Update Center

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The District has been closely monitoring the health and safety of our students and staff.  We have become aware that an individual at St. George School has been diagnosed with COVID-19. The last time the COVID-19 positive individual was in the school setting while they were contagious was March 26, 2021. For COVID-19, the CDC defines a “close contact” as “any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.”  The parents/guardians of students who were in “close contact” with the person diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive a separate notification instructing them to have their student quarantined and not return to school for 14 days after the last exposure. Please understand that we cannot disclose the name of the person diagnosed with COVID-19.

Considering the positive diagnosis of COVID-19, all areas of the building and/or classroom potentially impacted are being cleaned and disinfected in accordance with recommendations from the CDC and IDPH. 

Please be aware that the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are a fever, uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, new onset of a severe headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea and/or vomiting and diarrhea.  Symptoms usually develop between 2 to 14 days after the last exposure. However, some infected persons never develop symptoms. For additional information please see: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

As a reminder, always keep your student at home if they are ill for any reason. If you have any questions, please contact the Principal, Christine Johnston.  Thank you for your understanding and ongoing cooperation with our COVID-19 prevention policies and procedures as we work together to keep our students, staff and families safe and healthy.

Sincerely, 

Helen Boehrnsen
Superintendent

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The District has been closely monitoring the health and safety of our students and staff. We have become aware that an individual at St. George School has been diagnosed with COVID-19. The last time the COVID-19 positive individual was in the school setting while they were contagious was March 11, 2021. For COVID-19, the CDC defines a “close contact” as “any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.” The parents/guardians of students who were in “close contact” with the person diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive a separate notification instructing them to have their student quarantined and not return to school for 14 days after the last exposure. Please understand that we cannot disclose the name of the person diagnosed with COVID-19.

Considering the positive diagnosis of COVID-19, all areas of the building and/or classroom potentially impacted are being cleaned and disinfected in accordance with recommendations from the CDC and IDPH.

Please be aware that the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are a fever, uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, new onset of a severe headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea and/or vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms usually develop between 2 to 14 days after the last exposure. However, some infected persons never develop symptoms. For additional information please see: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

As a reminder, always keep your student at home if they are ill for any reason. If you have any questions, please contact the Principal, Christine Johnston. Thank you for your understanding and ongoing cooperation with our COVID-19 prevention policies and procedures as we work together to keep our students, staff and families safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Helen Boehrnsen
Superintendent

Dear St. George School Families, 

I hope you and your family continue to remain safe and healthy. As we begin the final quarter of  the school year next week, we are excited to announce that full days of school instruction will  resume on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The return to full-day school instruction will provide our  students seven (7) weeks of full instruction before the summer break. Please note that Spring  Break dates are March 29 - April 2 for students. To provide for additional teacher planning for the  return to full-day instruction, Monday, April 5, 2021, will be a School Improvement Day. No  students will be in attendance and no remote learning will occur on April 5, 2021. 

The daily schedule beginning April 6, 2021, is: 

• ∙ Grades K-4: 7:50 a.m. until 2:35 p.m. (in-person or remotely) 
• ∙ Grades 5-8: 8:20 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. (in-person or remotely) 
• ∙ Pre-K: No changes to the current schedule 

If the lengthening of the school day changes your family’s transportation plans and your child now  needs to ride the bus, please call the school office at 815-933-1503 no later than Friday, March  26, 2021, so that arrangements can be made for a bus assignment. If you need additional  information regarding your child’s home arrival time, please contact our Transportation Director,  Mr. Clifton, at [email protected]. 

Additionally, we are pleased to announce that the concert band students will begin attending class  in-person on Monday, March 15, 2021. Ms. Stedman Conrad will provide additional details to  band students and parents. 

We look forward to providing full-day instruction for our students for the first time in more than a  year. We appreciate your cooperation, patience, and understanding as we transition into full  school day instruction. 

