IHMS Weekly News
September 7 - 11, 2020
Section 1 - Read: New and Important This Week!
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First Days of School: "Must Do" Items
7th grade students, and new-to-IHMS/SMSD 8th grade students will be meeting with their teachers via WebEx Meetings on Tuesday morning, September 8, starting at 8:45 a.m.
Returning 8th grade students will be meeting with their teachers via WebEx Meetings on Wednesday morning, September 9, starting at 8:45 a.m.
WebEx Meetings needs to be installed prior to Tuesday morning. To install WebEx Meetings on the student computer:
- Open the application entitled "Manager"
- Install WebEx Meetings
- See this document
Each hour, students will be accessing their classes via the WebEx Meetings app. Please see this staff directory of WebEx Meetings links. Students will click on the meeting link of their teacher each hour per their schedule, beginning with their Knight Time "zero" hour class.
For more information, please read through the email sent by your student's Knight Time teacher and consult the first seven slides of our Virtual Back To School Night presentation.
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First Day Technical Difficulties?
For more information, visit our remote learning tab on the Indian Hills website.
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Virtual Back To School Night Link
We absolutely understand the importance of face to face contact with your student, and if we are able to move into a hybrid learning model at some point, we will plan and communicate small group Back To School Night opportunities.
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Combined Science and 8th Grade Social Studies Courses
In an effort to simplify the communication and rationale, which may otherwise be very technical, here is the most important reason we were forced to make this decision:
- Without this shift, your student would not have a class schedule on September 8, 9, or all semester for that matter. It was impossible to schedule students with 100% accuracy without making this change.
Here are some additional pertinent details:
- Advanced science and grade level science - both at the 7th and 8th grade levels, share the exact same curriculum map.
- Advanced 8th grade advanced social studies and grade level social studies share the exact same curriculum map.
What this means for my student:
- Your student will still be enrolled in, and take, the course they signed up for. It will be listed as the grade level or advanced course your student signed up for in Skyward and Canvas, and we will learn and follow the necessary curriculum for each course.
- Within the class period, our teachers will differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of all learners.
- Students will have differing opportunities to access, display, and/or meet their learning criteria within the same class.
- Small group instruction may be utilized more frequently by instructors.
- This is not a permanent solution, however, it is necessary to do at least through the first semester.
Although not ideal, we are asking you to trust that your child will get what they need in each of the aforementioned courses so they can be engaged, empowered, and excited about their learning. Preparation for this year has been more difficult than ever before, and we are excited to finally say that we are 100% scheduled and ready for your students to connect with us beginning Tuesday and Wednesday of next week!
Blake Revelle
Principal
Indian Hills Middle School
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Does my family need to worry about Canvas yet? NO!
We are excited to roll Canvas out, but this will be part of the overall orientation process for students at IHMS. Although there is no harm in following the login/setup directions from the district, the only thing students need to worry about on Tuesday morning is clicking their Knight Time teacher's WebEx meeting link. That is it (for now)!
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First Day of School Yearbook Photo and Fun!
For this year's yearbook and for our school online newspaper, our Journalism teacher Mrs. Basden has a request for the first day of school. Please take a first day of school photo of your middle school student. Many of you probably do this already, and with school starting remotely, the yearbook will still get created even when learning from home. This will be a great piece of chronicling the history of this out of the ordinary school year.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Try to take a photo of your middle school student(s) individually.
- Rename the photo file if you can with this format:
- First Name Last Name Grade FirstDayofSchool2020.jpg
- EXAMPLE: Isabella_Rosario_Grade7_FirstDayofSchool2020.jpg
- The .jpg is to make sure the photo remains a photo file.
- If you're not able to rename the photo file, please provide your child's/children's first and last name(s) and grade in the email, so each photo has the correct name and grade included.
- The photo can be taken inside or outside.
- It can be taken be taken with your phone or a camera.
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Macbook Software Update
Catalina is the current operating system for macOS devices. We are encouraging all students to upgrade their device. Steps on how to perform the upgrade can be found on the Student Support Central. Staff can install the upgrade from System Preferences on their device.
Please also reference the Student Support Central for troubleshooting and more Macbook information.
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SMSD Food Service Information
The food service department is pleased to announce that we will be offering FREE meals to all SMSD students regardless if they are learning remote, hybrid or in person. This includes breakfast and lunch meals. Meals that were picked up on Friday 9/4/20 will not be charged to the student’s account.
