With only a couple weeks before school starts, I wanted to send some reminders and updates. We will be communicating using our Cooper Newsletter each Wednesday. It will be sent via email and also posted on Facebook. We are gearing up for students and our teachers and staff are excited to see the kids.

Hybrid Students

Arrival and Dismissal: Thank you all for signing up for the staggered drop-off. This will greatly assist the school in reducing large groups entering the building all at once. If you have not yet signed up please do so here. Our focus is and always will be, the safety of your students, families and staff. Visitors will not be allowed in the building because of Covid-19 and welcoming staff will be stationed at the assigned doorways to assist your child/children into the building and to their classroom. Entrances to be used by grade level:

• Door W2 (West Entrance near Wyoming Ave) -- Kindergarten and 2nd Grade

• Door S1 (Main entrance) --1st and 3rd Grade and those with special needs.

• Door E10 (East Entrance near Missouri Ave) -- 3K, 4K and 4th and 5th Grades

Before School and After School Program: If you need to drop off your student prior to 8:00 they will need to enroll in the before school care program. There are still limited spots available and registration will be re-opened August 20 & 21st. You can find more information here on the school district website.

First Week of School K-5 students: Reminder that we are also staggering the start of the school year. Please refer to the schedule below for the first week of school: (4K/3K students please refer the schedule in your letters.)

• 9/1/2020 (Tue) - Students with the last name beginning with A-L come to Cooper for a full day of instruction
• 9/2/2020 (Wed) - No school for students this day
• 9/3/2020 (Thu) - Students with the last name beginning with M-Z come to Cooper for a full day of instruction
• 9/4/2020 (Fri) - All students come to Cooper for a full day of instruction

This allows for a safe start to school where teachers can begin implementing new routines and procedures for students.

Changes to Class Rosters: We have completed the process of assigning students to their virtual and in-person teachers. If there were changes necessary to class rosters for hybrid students, we have started the process of notifying parents of those changes. This will be completed by tomorrow.

New Rules and Procedures:

• Visitors will NOT be allowed in the buildings
• Appointments will need to be arranged for in person meetings. Families are encouraged to meet virtually with staff/teachers if possible
• Masks must be worn in the building
• No shared snacks/food will be allowed. This includes treats for special events. Students may bring their own snack to eat during their classroom snack time
• Breakfast and lunch will be eaten in the classrooms for grades K-5
• We will not be taking field trips – virtual field trips may occur while remaining in the classroom
• Staff will be cleaning throughout the day - - deep cleaning will occur each evening and on
  

Wednesday

• Specific entrances based on grade levels
• Some classes will be split to accommodate social distancing

Much planning and preparation has gone into creating a learning environment for your students as well. Parents can expect communication soon about who their virtual teacher will be along with expectations for our virtual learners. We are also coordinating materials and devices for our virtual students. These items will need to be picked up from your student's home school - Cooper Elementary.

Our scheduled time is Friday August 28th 5-6:30PM.

Class supplies will be the same as our hybrid students.

Aaron Lieberz, Principal

So many emotions as we think about starting school next week! One way to ease anxiety (at least a little bit anyway) is to have information and know what to expect. In the first few days of school, we have 3 main priorities. We will be focused on making sure kids feel safe, welcome, and begin building connections and relationships with classmates and Cooper staff. We will also be working hard to teach all students K-5 the tech skills they need to navigate their new devices, logging in, learn their emails, and navigate the new platform, SeeSaw. And in addition to these things, we will be teaching all students new safety procedures and routines using our PBIS framework. I am including some examples of how we will be talking to kids about Coronavirus, social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing. You can use these resources to talk to your kids and answer questions they may have before school starts. You will also find a podcast (below) for you to listen to about talking to your kids about the beginning of a new school year and any big emotions they may be feeling. Thank you for all the work you've done already talking to your kids and preparing them for school. We are just so excited to see them next week!