| Health and Safety Plan for South Hills dated 7/17/20 Amended 10/7/20 |
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Parents,
I’m happy to confirm that in-person classes will resume on Monday, December 21 prior to our scheduled Christmas/ New Year closure. The final Covid tests for all South Hills teachers and staff (including Mr. Jerry, who is only here after close) have arrived and ALL are NEGATIVE. Contrary to rumors that have unfortunately circulated among parents, NO South Hills student has tested positive for Covid due to the one staff member who was positive. That teacher is now cleared to be out of quarantine/isolation after experiencing only a minor symptom. Thank you for participating in the Zoom Academy classes this past week. We were happy to see our students daily online, but now we are even happier to know we can return to our students on Monday to celebrate the holiday! We hope that you will join us on Monday! We have heard from many of you that you will not be returning next week, or even for a few weeks after the holiday break, and we wish we could still offer Zoom, but all teachers will be in their classrooms full time as of Monday. Thank you to those of you who offered such amazing support to us at this stressful time! Many have asked what we might need, and I can only say that we used an extraordinary number of disinfecting wipes to deep clean the school (still not done but by Monday we will be in great shape!), so any donations would be appreciated to replenish our supply. Other than that, seeing your smiling faces will be our best holiday gift! Blessings and Gratitude, ♥ Ms Connie Connie Kerr Vogt Owner/Administrator South Hills Child Development Center Inc. Parents,
I am writing to share official details of this week's South Hills Zoom Academy (virtual learning). If you were with us for virtual learning in the spring, this is just a refresher. As a reminder, we are closed as of today, Monday, December 14 through Friday, December 18. Zoom Academy will begin tomorrow (Tuesday, December 15) and continue through Friday, December 18. We will re-open for in-person classes on Monday, December 21. Please read on for a full update! Zoom Academy consists of TWO components: (1) LIVE classes and (2) DAILY pre-recorded lessons. In order to access our virtual learning, you’ll need to do the following:
WEEKLY CLASS SCHEDULES & DROPBOX Within your child’s Dropbox Handout folder, please select the Zoom folder, which will contain a sub-folder for the week (Dec 15 - Dec 18). Within this folder, select the PDF containing your Class Schedule for the week. This schedule contains a complete schedule of your LIVE classes for the week, as well as links to your child’s pre-recorded lessons (7-10 minutes each). If you are having difficult in accessing your Zoom folder on Dropbox, please contact Beth HERE to ensure that you receive a copy of your weekly class schedule. ACCESSING YOUR LIVE CLASSROOM ON ZOOM Our objective is to connect your child with his/her teachers as well as classmates in a few LIVE sessions each day this week. Daily sessions with your child's class will be offered beginning at 9:00am each day. Music classes with me, Ms Connie, and Spanish/ Sign Language classes with Ms Pam will also be available in the mornings and afternoons. All LIVE sessions are available for you to “pick and choose” times that fit best into your family’s schedule. In order to access any of the LIVE sessions, simply open the Zoom app on your device, select “Join a Meeting”, and type in the applicable Meeting/ Classroom ID and password listed at the top of your class schedule. Be sure to write in your child’s name before selecting “Join”. NOTE: A Zoom account is not necessary to join a LIVE session. I recommend joining your first LIVE class 5-10 minutes early in order to test your audio and video. You can also access a test meeting on the Zoom website HERE in order to test your audio previous to joining your first meeting. If you’re having any issues with Zoom, be sure to review Zoom’s support page HERE for assistance. PRE-RECORDED ZOOM CLASSES Links to all pre-recorded Zoom sessions are included in your weekly class schedule. Pre-recorded sessions are available for your child to view at your convenience. These lessons are 7-10 minutes long and cover critical subjects such as Literacy, Math, and Handwriting. Please watch ALL applicable lessons linked for a given day in order to meet required State Standards and South Hills’ Curriculum. SUPPLIES If applicable, your weekly class schedule will list any specific materials that will be needed for the week’s lessons (LIVE and PRE-RECORDED). Materials will only include items that we are certain you already have in your home. In addition to materials around your home, please print any activities located in the week’s “Supplies” folder on Dropbox (Located within your child’s weekly Zoom folder, if applicable). Please ensure your child has a bell available for music class (or anything that