Students and Parents of the Fern Ridge School District. Over the past 2 weeks the district has been reviewing the new requirements imposed by the state, evaluating infection rate data, and coming up with a plan for what school will look like in the coming weeks. On Monday the 23rd the new County infection rate data was released that has the two week “look-back” rate at an all-time high of 253.9/100,000, up from 175.5 the previous week, and 133.6 the week before that. That information, combined with the Governors requirements released December 13th, including isolation/travel requirements placed on staff and students, necessitates this move to Comprehensive Distance Learning from December 1st-December 18th. Below are the bullet point details of this change, and what these three weeks will look like in December:
- For the vast majority of students in grades 4th-12th, and FRSD OPTIONS program students, nothing will change.
- The primary changes will be for:
- Kinder-3rd grade students will no longer be coming in for Limited In-Person Instruction, a daily schedule is currently being worked on by administrators, in conjunction with teaching staff and will be released soon. Especially at the youngest grades, the amount of daily CDL will probably start a bit more slowly, and grow over time as we see what is working well, and what isn’t.
- Our handful of 4th-12th grade students that have been coming in either daily, or every other day, will not be able to do so during this period of CDL.
- We are working on a plan to make school meals more accessible, and will have that information posted as soon as it is available.
- While some instructional staff will be working from home, the front offices of all schools as well as the District Office Building will remain open.
- We currently have a drop in “tech-support” time at the District Office from 1-3 PM. In addition to that, we are now adding a morning time from 8-9 AM.
- Currently, this decision is being made only for the 3 weeks in December, over winter break, new information, requirements and data will be evaluated and a decision will be made regarding any changes that will occur in January.
We realize there is no replacement for face-to-face interaction with our students and we look forward to students and teachers returning to school buildings as soon as it is safe to do so. The district is continuing to engage parents, teachers, school leaders and policymakers throughout this process. For now, our students will continue learning from home and we will do everything possible on our end to get back to in-person learning as soon as possible.
All FRSD schools are closed from Monday, November 23 thru Friday, November, 27
Enjoy your break and stay healthy!
While the focus is on the COVID-19 virus it is important to stay up-to-date to prevent other diseases. Students are required to have certain vaccinations to be at school. The State requires that all students, if they are in person or online, be current on their vaccinations.
Every year the State allows students time to get the vaccines before the student is not allowed to come to school. This year the exclusion date is February 17. This means a student must be up-to-date on their vaccination by that day or they will not be allowed to come to school on February 18.
With the restrictions for COVID-19 in place it may be difficult to get the required vaccinations so it is important to schedule an appointment with your medical provider.
Other options for vaccinations include:
Lane County Public Health can provide low or no cost vaccinations. Call Lane County Public Health at 541-682-4041.
Veneta Bi Mart is able to provide some vaccinations to ages 7 and up. They do have the Tdap vaccination that is required for all students in the 7th grade and higher.
The school will be sending letters home for students who are not current on their vaccinations. It is important that the student receives the vaccination to avoid being excluded from school in February.
Remember vaccinations are not just for children. It is important for adults to be up-to-date on their vaccines also. It is not too late to get the flu vaccine for this year. Other recommended vaccines for adults include the Tdap, pneumonia, Hepatitis A & B, and shingles.
If you need any assistance in getting the vaccines or have questions you can contact Nurse Teresa at tparsons@fernridge.k12.or.us.
Thank you,
Nurse Teresa
EHS had an accidental pull of a fire alarm on campus this afternoon. We wanted to emphasize that this was an accident and at no time was there any concern about a fire in the building. The fire department responded and confirmed this as well and our maintenance department quickly reset our fire alarm after the incident. Thanks to everyone for your concern.
