Parent Update 9-8-2020

Hello Nellie Reed families!

It has been yet another great week at Nellie Reed Elementary.  Our students are getting into routines and having a ton of fun learning and playing.  

Please never hesitate to email me if you have any questions: jjohnston@corunna.k12.mi.us

Sincerely,
Jamie Johnston

Principal

Learning Plan

Calendar Items 

Breakfast/Lunch 

2020-2021 Corunna Calendar

Please click on the following link to view the 2020-2021 school calendar.  

Nellie Reed Reminders

Please click on the following link to view instructions on signing up for Nellie Reed.  

Masks

Students have done a great job of being safe and wearing their masks while in school.  We have had to issue a couple of reminders of making sure the masks cover the students nose.  Please help us by reminding your child at home of the proper way of wearing a mask. Also, a friendly reminder to make sure to wash or replace your child’s mask daily.  This will keep your child and others safe.

COVID-19 Screening

As a reminder, families need to screen their student daily before school and not send their student to school if they display any of the symptoms of COVID-19 identified by the CDC, in an Executive Order, or in a local health department order.  Symptoms include:

• Fever of 100.4 degrees or higher
• New or worsening cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing - NEW or DIFFERENT or WORSE from your baseline of any chronic illness
• Chills - NEW or DIFFERENT or WORSE from your baseline of any chronic illness
• Headache - NEW or DIFFERENT or WORSE from your baseline of any chronic illness
• Sore throat - NEW or DIFFERENT or WORSE from your baseline of any chronic illness
• Loss of smell or taste - NEW or DIFFERENT or WORSE from your baseline of any chronic illness
• Muscle pain - NEW or DIFFERENT or WORSE from your baseline of any chronic illness
• Had close contact with an individual diagnosed with COVID-19

Corunna Food Service Free Meals Information

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced schools will be able to serve free meals to all children through December 31, 2020, or until the federal funding runs out.

This means ALL Corunna students are now going to receive a FREE breakfast and lunch!

This waiver allows us to go back and reimburse all students that were charged a breakfast and/or lunch since the beginning of this school year (8/24 – 8/31/2020). This may take some time, so please be patient. If your child was charged for a meal during the first 6 days of school, you will see a credit for this.

Online Students

All online students are eligible for free breakfast and lunch! These meals are available for pick up every Wednesday at the High School. You will need to sign up for the meals. Please click on this link https://forms.gle/PjRYVYA6QcK1U7Sj8  to sign up for September Meals and learn more.

 If you have any food service questions, please feel free to contact Erin Levi at (989) 743-8232

CHS Social-Emotional Support Team

Here is a link introducing our district’s Social-Emotional Support Team.  This team is ready and available to help students and parents with any social, emotional, or academic needs.

Online Learning Update

Students that have picked the option of online learning will be interacting with their teacher, special education teacher, or specials teacher.  Assignments will be made available in weekly chunks and can be completed when convenient during the day.  Students must have a caregiver to assist with learning which might mean assignments need to be completed in the evenings or on weekends when a caregiver is available.  Instruction by teachers will occur through videos which can be viewed as many times as you or your child needs and/or would like.  Teachers will be available to answer questions via email or phone. Parents must understand that communication may be delayed because these same teachers will be teaching to our in person students during school hours.  Teachers have been encouraged to respond to all email and phone messages within a 24 hour time period.  Parents should plan on coming to the school (roughly once a week) to pick up some learning materials that might be necessary to complete online learning (examples: classroom novel, textbook, math manipulatives, handouts, etc.)

Teachers are required to have two-way communication with students each week to discuss academic progress.  Assignments may be graded and participation through returned work or weekly communication will be monitored for attendance purposes.    

If you were a parent who indicated you didn’t have a reliable internet connection, our plan is to load materials onto a flash drive to allow your student to access learning materials without the internet.  This would need to be picked up on a weekly basis.  We also have wi-fi connection available in all of our district parking lots.    Please contact your teacher with any questions.

