Jefferson Elementary School

Please remember warm winter gear (snowpants, snowboots, warm gloves/mittens, hats) and an extra pair of shoes.

Thank you to those of you who have already reached out to your respective principals if you would like to change your child's current learning model (online to in-person or in-person to online). If you are planning to make a change, please contact your student’s principal as soon as possible. As a reminder, the change will take place at quarter for K-8 and at semester for 9-12. For Clarification: --If your child is currently online only, and you would like to switch to in person learning, we need notification (K-8). --If your child is currently in-person, and you want to switch to online only, we need notification (K-8). --If your student is currently in-person and you want to stay in-person, no action is necessary. --If your student is currently online only and you want to stay online, no action is necessary. Please note: A date to return to the restricted model has not yet been determined. We are continuing to work on completing the items on the checklist that was shared last week. We will announce a date as soon as it is determined so that everyone has time to prepare and plan for the change. Thank you!

Please check out the GPS Active COVID Cases sheet (link below) to see all updates on active cases and quarantines in the schools. Things have been changing quickly and this is the best way to see our active numbers. If you have any questions, please contact us at gps@glendiveschools.org. GPS Active COVID Cases: https://rb.gy/50iklu

Glendive Public Schools wants to be sure that the public stays informed on important issues pertaining to our school districts. Please refer to the Timeline Reports regarding the Washington Middle School and Lincoln Elementary School boiler issues that resulted in moving to online instruction on October 19th and 20th, 2020. Please click on the link below for each report: Lincoln Boiler Issue Report - 10/23/20 - https://rb.gy/rhmvsh Washington Boiler Issue Report - 10/23/20 - https://rb.gy/blt9wa Also, please check back to our new Facilities Page on the Glendive Public Schools website for important facilities information in the future! GPS Facilities Page - https://rb.gy/jrsyld Thank you!

The GUSB has tasked the GPS administrators to actively pursue moving to the Restricted Model. As a reminder, the Restricted model is all students onsite M-Th. Since social distancing will not be able to be maintained, face coverings will be mandatory and need to be worn all day. GPS admin have been working diligently for weeks to make the necessary changes and arrangements to make the switch from the Hybrid model to the Restricted model. The following link is a checklist which summarizes the items that will help GPS make this shift successful. You will notice that some of these items are still in progress. We understand that there are a lot of people that want this shift to happen; please look at each section to see what you can do to help. One example is to help GPS by becoming a substitute. Another example would be letting your respective principal know if your student will be changing from online to in-person or vice versa as soon as possible as explained in the previously released message (K-8 can make a switch at quarter, 9-12 can make the switch at semester) to allow us to finalize certain plans. Please note that more information will come out about this in the coming weeks. GPS Restricted Checklist https://rb.gy/w256qs

Parent/Guardians, At the last school board meeting, the board directed the GPS administration to move to the restricted model where students will attend 4 days a week M-Th onsite wearing masks all day (once everything is able to be put into place). In preparation for this move, we felt it appropriate to allow elementary-age students (K-8th) to shift back onsite or move online at the start of the 2nd quarter if it was agreed that it is in the student's best interest. This request is only for students K-8. High School students would be allowed to make the switch to or from online at the end of the semester. We are asking that you notify the building principal of the school your child attends if you would like us to consider moving your student from online learning back onsite or vice versa. We are asking for this contact to be made by Wednesday, October 28th so we have accurate numbers to plan for. The first day of the 2nd quarter is November 2nd. Please contact the individual school principals if you have any further questions. Please note that a date to move back to the Restricted model has not been finalized, but more information about that will be coming out soon. John Larsen (interim principal) Jefferson Elementary School 406-377-4155 Cindie Togni Lincoln Elementary School 406-377-2308 Mark Goyette Washington Middle School 406-377-2356

We made a change to the calendar as we noticed that Parent-Teacher Conferences fell on election day. Parent-Teacher conferences will now be on November 5th. We will also be moving the early out from the 3rd to the 5th along with the conferences. We are sorry for the inconvenience. This year we will be having the conferences virtually and more information will be coming out later on that once we get closer. To view the updated calendar, please click on the following link (https://5il.co/mf47) or go to our website at www.glendiveschools.org.