Reminder: We WILL be able to offer this the week of Thanksgiving, on Monday, November 23rd (there is NO SCHOOL at all that week). We will take orders beginning Monday, November 9th and continue through Wednesday November 18th (DEADLINE TOMORROW). You can place your order (just need last name and number of children ages 0-18) by either emailing our food service director at afullerton@fernridge.k12.or.us, or by calling your local school and asking them to forward the information to Mr. Fullerton. Once your order is placed you just need to show up at EHS between 5:00 and 6:00 PM on the 23rd to receive the meals.
Pre-ordering allows the food service staff to order the right amount of product, and ensure nothing is going to waste! We hope that many families will participate! Any questions, you can also call Mr. Fullerton at 541-935-8218.
Due to new restrictions from Governor Kate Brown, the FRSD Board of Directors will be meeting virtually during tonight’s schedule school board session.
Public comment can be emailed to mcook@fernridge.k12.or.us and any comments received by 4:00 pm will be read into record during the meeting. Please ensure that your full name and address is included and that the material can be read within the three minute time limit
Meeting Information:
Topic: November 16, 2020 School Board Meeting
Time: Nov 16, 2020 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://fernridge-k12-or-us.zoom.us/j/84436142479
Meeting ID: 844 3614 2479
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With winter approaching, I wanted to share our current plans should a school closure be necessary. If the District closes for weather (snow, ice, loss of power, etc..) there will NOT be any remote classes for that first day. However, this is only a 100% commitment on the first day of the closure. On day 1 of a closure due to weather we will let our students and families enjoy the excitement of a no-school day. As that day progresses and we look at the possible length of a closure, teachers and administrators will get together to discuss if we will resume virtual/remote classes, and if so when and for what grades. Please pass along this information to anyone that needs it.
A reminder that our “Emergency Information” page can be found here: https://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/?page_id=478
At this page you can sign up for Flash Alert Notifications (updated 2020 snow routes coming) https://www.flashalert.net/login/. On the morning of a weather delay, we will also post information on the website, social media, and do a district wide phone dialer.
Below is a a graphic that describes the current metrics in Lane County, as well as the different models of instruction schools need to be working towards depending on the current county health data. You can see that in Lane County, we are currently in the orange “transition” phase.
The updated numbers come out every Monday evening. If the numbers move to the yellow “On-Site and Distance Learning” column on Monday the 16th (and stay there), we will look to return K-3 students in an all day A/B model the Tuesday following the Thanksgiving Break, with 4th and 5th graders returning the following week, December 8th.
Each week that the metrics stay where they are at or go higher, this return date will get pushed out. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your building administrator.
Greetings students and parents of Kindergarten-5th grade students (EES, VES and OPTIONS).
To improve the usability and security of our student’s computer accounts, elementary students will be assigned new passwords on their district account. The new passwords will be easy to remember and will ensure that students will be able to more easily access their accounts. Teachers will be contacting families with the new passwords today and tomorrow (Nov 9th and 10th), via their normal means of communication. Please be on the lookout for this new information. Beginning the morning of Thursday, Nov 12th, passwords will switch and old passwords will not work.
Students who are locked out of their accounts on Thursday morning can get their passwords by calling the school directly or by calling the student tech support line at 541-952-7030.
A reminder to our families that meals for the week (lunches and breakfasts) can be ordered and then picked up every Monday night from 5-6 PM at EHS. For details regarding that program you can view an earlier post at: https://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/?p=10449.
We are also pleased to announce that we WILL be able to offer this the week of Thanksgiving, on Monday November 23rd (there is NO SCHOOL at all that week). We will take orders beginning Monday, November 9th and continue through Wednesday November 18th. You can place your order (just need last name and number of children ages 0-18) by either emailing our food service director at afullerton@fernridge.k12.or.us, or by calling your local school and asking them to forward the information to Mr. Fullerton. Once your order is places you just need to show up at EHS between 5:00 and 6:00 PM on the 23rd to receive the meals.
Pre-ordering allows the food service staff to order the right amount of product, and ensure nothing is going to waste! We hope that many families will participate! Any questions, you can also call Mr. Fullerton at 541-935-8218.