Joan MacQueen Middle School

Dust Devils: If you have not registered for your child's bus pass please do so now. The Website is https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KU-Byu69GDDbPxH6csZcPJaIgJcJMFT48WLfJ-TRffM/viewform?ts=5f0cb09c&edit_requested=true

Dear AUSD Families, We are excited to share that next Monday we will begin phase two of our reopening schools plan with students returning to our campuses for face-to-face learning. At each school site, one cohort of students have been assigned to attend school for face-to-face learning on Mondays and Tuesdays, and another cohort of students will attend school on Thursdays and Fridays. Distance learning will continue to occur online the days in which students are not on campus. Those students in a complete distance learning environment will also continue their learning online. CONNECTION Since schools closed on Friday, March 13, 2020 we have continued to be concerned about the social and emotional well-being of all of our students. We also realize that with the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, parents may opt to move back and forth between face-to-face and distance learning during the year. In fact, one of the biggest concerns we have heard from families is the fear of losing their connection to their school and teacher this year if they choose to have their child participate in face-to-face or distance learning. We have intentionally designed our hybrid learning model around building and maintaining relationships and connections by having students remain in a class that is stable and consistent throughout the year and not have students switch back and forth between a different distance learning and face-to-face teacher. Each class will comprise both face-to-face and distance learning students. Since approximately 84% of our parents have chosen to have their child return to face-to face learning there is not a large number of students who prefer only distance learning. GRAB AND GO MEALS We will continue to provide free Grab and Go meals for all children 18 and under at JMMS each Monday. LUNCH Each school will continue to provide bagged or boxed lunches for students. We ask that you use our online portal to prepay for lunches, which is located on our website. BUSSING We will continue to provide bussing for students to school albeit will be slightly reduced this year. Similar to most districts, the Board has approved a transportation zone that would provide home to school transportation for students who live 1 ½ miles or more from school. All students will be required to wear face coverings on the bus and will be socially distanced as much as possible. Registration for bussing can be accessed via our district website. FACE COVERINGS When we return to school for face-to-face learning, all students will be required to wear a face covering (face mask or shield). Students may remove their face coverings during lunch, PE, and recess but will be required to have them on while in the classroom, even when sitting behind the plastic desk dividers. Only students that meet one of the exemptions outlined in the California Department of Public Health Guidelines and have the required medical documentation will be exempt. Previously, we shared that face coverings would only be required for students in grades three and above. We made the change requiring all students to wear face coverings for the following safety concerns. First, we set a goal of opening our schools for face-to-face learning and want to ensure we do everything in our power to keep our schools open and operating. Many of our staff have also shared concerns about contracting COVID-19 and want to be able to feel safe and comfortable so that they can focus on teaching and learning. Classroom schedules have also been designed to ensure students are not wearing a face covering for longer than two hours at a time without a break. WELLNESS We ask that you monitor your student for any signs of illness each day such as cough, shortness of breath, runny nose and fever at home before coming to school. Anyone with a fever of 100°F or more should not go to a school site. Those experiencing symptoms including persistent cough, shortness of breath, or runny nose should not attend school, even if no fever is present. We know next week will be filled with excitement and nervousness. We look forward to this next phase in reopening our schools, and as always, appreciate your continued support. Lastly, if you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to your child’s principal. Stay well, Dr. Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth

Dust Devil Update: To make the transition to hybrid more seamless, we have postponed the schedule changes set to take place tomorrow. They are now going to take place on Friday Evening. New schedules will be available on StudentVUE and ParentVUE Saturday morning, until then both websites will be down. Students will continue with their current schedule through Friday. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility; this is new for everyone.

