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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 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 PTSA Registration Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Skylert: End of 2nd Quarter, Pre-Registration

Welcome back from winter break! Everyone looked a bit sleepy today, which was hopefully due to all of the rest you got over the break. Please remember that the 2nd quarter ends next Friday, January 15th. Please ensure you have all requisite work turned in early so that you avoid any surprises.

Memory Books

Memory Books ordered from now until April 1, 2021 are $25. Memory Books ordered after April 1,2021 will be $30. 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.

Pre-Registration

It’s time to start planning for next school year, and pre-registration for classes will open on February 1st. We are moving to an online registration system this year, and you will have two weeks to make and adjust your requests. That process will also include class summaries, prerequisites, and everything else you’ll need to tell us what you want for next year, since a registration night in-person at the school won’t be an option. Once we have that, we’ll work to staff our school according to your requests. This makes it doubly important that you get us your preferences, as it’s much harder to accommodate once the schedule has been built and staffing decisions have been made. More information on registration will come in the Skylert and on our website as we get closer.

Permits

The initial permit window has now closed, and only permits submitted before January 1st will be entered into the lottery. From there, permits will be awarded according to the established waiting list. Unfortunately we do not anticipate having space for many, if any, permits this year.

COVID Updates

Case counts are set to zero per state guidelines after a 2-week break. Positive cases are still reported, and community spread appears to be relatively high based on the number of students and staff currently positive, even though none of them have been in the school while positive due to the break. In short, it’s been a long haul, but now is not the time to get complacent.

In better news, quarantines in school will now only occur for situations where one or both students was NOT wearing a mask. This means primarily only lunchroom exposures or situations where we know a student was not wearing a mask. Quarantines from non-masked exposure are for 7 days with a negative test administered on the 7th day, or 10 days without a test.

The governor also announced that districts can adopt a test-to-stay policy in order to avoid shifting to online learning, but such a policy must be adopted by a school board to go into effect. There has not been an opportunity since the announcement for the board to discuss such a policy, meaning we will still be held to the 15 active cases or 1% threshold for the time being for a shift to online learning.

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COVID-19 PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Skylert: Swag, Retakes, Red Ribbon Week

School Masks & Shirts

With the Wapiti Store not an option for the foreseeable future, we’ve decided to use those resources to provide students with either an Elk Ridge mask or water bottle, and a shirt. For those students who are learning from home, either full-time or just while on quarantine, we’ll have an official pickup time this Friday, Oct 9th from 10 – 11 am just inside the front door. If you miss that window for some reason, just let us know in the main office.

It’s Red Ribbon Week!

Red Ribbon Week starts today, and our PTSA has a lot of excitement in store. To get in on the fun, follow this Instagram account. Red Ribbon week runs from 10/5 to 10/9. The theme is “We’ll get through this together.” Each day has a different activity:

  • Monday: Don’t go crazy on social media (Crazy Sock Day)
  • Tuesday: Together we can do hard things (Dress Like Twins Day)
  • Wednesday: Team kindness (Team Jersey Day)
  • Thursday: It’s a great day to be a Wapiti! (Wapiti Gear Day)

Take a picture dressed in each day’s theme and tag @elkridge_redribbon on Instagram to be entered to win cool prizes!

Picture Retakes (Including Virtual Students)

Retakes for student pictures will take place on October 7th from 8 – 9 am. For those coming from home, just stop by the main office upon arriving. The order form can be found here and in the main office. You can order them online using this Picture Day ID: EVTG2DGJR

District Virtual Change Requests due Oct. 6th

If you are hoping to move from virtual to in-person or from in-person to virtual, you must submit that request in Skyward by Oct. 6th. Instructions were emailed out, and can be found here

Space for such moves will be extremely limited, and will be based within the existing virtual learning staffing and framework established by the district.

Community Council Nominations and Vote

We will hold a vote next week via Skylert if needed. You can nominate people here, and get more information on the school community council here.

Managing Quarantine Expectations & Opting to Self-Quarantine

We make every effort to keep students caught up when they are out on quarantine, and good communication is at the heart of quarantine success. But it’s definitely not as good as being here or being in a class actually designed for virtual instruction. It is intended to be a short-term solution and not a replacement for in-person or online instruction. Our goal is to lessen how behind a student is when they return, and to include them in the in-person class as much as possible. That said, it’s the splint and not the cast, and your student is still enrolled in an in-person class. 

