Roanoke Rapids Graded School District

RRGSD Returns to Face to Face Instruction for Pre-K through 5th Grade

October 5 - Grade Pre-K and Kindergarten

October 12 - Grades 1 & 2

October 20 - Grades 3 - 5

School Day Schedule:

Clara Hearne
9 a.m. - Drop off
9:10 a.m. - Tardy
3:20-3:30 p.m. - Pick up

Belmont
7:45 a.m. - Building opens
8:10 a.m. - Tardy
3:00 p.m. - Dismissal

Manning
7:45 a.m. - Building opens
8:10 a.m. - Tardy
Dismissal is staggered - 3:00 for K-2 car riders, 3:10 for 3-5 car riders and bus riders

This phased approach will help both our parents and staff adapt to the state mandated daily screenings, increased cleaning and sanitation protocols, and changes in the way our students are served meals. Students will also continue to have the option of learning remotely.

We anticipate the screening process each morning to take some additional time to get everyone safely inside our buildings. Students will be given morning work, will receive one-on-one instruction, and will have an opportunity to eat their breakfast during this time to maximize our instructional time once everyone is safely inside.

The information below will explain how the screening process will work for bus riders, car riders, and those who walk to school. We will be requiring students to wear their district-issued badges each day. These will scanned for daily screenings and meal service. Additionally, students will be doing most of their work in the classroom using their district-issued chromebook. This should be charged and brought to school daily.

Our teachers will continue to serve students both face-to-face and those who choose to learn virtually. Additionally, we hope to get our students in grades 6-12 back in our classroom as soon as state restrictions are lifted.

Health Screenings, Masks & Social Distancing

All students, parents, staff and visitors have to take part in Health Screenings to remain on a RRGSD campus, which includes a temperature check and answering three attestation questions below specific to COVID-19. There will be some instances where someone has a verified exemption, such as a medical condition, which will allow them to be on a RRGSD campus without a mask. Unless they have a verified exemption, all students, staff, and visitors are required to wear masks on campuses and school buses.

Bus Transportation under Plan A

All bus riders must have a parent attestation form filled out prior to riding the bus.

All bus riders will be picked up at the specified bus stops. Parents/guardians should accompany children to the bus stop to assist students with staying six feet apart.

Safe entrance protocols (temperature checks and daily symptom screening) will be
conducted before the student boards the bus. If your child's temperature is 100.4 or above they will NOT be allowed on the bus.
The student's badge will be scanned each day and their temperature will be recorded. (Please make sure you wear your badge daily.)
Students will be assigned to bus seats to help with contact tracing.
Everyone (including the bus driver and monitor) must wear a cloth face covering. Due to
Executive Order 163, face shields cannot be worn alone. Bus drivers and monitors will have to
wear a face mask and face shield.

Car Rider Information

All car riders will be symptom screened BEFORE they can exit their vehicle in the car line.

No children may be dropped off outside the building prior to 7:45 unless they are enrolled in morning Place to Play-- NO EXCEPTIONS.

Our crossing guard(s) and SROs will be monitoring this in the morning.

Place to Play staff will conduct their own symptom screenings prior to students exiting their vehicles between 6:15 and 7:35.

Please anticipate and plan for delays in the drop-off line as we acclimate to the safe entrance protocols. While we will have as many staff members assisting with this process as possible, there will still be delays in the line, as we anticipate each student will take around 45 seconds to screen.

