Onaga USD 322 - Onaga | Havensville | Wheaton

See if your family can complete this random acts of kindness challenge! #GoBuffs

Here is some good news, fellow Buffaloes! We had 7 juniors and seniors that met the criteria to be named to the TVL All Academic Team. This criteria included being a jr or sr, must have participated in 3 KSHAA activities, and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.70 at the end of the current 1st semester. Our students who earned this honor are the following: Kady Figge Halie Jeanneret Laura Krohn Sam Kufahl Rebecca Krohn Alexus Jeanneret Chloe Fischer Once again, congratulations!

Hi, all of the BFC people! We are planning on continuing BFC through virtual learning. An email was sent notifying parents. Please check on this. All the BFC teachers sure miss everyone.

Preserving your mental health while following social distancing guidelines is an important piece of your overall physical health. The following link provides information on how you can practice using technology in socially healthy ways to stay connected. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-prevent-loneliness-in-a-time-of-social-distancing/ Michelle Krause krausem@usd322.org

Welcome back! We have missed you all over our extended break. Hoping you are all off to a great start on your first week of online learning! Please, reach out to myself or another staff member if you have any questions. We are here to help you! 🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡

Due to undesirable road conditions, meal deliveries may be a little delayed today. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility.

Good afternoon- I wanted to share more information regarding our Continuous Learning Plan with you today. Let’s get started. Meeting Social Emotional Needs Our kids’ lives have been dramatically affected by the pandemic and families are dealing with numerous hardships right now. More important than grades is to make sure our kiddos are doing okay and are having their social emotional needs met during these tumultuous times. Our teachers and paras will be checking up on our students each week to see how they are doing and doing our best to support them and help them through any struggles they may be going through. If you feel you, your family or your child need some additional help and support, please contact our counselors, Mrs. Krause and Mrs. Kolterman. They can not only provide support for kids and adults, but can help with connecting families with community resources that can help as well. They are here for our students and our families. They can be reached by email at krausem@usd322.org or koltermanj@usd322.org. From there, they can communicate in different ways with adults and kids as needed as they provide assistance. Also, students and families can expect weekly literature and links focused on social emotional health and strategies/coping/activity ideas and information for individuals and families. Technology As we begin our Continuous Learning Plan on April 6, we are realistic in knowing we will have glitches and issues come up with the size and scope of what we are attempting to do with technology. We all need to give grace and patience for everyone that is involved- staff, students, parents, etc. If an issue arises, it is okay. It may or may not take some time, but we will work to resolve issues as they come up. Once again, the number 1 priority we need to be focused on is making sure our kids’ social emotional needs are being taken care of. Please keep that in mind as technological issues come up. It is important that we provide technology help resources for our students, staff and parents. If you or your child runs into a technical issue, the best way to resolve it will be going through the following contact: K12itc is excited to announce we have expanded our Help Desk to now serve your students and their parents during the Covid-19 Virtual Learning weeks. Our Help Desk will be available to students and parents Monday – Friday, 8:00AM CST to 5:00PM CST. Staff support will remain the same (Monday – Friday, 6:00AM CST to 7:00PM CST). The Help Desk has the ability to support students with the following items: - Password issues with district related applications. - Questions regarding specific applications supported at a district level. - Troubleshooting district owned devices. - Best effort support on connecting a device to a home or public wireless network. - Non-district devices cannot be supported for hardware malfunction, virus, ransomware or spyware issues. - Printing outside of a district school building will be best effort support due to complexities involved with home printers. The phone number for Tech Support at K12ITC is 816-382-4840 or 1-855-K12-TECH. They also have chat support at CHAT.K12ITC.COM If after going through K12 ITC and you still are having issues, contact your child’s teacher who can try to assist and the teacher can then contact Cathy Marten, USD 322 Technology Director, to help with the situation. We will work with students and families as issues arise and will do our best to support all. Thank you for your support. Zoom Schedules Our PK-12th grade teachers have Zoom schedules of when they plan to meet and visit with students over Zoom. They will also be emailing these to you along with other details today and through the weekend. Preschool- Tuesdays- Mrs. Eisenbarth/Para 1pm Kinderprep- Tuesdays- Mrs. Ringel/Para 1:30 pm Kdgt- Wednesdays- Mrs. Alverson/Mrs. Rempe 12:45 pm Kdgt-Thursdays- Mrs. Kramer/Mrs. Wege 1:30 pm 1st Grade- Wednesdays- Mrs. Uhl/Mrs. Helget 1:30 pm 2nd Grade- Thursdays- Mrs. Rezac/Mrs. Marten 5:00 pm 2nd Grade- Fridays- Mrs. Sperber/Mr. Goudy 4:30 pm 3rd Grade- Wednesdays- Mrs. McNally and Mrs. Huerter @ 2:00 pm 4th Grade- Fridays- Ms. Dallman/Para 1:30 pm 5th Grade- Fridays- Mrs. Myers/Para 2:00 pm 6th Grade- Mondays and Friday- Mrs. Glessner/Mrs. Walters 1:00 pm Our OJH-OHS Zoom Meeting Schedule is as follows: Monday/Wednesday Zoom Meetings 8 am- 1st Hour 9 am- 3rd Hour 10 am- 5th Hour 11 am-7th Hour Tuesday/Thursday Zoom Meetings 8 am- 2nd Hour 9 am- 4th Hour 10 am- 6th Hour 11 am- The Leader in Me (Social Emotional Learning) Teachers will be sharing instructions to students and parents about how to use Zoom so you should be receiving those instructions before Monday, April 6. IEP/ Title I Services and Support Our teachers and specialists that work with students with IEP’s will be reaching out to students and families to share how they will be meeting their child’s needs through the remainder of this school year. Our special education teachers, specialists, and paras, and our Title I teacher and Title paras, will be collaborating with our teachers to collaborate, communicate and support our students needing IEP services and/or Title support. Our personnel will utilize Zoom, email, phone calls, and whatever else is necessary to meet the needs of our students. Please contact these teachers and paras if you have questions, concerns, need support, etc. Proactive communication by our staff and parents will help us be successful in supporting our kids. Final Thoughts…. We are all living in an unprecedented time and we are being called to do an unprecedented task. IF ANY SCHOOL COMMUNITY CAN MAKE THIS WORK, IT IS OURS!! This is an amazing opportunity for our school family to grow, support one another, and have compassion for our fellow humans. Please know we are here to support students and parents as you begin an unprecedented task as well. If all stakeholders give one another the gift of grace, patience and understanding, this undertaking will go much better for everyone involved. Thank you for your support and we look forward to starting classes on Monday, April 6! Please be safe and take care!

