Mt. Baldy School Memo

Dear Mt. Baldy Families,

There is so much information we have to share with you! We have had to rethink every aspect of our program for distance learning, and honestly, it seems we find a new thing we need to change daily. We thank you for your gift of patience and flexibility as we work together during this significant transition.

There will be frequent Memos coming your way in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for them. Information will also be posted on our website as well. If you ever have a question, please feel free to email or call us, too,

We have been working hard in revamping our program for distance based learning. This is one time being multi-grade was not an advantage for our program. Our school schedule this year reflects our goal to assure that there were no conflicts for synchronous (online) instruction in households with multiple children attending our school. Also, the distance based schedule replicates the blended learning model, in order to provide a smooth transition once it is determined by our state and local agencies it is safe to do so. The blended learning model has student cohorts attending school two days a week in order to effectively address any potential COVID exposure concerns.

The amount of instructional minutes in school will be be reduced this year, due to legislative ruling, in order to reduce the amount of time students are on campus to reduce COVID exposure when we go into blended learning.

For distance learning, school begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m.,, with breaks in the middle, depending upon the grade level. A combination of synchronous (online) instruction and independent study and activitiesequaling three hours of instruction for Kindergarten, and four for all other grades, will occur daily.

Unlike during the emergency closure we encountered in the spring, we will be taking attendance daily and also monitoring your childrens progress on Common Core State Standards. Teachers will be seeing their students daily and providing frequent feedback to students and families. Teachers will also want to support you, our educator partners, as we work together to educate our students.

The grade level distance learning schedules can be found below.

We are excited to start the school year with our students and you, our learning partners.

We are having our first instructional material pick up day on Thursday, August 20. We have scheduled the pick up windows by class to reduce the number of people on campus at one time.

Please remember to wear masks and practice 6 foot social distancing.

With the exception of Kindergarten, teachers will not be on campus, but your children will be meeting with their teachers virtually!

8:00 -- 10:00 a.m. First, third, fifth and sixth grades

11:00 -- 12:00 Kindergarteners, pick up your materials and meet Ms. Cate

12:00 -- 2:00 p.m. Second, fourth, seventh and eighth grades

2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Families with multiple students and make up second chance for instructional material pick up

If you are unable to pick up your child(ren)’s materials during the times listed, please contact Nancy Sirski at 909-985-0991 to arrange a pick up time that will work for you.

Mt. Baldy School provides both print and online instruction. While we are in distance learning, we will have scheduled instructional material pick up days. It is very important to pick up your children's material, as these materials will be needed for your children's lessons.

It will be exciting for your child to receive their materials. This is a great time to teach your child that these materials are special school property that need to be kept together in one spot for learning activities. Please know that when we transition to blended learning, you will be expected to have your child bring these materials back to school to be used in the classroom, so please take care in making sure items are not lost or misplaced. Parent/guardians will be charged to replace lost textbooks or consumable workbooks.

The office will be staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning in August.

We are thankful to have received a small number of Chromebooks through a donation from Office Depot this summer. We want to loan the laptops to families that are in need of a computer for their child to use, or, in the case of families that have multiple children who attend our program, enough laptops to assure they are able to complete their work. If you would like to borrow a laptop, please contact Nancy Sirski at the school at 909-985-0991

August 13, 6:00 p.m. school board meeting via Zoom. Please email nancy_sirski@mtbaldy.k12.ca.us for a link to the meeting

August 20, 2020 First day of virtual instructionfor students. Come to school and pick up your child's instructional materials.

August 26, Wellness Wednesday. Whole School Welcome and Introduction of our new Kindergarteners and Eighth graders via Zoom. Details to follow...

A number of our families opted for the BASEcamp home-based instruction for this year. These families will have their students learning through a seperate learning platform, but will still have communication and support from an appointed Mt. Baldy teacher. Our teacher facilitators for this proram will be Ms. Cate and Ms. Grausam.

Find us on Instagram @mtbaldyschool

Email: info@mtbaldy.k12.ca.us
Website: mtbaldy.k12.ca.us
Location: 1 Mt Baldy Rd, Mount Baldy, CA, USA
Phone: (909)985-0991

We will be providing lunches for families this year, for those who wish to pay and those who qualify for free and reduced lunch. More details will follow about how to order and pick up lunches during distance learning.

We plan to provide limited bus transportation once we transition into blended learning. More details will follow.