Category: COVID-19

Updates related to Coronavirus.

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COVID-19 Registration Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Virtual Learning Instructions

Well, what a start to 2022! We will send out more information if needed early next week, but here are a few highlights you’ll find in this Skylert:

  • Accessing Virtual Classes W-F
  • New Semester Classes
  • Breakfast and Lunch W-F
  • Registration (Course Selection) Timeframes
  • PTSA Ambassadors Planning Meeting
  • Web Development Workshop

Accessing Your Virtual Classes

This coming Wednesday-Friday, all classes will be virtual. In order to keep things as simple as possible, here’s what you need to know:

  • Classes Happen Live at Normal Times
  • We Will Keep our Normal Bell Schedule
  • Attendance Will Be Taken, except for DEAR – just read a book for that
  • Zoom Links Will Be On Canvas Landing Pages for Each Class
  • If You Can’t Access a Class, Email the Teacher – They’ll have direct links ready.
  • It’s Only Three Days – Don’t stress too much, so get what you can from it and stay safe

New Semester Starts Wednesday

Please check Skyward on Wednesday morning to make sure you’re attending the right classes with the right teachers. Classes on Canvas should roll automatically on Wednesday, but email the teacher listed in Skyward if you have any trouble connecting. You can find staff emails on this page.

Breakfast and Lunch W-F

We will serve both breakfast and lunch all three days we are virtual. Students will need to enter the cafeteria on the west side of the school and it will be both grab-and-go and something they can eat in the cafeteria. 

We are hoping to serve from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm. If you plan to come for breakfast or lunch outside of those times, please give us a heads up so we can have food ready for you. Call Holly Taylor at 801-412-2823 to let us know you’re coming outside of those times.

Registration/Course Selection Timeline

We had planned to hand out course selection cards to students on Wednesday. We will post PDF’s of the cards on this page by then for you to review, and you can visit that same page for course overviews, videos, course requirements, and all things registration. 

We will then hand out the physical cards to students on Monday, January 24th. 7th graders will complete them on Tuesday, January 25th and 8th graders will complete them in class on Thursday, January 27th. We plan to hold a registration night for incoming 7th graders on January 27th, where cards will be both distributed and collected. Contact the counseling center if you have any questions about course selection.

PTSA Ambassadors Planning Meeting

On Wednesday, January 19th from 3-4 pm, PTSA ambassadors will be meeting in the Media Center to plan and make posters for Red Ribbon Week.

Web Development Workshop

Jan 26 | 3:00- 4:00 pm

Join us at Elk Ridge Middle School and learn the basics of web development! Students in grades 7- 9 are invited to this introductory workshop. No previous experience necessary! Come & learn with other future coders! See this flyer for more information.

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COVID-19 Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Wally Time, COVID Testing, SCC

It’s been a great first two weeks, and we appreciate your support as parents in the learning process. We love having your children with us again, and hope they are enjoying being back in school as much as we are.

COVID Testing at ERMS

The Utah Department of Health sets up testing sites throughout the state, and we’ve been hosting one for the past few months in our parking lot at their request. Due to increased demand, they are now offering COVID testing M-F from 4 – 7 pm. You can register for an appointment at coronavirus.utah.gov, and they will also allow drive-up testing without an appointment when wait times allow for it to be done reasonably. See this flyer for more information.

If you have other COVID questions (exposure, quarantine, etc.), this new one-page flyer from the Salt Lake County Health Department does a great job of outlining the most common topics. Full and regularly-updated information for the state can be found at coronavirus.utah.gov/education.

Wally Time – A Small Space for Life Skills

Each day of the week except Fridays, students have half a half hour set aside for Wally Time (our school mascot is Wally the Wapiti). Most days, this time is used for students to read a book, which has proven benefits in many academic areas and has a history at Elk Ridge (we used to call it DEAR – Drop Everything and Read). This also allows teachers to work with students individually if they are struggling with a concept being covered in class. The teacher they go to during this time changes each day so that they can get help in all classes if they need it.

But kids have a lot going on, and we often don’t have a space to talk about life skills they need to thrive in school. To give students a space to learn these skills, we take that time each Wednesday to cover a topic we’re seeing as an area our students in our school need some support. To give you an idea what this looks like, our topic this past week was Emotional Regulation. Students got a chance to discuss what emotions they are feeling (stressed being at a new school, overwhelmed, tired, etc.) and were given a few basic strategies for regulating their emotions: self care like exercising and getting enough sleep, breathing exercises, etc. 

