Good evening West Shore families and staff,
I have a bonus e-News for you this month with information that couldn't wait till January with snow in the forecast for next week.
First, if you haven’t already heard, last night the District revealed its 2020 Holiday Card. Congratulations to this year’s contest winners Katrina Bui, a junior at Red Land High School, and Gwendolyn Weaver, a second grade student at Red Mill Elementary. Special thanks to all our talented students who entered our Holiday Card contest…you made it very difficult to select winners this year.
UPDATE ON IN PERSON EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND ATHLETICS
On December 10, 2020, Governor Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced new mitigation efforts to help curb the spread of COVID-19. As a result of their recent restrictions, from Saturday, December 12, through minimally 8 a.m. on January 4, 2021, all District in person extracurricular activities and athletics will be temporarily suspended. Whenever possible, we encourage staff and students to meet virtually during this time.
INCLEMENT WEATHER INFORMATION 2020-2021 – In Person Learning Only
With winter weather approaching, Dr. Stoltz asked me to make you aware of our plans should bad weather require a change in our in person student schedule. Once a decision has been made, we will use several communication avenues to notify parents, students, and staff as quickly as possible.
School Closings (Snow Days)
Unless there is an announcement, assume school is in session as usual. Typically, a decision to close school is made prior to 5:45 a.m. or when at all possible the evening before. However, there have been cases where the weather worsened during the morning hours and a decision was made slightly later than the 5:45 a.m. goal.
Given our experiences this school year and during Phase 2, we believe the best and least disruptive way to provide continuous learning in the event of inclement weather is to shift to remote learning when weather or road conditions necessitate a school closing.
Elementary - Students and staff will follow our current Distance Learning 2.0 schedule. Morning Kindergarten and Grades 1-5 will begin classes at 8:30 a.m. with a morning meeting. Afternoon Kindergarten will begin at 10:15 a.m. Additional information will be shared with families from their child’s teacher via Seesaw.
Middle and High School - For students in the cohort who were scheduled to be in school, our current Distance Learning 2.0 schedule will be used. Middle School students will begin at 9:00 a.m. and High School students at 9:30 a.m. Additional information will be shared with student’s via Schoology.
For students in the cohort who were already scheduled to learn from home, there will be no change to their schedule. They should sign in to PowerSchool by 9:30 a.m. for attendance and complete their previously scheduled learning activities.
Please note, transportation to Cumberland Perry AVTS will not be provided if school is closed. Additional information regarding the learning schedule for a snow day will be communicated by CPAVTS.
Two-Hour DelaysWe plan to continue utilizing a two-hour delay schedule if/when possible this school year, particularly when we are confident that we can safely open schools after a delay. If the decision is made to call a two-hour delay, schools will open two hours after normal start times, and buses will run two hours later than normal route times.
Kindergarten students will follow a modified schedule during a two-hour delay, with morning kindergarten held from 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. and afternoon kindergarten from 12:45-3:30 p.m.
Cumberland Perry AVTS students, at this time we are waiting for additional information from CPAVTS about their inclement weather plans. Stay tuned for more details.
Early DismissalsOn days when it is necessary to dismiss school early, middle and high schools will dismiss first. To the best of our ability, we will provide families with as much advance notice as possible to plan for childcare and to mitigate the impact of lost instructional time for students.
IMPORTANT DATE REMINDER
No School Wednesday, December 23 through Friday, January 1Classes will resume on Monday, January 4, cycle day 6.
As always, I hope you found this information helpful and informative.
Have a great weekend!
Rhonda Fourhman
Coordinator of Community Relations
[email protected]#WestShoreProud
Please consider following the District’s official facebook, twitter, instagram, and linkedin accounts @WestShoreSD.