Dear Xavier Families,

We will be implementing new school building access protocols and criteria starting immediately in an effort to follow the Governor’s Stay-At-Home order and still provide our essential service of delivering instruction.   We wish to do our part to slow the spread of the virus and limit exposure to our Xavier families and school staff.  All use of the building will be limited to essential purposes only and we will be reducing our office hours effective today.

Mondays will continue to be the pick-up and drop-off day for hard copy packets.  When the weather cooperates this will be set up outside and if weather does not allow there will be labeled tables in the lobby area.  We will have a small number of staff members on site Mondays to aid in the process.  Please respect social distance guidelines and use the hand sanitizing stations upon entering the building.  Packets will be available for pick-up and drop-off on Mondays only from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.  Our teachers and administrators will continue to be available through email Monday-Friday from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM.

3/26/2020

Update for 7 -12 Parents/ Guardians,

Since our secondary students were in school almost two weeks ago all of us have had to face many challenges to our daily lives. Despite all the changes, continuing your child’s education is our priority and it is our plan that the 7-12 educational program will be delivered online through the Google Apps with a majority of the instruction provided through Google classroom.

Before Monday your child’s second semester teachers will invite your child into their Google Classroom.  We anticipate that this transition to online learning will present us with many issues that we will work hard to resolve in a timely manner.  Patience by everyone will be very much appreciated. 

We recognize that communication is critical to ensuring that this program move forward as smoothly as possible.  We will have office staff in the building during regular school hours.  Teachers will not be on campus unless it is for essential purposes, but they can be reached through email during school hours.  Staff emails are conveniently located on the School webpage under the “About Us” tab.  Your child will be able to contact teachers either through Google Classroom or email. If you have any questions about Google Classroom please contact the teacher.  If you have received a Chromebook from the school and are having problems with it please Contact Mr. Bennett jbennett@xaviercharter.org.

We understand that learning online for your child may take some time to get used to.  Our teachers will start slowly during the first two days.  As the teachers move into more content instruction by Wednesday it is our plan that the teacher instruction per class per day for secondary students will be around 35 minutes.  This does not include the time for homework. Class lessons are recordable and therefore students may do their classwork at anytime.

Starting out there will not be two-way video conferencing between students and teachers. We are concerned that this type of instruction will cause many logistical and technological issues for families.   Interactions between students and teachers will take place through discussion boards and chat rooms.  Students are asked to use email as a last resort.   If teacher instructional videos are presented in Google Classroom, the videos will be files that students can access at anytime.

Grading will continue for secondary students according to our current letter grade and 4-point GPA system.  We ask parents to help monitor students to ensure that their work is their own.

The State Department of Education has confirmed that all testing, including the SAT and ISATS will be waived this year.  The decision to provide the opportunity for Juniors to take the SAT at the State’s expense is pending.  We will also be flexible with students who have been unable to finish their senior project due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

If your child needs materials from their classrooms, we will allow students accompanied by a staff member to retrieve what they need on Monday, 3/30 8:00 AM -6:00 PM.  Students will need to disinfect their hands as they enter the building and as they leave through a different exit point.  No more than 10 will be allowed in the building.

For students who have indicated on the “Access to Technology Survey” that they do not have internet connectivity, the teachers will have a packet of assignments available for curbside pick up in front of the school on Monday morning between 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM.  Please return the completed assignments to the school the following Monday.  The only exception to this plan will be for next week.  The first assignment packets will start for 7 – 12 students on Wednesday morning.

I know this is a lot of information and I’m sure there will be situations that come up that I have not addressed in this email. 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

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Dear K-6 Families,

We are nearing the time that spring break ends and, as you know, it is going to look far different than in previous years.  Prior to the break, when school was closed to students, our staff worked incredibly hard to come up with two weeks of emergency distance learning plans in the events schools were closed after the break.  Thank goodness we did that, we will be ready to start providing instruction on Monday, March 30th through a school-work packet system for the first two weeks.  We plan to implement some electronic classroom components as we move forward but will utilize the prepared packets for the week of March 30th and April 6th for all required work.  Some teachers have started to set up electronic classrooms and may use them for informational purposes only at this time. 

