Returning to School - Students

We are thrilled to be opening our doors for our Return to School 2.0! It's like the first day of school all over again! This time around, we're excited about the opportunity for our virtual and "off-cohort" students to be able to join in from home every day during each class, in order for our teachers to reach our cohort A, cohort B, and virtual students daily. (see schedule below)

While in the building, we will continue to follow safety protocols, similar to last time. These are described in detail below. Teachers will spend time teaching and practicing these routines in addition to focusing on relationships, social/emotional skills, and of course academics!

Here are some reminders to ensure everyone's safety:

1. Keep your child home if he/she has any symptoms of illness.

2. Complete the Healthy Roster questionnaire daily for each of your students.

We will continue to need everyone's support, flexibility, patience, and positivity as we #takeflight at FFMS!

• Students will not be allowed to congregate outside or enter the building before 7:55 due to lack of supervision and COVID protocols
• Please make an effort to not drop your child off before 7:55
• Students may be dropped off between 7:55 and 8:25
• Parents should drive around the traffic circle near the FFHS football fields and then pull into our parking lot
• Parents should not enter the parking lots to park and let the student out.
• Parents will pull up to the front of our school as far as the marquee and wait for a staff member to tell the student to exit the car (Staff members will be out directing traffic and monitoring social distancing)
• Student will exit the cars with their masks and walk single file to enter the building where they will have their temperature checked
• Temperature stations will also be at the bus entrance of the school to screen bus riders and walkers

• All students must wear a mask
• 6 foot social distancing
• Staff and students (or their parents) must answer the 3 health screening questions before entering the building
• Visitors are limited to appointments only. Parents will not ‘walk’ their children into school in the morning
• Any stakeholder entering a facility will have a temperature check via a thermal temperature scanner. They will also have to answer the 3 health screening q’s
• Anyone with a temperature over 100.4 will be asked to leave the campus. Students with a temperature over 100.4 will move to a “quarantine room” until a parent can pick them up
  

Students and staff who will be entering the school building for face to face instruction will need to fill out a short COVID 19 survey prior to entry. This survey can be sent to a cell phone number through text message or by email. The survey will have to be completed each morning that the student is entering the building. Our team needs to know your preference for receiving this survey and the number or email address that you would like us to send the survey to. To gather this information, we have built a form in the PowerSchool Parent Portal titled COVID 19 Screening App Information. To fill this form out you will need to login to your PowerSchool Parent Portal. This document and this video walkthrough will demonstrate how to get to your child’s forms.

• DCS has engaged with “Healthy Roster” to deploy a symptom survey platform
• Provides COVID-19 symptom assessment using the NC symptom screening checklist questions Covid-19 symptoms survey is sent out via text every morning
• Parents will answer the 3 NC symptom screening questions each day before sending their child to school
• Responses are logged in Healthy Roster
• Reports can highlight department/location hot spots
• Tracks results and alert COVID-19 response administrators
• Take actions to ensure employees and students stay home

• Students will always move to the right in a carousel fashion. They need to walk facing one direction, use social distancing and "peel off" from the carousel when they reach their next class. At any X on the map, is where a U turn may occur.
• Stickers will be placed on the floor directing traffic, showing turn around areas and reminder of standing six feet apart.

The USDA has granted North Carolina an extended waiver for the remainder of the 2020 -2021 school year. All DCS students can eat breakfast and/or lunch at no cost.

Lunches are built into each grade-level core class. We have staggered when classes go pickup lunch. Classes will eat in their classrooms. Both desks and tables will be sanitized in between classes and after lunches.

Please remember to send students with lunches in the morning as we are limiting visitors and traffic in/out of the building

We will be using built in monitored class breaks to keep our students safe. No more than 4 students will be allowed in a bathroom at a time.

Mask breaks will be embedded throughout the day. Students will be taken outside for mask and movement breaks. Students will need to keep up with their masks and stay socially distanced during breaks.

• Our school day will be from 8:25 to 3:25
• The tardy bell will ring at 8:30
• Attendance will be taken each period
• In order for a student to be marked present for the day, they will need to be in school for a half day which is 11:55
• If a student has to miss a face-to-face day, according to the hybrid schedule, (s)he will be marked absent. A student may not work remotely on that day to be marked present

Lockers will not be used this year. Instead, students will be expected to carry their Chromebook, binders, lunch and supplies in a backpack.

All students should plan to bring with them to school: a mask, earbuds/headphones, a charged Chromebook and their Chromebook charger

We will be staggering dismissal to help ensure social distancing. All walkers and car riders will exit out the main front entrance.

3:21 - Walkers, bike riders, etc.

3:23 - All grade level car riders

3:25- bus riders and athletes

Parents will follow the same traffic pattern for picking up as they do in the morning.

Athletes will leave their equipment in their last period teacher's classroom

The state and district approved for middle school sports to begin in November. We have successfully completed two seasons with one left:

• SPRING - March 1 - May 14 (Cheer, Football, Golf, Soccer, Volleyball)

Ms. Hudspeth is the Athletic Director at this time. Please reach out to her with questions (hudspethdr@daretolearn.org)

***A student must have a completed FamilyID registration and current physical on file in order to tryout for any sport at FFMS***

Link to FamilyID: https://www.familyid.com/first-flight-middle-school

Parents who wish to enroll in the virtual option need to complete the Virtual Option Change of Enrollment Request Form in their Parent Portal account. This document and this video walkthrough will demonstrate how to get to your child’s forms within your portal These requests will be reviewed by Dare County Schools staff and the parent will be notified of next steps as soon as possible.

Please be aware that these requests do not result in immediate changes. Staff will need time to review the requests, determine if there is space available in the requested option, and make changes to student schedules prior to the student moving to the option of choice. Students should continue working in their scheduled courses until Dare County Schools staff has notified the parent that the request has been approved.

Use the Parent Portal to check your child's grades and schedules. Here is the link to Parent Portal

• The end of the grading period is Thursday, March 18th
• Report cards will not be sent home
• Grades will be finalized by Thursday, March 25th.
• Use this to check your child's schedule and grades.
• Parent Portal is used to find your child's bus route information which will be available Wednesday, February 24th

Please use Parent portal to check missing assignments and encourage your student to get missing work completed in a timely fashion. Missing work will not be accepted after the closing of a grading period.

School Name: First Flight Middle School

Picture Day Dates:
Tuesday, March 23rd and Thursday, March 25th

Important Information: Tuesday March 23 and Thursday March 25

• Log in to portal.lifetouch.com and click on "Schedule Parent Notify Email Reminders".
• Enroll by completing the School Profile.
• Upload your parent email address list.
• Email reminders are sent to parents!

See Video Below to see steps to improve safety on school picture day

Website: ffm.daretolearn.org
Location: 109 Veterans Drive, Kill Devil Hills, NC, USA
Phone: 252-441-8888
Facebook: facebook.com/firstflightmiddleschool
Twitter: @ffmsseahawks