Monday Memo - 11/2/20

Election Day
The day after Election Day could be particularly challenging given the contentious election that will happen on Tuesday. We will likely have many students and staff who experience a wide variety of emotions. If you anticipate needing help with a particular class, or if you would like to discuss how to talk to students about the election, please feel free to reach out to the administrative team.

Here is an article I found over the weekend from Teaching Tolerance regarding talking with students about the election. 

Teaching the 2020 Election: What will you do on Wednesday?

Schedule for next week
Please see the schedule below. Reach out to administration if you have questions.

Amazing Hixson Educators!
Congratulations again to Jacob Norman for winning the Hixson Educator Award and to Damon Cetro for winning the Emerson Award from Special School District. We are so lucky to have such amazing eductors on our staff!

Return to School Plan
Hixson's return to school plan was shared with parents on Friday. Please click HERE to view the parent document.

Common questions regarding our return to school

1. Aerosols in classrooms after lunch - A question came up last week about aerosols hanging in the air after students each lunch in classrooms with their masks off. Students will be required to put their masks back on as soon as they are finished eating. Lunch supervisors will be instructed to open the windows in classrooms during lunch to provide additional ventilation. Surfaces will be cleaned before students leave the room, and the classrooms will be misted after students leave the room. The mist takes three minutes to dry.

Here is a statement from district administration regarding air circulation in general: 

"We are changing the filters on the HVAC systems every other month instead of every four months. We are also running the systems longer each day so that the air is being circulated more often. We are allowing teachers to open windows."

I did receive a question that wondered if a person who teaches in a classroom after lunch would be quarantined if a student who ate lunch in that classroom tested positive for COVID-19. I cannot speak to that question since the identification of individuals who should be quarantined is up to the St. Louis County Health Department. School administrators do not make those determinations.

2. Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights - click the link to read about this important legislation. This was referenced in our meeting with district admin a little over a week ago. 

3. Why are we keeping Statesmen Time? Statesmen Time was created to provide additional support for all Hixson students and learning related to Character Education. Now more than ever, our students need this additional time to check in, ask questions, and connect with others. We are able to preserve Statesmen Time in our current plan and do not plan to remove it from our daily schedule.

4. Why are we not considering a hybrid model for our return to school? Dr. Simpson has explained that the hybrid model is actually not safer than five full days per week of in person instruction. This is because of how students might spend their asynchronous time (ie: with a childcare provider, with friends and/or relatives) which could cause an increase in the number of contacts to which they are exposed. However, the more time students spend at school, the more time they spend in a structured environment that has health and safety guidelines in place, therefore decreasing the amount of contacts to which they are exposed, causing the five full day option to be safer than hybrid. 

Some people also consider the hybrid model to be double the work for teachers because they have to provide in-person instruction and provide asynchronous instruction for all of their students each day.

Important dates

November 2 - Jimmy John's Night for Hixson Middle School

November 3 - Election Day & Professional Development 

• 9:30 am – 12:30 pm: District planned ABAR Professional Development session led by Dr. Linda Peterson, Dr. Sherri Rachal, Sarah Bodi, and Gail Tumminello
• 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm: Lunch
• 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Time to view Dr. Newland’s video and work in your classrooms

November 4 - Transition Task Force meeting

November 7 - Building open from 10 am to 2 pm

November 9 & 10 - Teacher work days

November 10 - Amighetti's Night for Hixson Middle School

November 11 - first day back to school for students in Responsive Learning Plan (A-K)

November 12 - first day back to school for students in Responsive Learning Plan (L-Z)

November 13 - all students in responsive learning plan attend school

November 25 - 27 - Thanksgiving Break

December 1 - Picture Day

Monday Mindfulness with our counselors
Join the Counselors for a mindfulness zoom session on Mondays, at 8am.

Here is the link for the staff mindfulness time.

Meeting ID: 977 1740 0071

Passcode: Mindful​