“You must do the things you think you cannot do.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
Dear Charter Families,
Welcome! We are so excited to have you join us and to have the 2021-22 school year begin with the opportunity to see you and your students learning with our wonderful teachers on the Quail Hollow Charter School site.
It will be the first time in nearly 18 months that students have been able to have a full weekly schedule with their classmates on campus, learning together. Our focus is to make this year as joy-filled, creative, and collaborative as we can when we teach and support your student's academics. We use trauma-informed practices in the classroom as well as a focus on learning life skills to support students' academic learning. Our mental health counselor, Robin Bates, will also be supporting all students and teachers throughout the week.
We will be taking all necessary precautions to keep everyone safe, maintaining all Covid protocols recommended by the California Department of Public Health and the Santa Cruz County Office of Education throughout the year. Just as important, we will be monitoring the social-emotional health of your students as we renew and rebuild throughout learning together.
Our first day of school is just around the corner, August 17th.
- Nature Academy students will start their day at 8:45 each morning, with the school day ending at 2:10 to support students who take the bus. Most Mondays will have an extended day that ends at the tri-campus.
- Our various Hybrid Homeschool programs will have their parent orientation meetings to start the year, with the first weeks scheduled for 1-1 conferences and various online correspondences and learning opportunities.
You will be receiving a letter from your student’s teacher(s) soon, explaining in further detail what your student’s daily/weekly schedule will be.
For the first time in our 27 year existence, the Charter programs (except for our satellite program Mountain IS) will all be on the same site. Our teachers will be able to work together more easily and explore ways to deepen the collaboration between the various programs while holding true to the foundations and format of learning that each of you enrolled for.
We have a handbook that will be on our website and shared with your students during the first week of classes. For now, here is some essential information about general safety and protocols on campus:
Covid safety:
- Everyone on campus - staff, students, visitors - will be required to wear a mask when inside a school building.
- Masks will be optional when you are outside or in a room by yourself.
- By wearing masks indoors, students and adults who are exposed to COVID in a classroom do not have to quarantine.
- Gators or bandanas are not masks and do not protect you and others like an actual mask.
- We will have masks for any student who needs one.
- There is no requirement regarding vaccinations at school for students or staff.
- However, all adult volunteers working with students in the classroom or play areas, on field trips or school sponsored activities must be vaccinated.
- This does not apply to adults coming to a meeting with staff, as part of a parent booster club meeting, or as a spectator at an event.
- However, all adult volunteers working with students in the classroom or play areas, on field trips or school sponsored activities must be vaccinated.
- Each classroom where there have been students will be cleaned before the next school day.
- Quarantine recommendations for unvaccinated students for exposures when both parties were wearing a mask, as required in K-12 indoor settings: Unvaccinated students who are close contacts (more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period within 0-6 feet indoors) may undergo a modified quarantine as follows. They may continue to attend school for in-person instruction if they:
ii. Continue to appropriately mask, as required;
iii. Undergo at least twice weekly testing during the 10-day quarantine; and
iv. Continue to quarantine for all extracurricular activities at school, including sports, and activities within the community setting.
Any person who comes onto the campus must sign in at our Charter Office located in the central, main area of the campus.
Transportation:
- Students in grades K-8 can use the District’s bus transportation to get to and from the campus. Bus information and schedules can be found at this link. Bus Transportation; SLVUSD
- The bus will drop off students at the front of the District OFfice and pick up students at the top of Marion Avenue by our CRHS building (formally Ponderosa). I will be there to greet them and help manage the drop-off/pick-up.
- Students will use the stairs to walk up to the bus..
- CRHS students who are taking classes at the SLVHS: Transportation can be provided from the Tri-campus or to the Tri-campus in the middle of the school day. Please contact the Charter Administration (335-0932, [email protected]) or your teacher of record if you want to use this service.
Student Drop off, pick-up:
- All student drop offs and pick-ups must be made safely
- Parents with elementary-age students need to park and walk their students to their classroom and sign them in at their classroom.
- Middle school students can walk to their classroom where the teacher will take attendance or students will sign in.
We will have more drivers coming onto the campus, dropping off/picking up their students. Please help ensure the safety of our children by driving slowly, and staying with your young child when walking to and from your car. Older students, please do not run and watch for moving cars when you are in the parking area.
NOTE: The driveway down to the main campus is not designed for walkers and cars at the same time. Buses need to take wide turns to exit the transportation lot. Please use the stairs when going up and down from Marion Avenue to the central campus area.
Bikes:
- Any student who is riding their bike to the campus needs to park their bike at the top by the Coast Redwood High School building, along the side of the path, and walk down and up the steps to and from the central campus area.
Parking:
- Parents of elementary and middle school students can park in front of the District Office Building.
- CRHS students who are driving to classes can park in the front parking lot and walk up the stairs to the CRHS building.
Student Nutrition Services: FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH
- USDA has extended free breakfast and lunch to all students through the 2021-2022 school year.
- Meals will be serves from our Multi-use Room in the central area of the campus.
- Breakfast will be available in the mornings starting at 8:15-8:40.
- Lunch will be served, begining at 11:45 on Mondays, 12:10 Tuesdays-Fridays
- CRHS students can order lunch and it will be delivered to the CRHS building.
- More details are coming from our Student Nutrition Department. SLV Student Nutrition Services.
I wish I could say that magic happened over the summer and our new site is freshly painted and renovations are fully complete...but unfortunately the delay woes of Pandemic have impacted many parts of the move and site renovations. There have been some delays in the various reconstruction plans that are scheduled to rebuild the site, but this does not affect our ability to welcome your students into their classrooms and learning. Putting it in positive terms; our students and families will get to see the site transform over the year!
Our Parent Advisory Committee has been actively involved in our Charter and will continue to work in developing our Quail Hollow School site. The Parent Advisory Committees focus groups on Outdoor and Garden, Library, and Culture. We would love to have more parents from our various programs join this committee. I will be sending more information soon.
We have a lot of plans for the year! More information will be coming soon. Building community and maintaining strong communication and relationships amongst our families is a high priority for us.
You will be receiving weekly updates from your teacher/program as well as bi-monthly emails from me.
Until we see you soon, I hope all is well and you enjoy the last of your summer.