Alpine Elementary News
We enter week two of remote online learning and the never-ending tentacles of COVID-19. Can you believe how quickly our lives have changed in the past 10 days? This pandemic is impacting almost every facet of our everyday lives, including the way we do school. These are truly unprecedented times. Add an earthquake to the equation, and our world has literally been rocked, in more ways than one! Adversity and life challenges can bring out the best and the worst in people. And I have seen only the best from the Alpine Elementary faculty as they quickly mobilized to provide online instruction for your students. I am so proud and appreciative of the diligent efforts of our staff as they have quickly and without complaint figured out how to do school in a new way.
You know your children better than anyone. Though we do encourage you to schedule “school time” each day, there is certainly no expectation to have students doing school work for six hours a day. We apologize for all the emails coming your way, but teachers need to communicate with your students. If you have questions or concerns about the online learning expectations, please communicate with your child’s teacher. This online learning model is a work in progress.
I have attached flyers for a State of Utah Spirit Week that you and your children can participate in that will perhaps bring some joy and laughter to your homeschooling experience.
The big question is how long will the schools be closed. Over the weekend, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sidnee Dickson, shared the following with Utah school leaders:
All of you are likely wondering how long we can expect to be in the situation of “soft closure;” meaning that most adults should be out of the building and students are learning at home. The COVID-19 Task Force, Utah Dept. of Health, and Governor Herbert continue to monitor and assess the risk and will provide formal guidance soon. In the meantime, I would encourage you to plan for continuation of out-of-school learning until further notice. We will be reassessing every two weeks; so rather than waiting until March 27 to determine next steps, I would encourage you to plan out an additional two weeks now. Staying ahead with lesson plans two weeks out will hopefully help you feel less anxious about a certain date of return, which at this point cannot be determined.
So parents only have to make one trip to the school, starting on Monday March 23, students can pick up a breakfast and lunch meal at the same time, 8:30 – 11:00 am, at the table set up by Nutrition Services by our front door. This meal service is provided to all students in the Alpine School District, including middle and high school students, free of charge. You can send your child or children to the school to pick up meals without a parent accompanying the student.
Please only send one student into the school to pick up meals so that we can follow social distancing protocols of no more than 10 people in a group, while maintaining a six foot distance between all individuals.
Also starting on Monday, our office will only be open 8:00 am – 12:00 pm.
This state was founded by a people, ancestors to some of you, who faced difficult challenges both in their migration west and in settling communities along the Wasatch Front. Faith and hard work enabled them to overcome the many trials they encountered. Those same attributes will enable us to successfully overcome all that this pandemic requires us to navigate. We will make it through these challenging times!
Outside the Principal’s Office.
Faith, family and exercise are my anchors during difficult times. All five of our children, their spouses and our grandchildren, like all Americans and people across the globe, have been impacted by COVID-19. Laura and I choose to be optimistic about future outcomes, even when there are questions about the health, job security and financial obligations of our family. Three times last week, I biked up to Pine Hollow Trail Head in American Fork Canyon, which is where the gate is locked and snowpack begins. As I pedaled up the mountain, I repeatedly said to myself, “Lead your family and school in love, faith and calm assurance that these trying times will make us all stronger, and that these difficult days will pass.” I truly believe that mantra!
Have a great week, and as always, remember that it is a great day to be an Eagle!
Dave Perdue, Principal
Alpine Elementary
Alpine School District