We have staff members spending the next two days following up with families that did not complete the technology survey and with families that we needed more information from.  This will help us move forward with a blended packet/electronic format.

In addition to the school-work packets, our teachers will be sending short video messages home once or twice a week so students can have some visual contact with their teachers.

The school-work packets will be handed out every Monday.  The completed work from the first packets and the packets for the new week will be due and handed out on the following Monday. In other words, the packets picked up on March 30th are due on April 6th.  We are following CDC guidelines and we will not be able to grade the work that was returned immediately due to the virus being able to live on paper and plastic for short period of time.  There may be some lag time in returning graded work.   

Many of our teachers have reached out to see if you would like the packets for your students delivered through email or if you prefer to pick them up weekly from school.  We understand the burden this may put on you in regards to having a printer or using up your ink cartridges so we will have hard copies for ALL students available on Monday, March 30th. 

On March 30th if the weather is favorable we will have tables set up outside near the front doors with boxes labeled by grade level and teacher.  If the weather is not on our side the tables will be in the lobby.  Each student will have a packet in the appropriate box to take home on the 30th of March.  On April 6th there will be both a drop-off box to return completed work and a pick-up box for the new weekly packet labeled by grade level and teacher.  

This is a new form of learning for all of us and we are looking forward to working out the bugs as it is implemented.  I am asking for understanding and patience from all involved as we face challenges that are sure to arise. Communication between teachers and families is going to be critical to our ability to refine the process and best meet student needs.  We had originally asked our teachers to be on campus for three hours a day when we first came up with our plan.  Since the Governor’s Stay-At-Home order we are now asking our teachers to do as much from home as possible.  With that said, all teachers will be available through their school email from 7:30 AM -3:30 PM on all school days.   Please reach out to your teachers with questions and to provide feedback.

Please tell your children that we miss them and we are excited to get started.

Sincerely,

Gary Moon

Head of Schools

Xavier Charter School

 

I want to start off by wishing you all well and let you know that our students and families have been in our thoughts since this crisis began.  This is an unprecedented issue for all of us and I am thankful to have a dedicated school team and the most amazing students and families to overcome this challenge with.

 

You will receive a few communications today.  Communications will include this email followed by an email that is specific to the plans we have for the delivery of distance learning that begins on Monday, March 30th.  There will be an email that is directed to families with students in grades K-6 and a separate email for families with students in grades 7-12.

 

Our faculty and staff have worked very hard in a short amount of time to plan a complete shift in how we present instruction to our students.  I am asking for patience from all involved; teachers, parents, and students as we begin this endeavor on Monday.  There will be bumps in the road and adjustments that need to be made as we go.  We will continually refine the procedures and the process to best meet the needs of all of our students including those on an IEP or a 504 plan.  Our Special Education Department will be in contact with each of those families individually.

 

Food service will be provided at six pick up locations around Twin Falls. Those locations include Bickle Elementary, Harrison Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Oregon Trail Elementary, Morningside Elementary, and Perrine Elementary.  The food service program is a federally funded program and these are the locations that meet the requirements and are eligible to be pick up locations.  All children ages 1-18 can pick up meals.  Due to federal guidelines each child must be present to pick up their meals.   A breakfast and a lunch, will be given at the same time from the front of the schools. Food has to be taken off-site and will be in a grab-n-go sack. Adults may purchase meals just like in summer. Meals will be served from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at each site.  The cost of meals for adults will be $3.30 for breakfast and $4.55 for lunch.

 

We have made arrangements with the Boys and Girls Club of Magic Valley to provide a modified day care system for our students that are children of essential services workers.  

 

Once again, I want to thank all of you that have contacted the school to offer your help and support.  I also want to thank our staff that has stepped up to face this challenge head on and work to find solutions rather than shy away from such a daunting task.  It is a privilege for me to be a part of the Xavier Community and work with each of you.

 

With Appreciation,

 

Gary Moon

Head of Schools

Xavier Charter School