September 11, 2020
IMPORTANT LETTER FOR PARENTS
This message is from the Preble County Mental Health and Recovery Board and was sent to all Preble County Schools to share with parents.
It has come to our attention that a disturbing video showing a suicide in progress is being circulated across social media platforms, primarily TikTok. If possible, please limit your children’s access to social media until companies can remove the video from their platforms. The video features a middle-aged white man with a beard and glasses sitting at a desk. If you see this, turn off or pause the video IMMEDIATELY. The suicide video can be hidden in the middle of an unrelated video, so it is possible that your child may unwittingly be exposed while exploring the site. Therefore, it is our recommendation to limit access to all social media, including YouTube, for the time being. If you suspect your child has seen the video or is experiencing the after-effects of exposure to a traumatic event, please contact a mental health specialist for follow-up care. A full listing of Preble County Mental Health & Recovery Board’s contract care providers is available at
www.pcmhrb.org.
For immediate mental health support, contact Preble County LOCAL 24/7 Crisis Line at 1-866-532-3097, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
or Crisis Text Line by texting 4HOPE to 741-741.
FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH
Beginning Monday, September 14th, all Preble Shawnee students’ breakfast and lunches will be FREE through December (or until federal dollars run out, which don’t anticipate). This legislation was recently passed to assist families during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is nothing for families to do. When a student goes through the serving line, we will document the meal on a tally sheet. If the student would like to purchase additional items (i.e. drinks, cookies, etc.), they may still do so. We do need for families to still complete the federal Free/Reduced Lunch application. When this program ends in December, we need those families to be in our system so there is no break in assistance.
FACE COVERINGS
The students and staff have done an amazing job with our current COVID-19 reality. Kids are wearing face coverings, washing their hands and using sanitizer, and keeping distance from each other. If students are six feet or more apart, they can have a face-covering break. We are encouraging our staff to provide as many breaks as possible throughout the school day. We do have desk barriers in classrooms. This does provide the opportunity for breaks, depending on the activity. For example, if Teacher A is doing an activity where there is a lot of speaking and interacting where the kids would be less likely to have their faces not forward and possibly interacting with a neighbor, that would not be a good situation where the kids should have their mask off. However, if they are doing work at their desk that doesn’t involve interaction and speaking, that would be a good time for a break. In secondary classrooms, class sizes are low in some classes where masks could be off the entire period if they stayed seated. However, with larger class sizes, that proves difficult. If the secondary students are having difficulty getting in face-covering breaks, a solution may be to purchase desk barriers. We will gather data from our staff to see the best course of action.
BUS RIDERS
Due to COVID-19 procedures around seating charts, contact tracing, and spacing on school buses, we are permitting up to two pick up and two drop off locations. These locations must have prior approval by Transportation Supervisor Kitty Line. Students will not be permitted to ride home with friends. We must adhere strictly to the bus seating chart developed for each route.
REMOTE AND IN-PERSON SCHEDULE CHANGES
The first week of school has been a great success. The remote classes are in full swing and the classrooms and hallways are filled with kids. It is great to be back. We have had several families change their original selection of either remote or in-person learning. Due to class sizes filling up on both remote learning and in-person classrooms, we need to place a deadline on requests. Monday, September 14th will be the last day to make a request to change selections. Even with the request, principals will need to check class sizes to see if it is possible. We will work with families the best we can. If you remember when selecting Option 1 or Option 2, the selection was a semester commitment. Several weeks before the end of the semester, we will reach out to families to see if they would like to change their selection for the second semester.
FINAL FORMS
If you have not received your email from Final Forms to create your account, please email your building secretary at addresses/numbers below.