Sincerely, 

Helen Boehrnsen

Dear Parent/Guardian, 

The District has been closely monitoring the health and safety of our students and staff. We have become  aware that an individual at St. George School has been diagnosed with COVID-19. The last time the COVID 19 positive individual was in the school setting while they were contagious was February 26, 2021. For  COVID-19, the CDC defines a “close contact” as “any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person  for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior  to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.” The parents/guardians of students who  were in “close contact” with the person diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive a separate notification  instructing them to have their student quarantined and not return to school for 14 days after the last exposure.  Please understand that we cannot disclose the name of the person diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Considering the positive diagnosis of COVID-19, all areas of the building and/or classroom potentially  impacted are being cleaned and disinfected in accordance with recommendations from the CDC and IDPH. 

Please be aware that the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are a fever, uncontrolled cough that causes  difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, new onset of a severe headache, sore  throat, new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea and/or vomiting and  diarrhea. Symptoms usually develop between 2 to 14 days after the last exposure. However, some infected  persons never develop symptoms. For additional information please see: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html. 

As a reminder, always keep your student at home if they are ill for any reason. If you have any questions,  please contact the Principal, Christine Johnston. Thank you for your understanding and ongoing cooperation  with our COVID-19 prevention policies and procedures as we work together to keep our students, staff and  families safe and healthy. 

Sincerely, 

Helen Boehrnsen 

Superintendent

Dear St. George CCSD No. 258 Families, 

Please note a calendar change occurring this week. Thursday, February 25, 2021, will be a  Remote Instruction Day for all St. George School students. Students should plan to log-in  according to the schedule below. 

Instruction for all K-8 students today will take place synchronously (live and at the same time)  according to the following schedule: 

Grades K-4 - Students should sign into Google Classroom by 7:50 a.m. The live classroom  portion of the day will conclude at 12:00 p.m. Students will have an additional 50 minutes of  classwork to complete to meet the required five (5) hours of State mandated instruction minutes. 

Grades 5-8 - Students should sign into Google Classroom by 8:20 a.m. The live classroom portion  will conclude at 12:40 p.m. Students will have an additional 50 minutes of classwork to complete  to meet the required five (5) hours of State mandated instruction minutes. 

Prekindergarten - Students will receive an email from their preschool teacher for the day’s  assignments. 

6-8 Grade Band - Students should sign into Google Classroom by 7:45 a.m. 

On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, approximately 50% of the St. George School staff will be  receiving the second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Given the high frequency of mild to moderate  reactions to the second dose, concern exists that we may be unable to provide staffing for on-site  classes, busing service, and/or food service. This decision is being communicated to parents now  so that arrangements for child care can be made. Students who want lunch service will receive a  take-home sack lunch on Wednesday for Thursday. On-site instruction will resume on Friday,  February 26, 2021. 

Thank you for your cooperation and patience. 

Sincerely, 

Helen Boehrnsen 

Dear Parent/Guardian, 

The District has been closely monitoring the health and safety of our students and staff. We have become  aware that an individual at St. George School has been diagnosed with COVID-19. The last time the COVID 19 positive individual was in the school setting while they were contagious was February 4, 2021. For COVID 19, the CDC defines a “close contact” as “any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at  least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to  positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.” The parents/guardians of students who  were in “close contact” with the person diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive a separate notification  instructing them to have their student quarantined and not return to school for 14 days after the last exposure.  Please understand that we cannot disclose the name of the person diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Considering the positive diagnosis of COVID-19, all areas of the building and/or classroom potentially  impacted are being cleaned and disinfected in accordance with recommendations from the CDC and IDPH. 

Please be aware that the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are a fever, uncontrolled cough that causes  difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, new onset of a severe headache, sore  throat, new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea and/or vomiting and  diarrhea. Symptoms usually develop between 2 to 14 days after the last exposure. However, some infected  persons never develop symptoms. For additional information please see: Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html. 

As a reminder, always keep your student at home if they are ill for any reason. If you have any questions,  please contact the Principal, Christine Johnston. Thank you for your understanding and ongoing cooperation  with our COVID-19 prevention policies and procedures as we work together to keep our students, staff and  families safe and healthy. 

Sincerely, 

Helen Boehrnsen 
Superintendent

Dear St. George School Families,

As a reminder, St. George School will begin an extended day schedule on Monday, February, 1.