Meals are funded entirely by USDA as part of their Summer Meals Program extension. These free meals will continue as long as federal funding is available and could end prior to 12/31/20. We encourage families to continue to apply for free and reduced meals in the event the funding is no longer available by clicking here. Qualifying may allow for other support through the district so it is important to continue to apply for free and reduced meals.
- Meals will be available for pick up at all 47 SMSD schools.
- Pick up is on Fridays from 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
- No advance ordering is needed. (The online digital ordering system has been disabled.)
- Available only for students enrolled in SMSD.
- May pick up meals for all of your students at your most convenient location.
- At pick up, the student(s) SMSD ID number(s) will need to be presented. Please have this ready in advance. (Student ID may be found in Skyward.)
- Pick up will be just inside the doors of school. Pease wear a mask and follow social distancing.
During remote learning each week’s pick up will include 7 breakfast and 7 lunches for each student.
Menus are available on the district web page by clicking here and are subject to change due to availability. All entrées and sides need to be taken home and refrigerated or frozen until ready to heat or consume.
Each breakfast meal includes these components: fruit, grain, and milk
Each lunch meal includes these components: protein, fruit/vegetable, grain, and milk
When the district is able to move to the hybrid model, the students will receive their in-person meals at no cost during the two days they are in school. Meals may be picked up on Friday for the other 5 days of the week. Any extra ala carte purchases the students make while in-person learning will require money to be on their food service account.
Meals are prepared by District Food Services staff and distributed following food safety and sanitary practices.
Please contact the Food Service office with questions at (913)993-9710 or foodservices@smsd.org.
The school breakfast & lunch menus, digital pre-order information and other nutrition information are available on the district’s website at https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/food-service.
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Section 2 - Review: Still Relevant From Last Week!
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Supply Pickup Drive-Thru/Wave-Thru
This year it will be important for students to keep school supplies stocked at home during remote learning. Make sure paper, pen/pencil, highlighters, earbuds, charger cord, student planner (planner provided by school), etc., are readily available for student use. A list of school supplies - originally published and sent in July 2020 - can be found by clicking here.
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Important: Complete the 2020-21 Skyward Online Verification
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Safer for School - Week 4
As we prepare for the start of school - immediately after the Labor Day holiday - it is important to accept personal responsibility for our school community's health and safety.
We all want our students back in school, in person, every day. However, our actions speak louder than our words. Please consider implementing some of the following:
- Avoid traveling to areas/states that will place you in mandatory quarantine.
- Avoid large group gatherings and parties.
- Wear a mask at all times when out of your home or with people.
- Follow all social distancing rules at all times.
- Wash your hands consistently.
- Avoid contact with multiple cohorts of people.
The suggestions above are simply that: suggestions. However, as a building leader in charge of the safety, academic, and social/emotional development of 900-plus students, I implore you to consider these action steps.
The more we commit ourselves to some of these simple practices, the safer our entire community becomes. If you need a refresher on proper social distancing guidelines, please click here for CDC guidance.
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Section 3 - Rehash: Mainstay News Items Repeated Each Week
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Remote Learning Schedule
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Remote Learning Information
Some time has likely elapsed since the last time you worked your way through the middle school reopening plans, but many of the questions you have regarding remote learning can be answered in one of two places:
1. The middle school reopening plan
2. The district reopening FAQ page that continues to be updated.
We want to assure you that remote learning will look, feel, and be different than during the spring semester this past school year. Our dedicated IHMS staff members are returning next week to continue professional learning that includes how to meet your student's academic and social/emotional well-being in a digital and hybrid environment. We know that we can count on your continued support, your continued solution-oriented problem solving, and your continued engagement throughout the coming weeks. This is what makes our IHMS community so special!
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Change to Last Name Split - ONLY IF/WHEN IN HYBRID MODEL
If/when we are able to be in a "hybrid" learning model during the fall 2020 school semester, the district last name split for M/T and W/TR in-person instruction days (previously A-L and M-Z), is now split A-Lamb and Lamc-Z. If you have made any determinations (child-care, etc.) based on the originally reported A-L split, please adjust accordingly in the coming weeks. This mainly affects those families where the oldest child's last name is between Lamc - Lz.