Dear Hilltop Families,
The classrooms, indoors and outdoors, are coming into being in their new distanced forms. Teachers have been very busy! And, as we gear up to start our daily health checks during next week’s orientation, we wanted to remind you of a few things. Firstly, we are being very cautious and careful as we get together in-person. We need to do everything we can to protect individuals within our community and our community as a whole. Please share our cautiousness with us by:
- keeping your child home if there is any chance of exposure or risk of sharing illness
- answering all of the health questions truthfully and with the safety of the community in mind
We have also updated our HMS Re-Entry Plan (Updated 8/27/20) to align with new and changing Vermont State guidelines. We strongly encourage you to read through the plan thoroughly before coming to school for Orientation or for the first day of instruction on Tuesday, September 8th. You will note that all new information is in green. Taken from the plan, here are six key details to be sure to note as we being the year:
- We have plans for every stage of re-entry and are in a great position to meet in person, on campus, every day of the week, even if the State mandates we decrease group size down to as few as 15 people in a group.
- With every phase of this plan, Wednesday will be a half day for all students, a planning/meeting afternoon for teachers, and a deep cleaning day for facilities’ staff.
- Drop-off and pick-up procedure will require staggered timing and places, so check your children’s drop-off and pick-up times and procedures carefully.
- In accordance with the State guidelines, parents, guardians, and caretakers may not enter school buildings during any stage.
- BeforeCare and AfterCare are available if the mixing of groups can allow for pods of 75 or more people, but not for the smaller groupings.
- All students must be in compliance with the State of Vermont Travel Restrictions in order to attend school.
Lastly, though certainly not least important, also ask that you please sign the HMS Shared Responsibility Agreement and hand them in to teachers during your student health check whenever your child first comes to school, during Orientation Week (full schedule here) or on Tuesday, September 8th. Students will not be let out of vehicles without a signed copy of the Agreement.
If you have any questions regarding the HMS Re-Entry Plan or our Covid procedures, please feel free to reach out to Zoe Proctor, HMS’ Covid Coordinator.