PCCS : Eriksson's Frog Pond Report ~ 1/2/22

Press release from Plymouth-Canton Community Schools:

01/02/2022 2:00 PM

Frog Pond Report ~ Sunday, January 2, 2022

 Happy New Year and welcome back!  I hope each of you had a healthy and safe holiday break.  

As we say good-bye to the strange and difficult year of 2021, I am so looking forward to 2022. Perhaps the most exciting change will be the opening of the new areas of our school that have been under construction since the spring. As of this message, we are scheduled to open these new areas of our school by mid-February.  Opening these areas will certainly cause some changes in procedure for our community, especially as it relates to office and building access.  Stay tuned for future Frog Pond Reports for updates.   

As we enter 2022, I am looking for parent representation on any interview committees that may be needed this year and throughout the summer.  Parent representation on our interview committees is tremendously important, as looking at potential new teachers or staff members through your lens helps us find the best candidates.  We have typically used PTO leadership in these roles, and our membership has done a great job lending parent voice.  This year, I am hoping to extend our reach.  If interested in serving on any future interview committees, please complete this short Google Form.  Thank you in advance.

Besides classes resuming on Monday, January 3, there are no other events for the coming week.

SCHOOL NEWS:

Again, thank you to our PTO and to all those who participated in this year’s Snowball Battle.  I received an updated total of money raised for our library.  I am excited to share that this event earned $1450.00, much higher than the $500 reported before the break.  Congratulations to Mrs. Napier’s class for being declared this year’s winner, only receiving 148 snowballs..  Thank you to Mr. Gutkowski’s class for being the target of the most snowballs, 485.  

DISTRICT NEWS:

Return to School

We continue to review data on the number of cases, as well as other key metrics in our local community and across the state, while working in consultation with local health departments in our decision-making processes. All public health organizations continue to emphasize the importance of vaccination, wearing a well-fitting mask in public indoor settings, and testing, along with physical distancing and hand-washing. Please refer to the P-CCS 2021-22 COVID-19 Mitigation Plan for detailed information about our layered mitigation measures.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated COVID-19 quarantine and isolation guidance for the general public, shortening the duration of quarantine and isolation under certain circumstances.  The Michigan Department for Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has indicated that it will be updating MDHHS guidelines for the general public to align with the revised CDC guidance, however, existing quarantine and isolation guidelines for K-12 schools remain in place until further notice.  Please refer to the P-CCS Close Contact Quarantine Protocol.

We will continue following our mitigation practices to ensure that students and staff have a safe return to learning on Monday with the goal of remaining in-person for families who have chosen that learning option. We appreciate your continued commitment to these strategies in all of our schools and programs, as our number one priority remains the health and safety of our entire school community. All families and staff are expected to perform at-home self-monitoring using the COVID-19 Daily Student Symptom Screening Tool, and stay home if exhibiting any symptoms. 

January 3 Schedule:

You may have received an email from the district letting you know that students and staff at PCEP will have a late start on Monday, January 3rd in order to provide refresher ALICE Training for staff as they return to in-person learning.  For those unfamiliar with PCEP, this is an acronym for “The Park”, or our combined three high schools (Canton, Plymouth, and Salem).  All elementary students should plan on returning for a regular school day with a normal 9:00 AM start time on January 3.

Inclement Weather Reminders

We want to make sure you are aware of our inclement weather protocol and how it affects the potential for school closings (Direct URL: https://www.pccsk12.com/i-want-to/find-out-about-a-school-closing) 

Our process remains the same as previous school years in that, if schools are closed due to inclement weather, it means there will be no instruction or programming for the day for all students. This includes both Safe Start and Virtual Academy students. All schools will be closed, and all remote learning will be canceled for the day as well. 

District families and staff will be advised via robocall as well as our other communication platforms (mass email, official district website, P-CCS Mobile App notification, etc.), and local television and print local media also will be informed.

Transportation ~ Proactive Suspension and Rotating Routes Planned:

Beginning January 10, 2022, we will rotate the suspension of 12 uncovered routes every two weeks. This plan will continue until such time that an adequate number of drivers are in place to reliably cover all routes.  The purpose of this plan is to make suspensions more predictable (and fair) for all families while reducing delays and last minute cancellations in daily routes. Please note that state-mandated Special Education bus routes will not be canceled or suspended. 

Our plan is to rotate routes every two weeks, starting with bringing back the routes that have been suspended since the beginning of the school year. Once these routes are back up, they will be exempt from a planned suspension for the remainder of the school year.  I am providing this quick reference to the impact the rotating schedule will have on ERIKSSON buses.  For more information, please click on this link:  https://www.pccsk12.com/Home/Components/News/News/24544/19?backlist=%2f

Round 1: 1-10-22 through 1-21-22                                                                                                                     

• Route 64 Bus 75G RED BUS - High School, Pioneer, and Eriksson                                                                 

Round 2: 1-24-22 through 2-4-22 

• Route 5 Bus 61 PURPLE BUS - High School, Liberty and Eriksson                                         

Round 3: 2-7-22 through 2-18-22 

• None  

Round 4: 2-21-22 through 3-4-22                                        

• Route 19 Bus 78 GREEN BUS – High School, Liberty and Eriksson                                   

Round 5: 3-7-22 through 3-18-22 

• None  

 While we are not able to guarantee there won’t be additional suspensions/rotations of routes due to unexpected circumstances, the goal is to significantly reduce the frequency of last-minute suspensions or significant delays.  This will provide more timely notice of scheduled route suspensions so that alternative plans can be made.

Securly Home:

P-CCS is excited to announce that parents/guardians now have access to Securly Home. The district has been using Securly, an online content filter, to filter district-issued Chromebooks for about four years. P-CCS has now expanded its contract with Securly to offer new and enhanced features, such as Securly Home, at no cost to families. Using Securly Home, parents/guardians can monitor and restrict the content that their students can access on their district-issued devices..

All P–CCS families have/or will receive an onboarding email from Securly with instructions on how to enroll with Securly Home and link your account to your student(s). Please note that the email you receive will be from noreply@securly.com. Please also be sure to check your spam folder if you do not see the email in your inbox. The Securly Home portal will be accessible via app (Apple Store and Google Play Store), as well as web browser (https://securly.com/parent-login). After you have logged into the portal, you will have access to the following:

We are excited to bring this new feature to you and expect it to roll out without any issues. However, if you have any questions or concerns, first please check out the FAQs on the Securly Home help site or submit a support ticket with Securly. If further assistance is still needed, please contact your school’s technology support team.

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools produces a weekly podcast with all the important district information for students, staff and families.  You can view the latest LPT in 3 podcast on the district’s official YouTube channel at:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOBLPrc4Mv26ZjcwupviqChIK0p7xEWp-

As always, I thank you for your attention to this message, and again, Happy New Year!!! 

Sincerely,

Kevin M. Learned, Principal

kevin.learned@pccsk12.com

(734) 981-6995

P-CCS COVID-19 Toolbox

This press release was produced by Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.