Good evening, everyone- This evening, I wanted to share about several different topics related to our Continuous Learning Plan and on Thursday, more information will be shared as well. Let’s get started. Schedules: Teachers will be sharing via email with students and parents their weekly class schedules over the course of the next couple of days. In regards to weekly lesson plans, to avoid burnout and frustration, we recommend students do not do all of the work in one setting. As a reminder, this is a weekly lesson plan, so set a schedule/pace that works for your child and your family. How do parents and students contact the teachers for help? Truly, the best way to contact teachers will be by email. Teachers have set up “office hours” designated to communicate with parents and students. The elementary teachers have designated 11am-noon and 6-7pm as formal office hours for parents to contact them. Of course you can email anytime but just know the teacher may not be able to respond immediately, but will respond within 24 hours of an email, M-F. Please also keep in mind that elementary teachers and paras will be checking in and helping students during the day as well with their learning. 7-12th grade teachers have a different set up since they have older students and different schedules, which they will be sharing with you over the course of the next couple of days. They will be available for questions from students and parents during their designated class periods in the mornings and afternoons/early evenings are also possibilities. Please keep in mind that they may not be able to respond immediately, but will respond within 24 hours of an email, M-F. Communications Students in grades 7-12th grade will need to check their email and Google Classroom frequently during the day for communications from their teachers. PK-2nd grade families will want to check your email and SeeSaw (teachers will share about this with you) daily. This will be the primary way we communicate. 3rd-6th grade families will want to check their email and Google Classroom daily. Our elementary and secondary teachers do plan on utilizing Zoom as part of their communication and learning platform. They will provide information to parents and students to assist them in using Zoom. Grading There will be no grades given the first week April 6-9. Teachers at all grade levels will be sharing with you how grades will work in their communications to you over the next few days. The most important thing will be that students will engage in the learning activities that start on April 6. As a Parent, What Can I Do to Help? Your child should be able to complete most of the learning activities independently, but there will be times when your child has questions. We also understand the learning activities may be confusing at times. Therefore, please don’t let any activity stress your child or family. Just skip it, try another one, and reach out to the teacher for clarification. Develop a routine for your family with a designated time for learning activities. Students are active learners and can be a part of this process. Empower them to take charge of their learning and it will be more successful. We encourage you to set up a “workspace” for your child for activities requiring concentration and a quiet environment. If you need help with any of these suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or school counselors. They will be happy to brainstorm ideas that may work for your family. In Conclusion….. On Thursday, I will be sending out more information regarding technology/tech support, social emotional support for our students and family needs, and IEP/Title services and support. Starting on Thursday and continuing through the weekend, parents and students will be receiving important information from their teachers. Lessons will not formally begin until Monday, April 6. I’ve had some parents ask about yearbooks, spring pictures, preschool and kindergarten roundup, lunch money, graduation, etc. When things settle down in the next week or so, I will provide information to all of the parents regarding all of these and other end-of-the-school year topics as decisions are made. Please give grace and understand that our staff are at different levels of technology usage proficiency- some are further along than others and that’s ok. Everyone right now is working their tail off to become more adept at using technology for purposeful learning and communication so please keep that in mind. There will be questions and some glitches I’m sure during this time- that’s to be expected. We will do the best we can and are excited to see and begin working again with our students! Mr. Poell

