Message from the Superintendent
After being deep in the trenches of preparing for the multitude of details for this back-to-school season, it was wonderful to see students and families at the drive-up materials distribution and virtual meet and greets this week. Smiles, warm greetings, air hugs and connections made this week a turning point, redirecting our focus to the start of school. We have missed your children. While this pandemic has forced us to do school differently for now, we are eager to welcome students back to class. We are entering this school year with consistent training, supports and practices, and a focus on daily connections with students. Our teachers, staff and students are stretching to meet this moment with optimism and hope. We all care deeply about our students and about our district, and I know that we are going to experience great things together.
Labor Day Holiday
Due to Labor Day holiday, next week's Grab and Go meal pick up will be on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Please see "Free Meals for All Children" for more details about meal pickups.
First Day of School Tuesday, Sept. 8
The "bell rings" for the first class of the day at:
- High School: 8:30 a.m.
- Middle School: 9:00 a.m.
- Elementary: 8:00 a.m.
Roadmap to Reopening Summary Plan
Although you are now getting most details about school from your principal, for your easy reference, you’ll find an overall summary of the plan on our website here.
Pickups Accomplished!
If you missed school pickups, please email your school secretary.
Getting Started Tech Support
Tech Information Sessions
LOSD hosted two Tech Information Sessions covering the “how tos'' for getting started with distance learning. The session recordings and presentations are posted on the district site under Resources/Tech Support for Families.
Tech Support Ticket
A majority of tech concerns can be resolved by submitting a Tech Support ticket -- the link is on all school and district homepages for easy access to help with passwords, log-ins, hardware fixes, etc.
Google Classroom Guardianship
By now all parents and guardians should have received an email requesting you to accept guardianship of your student's Google Classroom. If you need assistance with this request, please submit a request through the Tech Support button. Note: accepting guardianship simply gives you the option of selecting how often you would like to receive summaries (weekly, daily, or no summary) of your student's Google Classroom activity. Only student accounts have access to Google Classroom.
Technology Protection Payment Methods
If you have decided to insure your device, please see the following methods of payment:
Online payment through community schools
https://www.onlineregistrationcenter.com/register/207-6753
Check: Please put your child’s name and school in the memo area of the check and mail to:
LOSD Office c/o: Kim Wagner
2455 Country Club Road, PO Box 70
Lake Oswego, OR 90734
Fee Waiver: https://www.losdschools.org/domain/1838 mail to:
LOSD Office c/o: Kim Wagner
2455 Country Club Road, PO Box 70
Lake Oswego, OR 90734
Payment is due by October 1, 2020, to insure your child’s device.
Free Meals for All Children
LOSD is providing free packaged breakfasts and lunches for all children who wish to participate in our Grab & Go meal service. New flexibility from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) enables LOSD to provide free meals to all children ages 1 to 18, even if the children are not enrolled in LOSD, now through the end of December 2020.
Children do not need to sign up for meals. However, it would be extremely helpful for our food service team to be able to plan ahead for the number of meals to serve. If children in your care are interested in participating in the Grab and Go meal service, please click here to complete a 30 second form.
The free Grab and Go meal service begins next week. Due to Labor Day holiday, next week's meal pick up will be on Tuesday, Sept. 8. After that, starting Monday, Sept. 14, breakfast and lunch meals can be picked up on Mondays and Wednesdays at the following locations:
Lake Grove Elementary, 11 a.m. - 12 pm.
River Grove Elementary, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Lake Oswego High School, 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Lakeridge High School, 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Meals should be picked up at the school site located closest to you. Children may participate in one or both days of the week; they may pick up 2 days of meals on Mondays and 3 days of meals on Wednesdays. Face coverings are required at pickups.
Limited In-person Instruction
In the latest version of its Ready Schools, Safe Learners plan, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) provided guidelines to allow for limited in-person instruction for specific groups of students.
To have limited in-person instruction for designated students or groups, LOSD would need to be able to verify that there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among any school staff or students in the 14 days leading up to the start of in-person instruction. ODE hasn’t provided enough information about how to implement the requirement for 14 days of negative COVID-19 testing for staff and students or procedures for what to do if someone does test positive after in-person instruction begins.
Prior to a suspected case appearing in a school, there is currently not a set, secure, and fully HIPAA/FERPA compliant way to share information between schools and local public health to determine without a doubt that, “there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among school staff or students in the past 14 days”.
LOSD's next two steps are to: 1) get school started next week and 2) open our assessment center. The assessment center experience will inform our planning for limited in-person instruction as well.
Start of High School Sports and Conditioning
LOSD is actively working on a plan to be able to safely resume sports and conditioning soon. The improving Clackamas County health metrics are encouraging, and we have received other good news from our insurers, both of which are informing our planning.
In LOSD, Clackamas County health metrics for three or more consecutive weeks will need to remain at or below 5% test positivity rates, and at or under 35 cases per 100,000 to resume outdoor activity, and 30 cases per 100,000 for indoor activity. Based on the health metrics and preparation involved, LOSD is targeting on or around September 14 to potentially begin high school sports and conditioning in OSAA season 1 (Aug. 31-Dec. 27). Next week, the Athletic Directors will be communicating as our plan develops further.
The OHA has provided detailed guidance for the reopening of high school sports during season 1 that specifies what teams can and cannot do to provide all necessary safety protocols. Utilizing this guidance, LOSD will allow our student athletes to participate while also successfully completing their academic work during distance learning.
Dashboard For County Health Metrics
For a school district to return to in-person instruction with a Hybrid model, the metrics of both county and statewide conditions must be met. Click here for a dashboard that makes it easy to see how close a county is to meeting metrics necessary for in-person instruction and what exceptions can be considered.
Verify Student Info Before Returning to School
LOSD thanks all the parents who have already verified their students' information for the 2020-21 school year. If you haven't done so yet, please to log into ParentVUE and review/update your students' information through the Register/Verify tab. This benefits both families and schools by:
- Ensuring that schools have accurate information to reach parents and other contacts in both emergency and non-emergency situations. Verification is important even if your contact information has not changed over the past year because the school may have incorrect information from a previous year.
- Allowing parents to review the health conditions on file at your student's school.
- Enabling distribution of electronic devices covered by the district's Technology Agreement
The verification window closes September 18, 2020.
3 Ws: Watch Distance, Wear Mask, Wash Hands
Local Testing Sites for Covid-19
For testing Covid-19 sites in our area, please click on the county:
Washington County COVID-19 Testing Sites
Multnomah County COVID-19 Testing Sites
Oregon Health Authority has also released a webpage that allows users to put in their address or zip code to find the nearest testing site. Click here to find a testing site near you
SafeOregon
Parents who have concerns about a student’s well-being are encouraged to reach out to their principal, and to maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources.
SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools.
(Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense.)
Lake Oswego School District
Email: info@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org
Location: 2455 Country Club Road, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 534-2000
Facebook: facebook.com/LOSDProud
Twitter: @LOSD_Proud