JH Parents and Guardians: today is the 2nd Quarter midterm already. We will send any D/F slips home with students on Monday 11/30, to be signed and returned next week. Any remote D/F slips will be emailed to the parent/guardian on Monday 11/30 and a confirmation email is required.
Also, NO SCHOOL tomorrow, Wednesday 11/25. We would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and we will see students again on Monday, 11/30. Go Ducks!
Parents: please be conscience of your child's health and well-being as much as possible, especially during our Winter months. Good nutrition, adequate sleep (8-9 hours/night for adolescents), and staying hydrated with water or sugar-free drinks is a good place to start.
Also, continue to stress social-distancing, washing of hands and using hand sanitizer, and wearing a mask when in public and around others indoors when necessary. Please continue to check your child for symptoms before sending them to school and use precautions when needed. Thank you for all you do to make sure your child is healthy, at school and staying on track academically! Go Ducks!
Reminder parents and students: Tomorrow, November 11th, there is NO SCHOOL, to observe Veterans Day. We want to thank all of our Veterans for their service and sacrifices!!
Also, Friday, November 13th, is an SIP Day, with a 12:05 dismissal for students.
It was awesome to show our Havana #126 TEAM how much we appreciate the job they are doing for our students. Frozen Turkeys were passed out to every employee in a drive by hand off after school on Friday! Thanks to Randy at County Market for assisting us with this awesome event.
Reminder for JH Parents and Guardians: You can now view your student's report card in Alma. We are not sending report cards physically home with students.
Also, there is NO SCHOOL tomorrow, Friday 10/30. The State of Illinois is also having schools take next Tuesday, 11/3, off of school for Election Day. So, NO SCHOOL on Tuesday 11/3.
Have a great and safe 3-day weekend!
HJH Parents and guardians,
We have reached the end of our 1st 9 weeks with the end of the quarter last Friday. Teachers are diligently working to get grades finalized and reaching out to parents/guardians, to see about scheduling a parent-teacher conference.
As you know, we are not doing in-person parent-teacher conferences this year, due to our guidelines and restrictions, but we are contacting you to see if you would like to schedule a "virtual" conference through video or phone conference last week and this week. If you do not need to meet with teachers at this time, to discuss any issues or concerns, just let the teachers know that you "do not have any concerns at this time".
If you feel at any point throughout the year that you would like to have a meeting with your student's teachers, please just let us know and we will try to accommodate you. Our teachers are always willing to communicate throughout the year, when needed, whether that be through email, phone, virtually or in-person. We want you to know that it is our top priority to provide your student with the opportunities they need educationally to be successful moving forward, even in these uncertain times where we know we are all a little behind where we would normally be academically. Please be patient with us and the process as a whole.
This year, report cards will be available to view on Thursday, October 29th in Alma, so please make sure you have an active account to view your student's progress.
You will also notice that accompanying the letter grade this year, we also have a section for Effort and Conduct included on the report card and we have attached a guide to help you understand those ratings, as they pertain to your child.
For 5th grade only, we will just have effort and conduct listed at the top, for all subject areas. For 6th-8th, those subject-area teachers will have that for each class.
Lastly, we would like to thank all of you for your patience and cooperation so far this year as we have finished 25% of the academic calendar. Students have been doing well with our procedures and guidelines (with a few reminders here and there) and overall we are happy with the way this year has begun, knowing we still have a long way to go. With your help along the way, we believe we can have a very successful year, even while dealing with all the challenges we all face on a daily basis.
With the winter months almost upon us, please be diligent in checking your child's temperature and how they are feeling each morning, along with taking the necessary precautions outside of school. Also, we will still try and get outside as much as possible, to provide mask breaks and exercise for the students, as that is a very important part of their day, so please make sure they have the proper clothing to do this.
Once again, thank you for all you do as parents and guardians and we look forward to a another successful 9 weeks here at Havana Junior High...Go Ducks!
Congratulations to the JH American Legion Award winners from last Spring: Elizabeth Johnson and Noah Blakeley! Thank you to the American Legion for presenting them with their awards today! Go Ducks!
Next week, October 5th-9th, is Bully Prevention Week 2020. We have activities planned for each day, along with themes for each day, with dress-up options. Below you can see which days have a certain theme. Here at HJH, we are committed to educating our students to the importance of treating people with respect and understanding that we all may have differences at times, but we can still do the right thing and treat each other appropriately. Please help the cause by supporting Bullying Prevention and the effort to make this world a better place! Go Ducks!
Dear Havana High School Parents and Students
There have been 6 positive COVID cases reported to us over the past 9 days. These 6 positive student cases have forced 73 students and 2 staff members to be quarantined due to having close contact. This is 1/3 of all in-person learning students. We have decided to move Havana HS to a “Temporary” Remote Learning Situation starting Tomorrow Sept. 29th until Monday, Oct. 12th. This decision is not being made out of fear as the health department agrees there is no evidence that the virus has been spread to anyone while at school to date. During this 2-week period all HS students should stay at home and practice all the safety protocols of using hand sanitizer, wearing masks, social distancing, and refrain from touching their face while outside of their home. If these measures are not followed, then this 2-week period could actually provide more opportunity for the virus to be spread and in effect have the opposite desired outcome.
