The teachers and administration are hard at work preparing for students to return to campus! We spent all day today going over scheduling and logistics. We also had training on COVID-19 protocols and procedures. This weekend is also when teachers will be receiving their booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Class Cohorts: We are finalizing the list of class cohorts determining which students are coming on Monday/Tuesday (Group A), and which students are coming on Thursday/Friday (Group B). We have taken into account all parent requests, siblings, special education, and intervention group placements. Class teachers will be sending out those lists early next week. It took a lot of work and coordination across classes to get the groupings to work, so we cannot accommodate switching groups at this point.

Overview of the Week: Expect to hear from class teachers next week about the weekly rhythm for each group (Group A, Group B, and CDL). All students, on-site and CDL, will receive one session of each specialty class per week. On-site students will have their specialties at school and CDL students will continue to have them over zoom. CDL specialty classes will be mixed grade and will have a new schedule to accommodate the teaching schedule of specialty teachers on campus.

Pick Up and Drop Off Procedures: We will not be offering before or after care when we return in March. Students will need to be dropped off between 8:15-8:30 am and picked up between 3:15-3:30 pm. Due to safety guidelines from the state, parents/guardians will not be able to park and walk students onto campus (except for Kindergartners). We have created a flow of traffic for drop off and pick up. Look out for a map in next week's Friday Update showing how drop off and pick up will work.

Bus transportation: We have heard back from First Student, and it's good news! We will have our regular bus service all four days of on-site school! The only adjustment is the Jefferson/Lincoln bus will run 15-20 minutes late in the afternoons. Pick up on campus will be between 3:30-3:35 pm and drop off times will be adjusted accordingly. Hopefully this will not be too much of an issue for families.

Blueprint: We are finalizing our Operational Blueprint for reopening. You can find the link for it on our website here. Currently, our CDL blueprint is attached, but will be switched to our Hybrid model blueprint soon.

We will have more updates throughout the month. We know everyone is eager to hear how it will all work and have many questions. We have scheduled a Q & A zoom session on Thursday, February 18 at 6 pm to give parents a chance to ask questions about reopening. The link will go out in class teacher emails, or you can email Ms. Cori to get it. 

Distance Learning has put a damper on our fundraising events and efforts this past year. We were sad that we missed May Faire last year and the Jog-a-thon this Fall, but were very grateful we did our Auction earlier than normal. Recently, the Fundraising Committee has started to meet again and plan upcoming fundraisers. We meet every two weeks on Mondays at 6 pm.

Due to social distancing and gathering restrictions we will not be having a May Faire again this year, but would still like to have a fundraising event that weekend. Right now we are in the preliminary planning stage of an online Auction that will happen May Faire weekend. Another fundraiser we are hoping to do is a Jog-a-thon the week of April 12-16.

If you would like to be a part of the Fundraising Committee, email Ms. Cori, cori.royer@madronetrail.org, to be sent the link to the next meeting on February 22.

If you would like to help out with the online auction, email Julie Furrer, julie.a.furrer@gmail.com. A lot of the things we need help with can be done from home and/or on a flexible schedule. Right now we need help with updating our donation and sponsor list, contacting businesses for donations, and collecting donations for the event.

~Nurturing roots to support developmental growth~

Roots to Rise is a private educational support program that uses a holistic approach to learning through supporting the foundational systems. Children can make positive gains in attention, emotional well being, academics, coordination and balance through neurodevelopmental movements and sensory integration. Movement is brought in a playful and fun way.

This program is being offered by Jane Higgins, who has trained with Nina Gallwey, a remedial teacher at the Siskiyou School. Ms. Higgins also previously taught at Madrone Trail, where she brought one class of students from first grade to eighth grade. Currently, Ms. Higgins works with children one to one in her Roots to Rise Ashland office.

To apply or for more information on supporting your child, contact Jane Higgins at janemhiggins10@gmail.com, 541-708-1688, Ashland, OR

~Strong roots grow study trees~

Please fill out the linked form below if you have an incoming kindergartner or another child whom you would like to enroll next year if there is space available. Kindergartners will be placed in the class on a first come first, served basis. Please note that incoming Kindergartners need to be 5 years old by June 1, 2021 to be eligible to enroll for the 2021-2022 school year. The form will be due February 26.

Retake day will be Friday, February 26 from 9-3 pm. If you missed picture day the first time, please try to make it to retake day. Even if you do not want school pictures, we use these for the yearbook and class photo sheets and want everybody represented!

Weekly reminder! Please take pictures of your child doing the various online school activities at home or any other school related photos. As Ms. Nancy works on the yearbook we will be calling out for specific subjects. This week it's Halloween. We need at least 2 more Halloween pictures to fill the page, like this one of 3rd grader, Maddox Rogers. We also need Lantern Walk, Spiral of Light, and specialty classes pictures as well. Thank you!

Please send full size images (select the largest file size possible) to Ms. Nancy, nancy.escherich@madronetrail.org

1/10-1/23 Case Count: 638 Cases Per 100,000: 288.3 Test Positivity Rate: 5.5%

1/17-1/30 Case Count: 568 Cases Per 100,000: 256.7 Test Positivity Rate: 6.3%

1/24-2/6 Case Count: 576 Cases Per 100,000: 260.3 Test Positivity Rate: 6.3%