We remember and honoring the victims of the #September11 attack. #UnitedWeStand

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE This is Joan MacQueen's Proud Principal, Casey Currigan. JMMS Weekly Update 9/11/2020 https://www.smore.com/rt1wc I am excited to have students return to campus on the 21st. The last six months have been challenging and the wildfires over the last week have added to our challenges. I hope that with this being the 19th anniversary of 9/11, we take the time to remember all of those who perished on 9/11 and the incredible sacrifice of our heroic first responders. We are all capable of incredible empathy when we join together. I was able to see this first hand as the people of Alpine and its surrounding communities came together this last week around the Valley Fire. Stay Strong Alpine! In this week's newsletter, I have enclosed a ton of valuable information about the reopening of Joan MacQueen. Please take the time to read and watch the information, then have a conversation about the content with your child. The last thing that any of us want is to open and then have to close school back down. Please note that there will be some schedule changes resulting from trying to even out class size. We have done everything that we can to minimize the impact on students. Families will be notified this weekend if there child's schedule will change. Additional information about bussing and the hybrid schedule will be forthcoming. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. P.S. The JMMS Reopening Plan is a video for you to watch and all of the images in the newsletter will expand if you click on them.

Reopening Presentation given to the Alpine School Board https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nbdtEwXtWdkjptD6krLUMaiWhmjAk2BH/view?usp=sharing

Dear AUSD Families, We are continuing to monitor the Valley Fire situation very closely. Given the active nature of the fire, San Diego County Sheriff Gore and the Office of Emergency Services, are encouraging all of us to be prepared to evacuate with very little notice. The fire has tripled in the last four days, and Santa Ana winds are expected to impact our community beginning this evening. We realize that many of our students, families, and staff have been impacted by the Valley Fire. We are here to help and assist in any way possible. Please reach out to us if we can be of any assistance. Joan MacQueen remains an active temporary relocation center for community members and their pets. All District personnel, other than essential staff, will be working from home for the remainder of the week. Distance Learning will continue but our staff are mindful of what our students need at this time, and will be available to provide the support necessary. Lastly, I want to take a moment to remind each of you to review your evacuation plan, be prepared, stay informed and sign up for updates at www.readysandiego.org. We will get through this together united as one community. Stay safe, Dr. Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth

Joan MacQueen Middle School remains open as a temporary evacuation center. We have A/C, food , water, restrooms, and wifi. Yes, animal friends ARE welcome! #AlpineStrong #United #OnwardandUpward

Tuesday (9/8) - AUSD will be providing FREE Grab and Go Meals for the week for all children 18 and under @ JMMS from 11:00 - 12:00 pm. #AlpineStrong #UnitedWeStand

Good Evening Alpine, I am sure that this isn’t the Labor Day that we had all envisioned on Friday. 2020 has reared its ugly head once again. We are going to have school tomorrow for those who still have power and have not been displaced by the Valley Fire. We have counselors available for social-emotional support. Additionally, JMMS is a Red Cross Temporary Evacuation Center if your family needs support with food or shelter. Representatives from the Humane Society are also on-site if you need help with your pets. God Bless! Stay Safe Alpine!

We have opened up Joan MacQueen Middle School gym. The gym is air conditioned and we have wifi, food, restrooms and water. We also welcome your pets. Red Cross is on site setting up. #AlpineStrong

#ValleyFire Update: Overnight, the Red Cross team provided safe shelter for three families affected by the fire. The Temporary Evacuation Point at JMMS has closed. The Temporary Evacuation Point at Steele Canyon remains open.

JMMS Weekly Update https://www.smore.com/9frjb I can't believe it is already Labor Day. The weather report for the weekend is HOT! So make sure you take steps to stay healthy and safe. Planning throughout the State is in overdrive, and the staff of Joan MacQueen is no different. In the upcoming week, you will receive a significant amount of information about the reopening of school on the Hybrid schedule. Tuesday, September 8th - Communication will be sent home to notify parents and students if they attend classes on Monday/Tuesday(September 21st) or Thursday/Friday(September 24th) in the Hybrid Schedule. This information will also be posted in your child's Learning Strategies Google Classroom. On Wednesday, September 9th, all AUSD schools will present their reopening plan to the AUSD School Board. Thursday, September 10th - Board Presentation will be posted on the JMMS website. On Friday, September 11th - Specific guidelines and procedures are being sent home via the weekly update to assist the transition back to in-person learning. If you change your mind about the learning environment that you would like your child to participate in, please email ASAP. We expect some schedule changes. However, at this time, schedule changes only affect the Learning Strategies Classes.