It was just brought to our attention that there are many people who took the last email to say that we were going online. Glendive Public Schools is not going online. The last email was referencing the emails and messages from the district that notified everyone that we were going to go online because of the two boiler situations at LES and WMS. The purpose of this last email was to have everyone make sure they are getting the messages that we are sending out by updating their information. We are sorry for any confusion that this caused.

Recently, we had to notify everyone that school was going online for WMS and LES. When we send messages out to the community, we send the message out in a variety of ways (Website, App, Facebook, Email, Text, Voice, etc.). This school year we have been shifting away from Facebook as it is not a great way to get all parents information. Currently, the Glendive Public Schools App is the best way to receive information about what is happening in each school. In the last month, we have decided that we are going to utilize Infinite Campus (our School Information System) to deliver messages by email, text, and voice. In order for this to be effective, we need everyone to make sure they have an account set up and that their information is correct in the system. If you are seeing this message on Facebook, our website, or app, but did not get an email, you will need to check with your student’s school to make sure you are set up. Below you will find the Parent Portal Link. Please click on it and login. If you do not have a login, please call your child's school and they can help you set one up. Moving forward, this is how we are going to send most of our information out to parents. This will also be the way for all emergencies that we will get the information out. You need to have a phone number and email address as a minimum. Please note that in order to have a text sent to you, you have to have a cell phone entered and opt in to get that (information on how to do that below). Please log into your Parent Portal: https://mtdecloud3.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/glendive.jsp Navigate to Settings (in the top right corner) and Select Contact Preferences. Once there, scroll to the bottom of the page to update your Contact Preferences to receive Text Messages from the District. Thank you for your help with ensuring that we are able to reach you with our important information.

On October 18, 2020, Glendive Public Schools was notified that a staff member at Washington Middle School and a staff member at Jefferson Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19. Because of how we have structured the classes/schedules to mitigate possible exposure, only a small amount of the staff and students came in contact with the staff member. Contact tracing is ongoing and those individuals who are identified as close contacts will be notified. Glendive Public Schools will continue to take safety precautions to make sure all students and staff are as safe as possible. If any staff or students are at risk of exposure, the Dawson County Health Department will be in contact with that person to determine a safe and appropriate course of action. It is still recommended that any person who feels sick or ill, seek out their medical provider for specific instructions. Glendive Public Schools is following the Dawson County Health Department and CDC guidelines to clean and disinfect our schools every day. School administrators will continue to monitor the situation and will provide further information if and when it becomes available.

Just a reminder that today is a scheduled early out for all schools. Release times: JES - 1:20 LES - 1:00 WMS - 12:46 DCHS - 12:46

On September 24, 2020, Glendive Public Schools was notified that a staff member at Jefferson tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test was confirmed on September 24, 2020. According to the Dawson County Health Department, some of the JES staff were in contact with the staff member during the period of possible exposure. Because of how we have structured the classes/schedules to mitigate possible exposure, only a small amount of the staff came in contact and no students came in direct contact with the staff member. Contact tracing is ongoing and those individuals who are identified as close contacts will be notified. Glendive Public Schools will continue to take safety precautions to make sure all students and staff are as safe as possible. If any staff or students are at risk of exposure, the Dawson County Health Department will be in contact with that person to determine a safe and appropriate course of action. It is still recommended that any person who feels sick or ill, seek out their medical provider for specific instructions. Glendive Public Schools is following the Dawson County Health Department and CDC guidelines to clean and disinfect our schools every day. School administrators will continue to monitor the situation and will provide further information if and when it becomes available.

The Glendive Unified School Board (GUSB) is pleased to announce Glendive Public Schools has been approved for the nationwide USDA Extended Summer Food Service Program Waiver to serve breakfast and lunches at no cost to all students enrolled in the Glendive Public Schools grades K-12, regardless of Free/Reduced or Paid status. The waiver is valid through December 31, 2020. The cost of student meals will return to normal on January 1, 2021.

On September 20, 2020, Glendive Public Schools was notified that a Student at Jefferson tested positive for COVID-19. According to the Dawson County Health Department, there were NO Jefferson staff or students in contact with the student during the period of possible exposure. Glendive Public Schools will continue to take safety precautions to make sure all students and staff are as safe as possible. If any staff or students are at risk of exposure, the Dawson County Health Department will be in contact with that person to determine a safe and appropriate course of action. It is still recommended that any person who feels sick or ill, seek out their medical provider for specific instructions. Glendive Public Schools is following the Dawson County Health Department and CDC guidelines to clean and disinfect our schools every day. School administrators will continue to monitor the situation and will provide further information if and when it becomes available.

After seeing where our students are, we will be sending ipads home starting next week. With the learning curve of using the devices responsibly, the JES staff feel students need another week with the devices at school. This also gives parents more time to get our Use of Tech Agreement and the district's Student Device Checkout forms turned in. Both of these must be turned in before your child's ipad will be sent home. We thank you for your patience as we make sure our kids have the tools they need to be successful with these awesome devices!

In case you missed the offsite meal opt-in form sent out on Monday, please read the following information. If you already filled it out, you do not need to again. Please fill out the following form only if you would like to order meals for your JES child when they are offsite. This will be in effect until you contact the school to opt-out. If you don't want a meal for a certain day, you will need to contact the office by 9:00 am the morning your child would be taking the meal home. If they are attending school on their offsite days to receive services, you do not need to fill this out. The offsite meals that are ordered will be sent home with students on their onsite days for their following days offsite. Your regular meal cost will apply to the meals that are ordered. If you would like to order for more than one child at Jefferson, please fill this form out for each child. https://forms.gle/GuftzezypTeAm2DP8

Message from GPS: Please check your email or Infinite Campus account for an important message from Glendive Public Schools regarding ordering Breakfast/Lunch for your student's offsite days. Please contact your student's school to update your information or to find out more information about this message.

The Glendive Public Schools nurses wish to advise parents that COVID-19 testing will NOT be a part of your student's routine screenings. As always, please call with any questions or concerns. We are looking forward to a safe and healthy school year!

In order to meet the needs of our Jefferson families, we are trying an order form for parents to order offsite meals instead of having our students order. Please fill out the following form only if you would like to order meals for your JES child when they are offsite. If you would like to order for more than one child at Jefferson, please fill this form out for each child. The offsite meals that are ordered will be sent home with students on their onsite days for the following day when they are not physically at school. Your regular meal cost will apply to the meals that are ordered. This order form is a trial run for the week and will be tweaked as needed. Thank you for being flexible as we figure out the best way to serve our students! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfg5Tzsx52fOldbmhQTMscv63XyBB_RUvVEFZqncxRVxeubqg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Beginning Monday, August 31, Glendive Public Schools will offer breakfast and lunch meals for children to take home for their offsite days. A meal count will be taken in each homeroom/1st period, first thing each morning. On Monday and Tuesday, children may sign up for an onsite lunch for that current day and for a breakfast and/or lunch meal to take home for the following day. On Wednesdays, “A day” students may request meals for Thursday and Friday breakfasts and/or lunches during meal count. Thursdays “B day” students may request meals for Friday and Monday breakfasts and/or lunches during meal count. A staff member will be in a designated area to distribute the requested meals as students leave school each afternoon. Please do not hesitate to contact Food Service Director, Anne Sadorf at 377-2555 if you need assistance or have any questions.