different than previous school years. As you know, the situation and information changes frequently so our plans are based on the most current information. I do want to reassure you that the staff and I have been working throughout the summer to create safe procedures and schedules to prepare for your child’s first day of school. We can’t wait to see them virtually or in person!
If your child will be virtual, we will let you know who your child’s virtual teacher will be as soon as the information is available. If your child will be attending on site, you will receive a phone call from your child’s teacher with information regarding the beginning of school. There will be some class changes due to enrollment for our on site students. I apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.
This year we will have a staggered start for the first two weeks of school. The staggered start will be based on what bus your child rides. Please grab a pen and a piece of paper to write down the dates when your child will attend:
Buses 91 and 1967 and privately transported students who would normally ride those buses will attend school on September 8th and 14th
Buses 1548, 1209, and privately transported students who would normally ride those buses will attend school on September 9th and 15th
Buses 89 (which was previously 106), 1106, 93, and privately transported students who normally ride those buses will attend school on September 10th and 16th
Buses 20-03, 20-14, privately transported students who would normally ride those buses, students who ride a special education bus, out of district approved transfer students, and TA staff students will attend school on September 11th and 17th
All on site students will attend school on September 18th
For information regarding bus numbers, bus stop locations, pick up and drop off times, please visit the Jefferson County Schools website and click on Departments, then Transportation.
Or click on the link below.
http://jeff.ss18.sharpschool.com/departments_and_services/Transportation/bus_stop_information
If you missed the presentation on Jefferson’s Virtual Academy, you can view the video link on the Jefferson County Schools’ webpage.
http://jeff.ss18.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=481615&pageId=30596097
If you have not registered your child for school yet, please visit the T. A. Lowery website or click on the link below:
https://tales.jeff.k12.wv.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=483211&pageId=30608799
For details regarding T. A. Lowery’s on site, at school instruction, please visit our website or the T. A. Lowery PTO Facebook page.
Whether you chose on site or virtual academy, please know that I support your decision and what is best for your family. We are in this together and I only ask for your patience and grace as we navigate the frequent changes during COVID-19. My goal is to share information with you so that you and your child are prepared, not scared. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at kmartin@k12.wv.us or contact the school at 304-728-7250. Thank you so much for sharing your children with us.
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T. A. Lowery Re-Entry Plan Information
If you opt for on site, “face to face” instruction, I want you to be very clear with your children about what this will look like (as it may differ from what they—and you—remember about face to face school). I’d prefer them to be prepared BEFORE returning, so that it doesn’t come as a shock to them.
1. Students have to wear a face covering while riding a bus. Siblings will be placed together on the bus. Students will be spaced apart for safety. If they are car riders, they will put on a face covering as they arrive at the school building because they are entering what we call a “common space” (hallways, for example).
2. There will be signage and paw prints throughout the building, reminding students to practice social distancing. There are teal paw prints on the front sidewalk, to provide visual reminders to stay separated from each other, as well, during arrival and dismissal.
3. Students will wear a face covering in common areas (hallways, bathrooms, etc).
4. Students will eat breakfast and lunch in their homerooms with their teachers. They will pick up their bagged breakfast in the front lobby in the morning, and their lunches will be delivered to the classrooms.
5. Students will be spaced apart in the classrooms/homerooms.
6. We are fortunate to have a large outdoor play area. Students will only play with their homeroom classmates during recess.
7. All students/staff will have their temperature taken daily with a touchless thermometer as they enter the building.
8. Students will have assigned entrances to the building: bus riders through the main doors, kindergarten through the kindergarten doors, privately transported through the gym, special education bus riders will use the blacktop area entrances.
9. IF your child would have a temperature, or exhibit other symptoms of illness, we will follow safety protocols just as we have in the past. The difference this year is that we will have separate room for students in the office, where they will remain with supervision, until a parent/guardian can pick them up. In this separate space, students will wear their face covering, as well.
10. Parents, volunteers and visitors will not be permitted to enter the building this year. If you come to pick up your child, we will bring them to the front entrance for you.