Teachers will still come to work and deliver instruction to students daily. Students will need to use their school provided device to communicate with their teachers, watch instructional videos, continue to complete assignments and participate like they were still in person. If you live in a location that does not afford you a quality internet connection, we ask that you consider finding a better connection or location so you can continue your studies. There are free wifi and hotspots in many communities, restaurants, libraries, and in the school parking lots. The district has ordered some Verizon and AT&T hotspots to assist those that live in remote areas, but we are still waiting on those to be delivered. This is a temporary situation, so we won’t be able to assist homes with an internet installation in this situation.
We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate your support during this very challenging and difficult time. We aren’t the ones making the rules and none of us asked to be put in these situations. We are simply trying our best to follow the rules for the safety and wellbeing of everyone until things can return to normal. New Central Elementary and Havana Junior High will continue with in person learning.
Respectfully,
Superintendent Plater and Principal McKinney
JH Remote Learners and Parents: We are offering a "Remote Learning Informational Night" tomorrow (9/10) after school at HJH, for any students and parents who would like some assistance with how to manage our Remote Learning process. We will provide guidance on how to navigate Google Classroom, Pearson and checking in for attendance. Please let Mr. Brady know, via email, if you are interested in attending. this is planned from 3-4pm or by appointment: nbrady@havana126.net
HJH: We had some ups and downs today, but we will keep staying positive and working through everything day by day to get better. Thank you to all the students, staff, custodians, bus drivers and cafeteria workers for doing what we have to do to make things safe...thank you to parents for continuing to be patient! It takes everyone involved to make a day successful. Stay tuned for adjustments to some procedures as we know things are a work in progress. See you tomorrow, Go Ducks!
Any staff or students with Symptoms can contact MDH to see a physician or get tested if needed.
Junior High Remote Learners: Please go to the following link for information on Remote Learning:
https://www.havana126.net/o/havana-cusd/page/hjhs-remote-learning-info
Please see the information below for Information regarding in-person learning, which begins Monday. We will be sending out guidelines and expectations for Remote learners later this evening.
Procedures for starting school on 8/24
Masks must be worn at all times on a bus or inside our buildings or when students cannot socially distance themselves.
Students need to be dropped off at school by 8am
PLEASE DO NOT DROP YOUR STUDENT OFF BEFORE 7:30AM, OUR DOORS WILL NOT OPEN UNTIL 7:40AM.
If your student eats breakfast at school, they need to arrive by 7:50am
Bus students should be arriving at school by 7:45am
Students will go straight to their 1st hour class when arriving (unless they are eating breakfast).
Lockers and locker rooms will not be used.
Bookbags will be allowed and are encouraged, for their laptop protection.
Make sure you self-certify your student before they get on a bus, are dropped off, or leave home if they are a walker/biker. Any student that does not self-certify, will have to be certified by JH Staff before entering the building everyday. If they are symptom free and do not have a temp above 100.3 F, then they should have the Happiness Advantage bracelet on to prove they have been checked.
If a student shows symptoms during the school day, they will be sent to the quarantine room, and we will notify the parent/guardian to come pick up their child. (Please see our Flow chart for “returning to school” that is also attached to this email).
At the end of the day, bus students will be dismissed one bus at a time. After the buses have left, then town students/picked up students will be dismissed.
Reminders: we are only allowing students into the building tonight for 5th Grade orientation. You can drop your student off at our West gym doors and pick them up at the same location. Masks will need to worn at all times while in the building.
Parents: we can practice the certification process tonight, for in-person learners...if they have their Happiness Advantage bracelet on, that means you have certified they have a good temp (less than 100.4 degrees, but if it is close to that number tonight, please keep your child at home and let us know you cannot make it) and do not have any of the listed symptoms for COVID. If they do not have a bracelet on, we will check temps and ask questions, before they can enter.
Remote learners can pick up laptops anytime today before 4pm or tomorrow from 7am-3pm at the Jh Office.
Thanks!
A few Reminders for JH students and parents: Remote learners can pick up their Chromebooks anytime between 8am-3pm at the JH Office the rest of the week.
5th grade Orientation is tomorrow evening (Thursday 8/20): 4:30-5pm Mrs. French's class. 5-5:30pm Miss Ley's class. 5:30-6pm Mrs. Heye's class. We are only allowing students to attend orientation (to keep our numbers below 50 per IDPH), so parents can drop their students off at our West Gym doors and pick up at the same location.
If I test positive or am ill with symptoms, when can I return to school or work? This flow charts was created after consulting with the Mason Co. Health Department.
Here is the link to the IL Dept. of Public Health frequently asked questions page that was updated yesterday!
https://www.isbe.net/Documents/IDPH-School-FAQs.pdf
JH Parents: Thank you to all who came yesterday and registered, it went very smoothly due to everyone's patience and cooperation! If you have not Registered your child for school, you can still do that today from 7:30-2:30 at the JH, or next week. Also, for those who have Registered online, or have not registered yet, we still have some paperwork to fill out, and a bag of essentials to pick up: symptom checklist, bracelet and a complimentary mask, which you can do here at the JH office. This needs to be done before 8/14. All visitors to the school will be required to wear a mask while inside. Thanks!
REMINDER: JH In-Person Registration is tomorrow (8/5) at HJH. Times are 9am-1pm, 2:30pm-6pm. We are limiting to 1 parent per family and all people who enter the building MUST BE WEARING A MASK. Parents can park in our WEST parking lot and enter at the Cafeteria/GYM doors. Paperwork will be filled out in the cafeteria, then we will let 1 family into the office at a time to finish Registration/pay fees. If you have not filled out our District Survey as to whether you would be in-person or remote learning, please email Mr. Brady with that answer: nbrady@havana126.net