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Munhall Bulletin
September 11, 2020
Munhall Elementary School
Email: heather.miller@d303.org
Website: http://munhall.d303.org/
Location: 1400 South 13th Avenue
Phone: 331-228-2600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Munhall-Elementary-1459358344296891/
Twitter: @MunhallD303
Principal Note
I want to thank all of our parents for participating in our virtual Curriculum Night event this week. Although it felt different than year's past, it was beneficial for our teachers to connect with their families, present information about their 'classroom', and answer any questions you may have had about the curriculum, technology, daily routines/expectations, etc.
COVID-19—School Response
As has been communicated with families, Munhall has experienced positive cases of COVID-19. I have engaged in conversations with families who have inquired about how many cases does the school need to have before it is required to shut down. There is no specific number, but the information below should provide insight into the partnership between the school and health department to ensure our environment is safe for students and staff. Again, our goal as a school is to keep our school open, safely.
Thresholds (using raw numbers) to determine whether to have a partial closure for deep cleaning etc. are not the key factor with regard to building or classroom closures. More importantly the Health Department looks for epidemiologically linked cases, which are defined as two or more cases with a common source of exposure. As a school, fully anticipate positive cases will be identified in our settings. These cases represent transmission that has already occurred in our community. When students and staff enter our schools and complete symptom checking surveys (our AM screener) and are then followed up with rigor through the contact tracing efforts of our school nurses, suspect or presumed cases are found. These cases are then investigated by the Health Department as well as school nurses, who put in place the decisions for next steps. That follow up often leads to case identification because it compels testing that likely would not have occurred if students were not in school. Therefore, school numbers simply mirror the community transmission.
Decisions about closure of a section of the school or the entire school would depend on the identity of cases sourced to epidemiologically linked criteria. If that identification occurs, the local health department would determine the need for a closure for deep cleaning, etc. Therefore, one of the most important factors used by the Health Department, specific to full or partial school closures, is identifying whether or not there is evidence of transmission within the setting, as compared to the source being outside of school.
The most important things we can do as a school community to keep our students and staff safe include:
● Ensure all students and staff are wearing proper face coverings
● Make sure we are washing our hands frequently and appropriately
● Maintain social distancing
● Call your primary health care provider if you or your child has symptoms of COVID-19 and stay home when you are sick
Attendance: Remote and In-Person
Student attendance will be taken online daily by teachers during in-person and synchronous remote learning. Any students not in attendance will be reported to the school’s main office. Parents/guardians should call the school’s attendance line (available 24/7) and leave a message to report student absences for any reason. When you call to report an absence for your child who isn't feeling well, and can't participate in-person or remote learning, please include your child's symptoms with your message.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled for Thursday, October 8 and Friday October 9, which is a change from previous years. Conference times include 8 am to 8 pm on Thursday and 8 am to 12 pm on Friday. Meetings will be held through video conferencing. To sign-up for a teacher conference, parents will use the online portal Pick-A-Time. Pick-A-Time will be available beginning September 21 and will be open through October 7th. Pick-A-Time directions are attached here.
PTO Meeting
Our first PTO meeting of the year will be Tuesday, September 15th at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be virtual, and parents can access information about the meeting on the Munhall PTO Website, which can be found here. I hope to see many of you there!
iPads and Chromebooks
Please continue to support your child with coming to school with their electronic devices (iPad K-1, Chromebook 2-5) charged each day. You are doing a great job thus far!
Have a great weekend!
Jarrod Buxton, Principal
Google Meet Link: meet.google.com/qns-xhtu-gsm
Click on the Munhall PTO tab above to create or update your PTO toolkit account.