Gary Carpenter
Chromebook check-in continues for grades K-2 from 7:30 am -8:30 am at VES, the next 3 school days. For all other grades/schools, below is our plan! If you have questions, please reach out to the building. Pre-registering and bringing the “form” filled out are helpful, but NOT required!
CHROMEBOOK CHECK-IN SCHEDULE
| Grade(s) | Date | Time | Location | Registration Link |
| 3rd-8th | June 1st | 2-6 PM | EES Library | https://signup.com/go/PUmSdAv |
| 3rd-8th | June 2nd | 2-6 PM | VES Cafeteria | https://signup.com/go/iufguus |
| 3rd-8th | June 3rd | 2-3:15 PM
(students only) 3:15-6 PM Parent sign-up |
FRMS
Library |
https://signup.com/go/QBJiuEq |
| 3rd-8th | June 4th | 3:15-5 PM | FRMS
Library |
https://signup.com/go/QBJiuEq |
| 12th EHS & 12th OPTIONS | June 8th | 12-4 PM | EHS Library | https://signup.com/go/XEXWZuz |
| 12th EHS & 12th OPTIONS | June 9th | 5-6 PM
Right before graduation practice |
EHS Library | https://signup.com/go/XEXWZuz |
| 9th-11th EHS | June 17th & 18th | 12-4 PM | EHS Library | https://signup.com/go/nJvQJXz |
| K-11
OPTIONS & ALL CDL Students |
June 15th & 16th | 4-6 PM
Both days |
EHS Library | https://signup.com/go/wYfoPeF |
| ALL-*Anyone that could not make it | June 21st | 8-3 PM | District Office | No pre-registration needed. |
Please bring the form at this link: (click here)
If you are a 9th-12th grader using your Chromebook for summer school, you must STILL check-it in, and it will be signed right back out to you.
FRSD students and families,
Late Thursday, ODE put out new guidance on the topic of masks in certain situations (such as being outside). You can read it (HERE).
The FRSD has taken that guidance, along with feedback from staff, parents and the school board, and will be altering some guidance for the last month of the school year. Below is that guidance.
| AM Arrival Time | Prior: Staff and students needed masks on any time on campus
New: NO CHANGES FROM PRIOR REGULATIONS |
| PM Dismissal Time | Prior: Staff and students needed masks on any time on campus
New: NO CHANGES FROM PRIOR REGULATIONS |
| School Board Meetings | Prior: Meet in person at D.O., streamed on Facebook, open zoom meeting for anyone to attend, comments received VIA email to be read into the record, no in-person public visitors, all board meeting participants wear masks
New: Meet in person in EES Library, NOT streamed on Facebook, open zoom meeting for anyone to attend, comments will continue to be received via email to be read into the record, in-person visitors allowed, in person comments allowed at appropriate time on the agenda, all meeting participants and visitors will continue to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. |
| Indoor Athletics | Prior: Everyone, fans, athletes, contest management staff all wore masks—all the time
New: Athletes that are actively competing, as well as “on-court/mat” officials that have verified vaccination status, can compete/officiate without masks. Athletes and coaches on the sideline, fans, and other game management personnel must wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. For wrestling, and other sports where wearing a mask could be a hazard or is not feasible, thee are some differences. If you have questions, speak to the coach who will have the most up to date information. |
| Outdoor Athletics | Prior: Everyone, fans, athletes, contest management staff all work masks—all the time.
New: Students, staff, volunteers, and spectators are not required to wear face coverings at outdoor sports events, regardless of vaccination status. Until additional updates are provided, all previous physical distancing and capacity restrictions still apply. |
| Athletics at “away” contests | FRSD Students, athletes, coaches, and fans will follow the protocols at the site we are visiting. |
| Inside School Instruction | NO CHANGES FROM PRIOR REGULATIONS |
| Outside School Instruction/recess | Prior: Masks worn by all students and staff, all the time.
New: There are some times, when wearing a mask outside is “optional” for staff and students. Those include: Recess, PE classes, or other instructional classes held outdoors. Social Distancing to avoid being a “close contact” is key. The definition of a close contact is being within 6’ of an infected person for 15 minutes. |
| Staff when no students are present | Prior: Masks worn all the time
New: For staff for whom we have “verified vaccination status,” mask wearing is optional when students are not on campus. |
| Graduation-other end of year ceremonies | New: Decisions on graduation and other end of year ceremonies will be finalized in the days/weeks to come, based on the county risk level and most current guidelines. |
-Wearing a mask is a personal choice. Students and staff are free to make a choice that depends on their circumstances. If a parent would like their student to ALWAYS wear a mask at school, even in instances where it is allowable to not, please communicate that to your student. At the K-5 level, if you have that request please share it with the classroom teacher and building principal. School staff will do their best to remind your student of this.
