Mathews Elementary

Hello Mathews' Families!

We are excited to welcome you all back for the 2020-2021 school year! We know the year ahead brings a lot of uncertainty, but we want you to know we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure safety and as much normalcy as possible this school year. Below you will find information about specific events as we head into the new school year.

Orientation this year will be virtual for our 1st-4th grade families. On Thursday of next week, you will receive a welcome video from your child's classroom teacher. This video will review the information typically covered during our orientation night.

Kindergarten orientation will be held in person Thursday, August 20th. At that time, seated kindergarten students and parents will have the opportunity to come into the building, meet all of our kindergarten teachers and other staff members that may interact with your child on a regular basis and get to know Mathews a little more. Because families will not be able to walk students into the building on the first day, we will have photo opportunities so that you can take those "first day of school" pictures on orientation night. Kindergarten orientation times will be as follows:

• 5:30-6:15 Last names ending in A-L
• 6:30-7:15 Last names ending in M-Z

It will be important that we stick to these time frames to allow for social distancing and cleaning between groups. We will also request that siblings do not attend this event in order to allow us to keep our group sizes to a minimum.

Students who are enrolled in virtual instruction for the upcoming school year will be receiving orientation information soon.

• Monday: 9:16-3:51 Doors will be open for dropoff beginning at 8:55. Please have your child dropped off by 9:10. Students who are not seated in their classrooms at 9:16 will be marked absent or tardy.
  
• Tuesday-Friday: 8:46-3:51 Doors will be open for dropoff beginning at 8:15. Please have your child dropped off by 8:40. Students who are not seated in their classrooms at 8:46 will be marked absent or tardy.

It will be even more important this year that students are NOT dropped off prior to the listed dropoff times. Students and families will need to wait in their vehicles until staff are outside to let students in the building. With social distancing expectations, we need your help in enforcing these processes.

A few things to help our dropoff line go quickly and smoothly:

• Please spend some time teaching your child how to open their own car door from inside and outside the vehicle. In order to limit touching of surfaces, we will not be opening car doors for students.
  
• Students should exit the car on the driver's side of the vehicle to avoid crossing in front of cars.
• Make sure your child is ready to exit the car when you enter the driveway.
• Do not drive around vehicles in car line unless directed to do so by a staff member. This keeps our students safe.
• If your child is struggling to get out of the vehicle, please pull around the divider to the west side of the drive and park. A staff member will be over to assist you and get your child safely across.
• Please have your child exit the vehicle as soon as you have come to a complete stop in front of the building.
• Refrain from cell phone use and tobacco use while on campus.

Due to visitor and guest restrictions, morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up for students who are not riding the bus will be done through car line only. We are rerouting our traffic slightly to give more space to line cars up. You will be given a sign on which to write your child(ren)'s last name. Please display this clearly when you pull into the drive. This will allow our dismissal traffic to flow smoothly and quickly. Please know the first couple of days will take longer but as we adjust, traffic will move more quickly. A map is included below and we will have cones and people to assist with dismissal.

As a reminder, families will not be able to walk students into the building or have lunch with students. Please remain in your cars at dismissal and we will bring your student(s) to you.

To limit surface exposure, we will not assist in opening car doors at arrival or dismissal. Please practice this with your students to ensure they are able to open their own car door. Please place students on the drive-side of the vehicle so they are able to enter and exit directly to the sidewalk. For safety purposes, do not drive around stopped vehicles. Please wait patiently for the car in front of you to move before proceeding forward. Also, please avoid texting, talking on the phone, and smoking while on campus. This keeps our students' safety at the forefront.

The building will open at 8:55 a.m. Monday Please ensure that your child is NOT dropped off prior to 8:55 a.m. on the first day of school as student supervision is not available. If your child walks to school, they should plan to leave the house late enough that they do not arrive prior to 8:55 a.m. Monday. Should you need before/after school care, please contact XLT at 417-724-3872.

Class placement information will be sent to kindergarten, first, second, and fourth-grade families via email on Friday, August 14th. Third-grade students will receive their class placement at the beginning of next week as we are still determining placement due to new enrollments and class sizes. We apologize for the time this has taken this year and appreciate your patience and understanding!

As pictured below, please print your child(ren)'s name on the card provided to you at the start of the school year. Place the card in the dash or visor of your vehicle so it can be easily read by staff. If you do not have a card, you will be asked to park and provide identification. Please follow these procedures as we will sometimes have substitutes or staff members who are unfamiliar with all family names and cars. We will need the nameplate to ensure dismissal runs smoothly.

Email: brigettegolmen@nixaschools.net
Website: https://www.nixapublicschools.net/Domain/14
Location: 605 South Gregg Road, Nixa, MO, USA
Phone: 417-724-6520