August 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to Prairie Hills Junior High School. We are looking forward to another great year! You may have many questions about the start of the school year, so the following information is provided for your assistance. We are implementing a staggered start date for each grade level at the Junior High School. The first day of school for your child’s grade level is as follows:

Wednesday, August 26^th- 6^th grade students only

Thursday, August 27^th - 6^th & 7^th grade students only

Friday, August 28^th – 6^th, 7^th,  & 8^th grade

 School begins at 8:00 a.m. each day for students at Prairie Hills Junior High School. Dismissal for Bus Rider’s will begin at 2:00 p.m. All students who walk or are being picked up will be dismissed at 2:15 p.m.

With our school year beginning both remotely and in person, our priority is to ensure your child or children are equipped to be successful. All students participating remotely will need to have access to a device (laptop, desktop, I-pad/tablet) in order to participate remotely. If you have not registered your child and paid their registration/technology fee, then you will need to complete this prior to receiving a device provided by the district. All students participating remotely are expected to be visually present and participate during the instructional hours. In addition, all students are required to follow the District policy for attendance. Students who are absent 10 or more consecutive days will be dropped and will have to re-register. All remote students will follow their assigned schedule for their specific lunch breaks and specials. If tech support is needed while participating remotely, please visit the district’s website: www.phsd144.net, and click on the green tab which states” Send Message.”

All students are required to wear a mask when entering into the school building, throughout the school day, as well as when riding the school bus. Students are allowed to bring unopened water bottles into school, and/ or empty water bottles which can be filled with water once in school. The COVID_19 pandemic has made us take extra precautions. Therefore, outside individuals are not allowed to enter our school building. If you are picking your child up for early dismissal, please follow the new procedures: Contact the main office ten minutes prior to your arrival, come into the school with a mask on, present the proper identification, and sign your child out in the main office; once you have completed these steps, please proceed to wait outside of the school building for your child. We understand that these procedures will take time to become accustomed to, but we are confident that you will support our every effort to keep all our students safe.

 All parents must self-certify their child prior to coming to school. Several staff have been assigned to check for their certification prior to entry into the building. In the event, a child has not been self-certified, a phone call will be made by the secretary. If the parent/guardian cannot be reached, the child will remain in the isolation room for the day. No child will be allowed to enter into the classroom until they have been certified. Finally, any student that rides the bus and has not been self-certified will not be allowed to ride the bus home.

 Educationally,

 Kenndell L. Smith, Principal