January 5, 2021
Greetings DNS Families!
Happy 2021, and I hope that you had a wonderful winter break. We are excited to be back at school! This week we welcome back a few distance learners who have opted into in-person instruction for the Jan-June portion of the school year. We are still on track to transition to 100% of students, 5 days per week next week. Below, please find some important details and reminders for this transition.
Bus Information:
It is more important than ever that you have your child(ren) ready and waiting at the bus stop for the bus. They should not be waiting inside the house or your car as our buses cannot stop and wait for children to be unbuckled, bags to be grabbed, masks put on, etc. Buses are running on very tight schedules in order to make the A and B runs work for 100% and we need families’ help in keeping our buses on time.
At drop off, for those students who are not dropped off without seeing a parent/guardian present (K students) it is again crucial that parents are ready and waiting, visible to the bus driver, so that the buses are not waiting. At hybrid, bus drivers have often attempted to drop off children several times on a bus run, but this is not going to be possible when we have multiple runs at 100%. Any children who cannot be dropped off at the first attempt will likely be returned to the school, and parents will have to come pick them up.
We will also be bringing back a fun celebration of our positive behaviors on the bus - it’s the return of Bus of the Month! Each month we will recognize the students on a bus for being kind, safe, and responsible riders. The bus will have the “Bus of the Month” magnet on it for that month.
Updated bus information, including new times, is attached at the end of this - please review it if your student rides the bus!
Food Service:
A few changes are happening to support students returning to school at 100%. In the morning, after the B cohort of students has arrived, all students who eat breakfast will do so in their classrooms. Teachers have spaced out eating locations six feet apart, so that students can have school breakfast or their snack from home to begin their days.
Because breakfasts will be delivered to and eaten in classrooms, the weekly breakfast menu has changed slightly. Breakfast will be:
Monday - Cereal
Tuesday - Muffin
Wednesday - Cereal
Thursday - Bagel with Cream Cheese
Friday - Breakfast Sandwich
Lunch will be in the cafeteria, in 2-3 class cohorts in order to maintain group sizes of less than 50. We will have one lunch option, with no alternate sandwich choice. We will, as always, have meals for students who may have a documented allergy to an item in the main lunch choice.
Late Start Wednesday:
As we resume a more typical school schedule, our Wednesdays will go back to being late start Wednesdays as they have been in past years. Each cohort group will arrive at school one hour later on Wednesdays. Bus pickup times will also be one hour later. Dismissal time is the same as the other days.
Things that are the same:
Students and staff will continue to wear cloth face masks. Please send your child with a clean face mask as well as a spare mask in case a change is needed during the school day.
Social distancing will be in place, with a minimum of three feet between students.
We will continue to have frequent hand washing and hand sanitizing.
Water fountains are closed, however there are water jugs in classrooms for refilling of water bottles. Please send your child with a filled, clean water bottle each day.
The home health screening must be completed by parents prior to children coming to school each day. In case you need it again, the home health screening can be found here
Please continue to contact our school nurse with any health questions, especially those related to our COVID safety protocols.
We need your most up-to-date contact information in case your child is symptomatic and needs to be picked up. Please ensure you have a backup plan for picking up your child if you are unavailable.
If your child is absent from school, you need to contact the secretary or the school nurse before sending them back to school.
The school building, including the playground, is closed to parents and visitors. Please note that we cannot allow entry into the building.
Here is the link for the RSU1 COVID resource page in case you need more information
Thank you, and we look forward to seeing all the kids back next week!
(Bus information on next page, in case you’d like to print it)
Jennifer McKay
Principal, Dike-Newell School
BUSES: New Schedule (beginning 1/112021)
Group A:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:25-2:15
AM parent drop off: 8:15-8:25 - no change
AM bus pick ups: no changes to current time
PM parent pick up: 2:15-2:25
PM bus return*: Bus 66 - 40 minutes earlier, Bus 42 - 30-45 minutes earlier, Bus 47 & 51 - 45 minutes earlier, Bus 45 - 45-60 minutes earlier, Bus 32 - 40-60 minutes earlier
*For more specific times, please connect with your driver at the bus stop this week.
Wednesday - 9:25-2:15
AM parent drop off: 9:15-9:25
AM bus pick ups: 1 hour later than new time
PM parent pick up: 2:15-2:25
PM bus return: see above
Group B:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9:00-3:00
AM parent drop off: 9:00-9:10
AM bus pick ups*: Bus 66 - 45-55 minutes later, Bus 42 - 45-55 minutes later, Bus 47 - 40-60 minutes later, Bus 51 - 45-50 minutes later, Bus 45 - 55-60 minutes later, Bus 32 - 55 minutes later
*For more specific times, please connect with your driver at the bus stop this week.
PM parent pick up: 3:00-3:10 - no change
PM bus return: no changes to current time
Wednesday - 10:00-3:00
AM parent drop off: 10:00-10:10
AM bus pick ups: see above
PM parent pick up: 3:00-3:10 - no change
PM bus return: no changes to current time