Alpine Union School District

REMINDER COVID testing will be held in the JMMS staff parking lot, Wednesday, October 20th between 7:30 am and 12:30 pm. Testing is open to members of the public. Please pre-register at https://www.covxlabs.com/prereg-form

Dear AUSD Families. One of the key things the pandemic has shown us is the importance of our relationships with friends, family, neighbors, and our school community. We have been reminded of the importance of our schools as both places of learning and also support for our students, families, and our Alpine community. I am truly proud of how our school community and Alpine have responded to the pandemic. At each crossroad, we have tried to place the priorities of our community first and foremost. We have consistently pushed to allow for more local control and fewer mandates from the state. At each opportunity, we have sought and successfully received waivers to open our schools, permission from the state to form learning pods, and served as a model for San Diego county. The pandemic has made the work of running schools much more complicated. In many ways, we must now function as a health department —something schools have never been asked to do before — while also continuing our efforts to connect students with the resources they need for learning and growth. Health protocols change often, sometimes daily, making our work in a state of constant change. We understand that families and students have strong emotions and questions about COVID-19 safety measures, including masks, vaccines, and testing requirements. We have continually voiced our desire to not have a one size fits all strategy from the state. We believe this type of strategy does not work for teaching and learning and it doesn’t work for determining how a school community should be able to respond to the pandemic. As you know, we were the only school district in San Diego county to open this school year providing parents the choice of whether their child should wear a mask to school. In addition, not only have we been open for in-person learning longer than any school district in San Diego, but we have also set the bar with being one of the first in the state to upgrade our HVAC systems, and were the first in the state and country to vaccinate our staff. In November we will also be the first school district to roll out Pfizer booster vaccines to all staff. Recently, posts on some social media outlets are suggesting keeping children home from school to protest a COVID-19 vaccine requirement announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom. While there are many differences in points of view on the vaccine issue, keeping students home would only result in lost learning time for our students. Our students had much-unfinished learning last year due to the pandemic. I urge those who feel strongly about the vaccine mandate to voice their concerns to the Governor and local officials and not place our staff in the middle of political decisions they have no input on. While we are being told that our school funding will not be impacted by absences, our children will be. Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Our district has no control over the proposed mandate, which would treat the COVID-19 vaccine similarly to the 10 vaccines on the list already required by California law for students attending K-12 schools. The mandate would not apply until COVID-19 vaccines are given full authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. Exemptions for both medical reasons and personal belief would be available unless the state legislature votes otherwise. From providing regular meals, safe spaces, emotional and mental health supports, trusted adults, and positive interaction with their peers, the importance of ensuring routines and consistency with school time can't be overstated. People may disagree about the methods schools are required to follow, but I hope we can all agree that keeping our schools safe and open is what's best for our students. Together, let's make sure your child has what they need to thrive and be successful in school this year. I will continue to advocate that our excellent track record of safety and our proactive work is a factor that should provide us more control over decisions. As always, I appreciate your continued support. Keep the faith! Sincerely Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth

We are excited about our first Lunch on the Lawn at JMMS tomorrow, October 7, 2021. We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that it does not rain. In the event our luck does not hold and we have to cancel it ,we will reschedule it for next Friday.

COVID testing for staff, students, and the community will be held on Wednesday, September 22nd from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm in the JMMS staff parking lot. Registration required! https://covxlabs.formstack.com/forms/prereg_alpine_schools

We are hiring for part-time and full-time positions. Do you have a passion for working with students? Positions include Child Nutrition Staff, Campus Safety Assistants, Instructional Assistants, Custodians, Health Clerks, Substitute Teachers...

Dear JMMS families, Some of you may have heard of a recent “challenge” on the social media app TikTok where individuals are encouraging others to steal or damage school property. The original video on TikTok now has over 11 million views and many re-creations. Here is one of the many articles detailing the challenge. Students are stealing things from their campuses such as soap dispensers, toilet paper holders, microscopes, signs, a box of hand sanitizer, teacher’s car keys, and damaging drinking fountains, toilets, fire alarms, and more. This is happening all over the country. However, our schools are not immune from such vandalism and theft, which is why we are reaching out. We have seen this challenge also reach our campuses and several of the bathrooms have seen vandalism occur. Our buildings are meant to be a safe, clean space for our students and staff and we will not tolerate the destruction and theft of school property. Replacing these items is very costly and takes precious time away from other priorities. Beyond this, our custodial team works very hard to serve our student population and keep our campuses clean and safe, especially with the increased risks from COVID-19. This “challenge” presents an opportunity to speak with your children about the appropriate use of technology and being socially responsible and kind. We ask that you please speak with your student and remind them that this “challenge” is criminal behavior, not an innocent prank, and will be dealt with accordingly. Let’s work together to put a stop to this now. We appreciate your support to keep our campuses safe by talking to your child about the adverse effects of peer pressure sometimes found on social media platforms. Sincerely, Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth

COVID-19 Testing scheduled for Wednesday, September @ JMMS is cancelled.

We are hiring in all departments!

As September 11 is approaching our schools are all taking a moment to honor those we lost, their families and our first responders. We will never forget!

CalFire will be at JMMS in the staff parking lot (behind the JMMS office) providing COVID testing today (Wednesday, September 8) from 9:00-4:00.