Students in grades K-4 will attend in person or virtually from 7:50 a.m. until 1:40 p.m., Students in grades 5-8 will attend in person or virtually from 8:20 a.m. until 2:20 p.m. The pre-kindergarten program will continue with its current schedule.

Students may either receive a free school hot lunch or bring a sack lunch from home. School hot lunches are currently free under the USDA guidelines until the end of the school year.

Sack lunches from home should have items that are easy to open for students. If the package is difficult for your child to open, please repackage the item. We have found that is particularly difficult for younger students to open Gogurts, fruits snacks, etc. Students who bring their own lunches may still purchase milk at $.35. Extra milk is not available for purchase at this time.

Bus home arrival times should be approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes (1:40) later than the current drop off time. If you need a more exact time for your student, please email Mr. Clifton at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Christine Johnston

Dear St. George School Families, 

I hope this message finds you and your family healthy. It has been the goal of St. George CCSD  No. 258 to return as much as possible to a full school day. While we are unable at this time to  return to a full schedule because of staffing limitations, beginning February 1, 2021, St. George  School’s attendance hours will be extended. Students in grades K-4 will attend in person or  virtually from 7:50 a.m. until 1:40 p.m. Students in grades 5-8 will attend in person or virtually from  8:20 a.m. until 2:20 p.m. The pre-kindergarten program will continue with its current schedule.  

The additional time meets the minimum 5-hour requirement for school instruction, therefore, the  50 minutes that were required to be completed at home in the afternoon will no longer be  necessary. Please note that your child’s teacher may still assign homework. 

Lunch will be served in the cafeteria and the gym with all students socially distanced. Trays will  be delivered to each student by food service workers. Disinfection of the individual eating spaces  will occur after each lunch period. 

If the lengthening of the school day changes your family’s transportation plans and your child now  needs to ride the bus, please call the school office at 815-933-1503 no later than Wednesday,  January 27, 2021, so that arrangements can be made for a bus assignment. 

We look forward to lengthening our school day to provide the best educational opportunities for  our students. We continue to seek ways to deliver a full day of instruction before the close of this  school year. 

Sincerely, 

Helen Boehrnsen

Reminder: Daily Certification 

Beginning on January 4th, the Student Covid-19  Certification form must be filled out every morning no  later than 7:00am. 

Step 1. Go to www.SG258.org 

Step 2. Under the Student-Parent tab you will login to the   PowerSchool Parent Portal.  

Step 3. Click on the Forms Icon. 

Step 4. Click on the blue Student COVID-19 form. 

Step 5. Complete the form, and click submit. 

All students who are returning to in person learning must complete this daily.

Thank you!

Dear St. George CCSD No. 258 Families,

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy. First, I would like to thank our families and the SG staff for their cooperation, understanding, and patience as we transitioned to fully remote learning on November 16. While the pandemic is still evident in our community, the county metrics at this time indicate a safe return to the hybrid model (in-person and remote) will be possible beginning January 4, 2021. The school day will resume on January 4, 2021, with the same schedule that was used during the fall semester.

Kindergarten - Grade 4 7:50 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
Grades 5-8 8:20 a.m. - 12:40 p.m.
A.M. PreK 7:50 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
P.M. PreK 10:40 a.m. - 12:40 p.m.

Kindergarten through Grade 8 students will continue to have 50 minutes of at-home activities daily to meet the state-required minutes of instruction. Please note that as I have stated throughout this year, the determination of hybrid or fully remote learning is fluid and can change at any time.

I continue to ask parents to notify the school if your student and/or family are required to isolate or quarantine. The guidelines for isolation and quarantine are still in effect. Please keep your student home if they are ill or have been exposed to COVID-19. Everyone in our community wants to do their part to keep our students, families, and staff safe and healthy.

Parents of students returning to in-person learning will be required to complete the health certification each morning before 7:00 a.m. Certification can be found in the Powerschool Parent Portal. Reminders will continue to be sent.

At this time, bus schedule changes are not anticipated. Please plan for your student to board the bus at the same time as they did before full remote instruction began. If your child is riding the bus for the first time this year, the transportation director will communicate the bus stop time and location with you.