-This document was made considering input from our teachers, classified staff, administrators, community and our FRSD school board.
-A “Fully vaccinated individual” means someone who has received both doses of a two-does COVID-19 vaccine, or one dose of a single dose vaccine and at least 14 days have passed since the final dose.
-We have 16 school days left! Please continue to follow protocols, both in and out of school, to ensure our staff and students can remain with our current in-person learning instructional model. —LAST UPDATED 5-23-21
Thank you to the many parents who attended our Chromebook check-in night on Monday. We were able to get almost 60% of them turned it at this time. We still have over 100 Chromebooks out at these grade levels that we need to get returned ASAP, before we move on to upper grades (reminder this does NOT include OPTIONS or CDL students–they will turn in later).
Here is the next opportunity to meet with our tech folks, and get your Chromebook turned in for your Kinder-2nd grade student. The turn-in times will be from 7:30-8:30 at the following schools, on the following days. If you can bring the student device check-in form (click here) filled out when you arrive at your check-in time, it will make things go quicker. The forms will also be available on site.
Elmira Elementary- Library:
Tomorrow: 5/20 7:30-8:30 AM
Friday: 5/21 7:30-8:30 AM
Tuesday: 5/25 7:30-8:30 AM
Veneta Elementary- Cafeteria:
Wednesday: 5/26 7:30-8:30 AM
Thursday: 5/27 7:30-8:30 AM
Friday: 5/28 7:30-8:30 AM
We ask that parents please accompany the Chromebook (if at all possible), and not simply send it inside their student’s backpack. Please bring the charger, and if you have a “hot-spot,” please return that as well.
We will have information on turn-in dates for upper grades very soon! Thank you for your help!
In the last several weeks we have had a LOT happening in the District. That, combined with all of the upcoming events, makes it seem like a good time to do a community Q and A from 5:30-6:00 PM on Monday night.
It will be virtual (via zoom). You can log-in at this link: https://fernridge-k12-or-us.zoom.us/j/89837770431
I will give a quick update on Summer School, chromebook check-in, our current hybrid instruction, what school might look like in the Fall, and end of year celebrations that are in the works. Following that 10 minutes or so, there will be approximately 20 minutes to answer any questions folks might have (simply type them in the chat). Please help spread the word.
Superintendent Carpenter
Here is the link to the community meeting for those that would like to listen again or could not attend live.
Good afternoon,
Elmira High School was notified today of a student testing positive for COVID-19, yesterday. Thank you to the parent who quickly notified us, as it allows the District to begin our work that needs to be done, usually 4-6 hours before Lane County Public Health is notified by the lab, and has time to reach out to us. The District has been working with Lane County in looking at this case. What has been found is that there were no close contacts at school due to strong COVID protocols, and as a result, LCPH is NOT requiring any student to isolate/quarantine. This is not what is classified as a “school contact.”
Although the student was in class this week, District staff have checked with EHS teachers and all safety protocols were followed. Lane County has directed that if students maintain the 3 feet distance, wear a mask and wash their hands, a classroom or cohort does not need to quarantine. As an extra precaution, although not required, the High School will be notifying the parents who have students in the same classroom via email, so those parents can monitor their student for any symptoms. If you have questions, feel free to email the EHS Principal at rgardner@fernridge.k12.or.us and he will respond before Monday morning, or call EHS at 541-935-8200.
An additional element of this case is that there were multiple “close contacts” with friends/peers outside of school. To include work, hanging out with friends, meeting at the lake, etc… The family is very cooperative and supportive and is working with Lane County Public Health to get these names, and if your student was a close contact outside of school, either the family of the student, or LCPH will be reaching out to you to discuss the need to quarantine.
The schools have many protocols in place to help protect your student during the school day. However, the school cannot monitor students outside of school. Please help us keep students in school by encouraging them to wear their mask and keep 3 feet apart even when they are out with their friends.
Thanks for continuing to do your best so that we may keep our schools open!
The district is about to begin the process of having students return their Chromebooks (including chargers and hotspots). We are beginning with ALL Kinder-2nd grade students from EES and VES on May 17th (Not OPTIONS students). The rest of the schedule is tentative, however our proposed timeline is below. As each grade level gets fully organized, we will get the information out.
3rd-5th grade: Beginning week of June 1st
6th -8th grade: Beginning week of June 1st
12th grade: June 8th/9th
9th-11th grade: Beginning week of June 15th
OPTIONS: Beginning week of June 15th.
As the flyer above describes, the turn-in for K-2nd grade students will be from 2:00-7:00 PM on May 17th AT VES, and you can reserve your timeslot by signing up here. If your chromebook is damaged, please do not wait until check-in. In addition, please bring your device to the check-in, fully “charged.”
