Casey-Westfield CUSD #C-4

Monroe Parents: Chromebook distribution for any student at Monroe, in grades K-6 who have selected Remote Learning, will be on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, from 8:00 am - 11:00 am at the Monroe gym lobby doors.

Monroe Parents: Chromebook distribution for any student at Monroe, in grades K-6 who have selected Remote Learning, will be on Wednesday from 8:00 am - 11:00 am at the Monroe gym lobby doors.

Schedules have been completed and are being made public at both schools. I just want to explain the jr/sr high school schedule. I understand there are some that think it will be difficult to keep track of and that it may not be ideal for some situations regarding childcare for junior high students. This is a schedule that best suits our students and staff. We feel that having set days of the week that students attend is not going to be beneficial. Since there are 5 days in a week, one of those days would have to be alternated between the purple and gold groups under that plan. The alternating day would likely cause some inconsistency and may not be as productive. Due to lost school time last spring and the time we are losing with daily early dismissals, we cannot afford to lose anymore rigor in our school days. The "two on, two off" schedule will provide more educational consistency, will allow teachers to keep multiple sections of their classes close together and on track, and will eliminate an alternating odd day. If the "2 on 2 off" route isn't going to work well with your family's schedule, you have the option of going to fully remote learning at any time throughout the year. We are also planning to have an after school study hall for students that don't have a place to go after school dismisses for the day. This will especially benefit athletes that are waiting for a game or for practice to start. We aren't sure on the exact time students will be able to stay until but it should be close to 3:15-3:30. More information will come out soon.

Full remote learners are grouped into their own separate team. Scheduling information will be shared with them early next week. We apologize for any confusion this has caused.

An email has been sent to junior high and high school students indicating if they are in Group A (Gold) or Group B (Purple). The email has also been sent to the parent/guardian email that is listed in Teacher Ease. Please be sure to read the email for information regarding grouping and schedules for the upcoming school year.

The board officially approved our back to school plan at last night's board meeting. We are continuing to modify and improve our plans as we approach the first day of school on Aug. 21. Please be aware that the free summer meals program will end on Thurs., Aug. 20 so you will be charged for meals beginning the 21st. We ask all parents to bring their students to school as much as they are able to this year to limit exposure and to help us comply with the 50 person limit on our buses. We are also going to require that parents check temperatures of all students daily and ensure they are under 100.4 F before they are sent to school. We cannot allow anyone with a fever in our classrooms. We have enough face coverings to supply every student with one but that may not be enough. We ask that you supplement clean face coverings for your students daily. We are just 10 days away. Let's get our students prepared by setting them up to succeed and by making the most of this year!

REMINDER: Online registration for returning Casey-Westfield C4 students will be closing on Friday, August 7, 2020. If you have not completed your online registration, please login to the Parent Portal to complete your students registration.

REMINDER: Online registration is open until Friday, August 7, 2020. Please login to the Parent Portal to complete your students registration for the upcoming school year. Thank You!

News is out from the IHSA. Read their plan via the link below. https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/823468/Return_to_Activities_1.0_from_7.29_Board_Meeting__1_.pdf

In-person registration scheduled for Thursday August 6th, 2020 has been cancelled. If you need assistance with online registration please contact the building secretary. To pay your fees, either drop the payment in the box provided at the main office doors in each building or mail the payment to one of the buildings (see the addresses below). Your registration is not complete until payment is received. Monroe Elementary, 301 E Monroe, Casey, IL 62420, 217-932-2178: Jr-Sr High School, 306 E Edgar, Casey, IL 62420, 217-932-2175

Our return to school plan is still in draft mode but we are ready to share the details. It's expected that if changes are made, they will be minor. Please have a look. The link is below. If it doesn't work, you can locate this document on our web page under "menu" then "COVID-19 information". https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/816505/COVID19_back_to_school_plan_with_school_plans_7.27.20.pdf

BREAKING: Per IESA, all junior high fall sports have been cancelled. There is no indication suggesting that these contests will be made up in the Spring. Decisions will be made regarding winter sports in the weeks ahead.