CAR LINE

Parents will enter the car line as normal. Please make sure your child has their lanyard on with the barcode ready to be scanned, materials gathered, and items ready to exit the vehicle BEFORE you arrive at the sidewalk for screening; this will keep from adding to the delay. To the extent possible, students should move to the side of the car in which screening will take place. (Left lane is the left side of the car; right lane is the right side of the car.)
Multiple staff members will be on the sidewalks to screen students in the car line; all screening staff will wear a cloth face covering, and they will have a thermometer, screening questions, and device to record answers ready. Staff members will be using student bar codes on lanyards to speed up the recording process.
Parents will need to roll down their windows (front and rear, if their child is in the backseat) when they arrive at a staff member to begin the screening process. This is so that parents can assist in answering the screening questions while the staff member takes the student(s)’ temperature(s). DO NOT ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO EXIT THE VEHICLE WITHOUT BEING SCREENED.Your child must pass screening before you leave; infractions of this procedure will result in administrative placement in virtual-only instruction.
Staff will ask the following three screening questions each day:
1. (1) Have any of the children you are dropping off had close contact (within 6 feet
  for at least 15 minutes) in the last 14 days with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, or has any health department/health care provider been in contact with you and advised your child to quarantine?
2. (2) Do any of the children you are dropping off have any of the following symptoms?
  - ● Fever
  - ● Chills
  - ● Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  - ● New cough
  - ● New loss of taste or smell
3. (3) Since they were last at school, have any of the children you are dropping off been diagnosed with COVID-19?
● IF ALL of the answers to the above questions for EACH child is “No” AND your child’s temperature reads at 100.3 or below, he/she is able to exit the vehicle and enter the building. IF the parent/child answers “Yes” to ANY of the questions AND/OR the child’s temperature is 100.4 or higher, they are not allowed to enter the building. At that point, they will be directed to park in one of the designated spaces, and one of our school health staff (either the school nurse or designee) will come to the vehicle to conduct a secondary screening and determine next steps. No parents will be allowed to enter the building without a prior appointment made with administration.
Screening staff will record all responses and temperatures for each student each day.

Walkers

ABSOLUTELY NO STUDENTS MAY BE DROPPED OFF IN THE PARKING LOT-- NO EXCEPTIONS.

Staff will not be available to provide symptom screening in the actual lot, so any parent who chooses to park MUST walk their child to the screening station in front of the building.

All walkers/park-and-walk students will be symptom screened BEFORE they can enter the building. No children may be dropped off outside the building prior to 7:45 unless they are enrolled in morning Place to Play-- NO EXCEPTIONS.

Our crossing guard(s) and SROs will be monitoring this in the morning. Place to Play staff will conduct their own symptom screening prior to students exiting their vehicles between 6:15 and 7:35. P lease anticipate and plan for delays in the morning as we acclimate to the safe entrance protocols. While we will have as many staff members assisting with this process as possible, there will still be delays. We anticipate each student will take about 45 seconds to one minute to screen.

Parents will walk with their child to the screening station for walkers designated at each school. Any adult with the child must wear a mask upon exiting their vehicle. Due to safe entrance protocols not allowing students who fail screening to enter the building, students may not walk to school alone.
Multiple staff members will be on the sidewalks to screen students.
Staff members will be using student bar codes on lanyards to speed up the recording process.
Staff will ask the following three screening questions each day:
1. (1) Have any of the children you are dropping off had close contact (within 6 feet
  for at least 15 minutes) in the last 14 days with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, or has any health department/health care provider been in contact with you and advised your child to quarantine?
2. (2) Do any of the children you are dropping off have any of the following symptoms?
  - ● Fever
  - ● Chills
  - ● Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  - ● New cough
  - ● New loss of taste or smell
3. (3) Since they were last at school, have any of the children you are dropping off been diagnosed with COVID-19?

● IF ALL of the answers to the above questions for EACH child is “No” AND your child’s temperature reads at 100.3 or below, he/she will be able to enter the building. IF the parent/child answers “Yes” to ANY of the questions AND/OR the child’s temperature is 100.4 or higher, they are not allowed to enter the building. At that point, they will be directed to the designated area for secondary screenings. At that point, school health staff (either the school nurse or designee) will come to the vehicle and/or the child to conduct a secondary screening and determine next steps.

● Screening staff will record all responses and temperatures for each student each day.

School Breakfast & Lunch Information

Pre-K through 5th grade students will eat lunch in their classrooms. Child Nutrition staff will scan student's district-issued ID daily for meal service.

Virtual Students

Meal sites will remain open daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Belmont Elementary and Manning Elementary. Families may pick up hot lunches from the site closest to them. You may also pick up breakfast for the following day.

Meals will be free of charge until December 31, 2020. After that date, meals will be charged to the student's account according to their lunch status. It is very important to turn in your lunch application before this date.

Many of our families qualify for free or reduced lunch.

To apply, https://www.lunchapplication.com/

COVID-19 Cleaning Protocol & Concerns

Every school has been provided disinfectant cleaning equipment that will be used daily to disinfect both the air and contact surfaces in all of the classrooms, common areas, restrooms, and other areas where people have been.

Additionally, similar disinfectant cleaning equipment has been purchased for daily cleaning of buses. Teachers have been provided refillable hand sanitizer, wipes and spray cleaners, which will be refilled and resupplied as needed. Hand sanitizer stations have also been installed in key areas in all RRGSD schools.

CONCERNS

Students who develop a fever while at school will go to the Isolation Room and be monitored by an adult at all times until the parent/guardian arrives to sign the child out.

If your student or family needs to self-identify as high risk to COVID-19 and needs special considerations, please contact the school.

Visitors

• No visitors to campus (unless there is a prior appointment made through administrators)

• No parents eating lunch with children

• No parents accompanying children into the school building

• No lunch drop offs

How we handle COVID-19 Cases?

Will you let me know who has COVID-19 in my child's class?

Due to privacy laws, we cannot release this information.

In the instance there is a cluster or outbreak of cases at a school, will the public be notified?

Yes. RRGSD will work with the local health department and NCDHHS to publicly report if there is a cluster of cases or an outbreak of COVID-19 at a specific school.

NOTE: In a child care or school setting, NCDHHS defines a COVID-19 cluster as a minimum of five laboratory confirmed cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases.

Should my child be tested for COVID-19?

If your student was not identified as high risk and is not presenting symptoms consistent with COVID-19, he/she does not likely need to be tested. Please contact your family physician for guidance if you or a family member, including your child, begins showing symptoms of COVID-19. If you receive a positive test result, per the Halifax County Health Department, you must self-isolate for 10 days or longer if symptoms persist. We ask that you notify our school so that we are aware of your student’s absence and may support their continued learning.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Reported symptoms in children include cold-like symptoms, such as fever, runny nose and cough, as well as shortness of breath. Vomiting and diarrhea have also been reported.

When do symptoms present?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that symptoms appear anywhere from two to 14 days after exposure.

What safety precautions are being followed?

As a reminder, these safety protocols remain in place:

Every student on our campus with the exception of Pre-K is required to wear a mask. Mask breaks are given throughout the day and masks may be removed during meal times.

Hand sanitizer stations are available throughout our buildings.

How can I protect myself and my family from contracting COVID-19?

There are some common sense measures everyone can take to protect themselves and others from the spread of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick and put distance between yourself and other people.

• Wear a cloth covering over your mouth and nose when you leave your house, especially when you may not be able to keep 6 feet between yourself and other people.

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds at a time.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

• Do not reuse tissue after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.

• Clean and disinfect surfaces that are frequently touched. Disinfectants should be used by following label instructions.

NC Pre-K Program Year - COVID-19

We know that our children learn best when they have the opportunity to be together with their classmates and teachers. COVID-19 has presented many challenges to the way we work, live, learn and socialize with each other. Our goals seek to provide as much stability and proven in-person instruction as possible as we navigate through the pandemic.

• All NC Pre-K students receive the benefit of fully in-person instruction to the fullest extent possible.

• All parents/guardians are offered the option of in-person instruction for the full program year.

• Recognizing the unique challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, remote learning will be available Pre-K students as an option.

• All remote learning offered will meet standard quality measures that support children’s healthy development and engage families in their children’s learning.

Learn more about the Pre-K state mandates here:

https://5il.co/m2nf

VIRTUAL LEARNERS

Here you'll find all the information you'll need to begin your schoolwork virtually. All students are issued a RRGSD Chromebook. Our RRGSD IT Department will only be able to support these devices. (see below for tech help.)

Step 1: Login using your school-issued email address. If you are a new student, someone from your school will reach out with your new school email address for you to use your district-issued Chromebook. From there you will find instructions, class assignments, and everything you need to know to begin school. You can find additional instructions for logging into your chrome device from home here.

Students K-1 will be given a "Clever Badge" to sign in to their tablets. Those will be issued when you pick up your child's device.

