New Communication from Dr.
Wilson:
Submitting Proofs of
Residency
Hamilton County Schools
requires all families to submit two proofs of residency each year before the
registration process can be completed. All three Signal Mountain
schools are asking parents to
submit via email two proofs of residency to the schools. Please submit your proofs to Mrs. Smart at smart_deb@hcde.org
These scanned or photographed
documents must be in the name of the custodial parent and have an address
listed in the Nolan zone. We will review all residency documentation before creating
class rosters, so this information is due to
Nolan by Friday, July 31, 2020. We will not be able to include a child on a class roster until
residency is verified and the pre-registration process is
completed.
- Proof of residency is a current (within the last 60 days)
utility bill - electric, gas, water - with the parent's name and address
printed on it.
- If parents have not been living at the residence long enough
to have a utility bill, a contract or lease on a house or apartment will
be accepted.
- Agency, government, or court documentation will also be
accepted.
- Out of zone inquiries and appeals may be made by contacting
Office of Equity
Staggered School Start
We would like to bring children
back to campus in smaller groups in order to go over social distancing
guidelines and orient them to the classroom and school-wide safety
procedures. Due to COVID-19, we will not have a traditional registration
fair on August 7th where the entire student body, PTA, and families assemble.
1st through 5th grade students will be notified of their 2020-2021 teacher
assignment by receiving a postcard in the mail no later than August 10th.
It is very important that your accurate home address is updated in Power
School. Kindergarten parents will be contacted by their assigned classroom
teacher following phase-in.
- August 12th – Grades 1-5 students with last names A-L
- August 13th – Grades 1-5 students with last names M-Z
- August 14th – Grades 1-5 students enrolled in HCS At
Home (Option 2)
- August 17th – Grades 1-5 resume attendance based
on district designated phases
- Kindergarten phase-in will begin August 17th. More
details will follow. Kindergarten families should already be
registered for a screening date; however, if you still need to
sign up please click https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040e49aca828a5f94-kindergarten.
Hamilton County Schools is working to safely reopen schools in
August for students and staff and provide choices that will fit the needs of
your family. We understand from concerns parents have shared with us that
some are not comfortable with sending children back to school at this
time. The district has developed an option for you that is called “HCS at
Home” that will allow you and your child to still be connected to Nolan,
but learn from home. Teachers you are familiar with will connect with
your child electronically with video lessons and Zoom discussions to keep your
child moving forward and learning. Please check back frequently to see the
answers to some of your most asked questions. Feel free to always call
the school or email to ask for clarification.
See
the HCS reopening plan here.
Returning Students - please update information in Power School – All returning students need to complete this step if you didn’t do it in May. Power School Questions: Odom_l@hcde.org https://www.hcde.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=350278&pageId=30089281
New Bus Routes - https://www.hcde.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=698957 . All bus routes have been re-drawn. Find your bus number, pick-up time, and drop-off time using the transportation link.
UPDATED Important August Dates: Welcome Back August Dates 2020-2021.pdf
Frequently
asked Questions:
I have received numerous phone
calls and emails with questions. We are on this journey together, and it is my
heart to share as much information as I have at this point to support you as
you select a learning structure for your child this fall. I hope to provide
answers to common questions that have been raised.
Questions
about Phases
Have you determined which
students will attend on which days if we open in Phase 2?
Mr. Paulson, Dr. Harwood, and I
have aligned our community’s schools (Thrasher, SMMHS & Nolan), so
that siblings attend on the same days.
- Students with last names A-L: “Group A” will
attend Nolan on campus consecutively on Mondays and Tuesdays. Students
will participate in virtual learning on Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday.
- Students with last names M-Z: “Group B” will
attend Nolan on campus consecutively on Thursdays and Fridays.
Students will participate in virtual learning on Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday.
- If two children in the same family have different last names,
please use the oldest sibling’s last name (that attends Nolan) to
determine the day your family attends.
- For special programming, we may contact families to ask you
to switch cohort groups to best serve your child (i.e. for
speech services).
- As you can imagine, we have limited ability to accommodate
requests to switch days based on preference, convenience, or peer
friendships. Please only submit an email to request consideration for a
change, if it is absolutely necessary. wilson_ashley@hcde.org
If
we opened today, what Phase would we be in?