As a reminder, the school will continue to take outside mask breaks throughout the day. Please ensure your student dresses appropriately every day.

I hope you and your family have a safe, happy holiday season. We look forward to seeing everyone on
January 4.

Sincerely,

Helen Boehrnsen

Dear St. George CCSD No. 258 Families, 

Thank you for your patience and understanding as St. George School transitioned to fully remote learning  on November 16. I understand this change in schedule is difficult for our families but was necessary to  mitigate the continued rise of COVID-19 cases within the greater community that had started to affect our  staff, students, and families. 

The hope for this adaptive pause was that positive COVID-19 cases would decrease during this time period.  While I am unaware of any new cases directly affecting our staff and students, the area in which we live  continues to experience substantial numbers of cases. While schools are exempt from the Governor’s action  last week to place the state in Tier 3 mitigation, it is necessary to extend our adaptive pause given the high  number of cases in our community. Therefore, fully remote learning for St. George School will continue  through the month of December. The tentative return to our blended model is planned for January 4,  2021.  

While I understand this extension may cause difficulty for our families, this continued adaptive pause in  conjunction with the Winter Break (December 21 - January 1) will hopefully provide time for the number of  positive cases in the community to decrease and allow us to return to blending learning on January 4. This  announcement is occurring now to assist families in making plans for extended childcare, if necessary. 

The tentative schedule through Winter Break is: 

November 30 - December 18 Fully remote learning continues 
December 21 - January 1 Winter Break 
January 4 Blended Model: In-person & remote learning begins (tentative)

As a reminder, children ages 18 years or younger living within the boundaries of the St. George Community  Consolidated School District No. 258 are eligible for free Grab & Go school lunches. To sign up your  child(ren) for the free Grab & Go school lunches, please complete the Grab & Go lunch form by clicking on the following link no later than 8:00 AM on the dates listed below:
Grab & Go Lunch Form. 

The distribution dates are as follows: 

• Monday, November 30 – Includes two lunches (for November 30 & December 1)
• Wednesday, December 2 – Includes three lunches (for December 2, 3, & 4) 
• Monday, December 7 – Includes two lunches (for December 7 & 8) 
• Wednesday, December 9 – Includes three lunches (for December 9, 10, & 11)
• Monday, December 14 – Includes two lunches (for December 14 & 15) 
• Wednesday, December 16 – Includes three lunches (for December 16, 17, & 18)

DISTRIBUTION FOR STUDENTS LIVING IN TOWN: Distribution will be provided by St. George CCSD No.  258 school buses at the bus stops and times listed in the table below. So that we don’t impede traffic, please  plan to be prompt at these times to pick up lunches. 

DISTRIBUTION FOR STUDENTS LIVING IN RURAL AREAS: Distribution for students who live in rural  areas of the District will be held curbside at the school from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Athletic Door  Entrance (Door 7) on the dates listed above. 

Thank you again for your continued support and cooperation as the district implements our procedures and policies related to the pandemic. The health and safety of our students, staff, and the extended community continue to be our first priority. 

Sincerely, 

Helen Boehrnsen 

Dear St. George CCSD No. 258 Families, 

Pick-up of student materials including packets, textbooks, and/or previously assigned  Chromebooks will be from 11:30 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. tomorrow, Monday, November 16, 2020, at the gym doors. Your student(s) items will be handed to you at the gym doors. Please only  send one adult per family to the gym doors. Masks are required. Please practice social distancing  while waiting outside in line. If you are unable to exit your vehicle because of quarantine or  physical limitations, please call the office at 815-933-1503 when you arrive, to explain your  situation, and someone will bring the items to you. 

If you have not previously requested a Chromebook for this year, you may email Mr. Bryan Wells  at [email protected] to make that request and complete the appropriate paperwork.  Arrangements will be made for you to pick up the device at a later date. 

Lunches will not be distributed tomorrow. Additional lunch information will be provided Monday  including how to obtain sack lunches at some designated bus stops beginning Tuesday,  November 17, 2020. 

Thank you again for your patience and understanding. 

Sincerely, 

Helen Boehrnsen