Principal
It has been a while since we have posted the updated 2-week lookback return to school metric “table.” Below is that graphic with updated information as of today. It shows that Lane County has continued to report a rising number of COVID-19 infections. District administrators are meeting regularly to review these metrics and review them with our staff. The goal will be to share by Friday, December 18th, what the plan will be when school resumes in January.
Beginning Dec 1st, all K-5 students in the Fern Ridge School District will be engaged in full Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) due to rising concerns surrounding Covid 19. There will be no Limited In Person Instruction (LIPI) during December, with a decision regarding the continuation of a full CDL schedule in January to be decided by the end of Winter Break. The CDL schedule during December will be as follows:
- 4th and 5th grade students will continue their normal schedule. No change for these grades.
- K-3rd students will continue their normal afternoon CDL schedule (11:15-12:00 & 12:45-1:30) on Tues. and Weds., Dec. 1st & 2nd, with the additional morning Zoom sessions below being added beginning Thursday, Dec 3rd:
9:00-9:30 Whole Class Morning Meeting/Check in for the day
9:30-10:00 Small Group Session #1 (Teachers will reach out to let you know which group your student is in. Those students not on Zoom for small groups during this time will be completing independent work.)
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-10:45 Small Group Session #2 (Teachers will reach out to let you know which group your student is in. Those students not on Zoom for small groups during this time will be completing independent work.)
11:15-12:00 Whole Group Core Subject (ELA or Math) CDL
12:45-1:30 Whole Group Core Subject (ELA or Math) CDL
1:30-2:30 Office Hours for student help (as needed)
On Wednesday, Dec. 2nd, from 12:00pm-6:00pm there will be a packet/supply pick up at each elementary school. Teachers will have packets for the remainder of December out at that time. These packets will be needed for various small group and whole group Zoom sessions throughout the three weeks, so please plan on picking one up during this time. Thank you!
As always, please contact your child’s teacher or the school with any questions and/or concerns. We’re here to help you!
In conjunction with our transportation and food service providers, we will be implementing the following meal distribution plan for as long as the District remains in CDL (Comprehensive Distance Learning). If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call your respective school. This plan begins the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 4th.
EHS Site for daily meals (M-Friday): From 11:00-12:30 each day of the week (Monday-Friday), food service staff will continue to serve meals through the “drive-up” in the North parking lot at EHS. There are both hot and cold options, and all you need to do is circle around by the cafeteria door, give your last name and the number of children to receive both a lunch and breakfast for the following day.
EHS Site for a “weekly meal” pick-up (M night only): Every Monday night from 5:00-6:00 PM a family may pick up a meal “kit” that contains fruit, vegetables, milk, sandwiches and breakfast items for the week. You need to place your order by either emailing our food service director at afullerton@fernrige.k12.or.us, or by calling your school and asking them to forward the information to Mr. Fullerton. You just need to include the last name and number of children ages 0-18 that you will be picking up for.
Daily bus stops (Tuesday-Friday): Every Tuesday through Friday morning, FRSD buses will be at 10 locations throughout the community from 8-9 AM. The buses will have available a daily meal kit that includes a lunch and a breakfast for the day in one bag. The 10 sites are:
1. Fern Ridge Child Development Center on Jeans Road
2. The Noti Market
3. The DS Mart
4. 5th and Woodland
5. Veneta Elementary Parking lot
6. Ray’s Parking lot
7. Church on the corner of Hunter & Huston
8. Baker Rd. (the end)
9. Fleck & Central
10. Oak Island & Legacy Ct.
Please share this information however you can, and access this resource daily! Thank you to our transportation and food service departments for working with the District to provide these opportunities!
- 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.
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.
We are having two spirit days to celebrate the last week before Thanksgiving!
Getting this far is worth celebrating! 🙂
The first spirit day is VES Cougar Spirit Day.
Wear your Cougar gear (or anything purple!) on Tuesday 11/17 (A day students ) or Wednesday 11/18 (B day students) or choose your day (4th and 5th CDL students).
The second spirit day is Pajama Spirit Day.
Wear your pajamas to school on Thursday 11/19 (A day students) or Friday 11/20 (B day students) or choose your day (4th and 5th CDL students).
Let’s celebrate and have some fun!!
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.
Weekly Parent Support Meeting
Wednesday November 4th from 7:30 to 8 pm via Google meets (link below)
During this crazy time of constant changes and never quite knowing what the next day will hold. Please join the Fern Ridge Family Resource Center for a weekly parent support meeting. At this meeting we will discuss what is and is not working for the kiddos and families during this time of distance learning, share ideas and help build a stronger community together. It is very important to know you are not alone, and there are lots of families in the exact same situation. This will be a safe and positive environment to share your experiences and hopefully take away some ideas you can work into your family’s routines.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me,
Thank you,
Jim Domingue
Family Resource Coordinator
email: frc@fernridge.k12.or.us
Facebook: @FRSDFRC
Address: Fern Ridge Family Resource Center
Fern Ridge Middle School
88831 Territorial Hwy
Elmira, OR 97437