Dear Parents and Guardians,
I would like to personally welcome all of our returning families and all new families to the LAS community. I hope you have had time to enjoy these beautiful summer days with your families and rejuvenate your spirit.
We have been working hard all summer to prepare our building, hire new staff and plan for a safe opening of school by implementing best practices to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19.
We have been preparing for a normal school year. Although COVID rubrics may force us to shift gears now and then, we are confident that we will be able to provide your children with a fun, active, challenging school year.
Our school hours will return to pre-COVID hours of 8:25 am - 2:50 pm
The first day of school for students is Aug 31, 2021.
Students and staff will be in masks to start the school year.
The following information will help you get your family ready for a successful school year.
Sincerely,
Beth
COVID Protocols
Superintendent, Meredith Nadeau, presented our school board with a plan to guide us back to school safely. (The plan can be found here)
This plan outlined new COVID procedures for us to follow based on information from the CDC and NH DHHS. This was accepted by our school board with two key amendments.
The first amendment that was made to the plan is communication with families. If a student tested positive for at LAS, families that need to be communicated to due to a close contact will now be called. This will be determined by the school nurse and myself.
The second change to the plan for LAS is the metric that will be used for determining if we are in the green, yellow, or red zones of transmissions. We will not be using the Rockingham County metric, rather, we will be using a metric from just the Seacoast area.
Current COVID-19 Return to School Protocols
- At this time, due to community transmission rates, all students are required to wear a mask when inside the building. Please provide an extra mask in your child’s backpack. Students are not allowed to use gaiters or masks with valves. Masks should have at least two layers of fabric and must cover the child’s nose and mouth. We will have extra masks on hand if needed. Students may only take off their masks when the teacher indicates that it is safe to do so (outside). Please talk to your child about the importance of this rule.
- Current federal guidelines require all students to wear masks on our public school buses.
- All staff and students are asked to self-monitor for symptoms daily, prior to coming to school. Although we will no longer be using the Pick-Up Patrol screening app, we ask all parents to carefully monitor their children for COVID-19 symptoms each day. Please do not send your child to school if they have any symptoms of COVID-19; this includes even mild symptoms.
| Please report symptoms to the school nurse: | |
|---|---|
| Fever/chills (measured 100.4F) | Cough |
| Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing | Sore throat |
| Runny nose or nasal congestion | Muscle or body aches |
| Headache | Fatigue |
| New loss of taste or smell | Nausea or vomiting |
| Diarrhea | |
Please do not send your child to school if they have:
- Shared a household (temporarily or permanently) with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the prior 14 days.
- Traveled Internationally or been on a cruise ship in the last 10 days
- In the event of a positive identified case in school, quarantining will be limited to household contacts only (per NH DHHS guidance).
- The school will notify families as needed if a positive COVID case occurs within the school.
- Classrooms will maximize physical distancing and strive for three (3) feet distancing. Teachers will be encouraged to use outdoor space for instruction as much as possible.
- Classrooms will be cleaned daily following guidelines from the CDC.
- Frequent hand washing will be encouraged, and hand sanitizer will be available in all classrooms and common areas.
- No outside visitors are allowed in the building at this time. We will make arrangements for virtual meetings when necessary.
As you know, the pandemic is very dynamic and protocols can change often. Please be aware that every plan is fluid and subject to change based on recommendations from public health officials and community transmission rates. We will notify you when there are any changes to our protocols. Families should have back up plans in the event that there is a need to shift to remote learning at any point during the school year.
Pick Up and Drop Off
We are planning to continue the pick-up and drop off that we established last year. We felt it was safe and smooth and with increased bus usage we think it will also be faster for parents.
For Children in Grades K-2 without older children in family
Drop off will be at the traditional car drop off area (double doors that face route 88 on the street side of the building).