Reminders

Online students ONLY - Meals

We are committed to offering healthy meals to your students during their online learning. We will be offering meals to all virtual learners for pick up once a week. These meals are charged the same as if your student would be attending school. If your student attends Louise Peacock, Nellie Reed, or Elsa Meyer they will receive free breakfast and lunch. If your student attends the Middle School or High School your student will be charged based upon your meal application status of free, reduced (breakfast $0.30/Lunch $0.40) or paid (breakfast $1.50/lunch $2.75).

Please fill out this survey Student Meals for Online Students to help us plan and prepare. More details will be sent out on location and exact times for pick up.

Google Classroom - ONLINE LEARNERS

We are not going to start the year using Google Classroom.  I want all parents to get comfortable with the format of online learning first.  We will slowly introduce families to Google classrooms in the future.  Right now everything will be sent by email and anything you are turning in should be emailed to the teacher.  

Pesticide Prior Notification

Parents and guardians are entitled to receive notice by mail at least 3 days prior to any application of pesticides.  If a Request for Advanced Notification by First Class Mail is preferred, a form must be requested and filled out at the superintendent’s office at 124 N. Shiawassee Street, Corunna, MI 48817.

Learning Plans - ONLINE and In Person

Each week in our update we will include the Learning Plan for the Week.  You will see the link above the calendar items. This is intended primarily for online parents instruction, but it is also a great way to reinforce learning at home for in-person students.  If your child is coming to school each day, you can rewatch videos, do activities, etc.  Both in person and online students are working on the same concepts.

School Time

The school day will begin at 9:40 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m.  The doors to Nellie Reed will open at 9:30 am each morning.  

Teacher hours

Please be aware that our teacher hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.  You can expect that if you call or email that a teacher will respond within 24 hours during the school week and during teacher hours.  

Parent Visits

In the past we have always welcomed our parents into the building and encouraged involvement.  This year we will be limiting access to individuals that are not students or Nellie Reed staff as a safety measure.  

Temperature checks

Parents will be responsible for checking their child’s temperature each day before sending their child to school.  In circumstances where we feel like a child might not be feeling well, we will use a touchless thermometer to check their temperature on an as needed basis.

Masks

Children, staff, and parents will be required to wear masks at Nellie Reed.  It is highly recommended that your child has five masks (one for each day).  If that is not possible, masks should be washed on a daily basis.  Masks should be worn once a student enters the building and will remain on except for meals or when students take breaks outside.  We understand that students may struggle in the beginning wearing masks all day.  We will work diligently with students at the beginning of the year to assure they understand the expectation and the importance while still maintaining a fun environment. Please get a style of mask that your child feels comfortable wearing for a long duration.  

Lunch/Recess

Students will have 45 minutes in their day dedicated to lunch/recess.  During that time they will be with a small cohort of students that will be primarily made up of their classmates.  They will be socially distanced at lunch and we will encourage them to socially distance at recess.  Students will not have to wear masks at lunch or during outdoor recess.

Lockers

Students at Nellie Reed will be allowed to use their lockers during supervised times.  They will be taken out to their lockers in small groups while they are socially distanced.

Water Bottles

Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school that is labeled with their name.   Students will not be able to use the levers on water fountains.  We are in the process of having a touchless water bottle filler installed.  Until then, staff will help students refill water bottles when needed.

PTO - We are in need of parents to represent Nellie Reed at our Elementary PTO.  Currently parents are meeting virtually.  If you are interested, please contact me at jjohnston@corunna.k12.mi.us

Paraprofessionals - We are accepting applications for one-on-one paraprofessionals at Nellie Reed.  If you are interested, please contact me at jjohnston@corunna.k12.mi.us

Paraprofessional need to have met one of the following requirements to apply:

• Complete at least two years of study at an institution of higher education (equal to 60 semester hours);
• Obtain an associate's degree (or higher);
• Passed the Workkeys examination or equivalent

Social Media

Corunna High School uses the following social media platforms for distributing information:

• Website:  www.corunna.k12.mi.us
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Nellie-Reed-Elementary-1095875213853202/
•  and Corunna Public Schools
• Twitter:  @Corunna_Ele
• Apptegy:  All of our phone and text messages come through using Apptegy.  Please click this link for more information.