Important Return to School Info
Return Dates:
As per the recommendation of the Superintendent, selected grades will return to in-person instruction on the following schedule:
· October 19—Kindergarten
· October 26— Grades 2, 6, and 9
· November 5—Grades 3, 4, 7, and 12
· November 9— Grades 1, 5, 8, 10, and 11
Format & Schedule
The student body will be split into two groups based on last name (A-L, which represents Group “A,” and M-Z, which represents Group “B”).
Our weekly schedule will proceed as follows:
Monday – A (In-Person) – B (Virtual)
Tuesday – B (In-Person) – A (Virtual)
Wednesday – All Virtual We will use our current virtual schedule on Wednesdays 8:05-3:20
Thursday – A (In-person) – B (Virtual)
Friday – B (In-person) – A (Virtual)
Daily Bell Schedule:
The schedule below will be used for all students whether in-person or virtual. Extended time has been provided between classes intentionally to make transitions safer and easier.
Daily Regular Schedule
Opening Bell 7:55
Warning Bell 8:01
Period 1 8:05 8:56
Period 2 9:01 9:47
Period 3 9:52 10:38
Period 4 10:43 11:29
Period 5 11:34 12:20
Period 6 12:25 1:11
Period 7 1:16 2:02
Period 8 2:07 2:53
Virtual Schedule (Wednesdays ONLY)
Period 1: 8:05-8:55
Period 2: 8:55-9:45
Period 3: 9:45-10:35
Period 4: 10:35-11:25
Student Lunch & Teacher PDT: 11:25-12:00
Period 5: 12:00-12:50
Period 6: 12:50-1:40
Period 7: 1:40-2:30
Period 8: 2:30-3:20
Student Health Acknowledgement Form
Prior to entering any PASD building, a Student Health Acknowledgement Form must be completed. Click here to access this form – your prompt completion of this form will ensure no delays in returning to the building.
Masks are Required
As of July 1, 2020, by order of the Governor and the PA Department of health, universal face coverings are required always of all staff and students. All in-person students are required to wear masks and maintain a 6 ft. distance during the day. Bandanas, masks with valves, and gaiters are not approved face coverings. Masks must fit over the nose and under the chin. Students repeatedly failing to comply with social distancing safety measures will be moved to the virtual program.
Student masks must follow the same guidelines as clothing in that the following are prohibited:
• masks with offensive or violent language or pictures
• masks with obscene language
• masks advertising/displaying any alcoholic, drug, or tobacco related items
My hope is that at this stage many of you have grown accustomed to this practice. With time, I can assure you this will start to feel routine. For the health and safety of everyone, it is imperative we all follow this requirement. Any student not wearing a mask will be isolated immediately and sent home.
Breakfast and Lunch- Breakfast and lunch will be provided to our students at no cost this year. Due to the need for safety precautions and to ensure appropriate social distancing is taking place in the cafeteria, students will be required to order their lunches ahead of time. Students will have the opportunity to order their lunches during 1st period using the Fulcrum Digital (FD) Meal Planner. Please use the directions attached for how to set this up and order. Students who do not order their lunches in advance will be required to eat the meal that was pre-planned and packaged by the kitchen staff. The link for ordering lunch can be found on the front page of the district website as well as the universal message page on CANVAS. Again, this MUST happen in advance if you want to make a specific selection for lunch. Students with grab and go lunches will eat their lunches in the gymnasium at a student desk. During this time the students are expected to log onto to the class session, participating virtually. It is recommended to have a set of headphones that can be plugged in to remove any background noise. Once they have completed their lunch they will immediately report to their class.
New Daily Practices
There are several changes we will be making to the way our school day, building and classrooms are structured. For those who have been at the High School for some time, many of these changes will obviously feel different. But again, the goal is to ensure everyone is safe and to create a model that is sustainable for the long term. Your attention and adherence to these new daily practices is critical. We will be explaining and discussing these concepts in much greater detail with our students and families (and providing visual demonstrations) prior to your arrival.
• The school will operate on a silent bell schedule. This will allow us to transition sections of the building in phases (rather than all at once) more easily and with less confusion.
• There will be no physical passes given out by teachers or staff with the goal of limiting physical contact.
• Hallways will be designated as “one-way” to mitigate traffic – this will be clearly denoted. Extended time between classes has been built in to allow for this change in navigation.
• There will now be four different entrances into the building (Cafeteria, Art/Band wing, Science wing, Auditorium) to reduce congestion in the morning before school begins.
• Students will report immediately to their 1st period class upon arrival to school – no congregating in hallways, cafeteria, library, etc.
• No lockers will be assigned to students this year.
• Students are expected to bring their computers to class every day. There will be charging stations available in each room.
• Students will be socially distanced in all classrooms. Desks will be labeled or taped off to make students aware of where they are permitted and not permitted to sit.
• Only one student will be permitted out of the classroom at a time.
• All students must order their lunches during first period. Students will not be permitted to stand in line to make food selections. This will be done through an app or a link that will be on the front page of Canvas. If you do not order lunch in advance you will be given a premade sandwich.
• There will be a grab and go breakfast at each entry point.
• Hand sanitizing sanitations will be in mass quantity throughout the building. Seek them out thoroughly and often.
Entrance/Exit in and out of the building.
There will be four entry points into the building for students each morning, the auditorium , cafeteria, Science wing entrance and the art/musing wing area. there will be teachers and administrators posted at each doo to greet students upon arriving.
At the end of the school day, all students will be required to exit the building at the exit. Students will not transition through the hall to the cafeteria or auditorium exits.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
I realize this is a great deal to process and absorb all at one time. As alluded to above, we will be having discussions, demonstrations, and video aides to make all of this exceptionally clear and easy to understand for all of you in the coming days. Our goal is to make everyone comfortable and confident in the measures we’ve taken and to create the safest environment possible for our students and staff.
Please let me know if you have any questions moving forward.
Sincerely,
Dr. Craig L. Parkinson
Principal
Phoenixville Area High School