We are excited to once again welcome our youngest students back on campus. Today, our preschool students began face to face learning. We look forward to all students returning in the near future. #onwardandupward #learningtogether #Alpine

This is Joan MacQueen's Proud Principal, Casey Currigan. Week one is under our belt, and overall, I think everyone did a great job. Thank you for remaining calm when your child was struggling and needed help logging in to Google, or Zoom wasn't working. As a member of Joan MacQueen's tech support, remaining calm always helps the process move forward. Over the last week, we have all learned a lot about Google Classroom, Pear Deck, IXL, SORA, and countless other apps and programs our teachers use to provide instruction. Good Job Dust Devils! Read the Entire Newsletter at https://www.smore.com/7txkc

As we continue to plan for the reopening of our schools we want to ensure we have an accurate accounting of each student’s preferred learning model. We will be offering students the option of participating in Distance Learning, returning to school for face-to-face learning in the A/B Day hybrid model, independent study, or our home school program. We realize that you may have rethought which learning model you want your child to participate in. If you would like to make a change to the model your child will be participating in when we reopen our campuses on September 21, please contact the school office by Wednesday, September 3.

Dear AUSD Families, I am thrilled that the 2020-2021 school year is finally underway. Our goal of reopening our schools for face-to-face learning is now close to reality. For the last several months, we have been preparing for the return of our staff and students to campus. We have developed and updated our reopening schools plan with every new public health order. We have purchased pallets of hand sanitizer, face coverings, personal protective equipment, electrostatic cleaners, Chromebooks, new digital books and tools, and much more, all with the goal of reopening our schools with a sound plan in place. We are also finalizing an agreement with the San Diego County Office of Education to provide free hotspots to our families who do not have reliable internet access. To ensure that we had the option to open our schools, even if San Diego remained on the county watchlist, we submitted an Elementary School waiver. Yesterday, we were notified that the county and state approved our waiver. In fact, we were one of only four public school districts in San Diego county to receive a waiver approval. We have reassigned many of our staff, including bus drivers, instructional aides, and food and nutrition staff, to support our families in our Extended Student Services child care program. We were also the first school district in the state of CA to design and develop a Learning Pod option for our parents. In short, we have been focused on adapting our district to meet the challenges our families face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While our goal is to open our schools, we want to do it in a way that ensures the health and safety of our staff, students and families. We have designed a gradual re-entry plan that will allow us to begin to open our schools on September 2 with our Preschool Special Day Class being the first to return for face-to-face learning. Our goal is to ensure that all of our planning and procedures have a chance to be put into practice and tested before we bring all students back on campus. On September 21, we will begin our hybrid learning model with all students returning to campus in the A/B Day learning model. More information will be forthcoming regarding days in which students will be attending. Having our staff and teachers feel safe is critical to our goal of ensuring the opening of our schools is done with care for our entire community. When we return to campus, all students in grades TK-8 will be required to wear a face-covering unless they qualify for one of the exemptions specified in the CDPH face-covering guidelines. With a gradual re-entry plan, we feel confident that we can monitor the success of our social distancing and sanitation measures, make adjustments as needed and ensure that everyone is as safe as possible. While there is much work that has gone into our reopening plan, there is much work ahead. I have asked our staff to assume positive intentions in all our actions and to create a working and learning environment that supports everyone. Lastly, as we move forward and open our schools, I also ask that each of you join me in supporting our students and staff as we all work together to make our community proud of the way we respond in reopening our schools. With great respect and hope for the future, Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth

6th and 7th Grade Textbook Distribution Wednesday, Aug. 26th from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm. More information is available at https://www.smore.com/ng3kr

Attention Alpine Families! Zoom is down across the United States. We are aware of the problem and we are looking for solutions.

Back to School Night Scheduled for August 25th at 6:00pm https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/875406/2020_BTSN.pdf