This next Wednesday, we’re talking about how to speak to adults. We can’t read minds – not that we’d want to in middle school, mind you – and if a student doesn’t understand a concept, has an issue seeing the board, is feeling overwhelmed, etc., we want them to speak up. We’ll give a few scenarios and have them actually practice how to bring it up with an adult. If you can support this at home by talking with them about things they can speak up about, we’d love the support and reinforcement.

We’ll work to include each week’s Wednesday topic in our Monday email so that you know what’s coming and can work with your students at home or ask questions if you have them. Some weeks will be more focused on college and career readiness, some on building community, and others on academic strategies. You are always welcome at any time to talk with us or your students about what we’re learning that week.

School Community Council Elections & First Meeting

If you want to have a say in what happens at the school, we’d love to have you join our school community council! Fill out an election application here, or just attend our first meeting. We will meet at 6 pm on September 21st in the Media Center. We will also have a Zoom option for those wishing to attend virtually. That link will be posted on the Community Council page of the school website on the date of the meeting. We would love to have you, so mark your calendar!

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COVID-19 Skylert

End-of-Year Events, Chalk Art Festival

Thank you to our wonderful community as we have worked through our test-to-stay events this past week. We are excited to have nearly all of our students back in person, and appreciate your ongoing help keeping our cases low heading into the final stretch. 

We have a lot of great things to look forward to in the coming weeks. Here are some of the highlights, and we’ll send out updates for each as we get closer.

Upcoming Events

  • Fri, May 14 – Chalk Art Festival (Info Below)
  • Th, May 20 – Choir Concert
  • Tu, May 25 – Orchestra Concert
  • We, May 26 – Dance Concert
  • Th, May 27 – Band Concert
  • M, May 31 – Memorial Day (No School)
  • Th, June 3 – 9th Grade Lagoon Day, Last Day of In-Person Learning
  • F, June 4 – Virtual Only, Last Day of Quarter

Chalk Art Festival – Spring 2021 is Friday May 14th

Students participating will be outside in the front of the school showing off their art skills and creating artwork based on our theme: Vintage:1920’s vs. 2020’s. This school tradition is a fun, colorful display of student art. That afternoon at 2:00 pm, the community is invited to visit and look at their hard work. 

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COVID-19

Test-to-Stay Results

Parents,

Our recent test-to-stay COVID testing Friday, April 30 and Monday, May 3 resulted in 31 positive cases as of today. After consulting with health officials, Elk Ridge will continue in-person learning. Those who tested positive or opted not to test will continue with virtual learning until their designated return dates. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to continue to provide a safe learning environment at Elk Ridge Middle School.

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COVID-19

COVID-19 Testing at Elk Ridge Middle School

Choose ‘School Site’, either test type, and simply note Elk Ridge as the school. As long as you are in the system at all, we’ll be able to test your student. Don’t worry if it says Maverik Center on any part of the process; you’ll still test here with us.

Pre-Register for Testing

UPDATE ON TESTING:

Thank you for your patience and support as we work through COVID-19 testing. We have two quick updates to share with you regarding on-site testing at Elk Ridge:

  1. Anyone in the vehicle can be tested for COVID during Friday’s testing from 4-7 pm, thanks to tremendous efforts on the part of the county and state health departments. 
  2. The pre-registration link has sometimes returned the default testing information for the Maverik Center. As long as you have registered at all, regardless of location, test type, or time, you will be able to be tested at Elk Ridge with both a rapid and PCR test on either Friday or Monday.

ORIGINAL TESTING INFORMATION

Parents and Students:

We are notifying you because Elk Ridge Middle School has experienced a significant increase of positive COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks. Because Elk Ridge now has over 30 cases on the County dashboard, the law requires us to conduct school-wide COVID-19 testing in order to continue in-person learning.

In partnership with Salt Lake County Health Department, we will be conducting COVID-19 testing at Elk Ridge Middle on Friday, April 30, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Monday, May 3 during school. We will administer two tests at the same time for each student: a rapid test and a PCR (saliva or nasopharyngeal) test. 

Students who do not get tested by Monday, May 3 will be able to return to in-person learning on Monday, May 10th. 

Rapid Tests

  • Students should not eat or drink for 30 minutes before they are tested.
  • Results of the rapid test will be emailed shortly after testing.
  • If a student’s rapid test result is negative, they will be able to continue learning in person while they wait for PCR test results. 
  • If a student’s rapid test result is positive, they will need to isolate for 10 days from the date of the test and learn virtually until they return.

PCR Tests

  • Students should not eat or drink for 30 minutes before they are tested.
  • PCR test results are typically emailed within 24-48 hours. 
  • If the rapid and PCR test results do not match, the PCR result is final.
  • If a PCR test comes back positive, a student will need to isolate for 10 days from the date of the test and learn virtually until they return. 