Message to Parents/Guardians about the USD 322 Continuous Learning Plan What has the staff been doing these last 2 weeks? Staff began development of quality learning activities that not only re-emphasize the skills that have been taught previously, but also skills that will prepare students for the upcoming year. One of the main goals of our Continuous Learning Plan is to provide meaningful learning activities for students that can be completed independently for the most part and done at a time that is convenient for families. We understand this is going to look different for all of our families so we developed the Continuous Learning Plan with flexibility in mind. As parents, we encourage you to work with your child on the expectations as to when the learning activities will be completed. A clear message that we want to send to all families, regardless of the age of the students, is we don’t want anyone to struggle, be frustrated, or overwhelmed. If you’re needing guidance from the teacher for a learning activity, just skip that task until help from the teacher can be given. We developed learning activities to provide choices for all students using a variety of formats. There are going to be learning activities that will require technology, but also many that will not require technology. Students will not be penalized if they do not have access to technology. Here is the timeline that KSDE recommended for the various grade levels. This suggested time does not have to be in one setting, but can happen throughout the day. Additionally, if you discover your child is struggling to complete the suggested amount of activities per day, communicate with the teacher. The teacher will work with you on a modified plan. Pre-K: 30 minutes K-1: 45 minutes 2-3: 60 minutes 4-5: 90 minutes 6-12: 30 minutes per teacher (maximum of 3 hours) What will the first week (April 6 to April 9) look like? The Continuous Learning Plan will start Monday, April 6, and the first week is about reconnecting with students & families, establishing new routines, and providing ALL of us an opportunity to see what this new format will look like. Truly, it is almost like it is August again with new routines and new structures having to be established. What if my child does not have Internet access? We developed learning activities to provide choices for the students using a variety of formats. There are going to be activities requiring technology, but also many will not. Therefore, if you do not have Internet access, choose the activities that do not require it. Students will not be penalized if they do not have access to technology. What is the next information I will be receiving? We will be sharing information regarding communications and contacts for assistance, including technology, academic, and social emotional support for students and family needs. Also, families can expect information on how to contact teachers and support staff for help, what parents can do to help, office hours for teachers to provide support for students and parents, and what learning and communication platforms will be used for learning from now through May 15. Additionally, parents can expect information to be shared on student technology usage and expectations. Teachers will soon also be sharing their weekly schedules as well. There will be additional information shared as well. We know this pandemic has caused stress to families and our community. We recognize and understand that fact. We will do everything in our power, to make this a positive time for the children and the families. This is the time for Grace & Flexibility for ALL! FAMILIES, WE THANK YOU FOR BEING TRUE PARTNERS IN EDUCATION! Be expecting further information over the next couple of days as we draw closer to the start of classes beginning again on April 6. Please know that there will be no classes on Friday, April 10 and Monday, April 13th, as these dates are on the calendar that we have no school due to Good Friday and the Easter holiday. Thank you! Mr. Poell