Chromebook repairs (such as physical damage: broken screens, missing keys, etc), have an adult bring your laptop & charger to the school between 11 and 1 Monday-Friday and you'll be issued a loaner. You must bring both laptop & charger to receive a loaner.

Any other Chromebook related issues, contact the RRGSD Technical Help Desk. (We only support district-supplied devices.)

RRGSD Technical Help Desk

Step 2: Virtual Instruction

Each Sunday by 5 p.m., the virtual teacher will post the instructional plan. This will provide students and parents/guardians a “Week at a Glance” perspective. Expectations will be highlighted for the upcoming week.
Attendance: All students are expected to complete Google Classroom assignments and participates in all assigned Google live sessions and attend any meetings designed by the teacher in order to be counted present for a virtual school day. Communication between students, parents, and teachers is vital, especially around times when students may be unable to attend a virtual meeting.
Accountability: Students participating in fully virtual learning will be held accountable for both mastery and completion of Google classroom assignments. Grades will be given in a similar fashion as if there was face-to-face interaction. Timely feedback will be provided by the teacher regarding accuracy and mastery of the material. Remote learning will not be designed to be completed in one sitting for the week. We will provide a rigorous instructional experience as possible. Students will be expected to be engaged every school day.

Step 3: You're ready to learn!

Should you need technical assistance with your district-issued device, we have established a RRGSD Technical Help Desk. You can access that information here:

Help Desk

We are here to support our students and families. Please don't hesitate to email your child's teacher should you have specific questions regarding instruction.

Thanks in advance for your patience and understanding. We are in uncharted waters as we begin the school year very differently - let's do this together.

Virtual Leaning Plan Quick Links:

Google Classroom & Google Meet 101

We've created a guide below for students, parents, grandparents, sitters, and other wonderful caregivers.

Students will be using Google Classroom extensively during the 2020-21 school year. As a parent, family member, or caregiver, it is important for you to understand the way that these applications work in order to be fully aware of how and what your student is doing.

Learn more here.

Google Meet Best Practices for Students.

Forgot email password?

Contact your child's school.

The Media Center Coordinator will assist you with password reset.

Roanoke Rapids High School

Chaloner Middle School

Belmont Elementary

Manning Elementary

Clara Hearne Pre-K Center

Roanoke Rapids Early College High School

Wireless Internet

If you do not have internet at home, there is free Public Wifi at the Roanoke Rapids Library, the Breezeway park area in the 1000 Block of Roanoke Avenue, and in the parking lots of all of our schools.

We have a limited number of hotspots available through grant funding. Based upon need and availability of hotspots, RRGSD Technology Services will be working with our RRGSD Student Services team to help prioritize and distribute hotspots to families. This need is a high priority and will be an ongoing effort. Most of them will be distributed to our homeless students and those who qualified based on free and reduced lunch criteria.

Parents, both Spectrum and CenturyLink are offering low cost options for those who qualify.

If you have internet at home, but your child is staying with relatives or someone over the age of 65 during the day, they may also qualify for low-cost internet services below.

The link for Spectrum is https://www.spectrum.com/browse/content/spectrum-internet-assist.

The link for CenturyLink is https://www.centurylink.com/aboutus/community/community-development/lifeline.html.

Preschool Virtual Learning

Step 1: Google Classroom

Pre-k teachers will be utilizing parent email to roster their google classroom. Follow the directions in the google classroom invite that you will receive. Each teacher will have their own google classroom, which will be the central location for activities, recorded sessions, questions, and their unique link for google meet lessons.

Step 2: Virtual Instruction

-Each Sunday by 5pm, the pre-k teacher will post the Instructional Plan. This will provide students and parents/guardians with a “Week at a Glance” perspective. Pre-k teachers will be offering remote moments which are blocks of live, direct, remote instruction delivery daily.

-Accountability: Teachers will provide short, direct instruction as well as activities and learning opportunities for children and families to engage independently that total approximately 6.5 hours of available material daily for the remote learner/family. Parents are held accountable for assisting their child to engage in activities every school day, such as submitting evidence of learning through the google classroom platform. We will provide a rigorous instructional early childhood experience.

Parents are also expected to participate in two weekly “check-ins” which are brief conversations to aid in us building a strong relationship with families. Teachers will be offering at least one mandatory check-in every week to all virtual learners. Students are encouraged to be an active participant in the check-in.