Friday, April 30, Drive-through Testing (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.)

We strongly prefer that your student be tested on Friday to minimize disruptions to learning. You must pre-register your student for testing at this link prior to arriving on Friday. You will also need to sign physical copies of this release of information and this consent for testing. When you arrive, please follow the pathway used during daily drop-off and pick-up in front of the school. You will not need to leave your vehicle. If you are unable to print and sign the forms, we will have them available on site, but the online pre-registration must be completed prior to arrival.

Monday, May 3, In-School Testing

Even if they did not test on Friday, your student may attend school on Monday if they have pre-registered for testing and bring signed consent forms. You must pre-register your student for testing at this link before sending them to school. You will also need to sign physical copies of this release of information and this consent for testing. Students will be tested throughout the day during class time. 

Students Who Participated in COVID Testing at Elk Ridge on April 26

If your student participated in COVID testing at Elk Ridge this past Monday, April 26, your student is not required to be tested again unless they have symptoms.

A Note on End-of-Year Academic Testing

We will be administering end-of-year academic testing over the next few weeks, and any student who is quarantined or receives a positive COVID test result will either be able to make up end-of-year testing upon their return or will be excused from the test. 

Thank you for your understanding and support as we continue working together to keep our school and community safe.

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COVID-19 Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Upcoming Career Activities, UDOT Updates, & Surveys

We are nearly to Spring Break, and we hope you all are geared up for the quarter to end this Thursday as well. As always, we encourage you to communicate with teachers and check grades before the term ends and grades are finalized. Also, the School Board has approved Lagoon for 9th graders (with precautions) and increased capacity at in-person performances (again, with precautions). More information on both of these topics will follow as we get it.

In this Skylert, you’ll find updates on:

  • Student Surveys
  • Volunteer Opportunities & Upcoming Career Activities
  • Bangerter Construction

Student Surveys

We have two surveys in progress this week with students. Information on each can be found at the end of this message, but they are essentially a survey to all students about the school itself (one goes out to parents as well) and one about students’ social and emotional health. Both surveys help us do better at being what our students need. Students will take these in their classes and nothing needs to be done from home aside from the parent survey sent out by the district. If you would like more information about either survey, please let us know and we’ll get you anything you need.

Bangerter Closures & Detours

The Utah Department of Transportation is planning to close 10400 S East-West travel across Bangerter starting late April or early May, and it will remain closed through November of 2021. UDOT animation of traffic flow and current information will be posted here by the end of the week. You can also see the detour plan here, and traffic patterns here. 

We expect this will mean more traffic on 9800 S as two lanes will exit Bangerter turning left there in the construction plan, and the detour routes people on 9800 S as well.

Volunteer Opportunities & Upcoming Career Activities

8th Grade Job Shadow – Tuesday, April 13th

As part of our career exploration program, 8th grade students will have the opportunity to participate in a Job Shadow experience on Tuesday, April 13th. This is a chance to take your student to work with you or send them to work with someone you know. It is our hope that you will share your excitement for your profession with your child or that they will have the opportunity to study a career of interest. If your student pre-arranges a job shadow experience, and they complete the required forms, they will be excused from school on this day. Encourage your student to think about a career area they are interested in. Students that don’t arrange a job shadow are expected to be in school on this day and they will do a career related activity in Language Arts. Parents are responsible to provide transportation to the job shadow. More information will be provided but please start thinking about options that your student might be interested in. 

9th Grade Job Interviews – Tuesday, April 13th

Adult volunteers are needed to help with our 9th grade Job Interview experience. We need 15 volunteers from 7:45-11:35, and 15 volunteers from 11:25-2:50. The PTSA will provide lunch for both sessions. Volunteers will be providing short mock job interviews for our 9th grade students. We will provide a list of suggested questions. For more information, please contact the counseling center. If you can help with this fun activity, please fill out this form

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COVID-19 PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Volunteers, AP Tests, Free & Reduced Lunch Applications

General Reminders

There’s been a lot of exciting news lately regarding updated COVID guidance in the nation and state, but please note that guidance for schools has remained the same. Cases are down at Elk Ridge, and we attribute that directly to how well our students are doing overall. 

Please help us to remind students that masks at school still need to be worn indoors at all times, and outdoors when closer than 6 feet from others. We want to keep things as light as possible in tone, and having support from home makes all the difference. A lot of masks are starting to creep down under the nose, and that’s effectively not wearing a mask. We have plenty of new masks in the main office if they need something that stays up better.