Finally, if you can bring the student device check-in form (click here) filled out when you arrive at your check-in time, it will make things go quicker. The forms will also be available on site.
Recently the district was informed about a new program, the FCC’s emergency broadband program for low income families, and wanted to pass along the information to our FRSD families. One of the “qualifiers” for this program is anyone that receives benefits under the free and reduced price school lunch program. Applications open a week from today. Please spread the word to anyone that may be interested.
Benefit (per household):
- Up to a $50/month discount on your broadband service and associated equipment rentals
- Up to a $75/month discount if your household is on qualifying Tribal lands
- A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer (with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50)
- Guidance if more than one household is living at the same address.
Outreach toolkit, includes Spanish language content
This is a temporary program and the benefit will end when the fund runs out of money or 6 months after the Dept of Health and Human Services declares an end to the COVID 19 health emergency, whichever is sooner. So, its best to apply on the front end and receive some benefit rather than wait and have that timeline decreased.
This and other resources can be found on the City of Eugene Community Support website.
Several of you have asked about any possible summer opportunities for students. We have been working hard on this for the last month. We are still a couple weeks away from releasing the final details, but below is a list of some general information. We are hopeful that by Monday the 17th, we will have something more concrete to share! Stay tuned for more details on the exciting activities that will be taking place in our “Super Summer programs!”
- The space we will have is somewhat limited, however we will try to make it available to as many students as possible.
- Schools/teachers will be starting the process by reaching out to specific parents with a focus being on our students with an IEP, 504, or those that have struggled academically, emotionally or with attendance during the 2020-2021 school year.
- The program will run for 4 weeks, 4 days a week (Mon-Thurs). It is currently scheduled for July 12-August 5.
- At the elementary level we expect the time-frame to be 9 am-2 pm. The elementary program will run at Elmira Elementary.
- At the middle school & high school we are expecting a 3.5 hour program, running from approximately 9:30 am-1:00 pm.
- The high school offerings will be to earn/recover credit.
- There is also a KITS program we will be running (for incoming Kinders)–if you are interested, please contact your local Elementary school ASAP.
- Stay tuned!
FRSD Families,
Since we expanded a few weeks ago to bring more students back to full-time instruction, district staff have been following both the county COVID-19 infection rates, our local rates here in the school district attendance area, as well as the restrictions currently in place for our county based on the “extreme risk” designation. That information, combined with the knowledge that to date we have NOT had transmission of the virus in our schools, that things are going well, and that the risk of shutting down in-person instruction becomes more likely should we bring all students back and transmission occur, we have made some decisions.
For the final 6 weeks the District will remain in our current model, and NOT expand in-person instruction. While this news may be disappointing for some, we believe it gives us the best chance to reach the 2nd week of June and NOT have a situation where we will need to return to CDL, even with rising county rates. Having to return to CDL would be extremely problematic, as in two weeks we will begin a chromebook check-in process, starting with our youngest students (K-2) and ending the last week of school with High School and all OPTIONS program students (More information coming out on this in the coming days).
The primary thing that could mandate us to return to a CDL format, would be if significant transmission of the virus was occurring within the school. I am hopeful, if not mildly confident, we have the ability to avoid that, regardless of whether or not the county rates continue to rise. While we have had several students contact the virus in recent weeks through a wide variety of ways (most often through a positive parent, or a weekend gathering with friends), all of the protocols and safety measures taking place in schools have resulted in ZERO transmissions in our schools. For us to make it through the end of the school year and be able to maintain what we are still doing, will require everyone doing their part. Please continue to keep your students home when they have any symptoms, avoid large gatherings, and practice recommended protocols at all times. The single biggest factor, besides all of our safety protocols, to ensure there is no spread in our schools, would be to have NO students testing positive!
A couple quick notes on the 21-22 school year. While there is still lots of work to do before September, I fully expect the FRSD to have a normal school day and calendar in 21-22 (what that looks like will largely depend on ODE guidance, and the COVID-19 infection rate). All of our staff will be doing whatever it takes over the summer to ensure to the best of our ability that occurs! I was in a meeting today with ODE where it was stated that they will have the first iteration of Fall guidance out on July 19th. Superintendents shared loudly and clearly that we need this guidance earlier. Regardless of when it comes, I am committed to exploring any option that gets students to experience a normal academic calendar in 21-22. Finally, our FRSD OPTIONS program will continue in 21-22 as an additional choice for our parents that would like that. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to the district office, or your building principal.
Thank you to the many staff members that put in extra work to make sure our current 5th and 6th graders are getting an “Outdoor School” experience.
Special thanks to Mrs. Leatham and Mrs. Marshall who spearheaded this effort. While it looks different than normal, the first day of 6th grade outdoor school is a success and we look forward to our 5th graders participating next week!