11. If your child forgets his/her lunch, backpack, homework, etc., there will be a drop box out front. We will sanitize the items and THEN bring them in, to take to your child.
12. There will not be building use activities permitted for this year.
13. We will not have assemblies or field trips this year.
14. Our specials teachers (Art, PE, Library, Music) will either come to your child’s homeroom or will take the class outside to a designated area for specials. We will not be able to use the gym, library, art room or music room this year.
15. Please visit the Jefferson County Schools website for current and updated information. Also, visit the T. A. Lowery website or the T. A. Lowery PTO Facebook page to read a letter from the staff and see a video of our staff in their facemasks.
T.A. 's Prepared, Not Scared!
Families and Friends of T.A. Lowery,
We’d like to take this time to tell you the staff at T.A. is working diligently to ensure your child receives the best education possible during the 2020-2021 school year. This includes taking care of their social, emotional, physical, and academic needs. We understand the pandemic has made everything so different and much more complicated, but we all truly want what’s best for these children. Whether you choose virtual or in-person learning, we’ll get through this pandemic together.
As a parent, teacher, and PTO member, I can assure you there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Mrs. Martin has put together committees who have been meeting virtually for weeks or even months. We’ve been running ideas by each other, scratching out old ideas and replacing with new, revamping schedules to maintain social distancing, and making your child’s safety and education our top priority. We’ve come up with what we felt were solid plans, only to find out something has changed and we need to start over, but flexibility is the name of the game right now.
Things will certainly look different whenever we go back to school, but different isn’t necessarily a negative thing. Your children will adjust to the new norms and will generally take on the attitude of the adults around them about the new protocols. The staff at T.A. are striving to make the precautions as seamless as possible. It’ll take a few weeks for everyone to get back into the groove of going to school, but we’ll get there together by showing one another grace and compassion.
Before school starts, some of our staff will put together a video about how our new normal will look. You’ll get to see classrooms, get a glimpse of your child’s teacher, see how arrival and dismissal will look, understand how breakfast and lunch will be served in classrooms, etc. These changes will take time for our older friends to adjust to, but we’ll do our best to talk them through the ins and outs of the new processes. Our little friends will adjust quickly because school is new to them anyway. They don’t know we’ve never done temperature checks and walked six feet apart before. For now, it’s just part of being a big kid and going to school. Kids feed off our emotions and together we can show them new can be EXCITING! We all enjoy a nice summer break, but at this point I feel confident in saying students and staff have really missed each other over the past few months and are ready to be reunited.
If you have any questions, please email our Principal, Mrs. Martin, at kmartin@k12.wv.us. For the most current information, please check the Jefferson County Schools' and T. A. Lowery websites, in addition to the JCS and T. A. PTO Facebook pages. Your child's teacher will be reaching out to you prior to the start of school with specific information about the first days of school.
We promise to love, teach, and prioritize the safety of your children to the best of our abilities and we’re looking forward to a great year! ❤️❤️❤️
In Teaching,
The Teachers and Staff of T. A. Lowery Elementary School
Click Here to See our 2020-2021 Video: Prepared, Not Scared 2020.mp4
Resources:
Recovery vs. CompensatoryServiceBrochure-v2.pdf
21029_Re-entryGuidance-SWE-UPDATE-v2.pdf
COVID 19 Response Press Release_FINAL.pdf
2019-IE-Photography-Flyer---HUD-2.pdf
COVID-19 2 Month Promo Illustration Flyer FLY-ILL-BIL-2MO-0320_Low Res.pdf
Internet Essentials_Final 2.pdf
20-21 Grading and Reporting Periods for Parents.docx
T.A. Farewell Video
Click on the link below:
https://live.myvrspot.com/iframe?v=fY2Y0YzZkOTg2NjQyNDVkOGFmMjQ5YjA3MWNiOTE0ZDc
TA Lowery Teachers Miss You Video
Click on the link below:
https://live.myvrspot.com/iframe?v=fN2JjOTY2ZjU3YWU2ZGVmNzNjMGIwYWEzOWEyYWFlNjQ