might sound like a bell, like a spoon and pan lid perhaps!). I welcome your entire family to share in my music presentations as we sing and dance to traditional Christmas and Hanukkah songs! KINDERGARTEN - INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS For Kindergarten students ONLY: LIVE INDIVIDUAL sessions with BOTH Ms Robin and Ms Pam will take place DAILY. Your child will attend one 20 minute session with either Ms Robin or one 20 minute session with Ms Pam EACH day during the week! You’ll be receiving an email shortly with simple instructions on how to sign your child up for these individual sessions. We look forward to seeing your children on Zoom Academy soon! Kind regards, ♥ Ms Connie Connie Kerr Vogt Owner/Administrator South Hills Child Development Center Inc. Parents,
This is a follow up to the email you received yesterday (Saturday, December 12 - see below) regarding our closure this week. As an important update to that notice, we will be CLOSED effective Monday, December 14 through Friday, December 18. Zoom Academy (virtual learning) will begin on Tuesday, December 15 through Friday, December 18. We will re-open on Monday, December 21. Please read on for a full update! I’ve received numerous questions and comments via email since yesterday’s notice and I am working diligently to respond to everyone. If you emailed me and I have not yet responded, I appreciate your patience. In the meantime, here are responses to common questions I am receiving: 1. What classes were affected? Yellow, Green, Purple and Blue classrooms (full day, year round classes) could have potentially been affected, as I included in yesterday’s email. As an additional precaution, I chose to close the entire school. 2. Will all teachers and administrative staff be tested? Yes, all teachers and staff are signed up to receive Covid tests this week. This was not required by the Department of Health (as these individuals did not make direct contact with the teacher who tested positive), but we want to ensure the safety of all of our students and staff. 3. Will we really be re-opening on Friday? Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear likely that all teachers will have their Covid test results by Thursday, so we will need to remain on Zoom Academy from Tuesday until Friday, reopening on Monday, December 21. 4. How does Zoom Academy work? A mix of live and pre-recorded lessons will be available for your child via Zoom this week. Please look for an additional email from me sometime tomorrow (Monday, December 13) afternoon containing all details related to Zoom Academy. 5. To address other concerns related to our Covid policy:
Going forward, I have made the decision to require all teachers to be tested at the beginning of each month as an additional safeguard, even though this is not part of PDE, DHS or even Department of Health policy. Although we are not permitting parents to remain in the building beyond 15 minutes (and continue to request a quick entrance/exit) and prioritize social distancing rules with parents/ guardians, I strongly encourage parents to be proactive in regards to Covid testing, as testing would be additional protection for all of the staff and children. Thank you for the kind emails of support; they are MUCH appreciated! This is obviously an extremely stressful time for me and the South Hills’ staff, especially with our holidays arriving, and the festive plans we have for the children! My staff and I continue to work hard behind the scenes to keep your child moving forward in his/her skills and still enjoy the season. Please watch your email for further details related to Zoom Academy tomorrow! Kind regards, ♥ Connie Parents,
In order to ensure the health and safety of our staff and children, I am writing to report that South Hills will be CLOSED effective Monday, December 14 through Thursday, December 17. Zoom Academy (virtual learning) will begin on Tuesday, December 15 through Thursday, December 17. We will re-open on Friday, December 18. Please read on for a full update! One of the South Hills’ teachers of a full day classroom has tested positive for Covid-19. Fortunately she was ONLY in the classroom one day while contagious, which was Monday, December 7. She developed a mild symptom on Monday evening, she did not return to South Hills, and will remain in quarantine for the required period. She was tested on Wednesday and her positive result was just returned. Due to confidentiality orders, I cannot say who the teacher is, nor give any details. But all children attending full day could have potentially been exposed. That would include the Yellow, Green, Blue or Purple rooms. The Erie County Department of Health has strongly suggested we close the entire school and not reopen until Friday, December 18. All children attending full day classes (Yellow, Green, Purple, Blue classrooms) should quarantine immediately until that date as well. The staff who have had close contact are also quarantined. I