If you are opting to keep your student out for self-isolation longer than a normal quarantine, please keep in mind that quarantine is meant to be a short-term solution, and while we will do what we can to involve them, it’s designed to hold students over and not to replace the in-person class.

Chalk Art Festival

Our Chalk Art Festival will be happening on Friday, October 9th, and students can participate in person or from home. Applications for in-person and online participants can be found here. In-person participant applications were due to Mrs. Gonzales by October 1st. Contact her if you are still interested in participating in any form.

Quarantine Schoolwork Point of Contact

If you have been out on quarantine, you probably already know this, but Lisa Hogan is our point of contact for schoolwork help and questions when on quarantine. She can connect you with teachers, counselors and more, and will be keeping tabs on you until you can come back.

Quarantine Process at ERMS

We get a lot of questions about symptoms and quarantine. If you have any questions, feel free to use this tool to see current guidelines we have from the health department and quarantine types specific to your situation. We use a modified version of this tool when determining exposure and length of quarantine. This tool is for your information only and does not collect any data. Please contact the school if you have symptoms or confirmed exposure to a positive COVID case.

Stress and Anxiety Group

Feeling stressed out or anxious? We want to help! Let one of our counselors know and we’ll make sure we connect you with resources and others that can support you.

Categories
PTSA Wally the Wapiti

Red Ribbon Week

It’s Red Ribbon Week!

Red Ribbon Week starts today, and our PTSA has a lot of excitement in store. To get in on the fun, follow this Instagram account. Red Ribbon week runs from 10/5 to 10/9. The theme is “We’ll get through this together.” Each day has a different activity:

  • Monday: Don’t go crazy on social media (Crazy Sock Day)
  • Tuesday: Together we can do hard things (Dress Like Twins Day)
  • Wednesday: Team kindness (Team Jersey Day)
  • Thursday: It’s a great day to be a Wapiti! (Wapiti Gear Day)

Take a picture dressed in each day’s theme and tag @elkridge_redribbon on Instagram to be entered to win cool prizes!

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COVID-19 PTC's PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Skylert: Community Council, Red Ribbon Week

PTC Survey

Now that parent-teacher conferences are over, we want to know how it went and what we can do to improve communication. If you could take this brief survey, we’d love your feedback!

Community Council Nominations

Would you like to be involved in the big picture planning at Elk Ridge? If you or someone you know would like to join, let us know using this form. Depending on interest, we’ll send out a voting form once nominees are confirmed. Thanks for you nominations in advance!

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week starts next Monday, and our PTSA has a lot of excitement in store. To get in on the fun, follow this Instagram account. Red Ribbon week runs from 10/5 to 10/9.

Picture Retakes 

Retakes for student pictures will take place on October 7th. More information to come.

Chalk Art Festival

Our Chalk Art Festival will be happening on October 9th, and students can participate in person or from home. Applications for in-person and online participants can be found here. In-person participant applications are due to Mrs. Gonzales by October 1st at 3 pm.

Quarantine Process at ERMS

We get a lot of questions about symptoms and quarantine. If you have any questions, feel free to use this tool to see current guidelines we have from the health department and quarantine types specific to your situation. We use a modified version of this tool when determining exposure and length of quarantine. This tool is for your information only and does not collect any data. Please contact the school if you have symptoms or confirmed exposure to a positive COVID case.

Stress and Anxiety Group

Feeling stressed out or anxious? We want to help! Let one of our counselors know and we’ll make sure we connect you with resources and others that can support you.

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COVID-19 PTC's PTSA Skylert

Skylert: Scheduling Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences Update

Parent-teacher conferences are September 23rd and 24th, although some teachers have opened up more availability. Due to COVID-19, conferences will be held virtually this year. Visit this page or our website for detailed instructions and links. The process is basically this:

  1. Review recap videos from teachers (available Monday afternoon) for general information about each class
  2. If you need to meet with a teacher, make an appointment (links on the website Monday afternoon)
  3. At the time of your appointment, connect via Zoom.

While drop-in conferences are possible between 4-8 pm on Wednesday and 4-7:30 pm on Thursday, an appointment ensures the teacher is available. If you are unable to connect with a teacher for any reason, please contact the teacher to set up a time to meet. Our goal is meaningful two-way communication, so please reach out if this format doesn’t work for any reason.

Since PTC appointments are managed by Google, you may have to enter your email address and password to access the calendar. This will allow you to make an appointment and be sent an email reminder.