The best way to answer
this is to compare the chart on page 14 of the reopening plan with the
daily-updated data presented here: http://health.hamiltontn.org/AllServices/Coronavirus(COVID-19).aspx .
If we started school today we would be in Phase 3,
which means we would be fully open with safety precautions in place including
limiting the transitions that students make throughout the day. However,
cases in 37377 jumped from 17 last week to 30 this week. Active numbers may
change rapidly. We are trending toward a Phase 2 opening. Hamilton County will make a decision by August 5th.
Will
each school determine what phase it is in based on the active COVID cases in
each community?
No, HCS determines what
phase Nolan is in. The “gating criteria” on page 14 shows how
decisions about phases will be made. Phase 3 is the only phase that has
school-specific decisions. Phases 1, 2, and 4 will be county-wide phases.
What
will Phase 2 look like at Nolan?
If
active cases continue to rise within the district, we may need to shift
to Phase 2. This hybrid approach means students will be
divided into an “A group” and a “B group” so that 50% of students will attend
at a time to reduce class sizes. Students will be responsible for 5
full days of learning, 2 of which are in person at school and 3 of which are
completed more flexibly in their home. All learning will be facilitated by
the Nolan staff. Students assigned to the “A group” will
attend Nolan on Monday and Tuesday and the students assigned to the
“B group” will attend Nolan on Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will be
a virtual learning day for all students while the building is sanitized.
What
does “reduced hours” mean?
Phase
2 will
have reduced hours for on-campus instruction. In Phase 2, students
will be sorted into two cohorts – a Group A and Group B. Each cohort will come
to the campus two days per week and have three days of at-home learning
directed by the classroom teacher. Arrival and dismissal may also be staggered
to manage the social distancing details, and this may also reduce the hours a
student has on campus in Phase 2.
Questions about Learning Options
What if I do not select a learning
structure option?
If you do not select a learning
structure option for your child, it will default to Option
1 (school-based, in person as much as allowed). However, it would
help us tremendously if every parent made a selection
in PowerSchool and indicated their intent for this year before July
22. If you need to change your learning option, please call the school.
- Option 1- Learning Continuum Plan - School Based (occurs at
Nolan, in-person as much as allowable depending on Phases 1-4)
- Option 2- HCS/Nolan at Home (daily, remote learning
facilitated by Nolan teachers)
- Option 3- HCS Virtual School (enrolled in HCS Virtual School,
self-paced, not associated with Nolan)
Can I switch from Option 1 to
Option 2 during the semester?
If you choose Option
2- Nolan@Home or Option 3-HC Virtual School, parents are unable to
switch to Option 1 until the end of the semester. However, if you choose Option
1, you may switch to Option 2 at any time. It is Nolan’s plan
to have dedicated Option 1 and Option 2 homeroom teachers. This will be
determined after July 22 when parents make their selections and we can see how
many teachers are needed to serve each option. If you switch from
Option 1 to Option 2, it is highly probable that your child will
be reassigned to a different homeroom teacher. Please call the school office to change your learning option.
Please
explain Option 2: HCS at-Home.
If
a parent chooses the “HCS at-Home” option, they opt-in for the semester and
would have 5 days of at home learning guided by a Nolan teacher. “HCS
at Home” remote learning will be much more structured than what we provided in
the spring: attendance will be taken, there will be accountability for work
completion and daily scheduled teacher interaction/instruction with
students digitally, feedback will be given to students, report cards will be
issued for k-5, grades will be provided in 3-5, and there will more common
practices and alignment across K-2 and 3-5. Students are expected to
engage in school activities from 8:50-3:50 just like the in-person Nolan school
day.
What
curriculum will be used for HCS at Home?
HCS
at Home is really Nolan at Home for our community.
Parents who select Option 2 (HCS at Home) will have children
that are enrolled at Nolan, assigned a classroom and teacher,
and will engage in the same learning and assignments as their classmates –
albeit completely online.
Will
online learning look similar to what we saw last spring?
No.
For the last quarter of 2019-2020, schools were directed by the state and the
district to provide assignments that focused on review, could be completed in a
smaller portion of the day, and would not be graded. Also, with school closing
so quickly, teachers used what they knew or what students were already familiar
with as much as possible. Some used Dropbox, Class Dojo, Edmodo, Google
Classroom, some were paper-based only, etc. Any online learning that happens
this year will be designed as our regularly scheduled program. Our
directive now is that online learning is to be “commensurate” with a full
school day. We are working to prepare some unified platforms for families. Due
to the differences in children, we may have one platform for K-2 and
one for 3-5, or we may have one platform for K-5.