This Monday and Tuesday will be the dates for parents of students preschool through sixth grade to pick up their children's belongings. If you have not already set up a time for pick up, please email Karen Utley at utleyk@usd322.org to set that up. Thank You -Karen Utley

The phone number for Tech Support at K12ITC is 816-382-4840 or 1-855-K12-TECH. They also have chat support at CHAT.K12ITC.COM

K12itc is excited to announce we have expanded our Help Desk to now serve your students and their parents during the Covid-19 Virtual Learning weeks. Our Help Desk will be available to students and parents Monday – Friday, 8:00AM CST to 5:00PM CST. Staff support will remain the same (Monday – Friday, 6:00AM CST to 7:00PM CST). The Help Desk has the ability to support students with the following items: - Password issues with district related applications. - Questions regarding specific applications supported at a district level. - Troubleshooting district owned devices. - Best effort support on connecting a device to a home or public wireless network. - Non-district devices cannot be supported for hardware malfunction, virus, ransomware or spyware issues. - Printing outside of a district school building will be best effort support due to complexities involved with home printers.

In addition to Blue Valley updating their internet capabilities, cellular providers are upgrading as well. Please contact your provider to see how they can help and support your student’s continual learning. Sprint is: - Providing unlimited data for 60 days to customers with metered data plans. - Giving 20 GB of free mobile hotspot to customers with hotspot-capable devices. AT&T is: - Allowing all AT&T customer home internet wireline customers, as well as Fixed Wireless Internet, can use unlimited internet data. - Offering internet access for qualifying limited-income households at $10 a month through their Access from AT&T program. - Offering new Access from AT&T customers two months of free service. Verizon is: - Adding 15GB of data across nearly all of their plans to be used between 3/25/2020 and 4/30/2020. This is just a brief overview of a few cellular providers. There may be more that they can do for you than what is listed. If you are a family that thinks these services could help, please call your cellular provider to discuss your needs.

As of today, March 25, 2020 the school Wi-Fi has been set to a guest Wi-Fi that does not require a password. Although you can not be in the building, you may be able to get a signal out in the parking lot, or school grounds.This is a limited network.

Please have students in grades 7-12 check their school emails for information from teachers. Thank you.

For those families needing to update their internet capabilities to better support their child's learning, Blue Valley Technologies is currently offering to students in our service area. Please contact them immediately if you are interested, because they uncertain how long they will continue to go into homes to hook up new customers due to the coronavirus. For students who currently have BV Internet. As a thank you for their loyalty, those that are on lower speed tiers that need more speed due to online classroom work: They can upgrade to 40Mx10M at no additional cost for 60 days. For students who do not currently have Internet: They will waive all installation fees They will waive any deposit requirements They will give a $125 broadband bill credit to be credited on first month’s bill They will give a $50 phone credit to be credited on first month’s bill And there is no minimum term requirement For most families, these credits should allow the customer to have free service through the end of the school term. If you are a family in either of the above situations, please call Blue Valley Technologies at 785-799-3311or 877-876-1228 to discuss your needs.

For parents and patrons of USD 322: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/USD322Onaga The new superintendent hire survey is available on the URL above. Cut and paste it into your browser and let your voice be heard! Your input is important and appreciated! The deadline is March 25, 2020

Update on Meal Deliveries: If you have requested meals to be delivered, PLEASE be at the driveway entrance to pick them up. For safety reasons, our delivery drivers will not come to the door.

UPDATE: Local and District Scholarships - for safety reasons, please only send scholarship applications electronically to Mrs. Krause (krausem@usd322.org). If you need assistance, please reach out to Mrs. Krause. Due date is April 3, 2020 by 5pm.

Update on meals: If you have signed up for meals for your children and they will not need them on a certain day, please text Karla at 785-456-4640. Thank you!