-Attendance: All students are expected to participate in assigned Google live remote moments. Remote moments will not last for more than 30 minutes at a time and will be on a consistent, predictable schedule. Teachers will be offering at least five remote moments each week as well as recorded, archived sessions to aid in each virtual learner’s ability to attend. A child/family’s attendance and participation in remote learning will be defined as participating in weekly check-ins.

Step 3: Your preschooler is ready to learn!

Clara Hearne staff is ready to build relationships through frequent, quality interactions which is essential to remote learning. Families will be kept informed of changes in schedule or protocols.

We appreciate your support as we navigate through uncharted territory. Please know that although the school year is beginning virtually, Clara Hearne remains the best place for your child to begin their educational journey.

Virtual Leaning Overview Elementary/Middle School

All of these components will be present upon the full implementation of the teacher's schedule. They will be phased in over the first few weeks of virtual instruction.

Live individual video check-ins: Virtual teachers will hold a minimum of 1-2 individual video check-ins each week with each student, at a day/time mutually scheduled with the family.
“Office hours”: Each virtual teacher will set aside a daily time on their calendar for an open Google Meet for any students/parents who may have questions or need additional support at a separate time from their individual check-in.
Morning Meeting: In order to facilitate as much normalcy as possible for students, we want to make sure that they have an opportunity each day to engage socially with their peers, even if they are in a virtual setting. Therefore, each virtual teacher will hold a “Morning Meeting” (no more than 15 minutes) that all students can attend for social-emotional learning and relationship building.
Additional resources/instructional materials: Each virtual teacher commits to posting supplemental and/or enrichment/remediation resources on the topics covered each week, to help support students and parents with the content.
Independent reading: Students will be asked to commit to at least 20 minutes of reading during the school day, and at least 20 minutes of reading for “homework”. This is crucial for their continued growth in literacy.

Example Virtual Schedule:

8:45: Organize your learning space/materials, turn on your Chromebook, login to your Google Classroom, and prepare for learning/Morning Meeting

9:00 - 9:15: Morning Meeting w/ virtual teacher and classmates

9:15 - 9:30: Reading live-stream or video of new content, read-aloud, etc.

9:30 - 9:50: Begin ELA/reading assignments for the day

9:50 - 10:05: Take a quick stretch and nutritional break!

10:05 - 10:15: Return to assignments

10:15 - 10:35: Self-directed reading time

10:35 - 11:00: Enhancement choices (i.e. free drawing, arts/crafts, music, dance, etc.)

11:00 - 12:15: Lunch & Movement time!

12:15 - 12:30: Math live-stream or video of new content

12:30 - 12:45: Begin math assignments for the day

12:45 - 1:00: Take a quick stretch and nutritional break!

1:00 - 2:00: Office Hours w/ virtual teacher (hop on if you have a question or need support!)

2:00 - 2:30: Live individual check-in (2 days/week)

High School Virtual Learning Overview

Click here for our New RRHS Remote Learning Page that includes weekly student assignments.

https://sites.google.com/rrgsd.org/rrhs-remote-learning-site/home

Each RRHS teacher will hold a live 1 HOUR Google Meet session for each of their class periods based on the schedule posted below.

In other words, your 1st period teacher will have a scheduled live Google Meet every Monday morning for an hour. This live meeting will be held between the hours of 8:30-11:30am.

You will have another 1 hour live meeting with your 1st period every Thursday afternoon between the hours of 1:00-3:00pm.

This will follow suit (based on the schedule below) for each of your class periods.

Your teachers will post the links and scheduled times for the live Google Meetings in Google Classroom.

During live sessions, teachers will provide instruction, support, and/or answer questions.

Teachers will post on their Google Classrooms the specific times for each session. They will also post if students need to have anything prepared prior to the live Google Meet session.

Students should be prepared for the live Google Meet sessions based on the information provided by their teacher in Google Classroom.

Participation in live Google Meetings is strongly encouraged. This is a time for students to access their teachers in a live session, to hear instruction (as if we were face to face in a traditional school setting), and to participate in a classroom atmosphere.

