Annual Student Information Update 2021-2022

Dear Bulldog Families and Students,

A new school year is upon us! I am excited to move forward and continue towards the path of pre-COVID normalcy. We are back to full-time in person instruction for Simpson students. The Simpson office officially opens on Monday, August 23rd. Our first day of school will be on Wednesday, September 1st. School will start at 8:20 and end at 2:40. 

It would be helpful for students to be dropped off as close to the bell as possible. The gym will open for students and serve breakfast at 8:00. Classroom doors will open at 8:10. Busses will arrive prior to students being released, so the bus pick-up lane can be utilized by parents in the afternoon after all busses have left Simpson. Once the annual updates are complete, your child’s teacher will be reaching out to introduce themselves and provide information about their classroom. 

We will continue to follow the guidance from the DOH to ensure a safe, in-person 21/22 school year. This does mean we will be starting the fall with donning masks while we are indoors. For the latest DOH Guidance, click here. Please know this guidance is ever-changing. To save you some time, here are some highlights:

Prevention Measures

We will continue to provide full time in-person education for all students with the following required mitigation measures: universal face coverings/masks, physical distancing, hand washing and respiratory etiquette, cleaning and disinfecting, staying home when sick and seeking evaluation, testing as indicated, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, responding to cases of COVID-19, and meeting the reporting requirements to public health.

Masks/Face Coverings

• Indoor

  • All staff, students, and visitors must continue to wear face coverings/masks regardless of vaccination status. 

  • Staff who are verified to be fully vaccinated may be indoors without masks when students are not present or expected to be present. 

• Outdoor

  • Face coverings are not required outdoors. Masks are strongly recommended for unvaccinated individuals when outdoors in crowded spaces or when in close contact with people from outside their household for a sustained period of time, as the risk of COVID-19 infection increases with the duration and closeness of contact between individuals. Schools should support students and staff who choose to wear a mask or face covering outdoors.

• Transportation

  • Passengers and drivers are required to wear masks/face coverings while on the school bus. 

Physical Distancing

• To the degree possible, we will make every effort to maintain physical distancing of at least 3 feet.

Health Screenings/Attestation

• Screenings/attestations are not required at this time.

Students will also be excited to hear that we will no longer have playground designations for grade-level recess. They will have full access to all of the playground and equipment every recess! Classroom doors will open at 8:10 and students can continue to use multiple entrances to the school as we did last year. As always, we will have plenty of smiling staff members inside and outside the school providing guidance to ensure students have the support they need to navigate their first days of school.

If families have hesitance for in-person instruction, Simpson Elementary will continue to offer the distance-learning MODEL program. Please reach out if you wish to enroll your child in the MODEL program. 

I have a deep appreciation for this community. The pride and support families show for Monte schools are unrivaled. It has made all the difference in navigating a batch of tricky school years. We will do everything in our power to offer a safe and fun learning environment for our students. 

Best regards, 

Chris Cady

Simpson Re-opening Update

Dear Bulldog Families and Students, 

Good news! We will officially be starting our full in-person schedule starting Monday, April 12th. We will be operating 5 days a week and will be aligning with the Beacon/Jr/Sr High schedule. We will be moving from 8:20 AM to 1:40 PM. Please wait to hear from us before returning Chromebooks. We want to focus on daily operations before reprovisioning and reassigning Chromebooks. I anticipate this happening a week or two into the future.

Here are a few more important details:

Arrival/Dismissal
Arrival to Simpson will continue to be the same. Students should still come in one of our three designated entrance points to go to class. Students will be dismissed to walk and be picked up 10 minutes (1:30) before the busses arrive. 5th and 6th grade parents should utilize the bus lane to pick up their child. However, once busses arrive, please use the traditional pick up location to allow busses to safely load and disperse.

Some students are also walking from the building and getting picked up at a location away from Simpson such as the ballpark. This is another solid strategy to alleviate the delays that come with Simpson pick up at the building. 

MODEL Students
As we navigate the challenges of bringing all students back to school, we are going to delay the MODEL transition for April 26th. This will allow us to review spacing requirements and to see if we can accommodate an additional influx of students into classrooms. We will review rosters and spacing the first week of our return to see if/how we can provide the opportunity for MODEL students to return to full in-person learning for the remainder of the year.

State Testing
Washington has proposed a modified waiver which is up for approval. This would drastically minimize students being tested this year. The state will select “sample districts” to implement a shortened amount of testing. If we are selected, 3rd grade would do a shortened ELA assessment and 5th grade would do a shortened math assessment. 4th and 6th grade would not partake in state testing. If we are not selected as a sample district, we will all be able to rejoice in the fact that we have no state tests this year. I will convey information as soon as I am informed of it. 

Other Learning Opportunities
With cohorting still being a focus on the CDC guidelines, we will be unable to facilitate an after school program at this time. Usually, this program has students from many classrooms convening in the gym and being taught by a coordinator and HS student workers. At this time, I do not foresee an after school program for the remainder of the 20/21 school year. 

We are building a “Bulldog Summer Challenge” summer school option for students. If staffing permits and there is student demand, we are planning on operating two, 18 day sessions. The first session will go from June 21 to July 14 and the second session will go from July 19 to August 11. Days will start at 8:30 and conclude at 12:30. Transportation and meals will be provided. 

At this time, we are in the planning phase and will reach out to families about this program later in the year. We will first offer this to targeted students that would benefit from additional instruction and will expand our reaches as resources allow. More information to come!

Parent Input Week
Beacon and Simpson will have parent input week from April 26 to April 30. If you would like to provide input regarding your child’s learning style or needs for the upcoming school year, please complete the online form that will be available during that week. This form will be available on our website and sent out via Skyward. All submissions will be taken into consideration by the principals. 