In order to meet with as many parents as possible, we are asking that meetings be longer than 5 minutes. Please also only set up an appointment if you need to speak to the teacher live and email or phone communication that happens normally won’t suffice. As a reminder, you are always able to set up an appointment to call, email or video conference with a teacher, regardless of the time of year. Again, visit this page for information from your teachers for appointment and Zoom links for this week’s conference.

Curbside Lunch/Breakfast Service

Elk Ridge, along with South Hills and Joel P. Jensen, will be offering curbside and walk-up lunch/breakfast to-go meals for any JSD students regardless of grade level who are attending school virtually.

Prepared meals (lunch today, breakfast tomorrow) will be available in front of the school from 10-11 am. As with in-person lunches, all meals for students will be free of charge through the remainder of 2020. Menu options will vary based on what is being served in school each day. Students attending in-person should eat at the regular time in the cafeteria.

PTSA Ambassador Application Deadline Extended

You can now submit your application to the PTSA Ambassadors until September 24th. It’s a great way to get involved and serve others. Talk to Kimberly Gilbert with any questions.

PTSA Newsletter & Reflections Contest

Our PTSA Fall Newsletter and annual Reflections contest are now live. Visit this link to view the newsletter and get information on the contest.

Quarantine and Symptom Check Online Tool

We get a lot of questions about symptoms and quarantine. If you have any questions, feel free to use this tool to see current guidelines we have from the health department and quarantine types specific to your situation. We use a modified version of this tool when determining exposure and length of quarantine. This tool is for your information only and does not collect any data. Please contact the school if you have symptoms or confirmed exposure to a positive COVID case.

Stress and Anxiety Group

Feeling stressed out or anxious? We want to help! Let one of our counselors know and we’ll make sure we connect you with resources and others that can support you.

Categories
COVID-19 PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Skylert: Parent Conferences, Curbside Lunch

Parent-Teacher Conferences Update

Parent-teacher conferences are September 23rd and 24th. Due to COVID-19, conferences will be held virtually this year. We will send out more information on Monday and post it on our website, but here are the basic steps for you as a parent:

  1. Review recap videos from teachers (available Monday afternoon) for general information about each class
  2. If you need to meet with a teacher, make an appointment (links on the website Monday afternoon)
  3. At the time of your appointment, connect via Zoom.

While drop-in conferences are possible between 4-8 pm on Wednesday and 4-7:30 pm on Thursday, an appointment ensures the teacher is available. If you are unable to connect with a teacher for any reason, please contact the teacher to set up a time to meet. Our goal is meaningful two-way communication, so please reach out if this format doesn’t work for any reason.

In order to meet with as many parents as possible, we are asking that meetings be no longer than 5 minutes. Please also only set up an appointment if you need to speak to the teacher live and email or phone communication that happens normally won’t suffice. As a reminder, you are always able to set up an appointment to call, email or video conference with a teacher, regardless of the time of year. Read next Monday’s Skylert, check back on our website, and watch for information from your teachers for appointment and Zoom links for next week’s conference.

Curbside Lunch/Breakfast Service

Elk Ridge, along with South Hills and Joel P. Jensen, will be offering curbside and walk-up lunch/breakfast to-go meals for any JSD students regardless of grade level who are attending school virtually.

Prepared meals (lunch today, breakfast tomorrow) will be available in front of the school from 10-11 am. As with in-person lunches, all meals for students will be free of charge through the remainder of 2020. Menu options will vary based on what is being served in school each day. Students attending in-person should eat at the regular time in the cafeteria.

Last Chance to Get Prepaid Memory Books

Memory Books have arrived! If you have already purchased a memory book, just swing by the main office to pick it up. If your student is at another school, you can pick up your memory book at the main doors of Elk Ridge on Sept. 16 (Wed) from 5 pm – 7 pm.

At this point, we do not have extra memory books for sale. If some become available, we’ll let you know. The books look simply amazing, and we appreciate our PTSA’s ongoing efforts with this and so many other things!

PTSA Ambassador Application Deadline Extended

You can now submit your application to the PTSA Ambassadors until September 24th. It’s a great way to get involved and serve others. Talk to Kimberly Gilbert with any questions.

PTSA Newsletter & Reflections Contest

Our PTSA Fall Newsletter and annual Reflections contest are now live. Visit this link to view the newsletter and get information on the contest.

Quarantine and Symptom Check Online Tool

We get a lot of questions about symptoms and quarantine. If you have any questions, feel free to use this tool to see current guidelines we have from the health department and quarantine types specific to your situation. We use a modified version of this tool when determining exposure and length of quarantine. This tool is for your information only and does not collect any data. Please contact the school if you have symptoms or confirmed exposure to a positive COVID case.