know this will create panic and hardship for many of you, but please know I place your child’s, family’s and my staff’s health and safety as a priority! The Department did say they feel our plan is extremely well done, and that our practices are excellent, but we all know that this illness is lurking everywhere, and even with the best plan, it is possible to contract it. PLEASE watch carefully for any symptoms/signs of Covid-19 in your children. These signs might include any combination of the following: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache New loss of taste or smell Sore throat Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea We begin Zoom Academy on Tuesday, December 15 through Thursday, December 17 so your children, regardless of full or half day class, will continue their work online with their teacher. We will be offering a mixture of live and recorded lessons to align with your own schedule. There is a Zoom folder in your Parent Handout Dropbox folder and by Monday afternoon you will receive all the pertinent information and the schedule for your child’s attendance. Kindergarten students will have required live sessions to work individually with Ms Robin and Ms Pam. Details to follow in your Parent Handout/Zoom folder on Dropbox . Our cleaning protocol has been reviewed and approved by the Erie County Health Department; Jerry and I will be devoting ourselves to disinfecting throughout our closure to ensure the healthiest environment possible, as we have always done. I am working diligently to organize this and promise I will be sending communication via Dropbox and email so please keep checking for notifications of postings! Be safe! ♥ Connie
Parents and Staff,
South Hills Child Development Center Inc. has added two sentences to our Health and Safety Plan, dated July 17, 2020. On page 8, the following sentence has been added to the Social Distancing section: During afternoon PreK Enrichment classes for our full day 4 year old and older students, children will be mixed with a maximum of four children from another pod for one/half day per week (11:30am-5:30pm). We have also added the following to the list of items to bring for your child’s use (See page 16): An old cloth adult t-shirt (for use as a paint shirt) clearly labeled with your child's first and last name. Thank you for reviewing this important amendment to the Health and Safety Plan dated July 17, 2020. You can download a copy of the updated plan using the link above. When you sign the Acknowledgment Documentation (Included in the Health and Safety Plan), you indicate that you have reviewed these amendments. Thank you, ♡ Ms Connie
July 17, 2020
Parents, Above is the official Health and Safety Plan for South Hills Child Development Center Inc dated July 17, 2020. All current and incoming parents/ guardians should review this plan carefully and complete the required documents included within the PDF to submit upon their return to the school. This plan dated July 17, 2020 will be uploaded to all South Hills’ families via the parents’ Drop Box folders, emailed to all current families, distributed as a paper copy in each child’s Take Home Folder, and posted on the home page of the South Hills website www.shills.info. This plan supersedes the Reopening Plan dated May 17, 2020 which addressed the May 26, 2020 reopening of South Hills following our mandated closure.
May 17, 2020
Parents, South Hills Child Development Center Inc. is set to re-open on Tuesday, May 26. Our official Reopening Plan dated May 17, 2020 is downloadable ABOVE as a PDF. Please read this document carefully! The Reopening Plan dated May 17, 2020 highlights our safety procedures during Phase 2 of the Pennsylvania reopening plan. Amendments to this plan will be released as Covid-19 developments are announced in the coming weeks and months. On Wednesday or Thursday of this week, you will be contacted by phone to discuss how you choose to proceed with enrollment. New students will receive details regarding orientation. If you are currently enrolled in the Spring 2020 term (ending FRIDAY, JUNE 12), your options are as follows:
If you are registered for Full Day Preschool, Kindergarten, or School-Age beginning Summer 2020 (starting MONDAY, JUNE 15), your options are as follows:
IMPORTANT: If you choose to withdraw your child for the summer term, you are also forfeiting your enrollment for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year (Not applicable to School-Age students). If you hope to eventually return to us, we can keep your child on our waiting list. However, we must fill any vacant spots and cannot guarantee that an opening will be available or which classroom will be available for your child. Additional updates below:
ღ Ms Connie May 8, 2020
Parents, Updates this week are as follows: MEETING IDS + PASSWORDS ARE CHANGING!
CONFERENCES
RE-OPENING
INVOICING
MOTHER’S DAY GIFT
Happy Mother’s Day! ♥ Ms Connie |
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