A message from INDIAN HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Indian Hill Elementary School Braves:

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year at Indian Hill Elementary School. We are all awaiting the first day of school and are busy preparing for a successful school year. We know it will look different than in the past but our staff has made every effort to ensure that our environments, both in person and virtual, are safe and welcoming. We look forward to meeting new students and families as well as welcoming our returning students and families. When you combine our highly skilled staff with our state-of-the-art learning environments, it is no wonder our children are so successful and that they love school. There is excitement in the air with all the possibilities that a new school year brings!

As you are aware, school is going to look a little differently than it has in the past. We want to begin with this quick video to let you see some of the changes you can expect. Click the image below to launch the video.

As previously communicated, our District will be opening beginning Thursday, August 27 in Plan B.

We will remain in the Plan B (hybrid model) for the first two weeks of school, and evaluate our plan by September 10.
By September 10, if we are still in the Orange level, and other health data are trending positive, we would communicate a shift to Plan A, 5 days per week in person, to start September 14. (Should indicators trend in a negative direction, we would assess any required or necessary shift as well.)

What does Plan B look like for your student?

Hybrid learning is a mixture of in-person instruction and online distance learning. Students will be in smaller groups (half their class size) during their in-person days and will be provided additional instruction in an asynchronous manner by their Indian Hill teacher(s) throughout the week. Hybrid learning allows for additional social distancing in the classroom, which is a critical risk
mitigation strategy. Communication was already sent assigning your student to either Team 1 on Mondays and Tuesdays or Team 2 on Thursdays and Fridays.

If your student is on Team 2, he/she will be face-to-face in our building both Thursday, August 27 and Friday, August 28. While we remain in Plan B, your student will attend on Thursdays and Fridays.

If your student is on Team 1, she/he will be face-to-face in our building beginning Monday, August 31 and Tuesday, September 1. While we remain in Plan B, your student will attend on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Important note: The first experience we want your child to have with our educators for our face-to-face educational model is in-person. We want our

educators to have the opportunity to meet and greet your student with get-to-know sessions, much like we have planned for our students who will be attending our new Brave Virtual Academy learning model. Additionally, our students will need some instruction about how to access distance learning materials prior to successfully completing tasks in an asynchronous manner. As such, our Team 1 students will start their school year with face-to-face instruction on August 31 and September 1 and will not have distance learning responsibilities until Thursday, September 3.

Brave Virtual Academy

The first day of school for students in Brave Virtual Academy is Thursday, August 27. Each student will receive communication from their assigned teacher in preparation for this start date.

Attendance

For all students, whether in-person or in Brave Virtual Academy, parents/guardians should report absences to the school attendance line at 513-272-4707 or in Pick Up Patrol by 8:40 a.m.

Families should feel supported in making decisions for students to remain at home if symptoms related to COVID-19 are present. School districts have been given great flexibility for how parents can report illnesses, such as having a doctor's note or a parent report. However, school districts have been given strict guidelines for recording student attendance. Part of this guidance is our responsibility to track attendance for all school circumstances, including within Brave Virtual Academy and asynchronous days of instruction in Plan B. Our face-to-face time with students is precious; thank you in advance for scheduling any necessary appointments for students on asynchronous instructional days in Plan B.

PickUp Patrol

We are very excited to share with you our District's plan to ensure all Braves, from our staff to our students, are healthy before coming to campus. PickUp Patrol (PUP), which has been used at Indian Hill Primary School and Indian Hill Elementary School in past years for transportation purposes, offers a daily health screener for schools. As part of our Brave Return to School safety protocols, our District will utilize this tool for the 2020-2021 school year to conduct at-home health screenings.

As a parent-guardian, you will use the PickUp Patrol app to screen your student each morning before leaving for school. You will be asked a few COVID-19 risk-related questions. Based on your answers, your student will either receive a response to proceed to school or to follow the provided instructions. Your responses will be monitored by authorized school administrators. This should be completed by 8:25 a.m. each day.

Please note: Any student who does not have a response registered within PUP will be removed from class on arrival, and a health screening will be conducted. We appreciate your assistance in completing the PUP questions before arrival. You will soon receive a PUP welcome letter directly from the PUP system with your registration information. It will guide you through the process.

Bus Route Information

If you selected for your student to ride the bus, you will need to go tothis link to access your student's bus route. Instructions are included within the site on how to access this information.

As the school year starts, pleasesave the date for the following school events:

Tuesday, August 25:Brave Virtual Academy Supply Pickup(for students that are participating in Brave Virtual Academy only)
Elementary School Front Drive: 9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.

