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The Lake Holcombe School District staff have been diligently working on plans to re-open school on September 1. Our goal is to re-open school as SAFELY AS POSSIBLE. In the coming weeks we will be sharing our plans as they progress. We have been working hard on our re-opening plans these past few weeks and will continue throughout the summer. Of course this is a fluid situation and things change weekly, if not daily. Please check our here for updates and we thank you for your patience. Face Coverings August 10,2020
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has called on Americans to wear face coverings. According to the CDC director, face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus. Governor Evers signed an emergency order on July 30, 2020 requiring face coverings. This order is currently in place until September 30, 2020. Regardless, face coverings will be required in the Lake Holcombe School District until further notice. Any individual age five and older shall wear a face covering when indoors or in an enclosed space. Face coverings are recommended for younger students as well. Face coverings are strongly recommended in all other settings including outdoors when it is not possible to maintain physical distancing. We are asking for everyone’s cooperation with this new procedure/requirement. A copy of Governor Evers Order is located here https://evers.wi.gov/Documents/COVID19/EmO01-FaceCoverings.pdf Additional Information/Guidance:
Chippewa County Public Health has ensured us that they will assist with compliance in regard to face covering use. Corrective action will be monitored by school administration and Chippewa County Public Health. Our goal is 100% compliance. We certainly thank you in advance for your cooperation as we continue to move forward with the Re-Opening of Schools. Student Transportation August 7, 2020
As one can imagine, ensuring students remain physically distanced on school buses is a significant challenge. We encourage parents and guardians to transport their students to and from school, when possible. Routes will be monitored and adjusted to allow for balancing the number of students on the bus when possible. Changes to riding status/pick-up or drop off location MUST be communicated well in advance. Please call the school office to arrange for changes in riding status at 715-595-4241. We will not authorize changes for purposes of social functions among students. Prior to Transport It is recommended that all students have their temperature taken prior to leaving their home every school day, any student with a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees cannot ride the bus. If a student is ill. Please keep them home. Drivers will verbally/visually screen students as they enter the bus. If a student is exhibiting symptoms of illness; the driver will have the student do a temperature scan. If a student has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher the driver will need to get into contact with the parent/guardian to remove the student from the bus. On the Bus To the degree possible, all students will be required to sit one to a seat or as family units, as long as there are enough seats to do so. Students will have assigned seats. All students should socially distance whenever possible while waiting at the bus stop and on the bus. Hand sanitizer will also be available on all buses. All Students will be required to follow all state and county recommendations regarding PPE (Personal Protection Equipment, i.e. face coverings), unless otherwise exempt and/or there is any safety concern(s). Drivers will be required to follow all state and federal recommendations regarding PPE (Personal Protection Equipment), unless otherwise exempt and/or there is any safety concern(s). No eating or drinking on the bus. Keep your personal items to yourself. We need all students to be cooperative and exhibit the proper behavior on our buses at all times. When the Bus Arrives at School Buses will unload one at a time. Please exit the bus in an orderly fashion. Buses will drop students off and all students will enter the building using the South/Elementary playground doors. Students should socially distance and report directly to their homeroom/first hour class. At the End of the Day Bus riders will be dismissed in an orderly/scheduled fashion. Report directly to your bus and sit in you assigned seat. We are working closely with our transportation provider, Gilbertson Transit, LLC, to ensure all buses are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after every route. July 20, 2020 Board Approved 7-20-20
Reopening Schools: Information & Updates As the Lake Holcombe School District plans for the start of the 2020-21 school year, we are committed to keeping our families, staff, students, and community members informed. While there are still many uncertainties regarding what the upcoming school year will look like, we are hard at work to ensure our students continue to have access to a high-quality educational experience. Teams of educators have been meeting this summer to develop plans for re-opening. In this document you will find information on potential school schedule changes, cleaning protocols in our buildings, health and safety measures, meal service procedures, and how we plan to provide students with access to technology and transportation. It also includes information on athletics, extra-curricular activities and building use. The circumstances surrounding COVID-19 is evolving with time. We will regularly update this document as our plans continue to take shape. This document is the big picture for the re-opening of schools. A series of program specific memorandums will be shared weekly in the month of August. We encourage you to keep checking back for the latest information on our COVID webpage at www.lakeholcombe.k12.wi.us or on our Facebook page. SCHOOL SCHEDULES We know that the question at the top of our families’ minds is whether students will return to the classroom for in-person instruction at the start of the upcoming school year. Although we do not have a firm answer to that question, we are currently planning for multiple scenarios: Scenario #1: We are able to welcome back all students into our buildings and resume a mostly normal school day schedule. This would involve enhanced cleaning protocols, a degree of physical distancing among students, adjustments to how students enter and exit buildings, and changes to how we manage transitions between classrooms throughout the day. Scenario #2: Students would spend part of their week in the school building. We are working on several scenarios in which we would have part of the student body in the building each day and/or an altered school week where students spend some time in the building and some time online. Scenario #3: It remains possible that we may need to begin the 2020-21 school year with students engaged in all-remote learning, similar to the final few months of the previous school year. If this is the case, all remote learning would be required. Attendance, grades, assessments, and daily work would all be tracked. HEALTH & SAFETY MEASURES In anticipation of having students and staff back in our school buildings, the district will implement a variety of health and safety measures. These include the following: Temperature Taking All students and staff will have their temperatures taken as they enter our school buildings each day. Students who are riding the bus will have