Aviator Air Newsletter
Maple Dale Elementary's Parent Communication
September 4, 2020
Face-to-Face Families
Letter of the Week
School Happenings
IMPORTANT DATES
September 7 - ALL NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
September 8 - ALL First Official Day of School
September 17 - Fall Picture Day
SCHOOL PICTURE INFORMATION
Picture Day is September 17th
This year, we will be partnering with Jostens for our school photography services. You will be seeing emails from Jostens sent through Sycamore periodically which will detail the dates and procedures for picture taking and ordering. Pictures will be mailed directly to your home. Jostens is also our service provider for yearbook information. We hope this continuity creates a seamless process between you, your students, and school pictures/yearbook. More information on picture dates will be coming soon.
An Important Reminder from Ann Marie and Mindy
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are certainly living through an unprecedented time. In past school years, Maple Dale has welcomed parents into our school on a daily basis. Parents served as “lunchroom superheroes” and “reading buddies.” Parents and Grandparents came to lunch and were “mystery readers” in our classrooms. We held “Grandfriends Day” and “Veteran’s Day” school-wide celebrations.
This year, we have been asked to restrict access to our school to keep everyone safe. This feels “unwelcoming” and it hurts us to enforce this new practice. However, it is important for two critical reasons.
First, we need to account for all staff and students throughout the day so that if we have a case of COVID 19, we will be able to identify those individuals who were in close proximity to the infected individual and for how long. Nurse Adee and Mrs. Reinke are Maple Dale’s contact tracing team, and we report to Nurse Julie Ferron who is our district’s liaison with the Hamilton County Department of Health.
Second, we need to limit outside exposure to those who must be at school: our teachers and students. This is why we have formed classroom “cohorts” and grouped our students for specials in a different way. Having adults who are not school personnel come into the building brings additional risk of exposure.
It is our hope that this pandemic will end sometime this school year. Whenever that happens, we will welcome our parents back to our school to resume all the wonderful things they bring to our program and school culture.
Until then, please be mindful of not coming into the vestibule or office unless necessary and avoid congregating outside to maintain social distances.
Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend,
Ann Marie and Mindy
Visitor Policy
We encourage you to work with your child to help him or her remember items like lunch or school work. Please remember that the district has instituted a NO VISITOR policy in our buildings for the time being. Thank you for your cooperation.
Technology
Help with Parent Portal and Final Forms
Transportation
Child Nutrition
F2F - Online Meal Ordering Procedures
Parents will be pre-ordering their child’s lunch and breakfast this year, utilizing the program My Meal Order. Please follow the directions below to set up an account.
Online Meal Ordering My Meal Order will not be available for pre-order until September 1st. You will need to place orders for the district transition days on September 1st. Click Here for How to Order Meals Video
Step 1- Account Setup 1. Go to mymealorder.com and create a free account. 2. Enter in your information and create a password. Account information can be edited at anytime. 3. Add students you will be ordering meals for.
*Please click subscribe when you are asked if you would like to subscribe. This will allow you to receive email notifications if there is a menu change due to food outages*
Step 2 - Select Meals 1. Meals can be viewed from either the weekly or monthly calendar view. 2. Meal details can be seen for each item by clicking ‘Meal Details.’ 3. Click ‘Add to Cart' to add meal(s) to your cart. This will add the entire meal to your cart. To see items included in the meal, click 'Meal Details.’ 4. To remove from cart, click ‘Remove from Cart.’
Step 3 - Order Online 1. View your cart anytime by clicking the ‘View Cart’ green tab on the right hand side of the screen. 2. Checkout 3. Review Order 4. Place Order
• If payment is expected at the time/location of meal service, or if your child qualifies for free meals, your total will be $0.00. This is because payment will NOT be taken within My Meal Order. We will handle payment the same as in years past. Money can be put on accounts via parent portal or by sending in cash or check with your student. This year, please send cash or check in an envelope marked with the student’s name and ID#. This will be sent to the office each morning and collected by the kitchen staff.
We hope you will utilize this online meal ordering software from your Child Nutrition program regularly. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Child Nutrition Department at (513)-686-1796.
Lunch
Parents
Parents will pre-order lunch for their student(s) WEEKLY. Orders will need to be placed by Noon the Friday before the next week. Parents are able to order all meals up to a month in advance if they so please. A la carte drinks and snacks will be able to be pre-ordered at this time as well.
Example- Mark’s parent(s) would have to place his lunch order by September 11th at 12:00pm for him to receive a lunch on September 14th. ** If Mark does not show up for school, his lunch will not be prepared that day, and he will not be charged.
Students
Students will be led to the lunchroom by classroom and sit in their assigned spots. Staff on lunch duty, along with a Child Nutrition employee, will help pass out meals to students.
Money - Cash/Checks needs to be sent to school with your student in an envelope marked with the student name and ID#. The student will turn their money into their homeroom teacher and it will all be sent down to the office. Money will be placed on student accounts before lunchtime each day. This is just an additional precaution to keep our students and staff as safe as possible.
