Dear Parents and Guardians,
Our Red Mill Team is excited to welcome students back to school! In the days leading up to our September 9th opening, our staff have been engaging in trainings and professional development and preparing classrooms for our students arrival. Our preliminary Re-Opening Plan is posted on our district website and in this link: Opening Plan. Many of our practices will be similar to last year.
During our first weeks of school, staff will be working with all students to review our procedures and safety protocols. Our models for social distancing, proper mask wearing and safe hand washing and sanitizing will be reviewed with the students. Our cafeteria will continue to have hand sanitizing stations, with additional stations located at the entry points leading in and out of recess. All classrooms and the cafeteria have individual desks spaced at a minimum of three feet apart. The district continues to employ additional staff in order to intensify our daily cleaning and disinfecting efforts. Everyone has contributed in preparing the building for our students safe return. We are ready!
This year we will no longer require completion of the online COVID Screening tool, but all families are expected to continue to monitor their children each day for any symptoms and keep your child home when ill. Please notify the school office by 9:30 a.m. if your child will be out of school for any reason. If your child is arriving late due to an appointment, you should also notify the Main office by emailing Mrs. Chiacchia at chiaccde@egcsd.org or by calling 518-207-2660.
Please remember to have your child bring their district issued Chromebook or tablet and the power chord back to school on the first day. Students in Kindergarten and Grade 3 will be be issued a new device at the start of the year. All devices will remain in school for the beginning weeks as we will be using them to complete our academic universal screenings.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures for Parents Driving Students have been emailed and are outlined in this link: Parent Transport Procedures. Please be patient during the first few days of school as we hone our procedures.
EGCSD will offer free meals to all students this upcoming school year. Details are provided in this link: Free Meals for All Students. Families who feel they are eligible for free and reduced meals are still encouraged to complete an application, as it provides additional benefits for families. September Menus may be viewed here: Breakfast Menu and Lunch Menu.
Inquiring minds would like to know….. and the answer is yes, Birthday treats will still be allowed to be sent into school, however they must be prepackaged or store bought treats. (No homemade cupcakes, etc.) There will be an area in our front entry vestibule designated for any items being dropped off to school and our staff will retrieve them for delivery to the appropriate classroom.
We are looking forward to our first week! If you have any questions, please reach out to me or your child’s classroom teacher via email or at (518) 207-2660. The printed District Calendar will soon be issued to families. Events upcoming are listed below.
Sincerely,
Helen Squillace
Principal
Upcoming Events
- 9/17 – PTO Welcome Back Picnic, 5 p.m.
- 9/21-9/28 – Scholastic Book Fair
- 9/22 – K-2 Open House, 6:30 p.m.
- 9/28 – 3-5 Open House, 6:30 p.m.
- 10/14 – Red Mill Great Apple Race