Have your child unbuckled and ready to exit vehicle with their backpack
Proceed to end of drive, turn left and exit onto Route 88
For Children in Grades K-2 with older children in family, and grades 3-8
Drop off at main office doors. DO NOT PASS A BUS that has flashers on to get to the main entrance. Please wait until buses have unloaded and moved to the parking lot.
K-2 students will enter the K-2 pod by Huebner/Elzey
3-6 students will walk down sidewalk and enter the 3-6 pod by playground
7-8 students will enter the main office doors and proceed directly upstairs to the 7-8 pod.
Pick Up Procedure: Families With Children in Grades K-2 without older children in family
Pick up at a traditional car drop off area (double doors that face route 88).
Please have your child's last name placed on a card in the windshield so we can quickly call your student for departure.
Proceed to end of drive, turn left and exit onto Route 88
For Children in Grades K-2 with older children in family
Start a pick up line along the fire lane starting at the playground.
Please have your child's last name placed on a card in the windshield so we can quickly call your students for departure. Proceed around the loop and exit through the visitor parking.
BUS Ridership
We have three buses scheduled for students this year. We will do our best to socially distance students while riding on our buses to and from school. Federal mandates for transportation dictate that masks will be worn by all students and adults on our buses. Bus routes and times of pick up are still being finalized and will be sent to families in the next week.
Students in Kindergarten and grade 1 need a visible parent or designee for the student to be dropped off.
Pick-Up Patrol
- LAS uses a dismissal system called Pick-Up Patrol. Parents will be asked to create a login on this application and all dismissals and absences will be reported through this system. Please be sure to set a default transportation schedule for each of your children in the Pick-Up Patrol App. When your child is absent from school, you must submit his/her absence through the Pick-Up Patrol app prior to 9:00am. If we have not received notice of a child’s absence by 9:00am, we will contact the child’s parent to confirm the absence. This helps verify the whereabouts and safety of every child every day. When submitting your child’s absence, please identify the reason for the absence. This written documentation meets the regulations of the State Department of Education. Please note: If you do not set a default transportation schedule for your child, we will not know where to send him/her at the end of the day.
- Dismissal/Transportation Change:
If a student will be going anywhere but home, the parent/guardian must enter that information into the Pick-Up Patrol application prior to 2:00pm each day. Any dismissal changes after 2:00 pm will not be received in the office.
If a student is being dismissed during school hours, the parent/guardian should enter the information into the Pick-Up Patrol app.
- If a student plans to walk or ride a bicycle (or skateboard, roller blades, etc.) to or from school, a written note giving parental permission must be on file in our office in addition to submitting to Pick-Up patrol. Helmets are mandatory by law.
Technology:
Our chrome books are just about ready for the new school year. Each student will receive a chrome book for the school year and will travel to and from school based on the age and the need to do that.
Here you will find our Technology Acceptable Use form. This will be shared with each student at the start of the year so that they understand their responsibilities when using their devices.
STEM and SEL;
In addition to welcoming new staff, we are pleased to welcome back Mike Queenan who taught in the SAU Remote Learning Academy last year. This means that our still new STEM course (science, technology, engineering, art and math) for students in grades 5-8 will come back into our Unified Arts rotation. The STEM program compliments the Maker Space program in grades K-4. Mike has been working hard on a curriculum and he is looking forward to getting back into this program with students when the school year starts.
SEL,( Social Emotional Learning) will continue to have a strong presence at LAS. Our staff will continue to teach SEL concepts in Morning Meetings (K-4) and our Advisory groups (grades 5-8).
Food Services:
All school lunches will be free of charge to our students this school year. Students will enjoy lunch outside as much as the weather will allow.
Looking Ahead
21-22 SAU 21 calendar can be found here
August 2021
23, 24 - New Teacher Orientation
25,26,30 - Teacher Orientation/Training
27 - No School for Staff
31 - School Opens- 1st Day for Students - 8:25 am
September, 2021
3 - No School
6 - Labor Day Observance, No School
14 - School Pictures by Geskus Photography
14 - School Board Meeting - 6:30pm
15 - Early Release for students