Calling For Volunteers

We have a number of upcoming opportunities for parents and members of our community to participate in career-building activities. This ranges from mock job interviews to bringing your job to our students. If you have any interest in participating in one of these activities, let us know using this link. We’ve had tremendous participation from our community in the past, and it’s a great chance to get involved in something meaningful to our students.

AP Tests Coming Soon

Dates are being finalized and communicated to the classes directly, but please remember that if your student is in an AP class, they should plan on taking the test this May. Both AP Geography and AP Spanish tests will likely fall on a Friday, and it’s important to plan on being at school those days.

Memory Book Price Increases March 15th

If you would like to purchase a memory book, please do so before March 15th. After that date, the price will increase from $25 to $30. They can be purchased by going to Skyward Family Access, choosing Fee Management, Selecting Add a Fee, and the selecting Memory Book.

Free & Reduced Lunch Forms

The current USDA free lunch waiver allows all students to eat breakfast and lunch for free. When this waiver expires or funds run out, students will need a completed Free and Reduced Lunch form to continue to eat free or reduced lunch.

If you qualify or think you might qualify for free or reduced lunch, complete a new form at the school or on Skyward Family Access (Instructions Here) ASAP so there the transition back to regular lunch costs is as seamless as possible. If you have any questions, please contact our cafeteria manager (Holly Taylor) at 801-412-2823.

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COVID-19 Registration Skylert Wally the Wapiti

9th Grade Registration Information

The majority of this Skylert is for 9th grade students only. 

For everyone else, please make sure that if you haven’t completed registration, please visit our pre-registration page as soon as possible. Please also let us know if you haven’t on that form if you are choosing to attend Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School or moving.

IMPORTANT 9TH GRADE ANNOUNCEMENTS

9th Grade PCCR/Pre-Registration Meeting for High School Via Canvas

In preparation for 10th grade high school registration, the 9th grade students will complete a pre-registration meeting at home this week through Canvas.  This meeting will take approximately 30 minutes, and we ask that students and parents view these materials together as it will answer essential questions about available courses and registration at the high school. Tomorrow in science class, your 9th grade student will receive a registration card from Bingham High School and will learn about the PCCR pre-registration meeting that they will complete on Canvas this week. They can complete the meeting anytime this week with you but will be given time on Friday through their Science class to work on it. This assignment is due Sunday, February 28th at midnight so that your student will be ready to turn in their card. Bingham High School will meet with students on Tuesday, March 2nd in their Science class to complete the high school registration process.  

West Jordan High School will be coming on March 16th to drop off registration cards. Even if your child is not attending Bingham High School, please view the information in the Canvas class because it is applicable for all Jordan District High Schools. 

If you have additional questions, please contact your child’s counselor.

9th Grade PCCR Pre-Registration Meeting for High School Assignment Steps:

  1. Go to Canvas and find the Canvas Course titled–9thGR School/Library/Counseling-NICHOLES
  2. Open the course and click on the button on the Homepage called 9th grade PCCR Pre-Registration Meeting. This will take you to the meeting page with instructions and a link to open up slides with the registration information and videos to watch. 
  3. When done, complete the survey, using the link found on the last page of the slides. 
  4. Bring your registration card with you to Science class on March 2nd for your meeting with the counselors from Bingham High School. 

Reminder: BHS Sophomore Orientation is THIS WEEK! 

Bingham High School’s Sophomore Orientation is February 25th in the BHS Auditorium – you don’t want to miss it!

IMPORTANT: There will no longer be a live stream for those students and parents unable to attend! We encourage those of you who have not secured a ticket yet to do so to attend one of the in person sessions (there’s still tickets available for both sessions) OR to watch the presentation on the Bingham Counseling website following Orientation.

  • Topics covered include registration and scheduling information, graduate requirements, and BHS counselor introductions.
  • There will be two sessions. Session #1 will be from 6:00-7:00 PM and Session #2 will be from 7:30-8:30 PM. 
  • Tickets are required! Tickets can be obtained beginning this Friday, February 12th, at 3:00 PM on the Bingham Athletics Page for either session. 
  • Tickets will be limited to 350 per session in accordance with Covid-19 restrictions and will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students can only obtain two (2) tickets max – one for the student and one for a parent/guardian. No one will be admitted without a ticket. This includes additional children so parents, please find alternative care for your children if you plan to attend with your 9th grader. 
  • There will not be an Activities Fair. Instead, please reference the  BHS Clubs + Teams List to learn more about all of the fabulous clubs and teams Bingham has to offer. For each club and team, the list includes the advisor’s name and email address, anticipated audition/tryout dates, and a brief description/important information info for each club and team. This list will also be included in each student’s registration packet.