Health, Safety & Attendance
As with previous school years, the success of our full in-person learning is purely dependent on attendance. If your child is healthy- please do everything you can to ensure they are here, on time, every day. If your child has symptoms- please notify the school and keep them home. We will continue with our cohorting/designations, masking, and reminders of proper hand washing and social distancing. 

Thank you for your diligence and patience as we have navigated this pandemic and the guidelines set forth by the CDC. This is a large step in the right direction and I am excited to continue following that path. We will continue to share additional information as it becomes available. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. 

In partnership, 

Chris Cady

Estimadas familias y estudiantes de Bulldog:

¡Buenas noticias! Oficialmente comenzaremos nuestro programa completo en persona a partir del lunes 12 de abril. Estaremos operando 5 días a la semana y nos alinearemos con el horario de Beacon / Jr / Sr High. Nos mudaremos de 8:20 a. M. A 1:40 p. M. Espere recibir noticias nuestras antes de devolver los Chromebook. Queremos centrarnos en las operaciones diarias antes de reaprovisionar y reasignar Chromebooks. Anticipo que esto sucederá una o dos semanas en el futuro.

Aquí hay algunos detalles más importantes:

Llegada / Salida
La llegada a Simpson seguirá siendo la misma. Los estudiantes aún deben ingresar a uno de nuestros tres puntos de entrada designados para ir a clase. Los estudiantes saldrán a caminar y serán recogidos 10 minutos (1:30) antes de que lleguen los autobuses. Los padres de quinto y sexto grado deben utilizar el carril del autobús para recoger a sus hijos. Sin embargo, una vez que lleguen los autobuses, utilice el lugar de recogida tradicional para permitir que los autobuses suban y se dispersen de forma segura.

Algunos estudiantes también caminan desde el edificio y los recogen en un lugar alejado de Simpson, como el estadio de béisbol. Esta es otra estrategia sólida para aliviar los retrasos que conlleva la recogida de Simpson en el edificio.

Estudiantes MODELO
Mientras navegamos por los desafíos de traer a todos los estudiantes de regreso a la escuela, vamos a retrasar la transición del MODELO para el 26 de abril. Esto nos permitirá revisar los requisitos de espacio y ver si podemos acomodar una afluencia adicional de estudiantes a las aulas. Revisaremos las listas y el espaciamiento de la primera semana de nuestro regreso para ver si y cómo podemos brindar la oportunidad para que los estudiantes de MODEL regresen al aprendizaje completo en persona durante el resto del año.

Pruebas estatales
Washington ha propuesto una exención modificada que está pendiente de aprobación. Esto minimizaría drásticamente a los estudiantes que serán evaluados este año. El estado seleccionará "distritos de muestra" para implementar una cantidad reducida de pruebas. Si somos seleccionados, el tercer grado haría una evaluación de ELA abreviada y el quinto grado haría una evaluación de matemáticas abreviada. 4º y 6º grado no tomarían parte en las pruebas estatales. Si no somos seleccionados como un distrito de muestra, todos podremos regocijarnos en el hecho de que no tenemos exámenes estatales este año. Transmitiré información tan pronto como se me informe.

Otras oportunidades de aprendizaje
Dado que la cohorte sigue siendo un enfoque en las pautas de los CDC, no podremos facilitar un programa después de la escuela en este momento. Por lo general, este programa tiene estudiantes de muchas aulas que se reúnen en el gimnasio y son enseñados por un coordinador y trabajadores estudiantiles de secundaria. En este momento, no preveo un programa extracurricular para el resto del año escolar 20/21.

Estamos construyendo una opción de escuela de verano “Bulldog Summer Challenge” para los estudiantes. Si el personal lo permite y hay demanda de estudiantes, estamos planeando operar dos sesiones de 18 días. La primera sesión será del 21 de junio al 14 de julio y la segunda sesión del 19 de julio al 11 de agosto. Los días comenzarán a las 8:30 y concluirán a las 12:30. Se proporcionará transporte y comidas.

En este momento, estamos en la fase de planificación y nos comunicaremos con las familias sobre este programa más adelante en el año. Primero ofreceremos esto a los estudiantes específicos que se beneficiarían de instrucción adicional y ampliaremos nuestro alcance según lo permitan los recursos. ¡Más información próximamente!

Semana de aportes de los padres
Beacon y Simpson tendrán una semana de comentarios de los padres del 26 de abril al 30 de abril. Si desea brindar comentarios sobre el estilo de aprendizaje de su hijo o las necesidades para el próximo año escolar, complete el formulario en línea que estará disponible durante esa semana. Este formulario estará disponible en nuestro sitio web y se enviará a través de Skyward. Todos los envíos serán tomados en consideración por los directores.

Salud, seguridad y asistencia
Al igual que en años escolares anteriores, el éxito de nuestro aprendizaje completo en persona depende puramente de la asistencia. Si su hijo está sano, haga todo lo posible para asegurarse de que esté aquí, a tiempo, todos los días. Si su hijo tiene síntomas, notifique a la escuela y déjelo en casa. Continuaremos con nuestra cohorte / designaciones, enmascaramiento y recordatorios del adecuado lavado de manos y distanciamiento social.

Gracias por su diligencia y paciencia mientras navegamos por esta pandemia y las pautas establecidas por los CDC. Este es un gran paso en la dirección correcta y estoy emocionado de continuar siguiendo ese camino. Continuaremos compartiendo información adicional a medida que esté disponible. Comuníquese con nosotros si tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud.

En asociación,

Chris Cady