July 2020 Meeting Minutes
Hooper Elementary Community Council meeting minutes
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 11 a.m.
Hooper Elementary, Mrs. Bolingbroke’s Room
In attendance:
Kari Breeding, Ashley Droscher, Cindy Pendleton, Kadee Frew, Stacy Wilcox, Shanae Headley, Cyndi Bennett, Cassie Brown.
Welcome: Given by Ashley Droscher. Thank you to everyone for attending.
Minute Approval: Given by Shanae Headley. Meeting minutes from the January 16th meeting were read and posted to the Hooper Elementary Website. No corrections were made. The minutes will be approved as written.
School Business: Given by Mrs. Breeding. The 3 Most Important School Supplies for the New School Year: Patience, Flexibility and Grace! Mrs. Breeding outlined the Safe Hooper Plan. The Weber School Board is meeting tonight to discuss more options.
Key Considerations:
We must adapt how we run our school to mitigate the spread of the virus.
We also need to consider other important aspects of education, such as mental health, equity, learning outcomes, the impact on the education sector on the larger economy.
Our scientific understanding of the virus should guide the ways that mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We will stay in our lane and follow the Weber/Morgan Health guidelines.
We will need to be very nimble and flexible as we sort our way through this health crisis.
Key Factors of Transmission and Spread:
Information is very fluid. Respiratory Droplets are the cause of transmission. Incubation of the virus is roughly 14 days and patients are contagious 2.5 days before and 7-9 days after symptoms.
COVID-19 infects children less frequently than adults and tends to be less severe.
Children are more likely to present with gastrointestinal symptoms and less likely to present with fever and coughing than adults.
Most pediatric cases occur in children 15 – 17 years old.
Children with underlying conditions are more likely to suffer severe disease.
Because asymptomatic children are not regularly tested, the prevalence of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic COVID- 19 cases in children is not well understood.
The 7 Characteristics of a Situation: These characteristics need to be addressed to keep kids as healthy as possible.
1. Movement: How do people move around in a space? Directed movement such as hallways moving in one direction and designated doors for entering and exiting are lower risk than undirected movement.
2. Duration: How long are people I n this space? Less than 15 minutes allows for lower risk. Students will be given more breaks and can have masks off or lowered if they are 6 feet apart. Also, some instruction can be done outside when the weather is good.
3. Proximity: How close together are people in this space? More than 6 feet spacing lowers the risk of contagion’; however, this can prove difficult with younger students. Procedures will be instituted to teach “wing-span” spacing. Furniture inside the classroom will also be moved so that a greater distance between students can be maintained.
4. Group Size: How many people are in the space? Less than the recommended limit will lower risk. Lunch breaks and recess will be instituted by grade to isolate risk factors.
5. Respiratory Output: How are people breathing in the space? Normal output lowers risk. Masks will be worn in the hall but breaks in class will be allowed and issued by the teacher.
6. Touch: How do people engage with objects or fixtures in the space? Low touch lowers risk. Greater sanitation efforts will be implemented with the hiring of more custodians. As well as, students will wash their hands more frequently.
7. Congestion: Are there points of high congestion? Lower congestion lowers risk. Students will enter the building one way and exit another.
Reopening Requirements: The Weber School District has developed reopening requirements and it can be found on the Weber School District website. As of now, the plan is to resume live instruction within the moderate precautions phase.
This includes the following elements.
1. Facility Sanitation:
Ozone machine sanitization on a regularly scheduled basis
Increase cleaning and disinfecting of high-touch areas (desks and cafeteria tables will be cleaned anytime a new student is sitting in the area)
Schedule will be created for cleaning high-touch areas
Training will be provided for staff to establish proper cleaning protocols
Playground equipment will be cleaned on a regular basis
2. Personal Protection & Hygiene:
School personnel and students will wear face coverings or shields when personal physical distancing is not possible and an increase in respiratory output is present. Face coverings will be worn during one-on-one instruction and small group work.
Students will be seated as far apart as reasonably possible.
Students and staff will wash hands on a regular basis.
Hand sanitizing stations available in designated areas.
Hand sanitizer available in each classroom.
Each student will have their own classroom supplies.
Minimize drinking fountain access- personal water bottles encouraged.
3. Distancing and Social Gatherings:
Staff members trained on implementing strategies to identify risk in the classroom setting.
School personnel and students wearing face coverings or shields when reasonable personal physical distancing is not possible.
Maximize space between desks and tables.
Move nonessential furniture and equipment out of classrooms to increase distancing.
We will be one to one, no computer labs needed. Rotation teachers will rotate to classrooms.
Exit and entrance procedures will be established to decrease congestions.
One-way foot traffic in hallways directed by arrows in all hallways except two, in those cases students will stay to the right or left (directed by arrows).
After recess/mornings: Each class will have a designated area to line up. Each teacher will pick up their class and enter assigned door one class at a time to prevent congestion.