Important dates: JMMS picture day will take place on Tuesday, September 7 and Wednesday, September 8 i Students will take pictures during their PE class. Wednesday, September 8 is late start collaboration day. School begins at 8:30.

Chromebook insurance!

We are hiring!

We are hiring for many positions across the District including Bus Drivers, Child Nutrition Staff, Custodians, Instructional Assistants, Campus Safety Assistants, and more. For more information please call the District office at 619-445-3236.

Dear AUSD Families Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year. We are so glad to be starting the school year and are truly looking forward to welcoming each of your children to campus tomorrow. In the best of years, opening school is often stressful. However, opening schools in a highly politicized time creates tremendous pressure and demands. I ask that you give our staff the grace to figure out how everything will work, including adapting to using outdoor learning spaces and managing the many requirements and protocols. I also ask that you assume positive intentions. We truly want our students in school. Like all communities, there exists a range of opinions and political beliefs. In fact, it is one of the important qualities that makes Alpine such a unique and special place. I ask, however, that you keep the politics out of our schools. Tomorrow is for our students. They will have the chance to begin the time-honored tradition of beginning school, meeting and greeting new and old friends, learning alongside peers, going to recess and lunch and so much more. These are special moments that we want our students to experience and relish. Unlike many other schools across the county, you are welcome to walk your student to class in the morning if you wish. We ask that you stay only briefly at school and let us begin the first day of learning as quickly as possible. Our students have missed being alongside their friends and we want the day to be special. As a reminder, our staff will have masks and face shields available on campus for students needing them. Medical exemption forms will also be available in the school office. In addition, as you may have heard, many school districts are canceling or limiting their busing due to a lack of bus drivers. While we will continue to offer busing to our students, we are also facing a shortage of bus drivers. In fact, we are hiring for many positions across the District including Bus Drivers, Child Nutrition Staff, Custodians, Instructional Assistants, Campus Safety Assistants, and more. If you are interested in a position or know of someone, please have them call the District office at 619-445-3236. At present, many of our routes are reaching capacity and will only be able to expand if we are able to hire more drivers. Lastly, each year I am reminded that the first day of school is one of the happiest days of the year. Everyone - students, teachers, parents, and administrators - are filled with anticipation, hope, and excitement. I hope that we can once again ensure that tomorrow goes into our students’ memory banks as a great day. With your support, we will make that happen. Thank you again for your patience and continued support. Onward and upward! Rich Newman, Ed.D. Proudest Superintendent on Earth Alpine Union School District

COVID-19 Testing and Vaccinations @ JMMS

Substitute Teachers Wanted.

We are hiring enthusiastic and dedicated staff to join #TEAMAUSD. Custodians, child nutrition staff, instructional assistants, campus safety assistants, bus drivers, etc...

Registration for AUSD busing is now open. Students who plan to ride the bus must register via our online portal by August 6. The link is located on the AUSD website under the Transportation tab. For questions please email tbagalini-rogers@alpineschools.net.

Dear Parents/Guardians, Several days ago, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released updated guidelines for K-12 schools around the opening of the 2021-22 school year. There appears to be conflicting guidance causing confusion around masking requirements. The latest guidance, released on July 12, stated that masks are optional outdoors for all in K-12 school settings. However, students in grades K-12 would be required to mask indoors, with exemptions per CDPH face mask guidance. However, on July 13, it was reported in the news that CDPH has changed its guidance and will allow school districts discretion on how to enforce mask rules. As you can imagine, it is difficult to plan with ever-changing guidelines, recommendations, and requirements. Given the ever-changing nature of this pandemic, we once again expect the roller coaster of changing health protocols, requirements, and recommendations. Based on current conditions, if districts are allowed discretion over mask-wearing during the 2021-22 school year, AUSD will make masks optional for students. We, of course, will continually analyze conditions and respond accordingly and make changes to ensure that our students and staff are safe. Last year, our mitigation strategy, which did include mask-wearing, was very effective. We will continue virtually all of our safety protocols. This will include a requirement for temperature checks upon entering campus. Students will also continue to be assigned restrooms and hand-washing stations across campuses. Frequent hand hygiene practices will be encouraged. Continued sanitizing and electrostatic spraying will also remain in place. We will also continue to offer COVID testing options for students, staff, and parents. Last, with the ongoing and important conversation happening in our country—and in our own community—around opening schools safely, I want to remind us all that we take the safety of our staff, students and families, seriously. We also take the input of the community we serve seriously. Last year, early on in the pandemic we made a decision to open our schools because we believed it was our moral responsibility to provide in-person learning for our students when safe and possible. We took this responsibility seriously and were one of the first Districts to receive a waiver from the state and county to reopen, and were one of the first school districts in the county to actually reopen schools for in-person learning. We were also one of the first districts in the state to upgrade our ventilation systems, and we were also the first District in the state to fully vaccinate our staff, provide District-led learning Pods, and begin COVID testing for staff, students, and our community. We continue to believe that our students need to return to school and resume life in as regular a fashion as possible. We remain committed to opening our schools as safely as is possible given the ever-changing nature of this virus. While we are keenly aware that things will continue to evolve and change, we wanted to make sure our community knew where the Board and I stood in terms of mask requirements for students. We will continue to provide updates as necessary. Sincerely, Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth