Keating community,
It really felt like we hit our stride this week. Routines are becoming routine, and classrooms are forming community and culture, while bonds are being built amongst kids and adults. It is certain that we are still in the midst of start of year busy-ness, but there is no doubt that we are settling in.
A few notes now that kindergarten gradual entry is in the rearview, and all students are on the same daily schedule.
· We are a closed campus between the hours of 8:25 and 3:05. It is very helpful (and required) that those coming for pickup or drop off remain at the perimeter of the grounds during instructional time from 8:40-2:48. The reasons for this are likely apparent, but include avoiding crowding and distraction while lessons or outdoor movement breaks are in progress on the grounds, and allowing us to easily identify if anyone on the grounds is out of place. Further, we we don’t want to condition children to get used to seeing unfamiliar adults about. To be clear, this is not in response to an incident, but meant to be proactive.
· The above bullet point does not refer to parents/guardians who may need to pick-up or drop-off their child during the day, or are arriving for a prearranged reason (e.g. a prearranged volunteer opportunity, or a scheduled meeting). If you need to access the building for one of these reasons during instruction please proceed directly to the front doors of the school and check in at the office. We will help you from there.
· Bikes, scooters, skateboards, Heelies, etc… are not permitted to be ridden on the grounds except in the case of a teacher-directed, curricular program. We love that families are wheeling to school, and have added bike racks around the grounds over the past years, but for safety’s sake, these vehicles must be walked from the edge of the grounds to the racks.
· Aside from our K and 1 classes who typically dismiss children only when their parent/guardian is in sight of the teacher at the classroom door, we encourage families to establish a meeting point away from the building to reduce crowding.
· Thank you for the respect being shown to community members with varying comfort levels in regard to COVID-19. Many of our community members are more comfortable wearing facial coverings even outdoors, and I have witnessed many people being observant and respectful of this and offering distance and even putting on their masks outside around those who seem to be more comfortable with this. These sorts of actions (although not required), and this kind of consideration for others is a tremendous example of what makes our community so special.
I hope that everyone has a great second weekend of the school year!
Sincerely,
Steve