All virtual students will receive a Chromebook at pick up Thursday, August 27:Team 2 and Virtual First Day of School
All Team 2 students will receive a Chromebook to bring to and from school
Monday, August 31:Team 1 First Day of School

All Team 1 students will receive a Chromebook to bring to and from school
Thursday, September 3:Virtual Parent Informational Night (Meetings will be recorded and emailed to homeroom parent lists if you are unable to make your assigned time.)
3rd Grade: 5:45-6:15 p.m. 4th Grade: 6:30-7:00 p.m. 5th Grade: 7:15-7:45 p.m.

SCHOOL HOURS

Student arrival for bus riders - 8:50 a.m. Buses will be unloaded one at a time.
Students will enter the building 6 feet apart. Students will have assigned seats.
Student arrival for car riders - 8:40 a.m. (No supervision prior to this time.)
If you choose to drive your child to school any morning, our drop off circle is in the back of our building. Enter the driveway opposite South Clippenger. Make an immediate right and pull to the back of the building.
Students must remain in their cars until they are prompted to get out of the car by a staff member.
Four cars will be unloaded at a time.

Cars should pull all the way up to the end of the sidewalk before unloading.
Students will be marked tardy if they arrive after 8:55 a.m. (We understand that this process may take a while at the beginning of the school year and will be flexible with marking students tardy if they are making their way to class or on campus.)
Student dismissal for car riders- 3:35 p.m.

Students will wait in the gym and multipurpose room until they are dismissed to the car rider circle. They will be seated 6 ft apart while they are waiting.
Student dismissal for bus riders- 3:40 p.m.

Buses will be dismissed and loaded one at a time. Students will have assigned seats.
We will do our best to have buses leave at their scheduled time during the first couple of weeks. We anticipate that this process

may take a little longer than a typical year.

SCHOOL/PACKED LUNCH Box Lunch and Milk - $3.20

Lunch Cost Assistance Program

There is a lunch cost assistance program available for those who have financial need. Students that participated last year will be included automatically to start the year, but must reapply. If you feel that you qualify for this program, please contact Mrs. Carolyn Anderson or Mrs. Laura Hofrichter, administrative assistants, at 272-4703.

Lunch Purchases

Funds, either a check or cash, will be deposited to your child's account. Checks for food services can be made to "Indian Hill Food Service" and should NOT include any other school payments such as fees. Parents can deposit money into a child's lunch account using the EZpay system. Your child's six-digit identification number is the same as last year. If you need help with the number, please call.

Packed Lunch from Home

We ask that studentspack items that they can open on their ownthis year. There will not be assistance from adults when opening food or drink.
Unfortunately, we willnot provide microwaves to warm food this year. Parents will not be permitted to drop off lunch items for students. Packers will bring all items back home to discard.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

All students will receive a fanny packwith personal hand sanitizer and wipes. This will also be a place where they can keep their masks during mask breaks. The fanny pack will remain at school in their desk.
At this timewe will not be allowing visitorsin the building. If students need to be dropped off after school starts or picked up before school ends a staff member will meet visitors at the door to assist with this process.
Students will not have lockers. They will hang their backpacks on the back of their classroom chairs. Please make sure students are only bringing supplies necessary for instruction to school.

One of the most powerful partnerships is that between a school and the child's home. We look forward to seeing you and your child soon and celebrating the many successes both in our building and virtually. It is a privilege to provide the leadership at this outstanding school!

Dedicated to the success of our Braves,

Whitney Buell Principal

Andy Gruber Assistant Principal
Indian Hill Elementary School

Whitney Buell, Principal Whitney.Buell@indianhillschools.org Twitter: @IHElementary

My #IHPromiise - to be a servant to our students,,staff,, and communiity;;I striive to proviide contiinuous iimprovement to prepare our students for a promiisiing future..

Andy Gruber, Assistant Principal Andy.Gruber@ihds.us

My #IHPromiise -to proviide a cullture where allll students can be theiir best sellf every siinglle day..
	
	Indian Hill Elementary School

6100 Drake Rd.,

		Cincinnati, OH 45243 Phone: 513-272-4703

Fax: 513-272-4759 Attendance: 513-272-4708 School Safety: 513-272-4701

We are a campus committed to kindness; click here to report an incident, and administrators will be notified.

Indian Hill Exempted Village School District | |IHSDcommunication@indianhillschools.org | http://indianhillschools.org 6855 Drake Road Cincinnati, OH 45243

Copyright © 20XX. All Rights Reserved.