As I hope you are all aware, we will be making the transition to full remote learning after the Thanksgiving Break. As of now, we will begin remote on Monday, November 30th and stay in that mode through Friday, January 8th. Our hope is for students to return to the buildings on Monday, January 11th, 2021. Our return will be contingent on current conditions regarding the virus, so watch for information the first week of January regarding our return.
Please know this was not an easy decision for the board to make. The current rise in cases and concern regarding spread over the holidays contributed to the decision. Regardless of the factors, the choice was made in an effort to keep all of our students and staff safe. We all know this is not any easy move for many of our families. We understand the challenges of working and keeping kids engaged in school while at home. Like before, our staff will work with you and your child to make the remote experience successful. We know this is a team effort, keeping our kids engaged and we MUST make sure our kiddos stay focused on the learning process. Your child will have a variety of learning modes through remote learning which include live Google meet classes, pre-recorded lessons, and stand alone assignments for completion. Please make sure you stay in touch with your teacher and monitor grades in TeacherEase to ensure your child is completing assignments and making progress.
Here is a general schedule of what you can expect for the remote learning transition:
Monday, November 30th- Remote Planning Day. It is likely that your child will not have new assignments or classes on Monday. Teachers will be preparing materials, loading virtual classes with changes, will be checking in with all students to make sure they can connect and get online. Materials will be sent home for most students on November 24th, and some may need picked up on November 30th. Your teacher will let you know what your kiddos should have.
Tuesday, December 1st- Remote Learning Instruction, classes, assignments. Remote school will be full go on Tuesday, and will run through December 18th. The times for remote instruction at GMS will be from 8:00am to 2:00pm and Illini from 8:30am to 2:30pm. As stated above, the instructional day will be a combination of live classes, assignments, and recorded lessons. Each grade level is different with structure and times for the day, but as much as possible, your child needs to be available for school during these times.
December 19 – January 1- Winter Break
January 4 – January 8th – Remote Learning Instruction
January 11th – Return to in-person instruction.
During the remote period, our Latch Key program will be suspended. We do plan to start Latch Key again on January 11th, when students return. There will be no fees for December since we will not have the program. If you have a paid balance, it will be applied to January fees when we start back up.
Food Service, breakfast and lunch, will be available for curbside pick-up at Grant Middle School during the remote period. The pick up time will remain from 11:00am to 12:00pm. You will need to order with your homeroom teacher in the morning so that we can have an accurate count. Also, meals are available over the holiday break. Please order Holiday Meals by Tuesday December 1st by emailing Cheryl Bremer at cbremer@opaafood.com or at bremer.c@dist110.com Pick up for holiday meals will be on December 16th and 17th.
As always, please contact us if you have any questions.
M. Stines