Back to School Letter

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Dear Parents, Guardians and Students, 

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 2020-2021 school year at Spanish Fork Junior High School. We are excited to begin a new school year and have students back in the building. We have been preparing for the start of school and hope the following information will help answer questions and help youpr epare as well. We have plans that will be implemented this year as we follow state and Nebo School District guidelines regarding Covid 19 for school to keep our students and staff healthy and safe. Additional information regarding 7th Grade Day, school open house, picture day, School Community Council elections, etc. will be coming next week.

 Online Registration

Online registration began on July 13th using the new student information system, Infinite Campus. If you have not completed registration please do so as quickly as possible. This will help as we finalize classes and prepare for the school year. Please complete registration by Friday, July 30th . If you do not have a computer or need assistance with the online registration process you can come into the school July 28th or 29th between 9:00am – 2:00pm. Information regarding registration is posted on our school website: http://sfjhs.nebo.edu/registration . 

Payment of School Fees

Payment of school fees may be done online through My School Fees at myschoolfees.com

Counseling/Nebo’s Remote Learning Option/Schedule Changes

Counselors will be available beginning August 3rd . If you have selected for your child to participate in remote learning, one of our counselors will help enroll your student in Utah Students Connect, Nebo School District's remote learning option. Please email your child’s counselor or call the school after August 3rd to set up an appointment to enroll in remote learning. Our counselors work hard to balance classes and fill student course requests. Schedule changes will be limited this year. Those requesting a schedule will need to fill out a Google Form with the request. Counselors will make schedule changes as they are able based on class size and balancing the schedule. 

Face Masks/Shields

State and Nebo School District guidelines require students and faculty to wear a face covering at school when physical distancing is not possible. Please ensure that students have a face covering to wear at school each day. Students will be responsible to appropriately wear a face covering throughout the day. Face coverings could be either a mask or face shield which properly covers the nose and mouth. We have purchased a cloth face mask for each student. The masks are in our school colors with a school logo on it. These face masks can be washed. Face coverings must be appropriate and not contain any inappropriate print or content. 

Visitors

All visitors to the school will be required to wear a face covering when entering the building. 

Cleaning

We have plans in place for increased cleaning and disinfecting of restrooms and high touch areas of the school throughout the day. Students will clean their desk, space, shared materials, etc. in each class at the end of each period. All classrooms will have a bottle of disinfectant spray and clean towels each day. Classrooms will also have hand sanitizer available. 

Physical Distancing/Signage

We have areas marked to help with and promote physical distancing. We have marked our hallways and entrances to help with traffic flow. Doors will be marked as either “enter” or “exit”. Additional signs will be posted to encourage physical distancing and proper hygiene. 

Lockers

To eliminate the need for students having to go to a locker between classes and to reduce traffic flow in the halls throughout the day we will not be auto assigning lockers to students this year. We will issue lockers by request only and will have a limited number of lockers available to avoid congestion in the halls. A Google Form will be sent for locker requests. Students will not be able to share lockers. 

Backpacks

Since we are not auto assigning lockers and, again, to reduce traffic flow in the halls, students will be allowed to carry backpacks to class with their needed items. Students should be able to go straight to their next class without the need to back track to go to a locker. 

Bell Schedule

In order to best facilitate physical distancing our bell schedule will be modified. We have added an additional lunch. Three lunches will allow for just one third of our students to go to lunch at a time instead of half. School will still begin and end at the same times each day. Bell schedules will soon be posted on our website: http://sfjhs.nebo.edu/content/parent-and-student-information. 

Chromebooks

Due to the need to disinfect chromebooks each time they are used throughout the school day we have determined that this year we are moving to one-to-one with chromebooks. All students will be issued a chromebook for their use throughout the year. Students will be able to take their chromebook home with them each day. Students will need to be responsible with their chromebooks by taking care of them and bringing them to school charged and ready for use in classes each day. We would like students to carry their chromebook in a backpack so it is protected and easier to keep track of. Please note that a fee will be assessed on a student’s account for chromebooks that are returned damaged at the end of the school year or not returned. 

Lunch

We will need to limit the number of students that eat lunch in the cafeteria to accommodate physical distancing. Students will be able to eat lunch in the outside halls of the school. We also want to encourage students to find a space outside to eat lunch on good weather days as much as possible. 

Drinking Fountains

Students and faculty will not be able to use the bubbler heads on drinking fountains. We have purchased touchless bottle fillers that will be installed on some drinking fountains throughout the school for student and faculty use. Drinking fountains that do not have a bottle filler will be turned off. We encourage students to bring a full water bottle to school each day and fill it with the bottle fillers as needed. Students can carry their water bottle in their backpacks throughout the day. Again, we are excited and looking forward to starting school and having our students back in the building. We appreciate all of the support we receive from our parents and guardians. We want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we have prepared for the start of school this year. Our goal is to provide our students with the best education possible while following the guidelines to keep them healthy and safe. We have an amazing faculty and staff and I want to express my gratitude for their efforts in preparing for the start of school as well. I am looking forward to a great school year!

Sincerely,

Chris Loveless

Principal