Joan MacQueen Middle School

Dear AUSD Families, I am pleased to share that while we have certainly experienced our share of challenges since returning from winter break on January 3rd, we continue to persevere and remain focused on student learning and ensuring our campuses are safe places to work and learn. Before providing some important updates, I would like to recognize the amazing efforts of our school staff and community. Time and time again, our AUSD staff have stepped up in the most difficult and challenging of times! I am deeply proud and honored to work alongside such an amazing group of individuals. Throughout December, the generosity of our community was also on full display. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the food drives and events that benefited those in need! STAFFING COVID continues to impact us with staff needing to isolate or quarantine due to COVID. All available staff are being shifted to cover openings where necessary and possible. We ask for your patience and grace as we continue to adapt to the impact of COVID. ENHANCED CLEANING We have enhanced our cleaning protocols and have doubled the number of times our campuses are electrostatically cleaned. We have also posted to hire an additional custodian to support our campuses. If you know of anyone interested in this or the many other positions we have available please have them look online or call the District office at 619-445-3236. MASKS We are providing approximately 6,000 disposable masks a month to students across the district. We ask that you please send your child to school with their own mask. IN-DISTRICT COVID TESTING COVID testing will continue to be available to all students, staff, families, and community members at our school sites. Testing will take place in the Joan MacQueen Middle school staff parking lot on Monday from 7:30-1:00 and in the bus loop from 7:30-12:30 on Wednesday and Friday at Shadow Hills Elementary school. We will work to expand hours if we need to accommodate more individuals. VACCINATION CLINIC We will be holding a COVID vaccination and booster clinic in the JMMS staff parking lot on January 19, 2022, from 7:30 - 10:30. More information will be forthcoming. MODIFIED QUARANTINE While the guidance from the California Department of Public Health and San Diego County change frequently, all students who are close contacts and do not have symptoms can remain in school with a negative test result taken within 24 hours of notification and on Day 5, 6, or 7. Keeping our schools safe and open for in-person learning is a community effort and will require action and commitment from each and every one of us. Thank you for doing your part and for your continued support and cooperation. In partnership, Dr. Rich Newman Alpine Union Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth

Dear AUSD Families, Happy New Year! As we begin 2022, I wanted to share a few important updates. Through Friday, we will provide a third and final opportunity for any parent who did not pick up a free At-Home COVID for their child test to pick one up in the front office of their child’s school. Please note that the tests are only for AUSD students and we do not have extras to give to those who already received one. We have also increased the number of COVID testing days at our school sites. For the next two weeks, we will be offering three testing opportunities. COVID testing will take place on Monday at Joan MacQueen Middle in the staff parking lot from 7:30-1:00 and on Wednesday and Friday in the bus lane at Shadow Hills Elementary from 7:30 -12:30. As a reminder, testing is open to anyone in the community. A COVID vaccine and booster clinic has also been scheduled for Wednesday, January 19 at JMMS. More details will be forthcoming shortly. As always, we appreciate your support! Stay healthy, Dr. Rich Newman Alpine Union Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth

COVID tests and testing

We have been in close contact with the Alpine Sheriff’s Department regarding the latest school threat Tik Tok Challenge. While there has been no threat made to any of our schools, there will be increased patrols in our community and around our school campuses. We take any potential threat seriously and appreciate our local law enforcement for their commitment to the safety of our students, staff and community.

Dear AUSD Families, We would like to clarify the information you received yesterday regarding the free and voluntary iHealth At-Home COVID-19 test. In the Alpine Union School District, these tests are NOT a requirement and are NOT mandatory. They are available for families in the school office that would like to pick up the test. They are optional and are offered as a courtesy to families who would like the option to test their child at home prior to returning to school in the new year. As always, we appreciate your continued support.

Free At Home COVID Tests

A message from AUSD!

Thank you Veterans!

Please check this coming week's Dust Devil Weekly Newsletter! Have a wonderful Halloween! https://www.smore.com/khpqn-dust-devil-weekly

What a fun day at JMMS. Our students really get into the spirit!

Dear JMMS Families, Let me begin by thanking you for your patience and grace as we dealt with the unexpected circumstances of a power outage. We fully expect to be open and welcome our students back on campus tomorrow, Thursday, October 28. Crews have been working all day and expect to complete the installation of new power lines early this evening. Please download our District App on the Apple or Google play store. It will ensure that you receive all of our messages and communications. Again, thanks for your patience. Let the learning begin once again! Sincerely, Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth Alpine Union School District

Dear JMMS Families,  Approximately one hour ago the Fire Department was called to Joan MacQueen Middle School (JMMS) due to an electrical short that caused an outage on campus. School at JMMS will be closed tomorrow as crews begin working to restore electricity and determine the cause of the outage. The electrical outage only affects the JMMS campus. All other campuses will be open and operating as normal.  Busses will not be running to JMMS tomorrow.  We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide updates tomorrow. A HUGE thanks to the Alpine Fire Department for once again quickly responding and ensuring the safety of our campuses.

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.

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.

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.