Breakfast (*If you plan to have your child eat breakfast at school*)
Parents
Parents will pre-order breakfast for their students WEEKLY. Orders will need to be placed by Noon the Friday before the next week. Parents are able to order all meals up to a month in advance if they so please.
Example - Mark's parent(s) would have to place his breakfast order by September 11th at 12:00 pm for him to receive a breakfast on September 14th upon arrival to school. ** If Mark does not show up for school, his breakfast will not be charged to his account. ***If Sally, Mark’s classmate, forgets to order breakfast, but needs one, the student will let one of the staff members in the cafeteria that morning know and we will get them one.
Students
Upon arrival to school, students who need breakfast will make their way to the cafeteria. Students will sit at the cafeteria at tables, physically distanced, by bus number with other students from their bus. The students who were dropped off will have a designated area to sit as well. Staff members will hand out the pre-ordered breakfast meals to the students.
From the PTO
Join the PTO!
Meet Your PTO Board!
The PTO Board is excited to welcome our entire Maple Dale Family back to school this year! Though some of us are learning in the building and some are learning at home, we are all one school! We personally represent all grade levels, as well as both at home and face to face learning, and we are eager to answer any questions you may have about our beloved school. We are:
Jeff Stechschulte, President - mdpto@sycamoreschools.org - has a 2nd grader learning face to face (and also a 5th grader at Greene).
Jen Peri, Vice President of Fundraising - mdptovpfund@sycamoreschools.org - has 1st & 2nd graders learning face to face.
Chase Aston, 1st Vice President of Programs - mdptovp1@sycamoreschools.org - has a 2nd grader learning face to face (and also two 5th graders at Greene).
Harshana Patel, 2nd Vice President of Programs - mdptovp2@sycamoreschools.org - has K, 2nd, & 4th graders learning virtually.
Becky Gohr, Treasurer - mdptotreasurer@sycamoreschools.org - has 1st & 3rd graders learning face to face.
Anne Berg, Secretary - mdptosecretary@sycamoreschools.org - has a 2nd grader learning virtually (and also 7th & 9th graders at the JH & HS).
PTO Fall Help Wanted!
Virtual Families
Virtual Families - Technology Issues
Instructional Support
We are here to support you as you engage in virtual instruction! Danni Tymitz (Learn21 Instructional Technology Coach) will be available 4 days per week to assist with any tech or instructional needs:
Monday 8:30-3:30 (Virtual)
Wednesday 12:00-4:00 (Virtual and at Kenwood)
Thursday 7:30-2:30 (Virtual)
Friday 7:15-11:15 (Virtual and at Kenwood)
She will be reaching out to each of you to make sure you have what you need and to make appointments as needed. You can contact her directly at danni@learn21.org. Your Instructional Innovators will also be available to support your needs.
Curriculum Materials
Our data integration specialist, Steve, is working furiously to get Blackboard and all other online programs up and running. This year has been especially challenging for all of us, including Steve, and he has had to create new processes to integrate nearly everything. Please give him grace and know that this is a priority.
Child Nutrition Services For Virtual Classroom Learners
Healthy school breakfast and lunches will be available for pick up once a week for enrolled Sycamore Virtual Learning students.
Meals would have to be pre-order a week in advance and picked up during the school day at a specific school site. Please fill out the following form to help us understand how many families intend to use this service so we can plan accordingly. We will provide more information on specifics next week in the school newsletters.
Mental Health
Welcome back to school. By this time next week, we hope you will be settling into a new rhythm and routine with the return of learning. We know this year poses new and unusual challenges, and sometimes kids will need additional support. While learning from your home, the services we provide to support social and emotional health will still be accessible to your child.
Our school counselors can provide guidance for struggles that are anticipated to be short term. Your child’s counselor is based on their home school, and in some cases, also their last name or grade level. Should your child encounter day to day struggles and need some extra support with topics such as friendships, feeling overwhelmed, or feelings of sadness, our school counselors are here to offer guidance.
When those feelings become more pervasive or interfere with daily living, our school-based therapists from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital are here to serve as well. Parents, teachers, and school counselors can make student referrals for service. Students can also self refer for services. Students and families needing services can cover therapy visits through private insurance, Medicaid, or private pay options. Assistance may be available for families experiencing financial difficulty. Ultimately, the decision to move forward with therapeutic services is up to the family.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital offers medication management services to families engaged in school-based therapy. Medication management services are delivered by an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). The APRN will continue to serve students in the school-based program at Sycamore in 2020-2021. At this time, face to face and telehealth appointments are available. If parents are interested in engaging with medication management services, parents can schedule appointments directly through their building therapist. To receive these services, students must be active clients of the school-based therapist.
To discuss services available or with questions regarding services, Lisa Zelvy, Pupil Services Supervisor, can be reached at (513) 686-1700 or zelvyl@sycamoreschools.org.
Around Sycamore
About us
Email: reinkea@sycamoreschools.org
Website: http://www.sycamoreschools.org/Domain/12
Location: 6100 Hagewa Drive, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Phone: (513)686-1720
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mapledaleaviators/
Twitter: @MapleDaleElem