MCE News!

Montgomery City Elementary

August 30 2021

Mrs. Jeania Burton, Principal

Mrs.Jill Jacob, Assistant Principal

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Our Mission;

Lifelong Learners: Motivate, Challenge, Educate!

MCE’s PBIS Principles:

Rule #1 - Be Cooperative - Follow Directions Quickly

Rule #2 - Be Respectful - Raise Your Hand

Rule #3 - Be Safe - KHFAAOOTY

Rule #4 - Act Responsibly - Make Smart Choices

Rule #5 Be Kind - Treat Others The Way You Want To Be Treated

Thank you for a great 1st week of school!

I appreciate you and all you do to support your child as a learner. Our students arrived at school last week happy and ready to be here. They are building new friendships and getting to know their teachers. It was a good week at MCE!

Our daily mission: "Lifelong Learners: Motivate, Challenge, Educate!"

We need your help! Please screen your child daily before they leave your home.

As you know we have had two positive cases of COVID at school in the past week. We are working hard to maintain physical distancing and are disinfecting throughout the day. We have procedures in place to keep your child safe while they are at school.

We need your help to make sure they are safe to be at school. Please use the chart below to screen your child and determine if they should or should not go to school.

A note from our nurse about quarantining:

The following are our guidelines for quarentining, per the MCHD.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

HOME HEALTH AGENCY

400 Salisbury · Montgomery City, MO 63361 Phone: 573 564-2495 • Fax 573 564-5059 - Web: www.montgomerycountyhealth.org

July 27, 2021

Public Health Announcement

The 2021-22 school year is quickly approaching. The number of COVID cases is on the rise and Montgomery County Health Department would like to educate families on how COVID quarantine procedures will be handled. Montgomery County Health Department follows all recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for quarantine guidelines.

Any person who is considered a close contact of a positive COVID person will be asked to quarantine one of two ways:

1. 10-day Quarantine:

- This option requires 10 days of quarantine with the individual being able to return to regular activities on day 11, provided the individual remains. No test is required for this option.

2. Test Out Option:

- A close contact must quarantine for 7 full days from the last contact with the positive person and remain symptom-free for those 7 days, THEN On days 5, 6, or 7, IF the close contact receives a negative test result and remains symptom-free, they may return to regular activities on the 8th day. The option is only accepted if the test is completed on days 5, 6, or 7 of quarantine AND written proof of test result is required.

The CDC considers anyone a close contact if they are within 6 feet of the positive person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. However, anyone who is a close contact with someone with COVID and meets the following criteria, does NOT need to quarantine:

• Someone who has been FULLY VACCINATED and shows no symptoms of COVID

OR

•

Someone who has had COVID illness within the previous 3 months AND has recovered AND remains free from COVID symptoms.

COVID vaccine is available for individuals 12 years and older. Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey will be sent out to all school families to gather data on interest in having a COVID vaccine clinic for students. If there is enough interest, Montgomery County Health Department will hold COVID vaccine clinics for students.

Also please note that if a person testing positive wears a mask, and the close contact is also wearing a mask, the close contact does not have to quarantine unless they begin to show symptoms.

**If a child must quarantine due to a close contact at school, their siblings DO NOT have to quarantine, unless they are a close contact, too.

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Important Information:

Lunch Charges

Please be aware that all 1st lunches are free this year. If your child wants to order a 2nd lunch or an extra milk, they will be charged for these items.

We appreciate you filling out the Free & Reduced Lunch application. While lunches are free at this time, some of our school programs' funding is based on the percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches. Our Title I Reading program is one of these programs. We need you to complete and return this application to help with the funding of these programs. Thank you!

Handbook and Social Media Forms

This is a reminder that the elementary parent/student handbook is found online. You can access it by clicking this link or by visiting our web page, clicking parent information and then choosing Handbook.