Online Courses

Online courses are up and running, and you should be underway. If you have any lingering logistics with online courses, please let us know and we’ll do what we can to help.

Stress and Anxiety Group

Feeling stressed out or anxious? We want to help! Let one of our counselors know and we’ll make sure we connect you with resources and others that can support you.

Friday Appointments

If your student is coming to the building on Friday, please remember that in order to limit people in the building, we ask that parents remain at home or outside. If you are dropping off your student, arrange a time to pick them up or have your student call home when finished. Thank you for your understanding!

Friday Priorities

In a word, Friday is about differentiation. Our goals each Friday are to:

  1. Meet individual needs of students
  2. Provide flexibility via individual or small-group instruction (virtual and in-person)
  3. Extend learning from earlier in the week and prepare students for the upcoming week
  4. Preparation and collaboration according to normal Fridays

What Work on Friday Should Be

  • Based on what teachers have seen earlier in the week
  • A time to meet the individual needs of students
  • Reworking and demonstrating learning
  • Activities at the level of the student

What Work on Friday is NOT

  • Another day of class as usual, but online
  • A day off of school
  • Busywork

The Question to Always Ask

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, the ultimate litmus test regarding what you are doing on Fridays is:

Is what happens on Friday helping my student succeed?

This year is full of unknowns. Fridays were set aside by the school board to help teachers be more responsive to the needs of students, and to actually give them time and space to do so. 

It should not be business as usual. It should be better business than ever before. It’s a day for the hopes and dreams of educators everywhere to become a reality: to have time to effectively and thoroughly differentiate for our students. Not everyone needs the same thing on Friday, and the goal is for Friday to become a day personalized to what each student needs.

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COVID-19 PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Skylert: Memory Books, PTSA Newsletter, Quarantine FAQ

Memory Books

Memory Books have arrived! If your student is still at Elk Ridge (8th and 9th graders), they should have received it already. If they didn’t and they ordered one, just have them swing by the main office to pick it up.

If your student is at another school, you can pick up your memory book at the main doors of Elk Ridge on:

  • Sept. 11 (Fri) from 10 am – 1 pm
  • Sept. 16 (Wed) from 5 pm – 7 pm

We’ll put the word out at other schools, but if you know someone who went here last year, we would love the help spreading the word. If we don’t hear from you and have your memory book after all of that, we’ll send it to you in the mail. The books look simply amazing, and we appreciate our PTSA’s ongoing efforts with this and so many other things!

PTSA Newsletter & Reflections Contest

Our PTSA Fall Newsletter and annual Reflections contest are now live. Visit this link to view the newsletter and get information on the contest.

Quarantine and Symptom Check Online Tool

We get a lot of questions about symptoms and quarantine. If you have any questions, feel free to use this tool to see current guidelines and quarantine types specific to your situation. We use a modified version of this tool when determining exposure and length of quarantine. This tool is for your information only and does not collect any data. Please contact the school if you have symptoms or confirmed exposure to a positive COVID case.

Online Courses

Online courses are getting closer to being finalized. Once individual courses are finalized, your teacher will reach out via Canvas and your school email account to more officially begin coursework. Thank you again for your patience as we work to provide as many options to students learning from home as possible!

Stress and Anxiety Group

Feeling stressed out or anxious? We want to help! Let one of our counselors know and we’ll make sure we connect you with resources and others that can support you. 

Mask Reminders

When you are outside, your mask should only be off if you can keep yourself 6 feet away from others. Measure it. It’s further than you think. 

Dress Code Reminder

Just a friendly plug to make sure your pants stay up, your shirts are long enough, and that you aren’t advertising things that aren’t school appropriate. Positive school culture starts at home, and we appreciate your help!

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PTSA

PTSA Newsletter, Reflections

Our wonderful PTSA has put together a newsletter with a variety of things that you’ll definitely want to check out. You can view the newsletter below.

Reflections Contest

The annual PTSA Reflections contest is also nearly upon us. The theme this year is “I Matter Because…” Here’s a video recap.

Submissions are due October 8th online at utahpta.org/ref. Submissions at the school are not accepted.

Categories include:

  • Dance Choreography
  • 2D Art
  • 3D Art
  • Literature
  • Film
  • Photography
  • Music Composition
  • Special Artists

If you have any questions, please contact Diana Baun at diana.baun@gmail.com.