their temperatures taken as they board the bus. Any individuals determined to have a fever will be sent home immediately. Handwashing Students and staff will be regularly reminded about the importance of education of proper handwashing. Teachers may allow for more breaks to give students the opportunity to wash their hands, either at a classroom sink or in a restroom. In addition, we will place no-touch hand sanitizer units throughout our buildings. Students and staff will be encouraged to use hand sanitizer regularly. Masks and PPE Although we will not require students to wear masks or other personal protective equipment (PPE) while in school, these items are strongly encouraged. We are committed to fostering a respectful environment in which there are no stigmas associated with wearing masks. We are continuing to assess the need to wear masks and at some point may make this a requirement. It is likely that staff will be required to wear masks. Transitions Between Classes To help avoid situations in which large groups of students are gathered in one place, we will adjust the way students move between classrooms and other spaces in our schools. In our elementary schools students will for the most part remain in their classrooms all day. In our middle schools, students for the most part will remain in their classrooms all day. In our high school, we will adjust schedules to reduce the number of transitions to the greatest extent possible. Drinking Fountains Drinking fountains have been disabled. Instead, we recommend that all students bring water bottles to school so that they can refill them at a fill station or sink. Students should not share water bottles with others. Entering/Exiting Schools To protect students’ safety and provide for more orderly temperature taking, all students will enter and exit each building at designated doors. Family members should not leave their vehicles when picking up or dropping off students. Upon entering the school building, students will report directly to their classroom. Below are the designated doors at each school building:
CLEANING & DISINFECTING Our custodial staff will significantly increase the wiping down and disinfecting of public spaces and high-touch surfaces across our buildings and throughout the school day. We will also provide greater access to cleaning materials for our teachers and staff so that they can clean and disinfect spaces, as needed. Each evening, our custodial team will conduct a thorough cleaning of our spaces, again disinfecting high-touch surfaces like sinks, drinking fountains, door handles, tables, and desks. MEAL SERVICES The district will provide meals to children on a daily basis. In-School Cafeteria Procedures To avoid situations in which students are gathered in groups, we will adjust our typical breakfast and lunch room service schedule in each of our schools. Breakfast will be served in the classroom to all students via a grab and go style breakfast. PK-5 will have breakfast right away in the morning. Grades 6-12 during their mid-morning breakfast break as we did during the 2019-20 school year. At this point we plan to serve lunch in the cafeteria. More tables will be added and students will be social distanced. Foodservice staff will plate and serve all food. TECHNOLOGY ACCESS Due to the likelihood that all students will need to engage in remote or online learning at some point in the school year, the district will provide technological devices for all students. Hotspots are available for checkout as well. Wi-Fi access is also available in the school parking lot. We are bolstering our technological devices this summer. All new curriculum purchases that we have made come with a digital platform for enhanced teaching and learning. The following devices will be available for students. Grades PK-1-Ipads Grades 2-8-Chromebooks Grades 9-12-Laptops ATHLETICS & EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES At this time, we plan to offer athletics and extracurricular activities in the fall semester. However, activities, practices, and schedules may need to be modified to ensure students remain physically distanced and can maintain proper hygiene. Each activity will look a little different, and coaches and advisors will be able to provide you and your students with more information. It remains possible that some or all of our athletic seasons may be restricted, shortened or cancelled. This will depend largely on decisions made by the WIAA and the Lakeland Conference. These decisions are also subject to change during the season depending on the status of COVID-19 in our state and region. BUSING & TRANSPORTATION As one can imagine, ensuring students remain physically distanced on school buses is a significant challenge. To the degree possible, all students will be required to sit one to a seat or as family units, as long as there are enough seats to do so. All students will have their temperatures taken as they board the bus. They will be sent home immediately if they are determined to have a fever. Students will load the bus from back to front and sit in family groups when possible. Although masks or cloth face coverings will not be required on buses, they are strongly encouraged. We ask our families to consider having their students wear masks on the bus when traveling to and from school. Hand sanitizer will also be available on all buses. Finally, we are working closely with our contracted transportation provider, Gilbertson Transportation to ensure all buses are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected on a daily basis. We will continue to monitor and receive guidance from the Department of Public Instruction, Department of Health Services, WIAA, and Chippewa County Public Health. July 15th
The following are some guidelines and protocol we will follow as we continue to monitor our COVID-19 response and re-open phases of school operations.
District Precautions:
Thank you for your cooperation as we work through this difficult situation together. |
KEY CONTACTS
Kurt Lindau, Superintendent 715-595-4241 lindkur@lakeholcombe.k12.wi.us Mark Porter, Principal 715-595-4241 porterme@lakeholcombe.k12.wi.us Todd Senoraske, Director of Athletics & Activities 715-595-4241 senotod@lakeholcombe.k12.wi.us Amy Linskey,Food Service Director 715-595-4241 linsamy@lakeholcombe.k12.wi.us 715-595-4241 Tom Hayden Director of Facilities haydtom@lakeholcombe.k12.wi.us 715-595-4241 Cloth Face Coverings in Schools...Who should wear them, why, and how to make it work for your child.
Click here for information Frequently Asked Questions about face coverings. Click for information
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transportation Survey July 2020
Due to COVID-19 transportation recommendations, schools are developing plans for transporting students as safely as possible. In preparation for the 2020-21 school year we are asking for information on transporting your child/children to and from school. Our goal is to get as many students to school as safely as possible.
Over the next two weeks you will be contacted to answer these questions:
Over the next two weeks you will be contacted to answer these questions:
- VERIFY NAMES, GRADES of STUDENT(S), ADDRESS
- Will your child/children be attending school in person for the 20-21 school year?
- Will your child/children need to be transported to and from school via school provided busing services? f not how will they get to school? Walk, bike, parent transport?
- What concerns do you have in regard to transportation?