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November 24, 2020
In This Issue
 

 

As a reminder, the Staff Communicator will be distributed each Thursday that school is in session, and also distributed as needed throughout the year. Archives can be found HERE.
Thanksgiving Break
Thanksgiving Break is almost here! There will be no school (virtual learning) November 25, 26 and 27. Also, Cub Care has been canceled for November 25.
Teachers, please remind your families of this. 

This is the perfect opportunity to say THANK YOU for making our first 13 weeks of seated school wonderful and also for making the first few days of virtual learning a huge success! Every single employee has played an enormous role in making this uncertain school year possible! Please find some time to recharge during this time away from school, but also please be mindful of your actions during break. The health-related decisions we choose over the next few days will determine our ability to return to seated learning. Therefore, please mask and stay diligent in social distancing!

Reporting Positive COVID19 Cases During Thanksgiving Break
To provide our administrators and nurses a reprieve during Thanksgiving Break, we ask that all positive COVID19 cases that surface from 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 24 through 8:00 a.m. on Monday, November 30 be reported by completing the form found at the following link: 

This link will also be on the district website, and a separate link to a "student positive" form will also be available there. 

Please do not reach out to school administrators or nurses regarding positive COVID19 cases during this time. By completing the form and requesting a substitute teacher, if applicable, you will have taken all of the actions necessary. If needed, an administrator or nurse will be in touch on Monday, November 30. All positive cases received will be contact traced upon returning from break. 

Also, positive cases will not be reported daily during Thanksgiving Break. A full report from November 25-30 will be shared on November 30. 
Modified Quarantine
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department has released information in regards to schools implementing modified quarantines. This allows students to continue attending school after a properly masked, low-risk exposure to COVID19. In response, the Republic School District now requires all students in kindergarten and older in addition to all adults to wear masks while on campus or on our buses. 

Take note, principals and directors will be in touch with each employee group in regards to additional details and to answer any specific questions. 

Quarantine Phone Calls
For those who have recently been placed on quarantine or who will possibly be in the future, we wanted to share some important information. As you are probably aware, those who are directly exposed at school to a positive COVID19 case are contacted by an individual phone call. Due to the increased number of positive cases and the number of administrators available across the district to make these individual phone calls, Springfield-Greene County Health Department has begun stepping in to assist the district with these calls. The Health Department utilizes a third party company called Maximus to complete these quarantine calls. Therefore, should your student need to quarantine you will be contacted by either a school administrator or a Maximus employee on behalf of Springfield-Greene County Health Department. The call from Maximus will be from a 314 area code phone number.
Tips for Finding Medical Care Over the Holidays
Should you need medical care over the holidays, the Health Services Department has put together a list of tips and services available HERE.
 
Free Meal Distribution 11/30, 12/1 and 12/2
Beginning Monday, November 30 Republic School District will offer free grab and go style breakfasts and lunches between 11:30-12:30 p.m. At this point, meals will be available November 30, December 1 and December 2. There will be three locations for pick-up based on where students attend school. Families with children in multiple buildings can pick up meals at the oldest child's school building. To help us plan and know how many meals to prepare, please complete the form at the following link by November 27 at noon: https://forms.gle/QEb67UEZKnBaUfPu7.
 
Pick-Up Locations:
**Please pull through the car line and stay in your vehicle as meals will be brought out to you.**
**Click on the building to see a car line map.**

Sweeny Elementary Front Entrance: Sweeny, Lyon and EC families
Schofield Elementary Front Entrance: Schofield, Price and McCulloch families
RMS Back Entrance: RMS and RHS families (same car line as the spring/summer distribution)

**Teachers, please share this with your families!**
Snow Days
Winter weather season is quickly approaching! The Republic School District will continue with the "snow day policy" we have utilized for the last few years. Should winter weather and/or poor road conditions impact our ability to have school in person, we will implement a snow day like we have done in the past.
Board of Education Meeting Recap
At the November 19 Board of Education meeting the adoption of the agenda and approval of consent items (found on BoardDocs) took place after the Pledge of Allegiance. In addition, President, Todd Wojciechowski, provided a Board Update.

McCulloch Principal, Kevin Creighton provided a building update and showcased a video created to highlight the "Million Minute Reading Challenge" at McCulloch. In addition, Superintendent, Dr. Pearce presented a district update. All administrative reports can be found on BoardDocs.

The Board discussed the 2021-22 school calendar.

The following action items were approved as presented (details on BoardDocs):
  • Revised 20-21 calendar (see details in the below section)
  • Overnight trip
  • FY21 revised budget
  • Board election filing dates

The next meeting is scheduled for December 17 with the regular session beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Calendar Change
At the November 19 Board of Education meeting the Board approved a recommended adjustment to the 2020-21 school calendar by district administration. They voted to remove snow make-up days from Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day and Good Friday. The Board completely agreed that reserving these as holidays will provide a guaranteed break for rest, deep cleaning of our facilities and simply being apart from one another to help slow the spread of COVID19. 

You may be wondering about what this means for snow day make-ups. We've been given some flexibility by DESE. Therefore, the district expects the last day of school to remain May 26, but should we have to miss more days than the flexibility from DESE allows, we may need to make some adjustments. As we know more about this in the spring we will share details. #repmoproud
Technology Support Directory
To assist our employees with "all things technology" please CLICK HERE to reference the new "Technology Support Directory." This can also be found under the "Staff" tab on our website. 
Athletics & Activities Guidelines: Winter 2020-21
Employee Assistance Program Service Summary
As a reminder, the services detailed in the below graphic are available at no cost to our employees through Anthem.

District and Community Announcements



Upcoming Dates
November 20, 23, 24, 30 along with December 1 and 2: Virtual Learning/Phase 3
November 25-27: District Closed, Thanksgiving Break
December 1: District announcement regarding plans for learning environment starting December 3

*Reminder that every Friday during the school year full day preschool-12th grade students are released one hour early for teacher collaboration time.
For questions or comments please contact me via email or by calling 417-732-3605.
  
Sincerely,
  

Josey McPhail

Director of Communications
Republic School District