Opening In-Person for Traditional Model

September 17, 2020

 Dear Cypress Village Families Attending Traditional Model:

As you know, the Governor’s order has been lifted and we will begin in-person instruction on Thursday, September 24th. We are very excited to welcome our students to campus. Please understand that every effort will be made to keep our students safe and to follow the social distancing guidelines designed for schools.

With that in mind, even though your child will be attending our traditional instructional model, school will look very different from past years.  Our school’s beginning and ending times remain the same as last year.  Students in grades 1 - 3 will begin school at 8:15 A.M. Students in grades 4 - 6 will begin school at 8:00 A.M. Students in grades 1-3 will be dismissed at 2:15 P.M., and students in grades 4-6 will be dismissed at 2:37 P.M. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Wednesdays and minimum days, students in grades 1 – 6 will begin school at the same time as the other days and be dismissed at 1:30 P.M. Please see the more detailed daily schedule available on our school’s website.

To the extent feasible, Cypress Village will follow these recommendations and best practices during the Covid pandemic:

Arrival and Dismissal

• Students must wear a mask on campus unless there is a medically allowed exemption.

• When arriving at school, students should go directly to their classroom and enter through the outside classroom door. Parents may walk their child to the door, drop off at the sidewalk in our parking lots or near the school at the designated locations, or allow their child to walk. Students in grades 3rd-6th may also ride their bike to and from school. 

• Parents should limit their time on campus during arrival and dismissal. When on campus, parents must wear a mask/shield, may not enter the school building unless it is in the office for an appointment,  and must practice social distancing 

• At dismissal time, students will be dismissed from school through their outside classroom door. 

• If parents choose to wait outside the classroom doors to pick up their child at dismissal, they may only do so until 5 minutes before school is out. Because class is still in session for upper grades when our primary students are dismissed, except on Wednesdays, we ask that parents do not wait or congregate near the classrooms. Parents may also arrange with their child to meet them at a designated spot on/off campus, or allow their child to walk home. Students in grades 3rd-6th may also ride their bike to and from school. 

• Students and parents may not congregate, play, or hang out on campus after students are dismissed. Everyone is expected to leave campus immediately following dismissal. This includes waiting for an upper grade sibling. 

School Day Operation

• Students will remain with their classroom cohort throughout the day and will not be with other classroom cohorts at any time.

• Classes will be split into two groups throughout the majority of the day. Desks will be spread out to allow for social distancing to the extent possible.

• Each class has two assigned classrooms where daily instruction will occur.

• The entire class will be together each day during the class opening and closing, recess, lunch, and a few instructional times. Desks will be spread out as much as possible to allow for social distancing.

• In addition to the teacher, each class has an instructional assistant that supports learning and assists with social distancing.

• Students will have their own desk. Students will not share desks.

• Desk shields will be provided for each student’s desk.

• Teaching specialists like science, music, PE, and art will often be taught in the home classroom.  When a specialist teaches in another area, proper cleaning and disinfecting will occur between classes.

• When students must travel from one part of campus to another, social distancing guidelines will be followed.

• Frequent hand washing and disinfecting will occur throughout the day.

• Cypress Village will limit sharing of supplies between students to the extent possible and encourage students to take home personal items for cleaning daily.

• Students are encouraged to bring refillable water bottles. Drinking fountains will be closed.

• In order to reduce contact with others, parent volunteers will not be utilized this year.

• Students who have already checked out Chromebooks from IUSD will bring the device to and from school each day they are on campus (unless they no longer need it at home). Students who have not checked out a Chromebook will have a dedicated device available in their classroom for them. 

• Classroom cohorts will be able to check out library books via a mobile library that will be brought to the class. Proper cleaning and disinfecting will occur between classes. Returned books will be quarantined for at least 6 days before being available for checkout again, per district guidelines. Specific book requests can be made by using a library provided google form.

Recess and Lunch

• Students will eat lunch in their classroom at their desk. Snacks can be taken to the assigned play area.

• During recess and lunch, students will play each day in an assigned playground zone that separates them from other classes. They will rotate on the next day to another playground zone.

• The play structures will be closed for play due to the difficulty associated with cleaning and sanitizing them thoroughly between recess play times. 

• Individual classroom play equipment will be provided, cleaned daily, and only used by classroom cohort.

• Students will be allowed to go to the cafeteria for Snack and Lunch. 

  • Please note: Early morning meals will be available from 7 – 8 a.m. for all IUSD students. Locations for morning meals: Culverdale Elementary, Jeffrey Trail Middle School, and Woodbridge High School. Families will be asked for their student’s first and last name or student ID to enter in the point of sale system.  Cash or check payments will be accepted to be deposited to students accounts.  Providing change is not possible at this time.

  • If you would like to apply for your child to receive free or reduced price lunch, please click here. Many families qualify for free and reduced lunch, so please do not hesitate to apply.

  • Students will use hand sanitizer when entering and exiting the cafeteria and will be required to wear a face covering. 

  • All serving lines will be single-sided. 

  • Students will line up with 6 feet of distance between each student; markings on the floor will help designate space. 

  • Students will line up with their class, so that staff will be able to select students in the point of sale system using photos and/or names in each classroom.  This practice will eliminate students entering their number on a pin pad. 

  • Nutrition Services staff will be required to wear face coverings, plastic gloves, and disposable aprons. 

  • A limited selection of entrees and a la carte items will be available.  There will not be a salad bar this school year.  Everything served will be wrapped.  

  • Utensils and condiments will be handed directly to the students.

  • Nutrition Services staff will disinfect the high-touch areas between each serving period.

 Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting

• Custodial staff has been trained in COVID-19 cleaning and disinfecting procedures.

• Cleaning protocols are in place for Cypress Village to deep clean, sanitize and disinfect.

• Scheduled cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces (e.g., playground equipment, door handles, sink handles, drinking fountains, light switches, bathroom surfaces, tables, student desks, chairs) within the school and on school buses will occur at least daily or between use as much as possible. 

• Playground equipment will be regularly inspected and cleaned for student use.

• The cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting products used meet EPA disinfection criteria. Staff members using cleaning products have been trained on proper use.

Additionally, around any elementary school, there are a few challenges present.  Of greatest concern is the automobile traffic around the school and the related congestion at arrival and dismissal times. For this reason, in collaboration with the Irvine Police Department and the City of Irvine, very specific procedures have been created and exist for dropping students off, picking them up, and parking. Your cooperation and flexibility is requested with these established guidelines. As a reminder, the loading and unloading zones are for dropping off and picking up students. At no time should a driver leave his or her car unattended and parked in the loading zones. The Irvine Police will be patrolling this area and violators will be cited. In addition, in order to increase the number of access points to the school and promote social distancing, we have opened both parking lots for student drop-off/pick-up.

Once again, I want to assure you that the staff and I are committed to providing each student with a safe and orderly learning environment and a rigorous, challenging, and developmentally appropriate curriculum during this unique and unusual school year. We are honored to have the opportunity to work with your child and very excited to teach them in person. As always, should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at 936-8900 or email me at JenniferLambert@iusd.org.

S.T.O.R.M. ON!

Jennifer Lambert

Principal