BACK TO SCHOOL DETAILS Our back to school plan is not yet complete but we want to share a few details while we are finishing things up to give you time to weigh your choices. The first day of school for students has been pushed back to Aug. 21. Please keep in mind this plan is still tentative. You will likely have two options for learning this year. 1. All remote learning. 2. Face to face learning. State guidelines will require face coverings in all Illinois schools. PK-6 will be in school every day with a 1:45 dismissal. The after school program will be available. For 7-12 students, we will be running a schedule that is half in person and half remote. Students will typically come 2 days one week and 3 the next. They will be dismissed at 1:55 on days they come to the building. The days they are not in the building will be remote learning days for them. The schedule and class lists are still being developed but will be published as soon as they are completed. Many more details will come out in the days ahead as we finalize plans and as state guidance is updated. Your patience is very appreciated, but we know you will have questions. Online registration is scheduled to begin tomorrow and will be open for a couple weeks. We will need to know your intentions so we can plan accordingly. Thank you!

How about some good news? All school activities may resume starting tomorrow (Wed., July 22). The state's guidelines will still apply.

A letter from Sarah Bush regarding doctor notes.

From the Superintendent of Schools: Here is an update for you in regard to the 2020-2021 school year. The district's planning commission for the return to school met again last night. The plan is still incomplete at this time but I assure you that every member of the commission has the best interest of our students at heart and we should take pride in this as a community. We have enough ideas considered to begin authoring the plan but there is no date set for completion as of yet. We hope this will be soon but it cannot be stressed enough that your patience and cooperation continue to be at the forefront as this is an extremely difficult situation to navigate for all that are involved. We have heard opinions from many people and feel that the community is well represented with those thoughts. We thank you for your continued support, prayer, and positivity during this unfortunate time. Our plans will be accomodating and supportive of the diverse needs of our familes. We still have some details to finalize but we will release the plan when it is completed and approved.

RETURN TO SCHOOL PLAN Here is the latest on what is going on in the district. By now, you are probably aware that we have cancelled any face to face contact with our students/athletes until further notice as advised by the Clark County Health Department. For our driver education classes, we will either be resuming when our health department feels it is safe to do so or we will look at finding an online option to complete the classroom portion of the class. More information will be dispersed when we have updates on the situation. As for plans this fall, a back to school commission was formed and met this week. Members of the team include board members - Casey Overbeck and Tracy Gelb, school administrators - Jim Sullivan, Linda Campbell, Kacie Rhoads, Chris Seaton, and Jon Julius, nurses -Amanda Mumford and Megan Parcel, teachers - Cheryl Johnson, Jennifer Harris, Kim Evans and Betsy Collins, community members - Jason Garver, Laura Livingston, Adam Shoaff, and Missy Davidson. This commission has been charged with making recommendations to the board of education on policies that will be implemented for our return to school this fall. Commission members have come up with questions for a survey that was sent to parents yesterday via email through the district's software program. Everyone with an email address in the system should have access to the survey which is requesting their opinions. If you are a parent, please complete this survey by Monday. Only one survey per household is requested. Information will be used from this data to make quality and informed decisions. Please note that everyone has a different opinion and it will be an extremely difficult task to implement policies that represent the opinions of all stakeholders. The state restrictions will make our local opinions and feelings go unheard on many fronts and further increase the difficulty in implementing sound, locally- supported policies. Due to liability and insurance ramifications, the guidance must be followed in order to protect the district. This current guidance can be found at https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Part-3-Transition-Planning-Phase-4.pdf. Please note that parts of this guidance have already been modified and there is speculation that it will change again before school begins, which makes planning quite tedious. In short, please know that we are doing everything we can to provide a quality education for our students with the cards we are being dealt. This challenge is tremendous and your continued support, patience, and understanding is ever so appreciated! Please continue to check our Facebook page or website for additional information that will be published in the upcoming days as we have it.

Per Clark County Health Department recommendation, all athletics and driver education courses are cancelled until further notice. We will continually be assessing this situation and giving updates as changes arise.

Congrats Class of 2020! Attached is the recording of this year's CWHS Graduation Ceremony. Graduating Seniors can pick up a copy of the ceremony at the high school main office. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOFzF0m1xB4

Monroe's After School Care Program (ASC) will be offered again this coming 2020-2021 school year! Any student in kindergarten through sixth grade may attend. The cost is $5 per child, per day. Program hours are 3:00 pm-5:30 pm, Monday-Friday. This program will operate on full school days only. It will not operate on early dismissal days or when school is cancelled due to weather. As you work through your plans for day care for the upcoming school year, please consider this option as well. Any questions, please ask! You may reach me at Monroe, 217.932.2178 or linda.campbell@caseywestfield.org. You may also contact Kacie Rhoads at kacie.rhoads@caseywestfield.org.