While attending live Google Meetings, students are expected to follow the student conduct policies for the district and school. ***Any student who fails to conduct themselves appropriately during a live Google Meeting will be referred to an administrator.

Please note: Live Google Meetings will begin the week of August 24 and will continue throughout the remote learning time period.

Wednesdays all teachers will be available for one-on-one sessions as needed. These sessions can be student or teacher-initiated.

Teachers may request a student to meet with them one-on-one via Google Meets because the student is struggling to complete required assignments/activities.

Students may request an appointment with their teacher(s) for a one-on-one session if they need additional support.

Appointments are recommended for One-on-One Wednesday sessions to ensure the teacher is available (not working with another student).

Each teacher will observe office hours daily.

Teachers can be reached via email, phone (252-519-7200), and possibly Google Meet during their posted office hours.

Office hours are for students who need additional support for assignments or have questions for their teacher(s).

Appointments are welcome, but NOT necessary.

Emails received during office hours will be answered in a timely manner.

All teachers will have weekly plans posted in Google Classroom. The weekly plans will include:

The assignments due for the week

Lectures/Pre-Recorded Videos

Live Google Meets Sessions

Office Hours

Schedule for One-on-One Appointment slots

Teachers can also be reached via email. Emails received outside of office hours will be answered within a 24 hour period Monday through Friday. Emails received between Friday after 4:00pm and Sunday will be answered the following Monday.

RRHS Attendance Overview

Attendance will be taken and entered into PowerSchool for each period

Initial Date of Attendance for Fall 2020

In order for a student to be counted present for the first day of the Fall 2020 semester (August 17, 2020) students and teachers must have a two-way correspondence. Students will receive an email from each of their teachers, Monday, August 17, 2020 for attendance purposes.

Students MUST respond to each teacher via email to be counted present for the day. Your attendance will be entered into PowerSchool marked 1R (Present Off Site)

If you DO NOT respond to the initial email from your teachers, you will be marked 2A (Unexcused absence) in PowerTeacher Attendance.

Students who are marked absent for Monday, August 17, 2020 will continue to receive emails from your teacher until you respond.

After 3 days of unsuccessful attempts for initial contact Mrs. Clark (COL), administration, and the counselor will be notified and a home visit will be scheduled.

***Please note: The first day attendance cannot be linked to an assignment. In other words, even if you submit an assignment in google classroom you must respond to your teacher’s email to be counted present. This is ONLY FOR THE FIRST DAY.

Daily Attendance for Fall 2020 (After Initial Attendance)

Students will be marked present 1R (Present Off Site) EVERY DAY FOR EVERY PERIOD for completing ONE of the following actions (based on the direction of your teacher(s)):

Completing an assignment in google classroom

Doing a check in on google classroom (mark complete)

Attending live google meets session (whole group or one-on-one)

Speaking with your teachers(s) via phone

Communicating with your teacher(s) via email

***Please note: even if a student does not complete an assignment, but instead does one of the other actions mentioned above, they should be counted present 1R (Present Off Site). Attendance is not solely tied to completion of assignments.

If a student does NOT complete one of the above mentioned actions you will be marked 2A (Unexcused Absence) for the period for the day.

Students Grades

Students participating in virtual learning will be held accountable for both mastery and completion of Google classroom assignments. Grades will be given in a similar fashion as if there was face-to-face interaction.

To access the student and parent portal, click here:

Parent Portal

Immunization Requirements

Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 7th Grade students are required to have updated immunizations prior to starting school on August 17th even though we are beginning the year virtually. Additionally, rising Seniors are now required to have the meningococcal (Menactra) vaccine. September 15th is the deadline to submit your child’s records to their respective school nurse. This is especially important because when we do return to in-person instruction, they will not be allowed to return without the proper documentation. Appointments may be made with the Halifax County Health Department or your child's pediatrician.

Update Aug. 13, 2020 State Gives Students Extra Time: Typically, proof of immunizations and health assessments are required in the first 30 days of school. This year, students won't need to have their immunizations up-to-date until October.

The "grace period" for having immunization records in begins Oct. 1. After that, students have 30 days to get documentation of their vaccinations and health assessment to the school. If they don't, they will be prevented from attending school.