If you have any questions, please call the Bingham Counseling Center at 801-256-5120. The BHS Counselors and Administration look forward to seeing you there!

Bingham Hope Squad Application

Do you enjoy helping and listening to others? The HOPE SQUAD class represents students who promote positivity within the school and community.  Hope Squad students receive trainings on suicide prevention, self-care and hopeful living, using the HOPE4UTAH Curriculum, created by Dr. Greg Hudnall. 

The HOPE SQUAD class:

  • Is an audition class
  • Is a YEARlong class
  • Is only offered 4th period
  • Earns elective credit

If you are interested in applying, please complete the attached application. Please EMAIL or bring in your completed application to Ms. Bair at Bingham High School (deepika.bair@jordandistrict.org), Room S106.

Applications are due March 1st.

*** Please note: HOPE SQUAD is an Audition class. Your application goes through a screening process and does not guarantee membership. Students will be notified in March and if approved, your counselor will add this class 4th period.

BINGHAM LATINOS IN ACTION APPLICATION 

Applications are open to join the Latinos in Action (LIA) program at Bingham High School for next school year! 

  • Year-long elective course
  • Goal of empowering Latino youth to lead and strengthen their communities through college and career readiness.
  • If you would like to know more information about LIA, please review the attached brochure or presentation for further information.

Please submit the attached application via email to Ms. DeVilliers at linda.devilliers@jordandistrict.org or in-person at Room E233 (at Bingham).

Applications are due MARCH 1st.

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COVID-19 PTC's PTSA Registration Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Parent Conference & Pre-Registration Reminder

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher conferences are this Wednesday from 4-8 pm and Thursday from 4-7:30 pm. You can sign up for an appointment time in Skyward Family Access. Drop-ins will be possible, but those with appointments will be given priority. Zoom links will be available on the school website and via email starting Wednesday. If you have a meeting with a teacher before then, they can send you the Zoom link directly.

Sign up early to get the times you want, and remember that if you don’t get the chance to meet with a teacher this week, Zoom, email and phone calls all work all year, so please don’t hesitate to reach out whenever you have questions or concerns.

Last Week to Pre-Register

Don’t forget that all pre-registrations (course selections) must be completed by February 14th. Visit our pre-registration page for information and the pre-registration form. We’ll take this information and use it to offer as many of the classes that you want as possible!

ALPS Orientation

There will be a virtual ALPS orientation meeting for all incoming ALPS students on February 23rd from 6-7 pm. The link to this meeting can be found at gandt.jordandistrict.org.

Memory Books

Memory Books ordered from now until March 15 are $25. Memory Books ordered after March 15 will be $30, and are only available as long as the limited supplies last. Memory books can be ordered in Skyward under the fees sections. If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Whitney in the main office. We have switched to a different vendor this year to hopefully ensure they are here in a timely manner.

Dress Code Reminder

Please take a moment to review what your student is wearing to school, especially now that things are warming up.

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COVID-19 PTC's Registration Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Parent Conference & Pre-Registration

Parent Conferences This Week

Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences will be held Wednesday, February 10th from 4-8 pm and Thursday, February 11th from 4-7:30 pm. The process will be very similar to what we did in the fall with a few modifications. Here are the highlights:

  • Appointments can be made by logging into Skyward Family Access using your parent account. (This is the same process used by Jordan District elementary schools. You can make appointments with all your student’s teachers in one place. Please see the attached step-by-step instructions if needed.) 
  • Zoom links for each teacher will be available on the school website starting Monday after school. 
  • Zoom meetings will utilize “waiting rooms”.
  • “Drop ins” are welcome, but teachers will give preference to those with appointments. 

We strongly encourage you to check your student’s grades on Skyward and talk with them a few days prior to the conference. If you have any trouble accessing Skyward Family Access, please contact the main office. Instructions can also be found here.

A few more thoughts on the structure of the conference: Our overall goal with any parent conference is to have meaningful, two-way communication with you about your child and how we can work together to support them. If you are unable to meet with us for some reason on those days, please know that in today’s connected age, we are always reachable by email, phone, video conference, or in-person. Don’t let a date set aside for communication get in the way of communication throughout the year.

We look forward to seeing or hearing from you!

Pre-Registration Open Through Feb. 14th

Don’t forget to visit our pre-registration page to choose your courses for next year. All selections made before the 14th will be given the same consideration, so it’s important to get your registration in during that time. Contact our counseling center if you have any questions.