We must have your signed permission before we are allowed to include your student's picture in any posts on social media pertaining to MCE. We love to celebrate the learning happening at MCE, and we do this by sharing pictures.

Please return the signed permission form to your child's teacher as soon as possible, if you have not done so.

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Arrival/Dismissal Procedures for MCE

Please understand that parents are not allowed in the building at this time. You may enter the vestible to see the office staff, but you may not enter the building. You may not walk your child to their classrooms, or into the gym. We will notify you as soon as we are given permission to allow guests into the building.

Thank you for following our Arrival/Dismissal Procedures last week! With your help we were able to dismiss all our car riding students in 15 minutes last week.

If you did not receive a blue or white car tag, we will be getting those to you soon.

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Federal Mask Mandate on School Buses Only

All students MUST wear a mask on the school bus. This is a federal mandate that we must follow. If your child does not have a mask, one will be provided to him/her.

Last week Mrs. Carla Parker passed out many masks. Please write your child's name on the mask provided and make sure they are putting them in their backpack when they get home. This way they can wear it again. We appreciate your help!

Please discuss with your child the importance of keeping the mask in place while riding the bus, and how to store it in his/her backpack.

Once children are at school, masks are optional.

Our Daily Schedule

Montgomery City Elementary Daily Plan for Physically Distancing

Each classroom offers a snack time for students. Each classroom has their own procedure for snacks that will be shared by your child's teacher.

Entering the building/breakfast:

All students are allowed into the building at 7:30 am. Students will report to the gym when they arrive at school. Each class has a line that is physically distanced from the other classes in the gym.

Students who need to eat breakfast will leave their line to go to the cafeteria.Students will sit at a table assigned to their grade level to eat breakfast. When they finish breakfast, they will return to the gym.

Following morning assembly, all students will leave with their class to go to their classrooms. Grade levels will not cross, each leaving individually from the gym.

Lunch:

At this time parents are not permitted in the school so parents cannot join students for lunch. Two grade levels at a time will be in the lunchroom. Students will sit side/by/side in the lunchroom with their homeroom class. Students will sit in their line order, by lunch choice.

The two grade levels in the lunch room will be physically distanced from each other.

Dismissal

3:35 Students riding the early bus will be dismissed one grade level at a time.

3:45 - All car riders & walkers will be dismissed to line up in the cafeteria for pick up. Students will stand with their family members to wait for pick up.

4:00 - All late bus students will be dismissed to the gym. They will sit socially distanced from each other in their bus lines to wait for their bus to arrive.

Daily Bathroom Breaks

Classes will be assigned a specific restroom to use in the building. Teachers will monitor students in the hall, and the number of students allowed in the restroom. (Only allowing the number of students to match the number of stalls in that restroom.) One student will be allowed at a sink at a time.

Other Information

Students do not have to wear a mask, but they may if they choose to. If a child chooses to wear a mask, he/she must wear it properly or it can be taken away. You will be notified if your student was not properly using their mask.

We will be regularly disinfecting classrooms and shared spaces throughout the day.

We are limiting all non-essential personnel in the building. Parents will only be allowed in the vestibule to communicate with the office staff. Parents may not enter the building while the school day is in session.

PTO parents, volunteer readers, book fair volunteers etc. will not be allowed at this time.

Only approved vendors scheduled through the principal will be allowed in during the school day. This would include our school photographer for picture day, scheduled for September 30th.

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Help us ensure your child's safety at the end of the day!

It is important that you have a consistent routine for your child to follow at the end of each day. If you need to make a change to your child’s normal routine you must send a note with your child in the morning.

In an emergency, you may call, but you MUST speak to a secretary before 2pm. Do not leave a message on the school answering service. The answering service is to report absences only, and it is not checked throughout the day. ONLY call in the event of an emergency. A note should be sent if you know in advance of a schedule change.

We will not make any changes after 2pm. Our goal is to get every student safely to their correct destination at the end of each day. We need your help to make sure this happens.