P.E. will be held outside (weather permitting) and equipment sanitized thoroughly on a regular basis.
Students will be moving a lot! Teachers may take students outside to read or teach a lesson, weather permitting.
Students will be taught to keep a reasonable distance from one another when possible. For example: when students are in line or walking down the hall, they will stay a wingspan away from one another.
No Robotics, choir, or live assemblies for now.
Teachers will not eat in faculty room.
No volunteers for now.
Student check-out: Guardians may call the school to check out their child, park out front (excluding bus drop off and pick up times) and someone from the office will walk the student to their guardian’s vehicle.
Cafeteria Procedures: Staggered Lunch Schedule to promote social distancing.
Tables will be cleaned and sanitized between grade levels.
Students will use “wingspan” in line.
Garbage cans will be set up at the end of each table to discourage students from congregating.
Students will enter and exit designated doors.
Masks will not be mandatory once kids sit down to eat.
1st Grade- 11:10-11:50 (eat lunch first) 11:10-11:30 eat / 11:30-11:50 recess (72 kids)
2nd Grade- 11:10-11:50 (recess first) 11:10-11:30 recess /11:30-11:50 eat (108 kids)
3rd Grade- 11:50-12:30 (lunch first) 11:50-12:10 eat / 12:10-12:30 recess (91 kids)
4th Grade- 11:50-12:30 (recess first) 11:50-12:10 recess / 12:10-12:30 eat (94 kids)
5th Grade- 12:30- 1:10 (lunch first) 12:30-12:50 lunch / 12:50-1:10 recess (109 kids)
6th Grade 12:30-1:10 (recess first) 12:30-12:50 recess / 12:50-1:10 lunch (99 kids)
Restroom Procedures:
Signage will be posted to remind students to wash hands.
There will be markings on the floor to help students social distance as they wait their turn.
Learning Options:
In-Person Learning: Students attend class each day.
Short-term Flexible Learning: Students who attend face-to-face but are required or choose to learn remotely for three weeks or less. The classroom teacher remains the designee. Teachers provide online learning experiences that are limited to essential skills.
Long-term Flexible Learning: Families opt for students to participate 100% online, provided by the classroom teacher, for at least one full quarter. Each quarter families are asked to commit to the subsequent quarter. Teachers provide online learning experiences that are limited to essential skills.
Remote Learning: Families opt for students to participate in 100% online education for the entire year in which the parent(s) is the educational designee. Parents are supported with Weber Online curriculum (K-5) and Weber Digital (6). This option must be chosen prior to October 1, 2020 and families must commit for the entire school year.
An email is going out later today from the District highlighting the different Learning Options. If you know of any parents that are struggling with their decision as to which type of learning option is best suited for their child, please tell them to reach out to Mrs. Breeding.
Recognizing & Completing Unfinished Learning: Once students return in the Fall; they will be assessed for learning gaps. Learning interventions will be implemented. Teachers and Administration will be flexible to meet student’s needs.
Digital Design & Learning: The school will be one to one, with each student to have a Chromebook. If there is a soft closure, students will be able to take their Chromebooks home. All teachers have been trained to use Canvas (Learning Management Platform).
Meeting Student’s Individual Needs: Every family/child is experiencing this pandemic in different ways. Teachers and Administration will be very nimble and flexible to meet those needs.
We have a great school counselor and have used some of the TSSA funding to secure a mental health specialist.
Educators and parents must work hand in hand to meet student’s needs.
Back-to-School Night:
Back to School Night will be by appointment only, on August 24th from 5:30-7:30.
Beginning on Wednesday, August 12th, parents will be able to log into MyWeber with your parent portal account to schedule an appointment for your student(s).
Appointments are scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM and the last available appointment will be 7:15 PM.
Each appointment is scheduled to last 15 minutes with a five-minute break in between for cleaning and disinfecting.
The scheduling program has been set up to allow five students to sign up for each appointment slot.
Exterior doors will be open, to alleviate congestion.
To minimize the number of people who attend, we are asking that parents limit the number of people who come along with their child.
We will ask that parents and students wear masks and are mindful of social distancing.
The One-to-One Parent session has been cancelled.
Things to think about:
The Halloween Parade. It will have to be different if done at all this year. Possibly parents will be asked to wait in cars at the church building and then students will be brought to walk around the parking lot.
Limited fundraisers will be available. Trying to gear up a Couch Potato Fundraiser. No selling or asking for pledges only donations if capable.
A question was asked about the possibility of constructing a bowery outside for student instruction and use. Mrs. Breeding loved the idea, but funding and donations could be a problem.
No school supply lists will be posted on the website as directed by the District.
Future Schedule – Mrs. Breeding and Mrs. Wilcox will discuss the new year schedule. Possibly Wednesdays but that could be problematic with an early out schedule.
Next Meeting: TBA