A message from
INDIAN HILL MIDDLE SCHOOL

Dear Indian Middle School Students and Parents:

Welcome to the 2020-2021 academic school year! We are very excited to be back with our students and families both in-person and virtually. This will certainly be an incredible experience for our students. We will continue to monitor safety guidelines from the county, state and CDC and update our families as changes arise.

Mr. Hayden and I are honored to serve the students, families and communities of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District. We take great pride in providing educational experiences that embody Enduring Excellence. We will continue to provide unique learning opportunities that make IHMS such a special place for all of our learners.

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) 272-4700 by 8:00 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.

Final Forms

Parents, please remember that our annual registration and form completion can be found within Final Forms. Please login and complete the process by Thursday, August 27. This includes your student's contact information, emergency contacts, emergency medical information, allergy information and medical consent. Additionally, as in years past, both students and parents will need to electronically sign-off that they have reviewed the 2020-2021 Student Handbook.

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.

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.

Dedicated to the success of our Braves,

Jen Ulland Principal

Cash Hayden Assistant Principal
	
	IHMS Student Safety Procedures

Students will report directly to their first period class upon arrival to school. We will not issue lockers this year; therefore, all materials should be in a student's backpack.

Students without a completed PUP wellness check will be sent to a health station for a COVID-19 screening check. Students may use cell phones to call or text parents for a friendly reminder. We know mornings will be busy for everyone!

For the first few days, students should bring their fully charged laptop, a few writing utensils and a folder. Staff will gradually require students to bring in remaining supplies for storage within the classroom. We strongly recommend parents purchase a cover or carrying case for laptops.

Our Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science teachers will rotate from room to room to reduce hallway traffic. Students will travel to elective courses throughout the day. Hallways have been marked with directions and spacing requirements to promote appropriate spacing. Each classroom is equipped with sanitizing hand and wipes stations. Wipes will be used in between classes as part of our safety measures.

Teachers will allow for individual (inside) and whole group (outdoors) mask breaks throughout the day. We know this is the first time many students will be wearing masks for an extended period of time. Please encourage your child to ask for a break as needed.

Lunch tables will have four person dividers at each table. Students will be assigned to tables for contact tracing purposes. Students may purchase a lunch or pack. We have one microwave oven available for reheating items.

There will be no item deliveries during the school day. If your child forgot a lunch, he/she will need to purchase a school lunch. Students may hang sporting equipment on our school hooks located in the cafeteria. If a child left

an sport item at home, a parent may deliver it to their child at pick up time.

We will review all of our new rules with students in the first few days of school. Our staff felt it was important for our face-to-face learners to have a balance of feeling safe about the return to school and at the same not be afraid of the new safety measures we have in place. They created some fun "right" way and "wrong" way videos to help students adapt to some of our changes.

We have worked tirelessly over the last few months getting ready for our BRAVES. We appreciate your trust, flexibility, grace and patience as we work through the many challenges that COVID-19 has presented. Thank you for partnering with us; we are on this BRAVE journey together!
	
	Morning Drop-Off and Afternoon Pick-Up Information

Car Drop off & Pick Up

Follow the arrows
Do not park or cut through the middle of the lots
The front parking lot will have limited spaces this year due to the restructured bus zones. All parent pick-ups must be done through the front circle to ensure safety for all students and staff.

Mornings:

We have two morning drop-off areas this year. This will alleviate some of the congestion with more students riding to school with parents. Students may enter through the East and West Wings/Bus lot or the Middle School front circle. See image below for directions:

Afternoons:

There will only be one pick-up spot in the afternoon. This will be in middle school front circle by the fitness center. See image below for directions:

School Hours:

8:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Students can enter the building at 7:30 a.m.

Students must be in their club location orexit the buildingby 3:00 p.m.

Jennifer Ulland, Principal Jennifer.Ulland@ihsd.us
Twitter: @IHMiddle

My #IHPromiise - to foster a cullture of Priide,,
		
Leadershiip,,and Excellllence wiithiin our student body through experiiences,,rellatiionshiips,,and educatiionall
	
opportuniitiies..

Cash Hayden, Assistant Principal Cash.Hayden@ihsd.us
Twitter: @IHMiddle

My #IHPromiise - to know,,encourage,,and challllenge
	
our students to reach theiir fullllpotentiiall..

	

Indian Hill Middle School

6845 Drake Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45243 Phone: 513-272-4642

Fax: 513-272-4690 Attendance: 513-272-4700 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

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