Please
explain option 3 virtual school.
If
a parent chooses the “HCS Virtual School” option, they unenroll
from Nolan and enroll in the Hamilton County virtual school. They
would engage in self-paced learning in a virtual setting. Hamilton County Virtual
School does use a different curriculum than the schools do, but they
address the same state standards. (The 3 Options are shown on p. 22).
What
happens if I start school through online learning and change my mind in the
middle of the semester?
Hamilton
County Schools will not allow families that selected Option 2 or 3 re-entry
to Nolan Option 1 until the 2nd semester.
Questions about Safety and Exposure
What happens if my child is sent home with a
fever?
Any child sent home with a
fever should remain at home until they are fever-and symptom-free, without the
aid of a fever-reducing medicine, for a minimum of 48 hours before returning to
school.
Will
masks be required of students?
K-5
students will be required to have a mask.
Face Masks/Coverings – To alleviate any questions regarding our face mask/covering requirement, the district has shared the following information:
- To reduce the spread of COVID-19, the CDC and Tennessee Department of Health recommends people wear cloth face coverings in public settings. During Phase 2 and Phase 3, all students and staff are required to wear a face covering as specified.
- A face covering is always required for all students and staff when outside of the classroom in the school building. The requirement includes K-2 students, although masks are recommended, but not required for them inside the classroom.
- The only exception is when students and staff are in a well-ventilated space that will accommodate social distancing. To be clear, a typical classroom would not meet these criteria. A face covering will not be required when outdoors or in a large indoor space such as a gymnasium in which social distancing can be maintained, but it is still recommended.
- Appropriate accommodations may be provided for students with special needs and staff with documented medical needs that prevent the wearing of a face covering or mask.
- Each school will provide a safe space and time during the school day for students to remove the face covering if they wish.
Face coverings should:
- Cover the nose and mouth and be secured to the head with ties or straps or simply wrapped around the lower face to cover the nose and mouth.
- Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face.
- Be made of washable materials such as cotton, silk, or linen.
- Include multiple layers of fabric.
Has there been any guidelines set for how they will
handle exposures? Deep clean and move on, isolate the class, or does the whole
school shut down?
Appendix C (p. 46)
in the reopening plan gives details about this. Also, in Phases 2 and 3,
schools and classrooms will be “fogged” weekly (pp. 19-20).
The School Reopening Task Force has developed a protocol for schools to follow if there is a positive COVID-19 case in a school building. The guidelines include information about what qualifies as an exposure and the process that will be followed if a school has a positive COVID-19 case.
In addition, the Tennessee Department of Health has developed the resources below for families:
Questions about General Topics
Do you have an update on Supply
Boxes purchased from PTA?
If you ordered a supply box
from PTA, they will be delivered the first week of August.
If you have selected Option 1, your child’s supply box will be
delivered to your child’s classroom. If you selected Option 2
or 3, a PTA representative will contact you to arrange a window of time to
pick up your supply box from Nolan.
When can I pick up the yearbook
I ordered?
Unfortunately, due to COVID
2019-2020 yearbooks have still not arrived from Lifetouch. We do not have an
anticipated delivery date, but will send an email to parents when they
arrive.
Is Nolan PTA going to
sell masks with the Nolan logo?
Nolan PTA has chosen not to
sell masks. If every child’s mask looked the same, there is a higher
probability that masks could accidentally be switched between
children.
Are we going to have before and
after school clubs this year?
Safety is our
top priority. The HCS Reopening Schools Task Force has advised to keep
students within their homeroom cohort while we are in Phase 2 or 3, so
they are exposed to fewer students. Since clubs are comprised of students from
many classes, we feel it is best to pause clubs for the first semester and
reevaluate in January for second semester.
Are we going to have School Age
Child Care (SACC)?
There is discussion about
providing SACC before, during, and after the school day if we start in phase 2.
However, seats will be limited. We expect more information soon.
Do
you happen to know when bus routes / pick-up times will be announced?
Not yet. During July, bus
drivers try out the new routes, time them, make notes, make changes, try out
the changes, etc. Traditionally, I don’t have access to bus route info until
the first week of August.