SC Texas News

Hallettsville Junior High issued the following announcement.

The below list of Q&A will hopefully ease some anxiety about how we will “do school”. This is not an allinclusive list of questions because we definitely don’t know all the answers at this time. 

1. When does school start for the 2020-2021 school year? HISD’s first day of school for the 2020-2021 school year will be August 20, 2020. 

2. What does the HJHS bell schedule look like? The first bell of the day is 7:45 AM. First period starts at 7:50 AM. 7th period ends at 3:04 PM. Classes are normally 52 minutes long. Lunches are 50 minutes long. 

3. Why are lunches so long? Because of the number of students on campus, we are trying to control the number of students in the cafeteria at one time. Two lunches are set up - 1st lunch is for 5th and 6th grade (11:29 - 12:19) and 2nd lunch is for 7th and 8th grade (12:24 - 1:14). While one grade is in the cafeteria, the other grade is outside at recess. Halfway through the lunch period, the groups will switch. Students will be spread out as much as possible. 

4. Are there any other changes in the cafeteria? Yes. Last year meals were free choice (you get to pick what you want to eat and put the item on your tray). This year, you will be able to choose from food items from the maroon line and white line on both serving lines. Cafeteria staff will fill our tray with your requested items and then hand the tray to you. Snack bar items will also be available from each line. Students can still bring their lunches, but should be brought to school with them in the morning. Multiple microwaves will be available for student use with sanitizing between uses. Only milk will be available. Students wishing to drink water will need to bring their water bottle to the cafeteria. Please see more detailed cafeteria procedures on the campus webpage. 

5. Are we allowed to bring water bottles to campus? Students are expected to bring their own reusable water bottle for use throughout the day and expected to take water bottles home to be cleaned on a daily basis. Because of COVID-19 guidelines, all water fountains will be out of service. Water bottle filling stations will be retrofitted on some existing water fountains. Water bottles need to have a sealed lid. Office staff will provide a small “temporary” water bottle for those that do not have one or forget one at home. DO NOT FILL YOUR WATER BOTTLE WITH ANYTHING ELSE BUT WATER. 

6. Do I have to wear a mask? Schools are required to comply with the governor’s executive order regarding the wearing of masks. Students and staff are expected to wear face coverings during school hours. This requirement is subject to change. For the safety of you, your family, your classmates and their families, and staff, we ask that all students and staff wear a mask at all times on campus. The exceptions are when outside and social distancing, when eating in the cafeteria, when participating in band class as directed by the band director, and athletics and PE class when actively engaged in activities. Students and staff are encouraged to provide their own face covering. However, if they are not able to provide their own, the district will provide a face covering. Families will be responsible for daily cleaning of the face mask. 

7. Will visitors be allowed on campus at this time? No, not at this time. Visitors will not be allowed on campus. Pep rallies or other assemblies will be cancelled or moved outside so that social distancing can be followed. Virtual tools will be used to conduct meetings such as ARDs, LPAC, 504, etc. 

8. What will be done to help with health and sanitation while I’m on campus? The custodial staff has been hard at work preparing for you coming back to campus. All faucets in the restrooms have been retrofitted with motion sensor faucets. We will limit the number of students in the restrooms at one time with more disinfecting throughout the day. (Exact plan is still under discussion) Students will “stay to the right” of the hallway when walking. We know that there are many students on Campus, so HJHS staff will encourage students to keep moving in the halls and social distance as much as possible. When entering and exiting the classrooms, students will be offered hand sanitizer. Prior to leaving the classroom to change classes, the desks and other supplies will be sanitized with a peroxide based disinfectant approved by the EPA for use in schools. Hand sanitizer stations will be available across campus for student use. Hand washing will also be encouraged. We know that our class sizes are large and our classroom sizes are small, but teachers and staff will work hard to distance students from others as much as possible. 

9. Will there be any changes on the busses? HISD is in the process of gathering information regarding the number of students needing transportation to and from school. Bus routes will run at regular capacity. Although the district is implementing the safety protocols and disinfecting efforts described below, families are encouraged to drop students off, carpool or walk with their student to school to reduce possible exposure on buses. Route information, if it changes from last year will be communicated to parents prior to the first day of school. When students ride the bus, they will be expected to wear a mask the entire time on the bus. School bus drivers, bus assistants and staff will be spraying and wiping down seats and high-touch items with disinfecting spray. When possible, bus windows will be open to allow outside air to circulate in the bus. 

10. Will students be picked up at JH first? NO. Because of the limited number of drivers, all busses will start at HES/HHS. Once busses are loaded, they will come to HJH. All students riding the bus home will need to get on a bus - there will not be a late bus this year. You will be assigned a bus. Do not “bus hop”. 

11. What if I walk home from HES/HHS or my parent works on one of those campuses? How do I get to that campus after school? HJHS is providing a shuttle bus for ONLY students in these two categories. Otherwise, students are expected to be a car rider, walker, or bus rider home. 

12. What else is new this year? All students and staff will be issued student IDs with lanyards. The purpose of the student ID is to use it when purchasing a lunch in the cafeteria and checking out books in the library. Using a scan card limits the numbers of people touching a keypad. Students are not required to wear their lanyard during the school day, but are required to have it at school every day to use in the cafeteria and library. If the ID or lanyard is lost, a student can request another for a fee of $2.00. Throughout the year, there will be more need for the student ID at school. 

13. How will I take attendance in class with some students being face-to-face and some being School@Home? For the first week all attendance will be taken by paper. We will not use the new program to record Attendance at first. Once the system is up and running, it will designate which students are face-toface and which students are School@Home near their name. We are still working on how attendance will be documented for School@Home students - checking to see if they have logged in to Google Classroom into at least one of their classes on a daily basis. 

14. Will the student phone in the office be available for use? The student phone in the office will be removed. If a student is sent to the office to use the phone, they will be told to get their cell phone out and use their own phone. If they don’t have a cell phone, they will  tell the office staff the phone number and we will call and put the parent on speaker. This is being done to cut down on how many people are touching the phone and continually cleaning. 

15. Will students continue to have the opportunity to turn in phones to the bucket in the office? No. We will ask students to turn their phones off and keep them. We will do this until further notice. 

16. What changes in computer use will there be on campus? The Tech Coaches will provide more in depth information during in-service. We will still have technology devices in the classrooms for student use. If students are using the devices, they will be responsible for wiping it down when finished. Cleaning products will be provided. 

17. What are the procedures if a student becomes ill (with COVID symptoms) in the classroom? The student should be sent to the nurse for evaluation. If the student is being sent home because of possible COVID symptoms, they will sit in quarantine in the old phone room/laminator closet (Rm. 104) until they are picked up. More detailed information can be found in the HJH Back to School Plan. 

18. So, where is the laminator going to be housed this year? The laminator will be in Rm 118. Nicole will still laminate for those that ask.

Original source can be found here.