As we plan for school in the fall of 2020, Gates County Schools needs your feedback.
Please fill out the survey here.
A letter to parents from Dr. Williams:
Good Evening Gates County Public School Families:
As you know, Governor Cooper has implemented a three-phased approach to slowly lift restrictions while combating COVID-19, protecting North Carolinians and working together to recover the economy. In order to secure the safety and protection of children and their families across the state, Governor Cooper, in collaboration with the NC State Board of Education (NCSBE) and the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), closed public school buildings for in-person instruction through the 2019 – 2020 school year.
Since then, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has worked closely with NCDPI and NCSBE to meet the nutritional, educational and child care needs of students during school closure, and plan for safely reopening schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Throughout the process, school, child care, child nutrition, and community leaders and stakeholders have been engaged to share ideas and provide input.
With reopening schools on the horizon, the Gates County administrative team has been in ongoing contact with the Governor’s Office, the State Board, and DPI in their development of the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12) for families, students, and local education leaders.
The Toolkit lays out a comprehensive set of baseline educational and health practices that all public schools must follow to minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19 for students, staff, and families.
Key information inside the Toolkit, illustrates how schools are directed to plan for reopening under three potential scenarios:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html
and includes requirements and recommended detail practices for eight areas:
We would love your feedback on the current school closing. Please fill out the survey which is located on the webpage by June 22. Your participation is crucial to help us to finalize our plans so we can get specific details about the 2020-21 school year to our entire community as soon as possible.
Respectfully,
Dr. Barry Williams, Superintendent of Schools
& the Gates County Board of Education
Please fill out the survey here.
A letter to parents from Dr. Williams:
Good Evening Gates County Public School Families:
As you know, Governor Cooper has implemented a three-phased approach to slowly lift restrictions while combating COVID-19, protecting North Carolinians and working together to recover the economy. In order to secure the safety and protection of children and their families across the state, Governor Cooper, in collaboration with the NC State Board of Education (NCSBE) and the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), closed public school buildings for in-person instruction through the 2019 – 2020 school year.
Since then, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has worked closely with NCDPI and NCSBE to meet the nutritional, educational and child care needs of students during school closure, and plan for safely reopening schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Throughout the process, school, child care, child nutrition, and community leaders and stakeholders have been engaged to share ideas and provide input.
With reopening schools on the horizon, the Gates County administrative team has been in ongoing contact with the Governor’s Office, the State Board, and DPI in their development of the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12) for families, students, and local education leaders.
The Toolkit lays out a comprehensive set of baseline educational and health practices that all public schools must follow to minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19 for students, staff, and families.
Key information inside the Toolkit, illustrates how schools are directed to plan for reopening under three potential scenarios:
- Plan A: Minimal Social Distancing,
- Plan B: Moderate Social Distancing; or
- Plan C: Remote Learning Only
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html
and includes requirements and recommended detail practices for eight areas:
- Social Distancing and Minimizing Exposure;
- Cloth Face Coverings;
- Protecting Vulnerable Populations;
- Cleaning and Hygiene;
- Monitoring for Symptoms;
- Handling Suspected, Presumptive or Confirmed Positive Cases of COVID-19;
- Communication and Combating Misinformation;
- Water and Ventilation Systems;
- Transportation; and
- Coping and Resilience.
- Includes a sample screening symptom checklist in English and Spanish,
- Provides a flow chart and protocol for handling suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19
- Information on infection control supplies and PPE schools may need. Of note, we have confirmed that State Emergency Management will be providing face shields, thermometers, surgical masks, and gowns for all public-school nurses and individuals delegated to perform medical tasks. We’ve arranged for convenience contracts for other supplies such as cloth face coverings and hand sanitizer to facilitate purchasing by public schools.
We would love your feedback on the current school closing. Please fill out the survey which is located on the webpage by June 22. Your participation is crucial to help us to finalize our plans so we can get specific details about the 2020-21 school year to our entire community as soon as possible.
Respectfully,
Dr. Barry Williams, Superintendent of Schools
& the Gates County Board of Education
Grades 2-5 Virtual Awards Day 2020 Click here to view!
Resources for Students during the Coronavirus Break
Websites Pandas Have Used at School:
ABCya
(For ABCya - just click on the grade level you want and start learning - you do not have to "Join now for premium")
i-Ready
(Students have usernames and passwords in packets or should know them)
Turtle Diary
Room Recess
Epic!
Seussville
Letterland
Wonders
IXL
Accelerated Reader
(To find out book levels, go here. If you need help with a username or password, email dickersonle@gatescountyschools.net) Students can read books on Epic! and take tests if they like.
This site is an addition to Accelerated Reader - students can read books and then take AR tests:
MyON
School Name: Read at Home
Username: readnow
Password: myon
These 3 resources are wonderful and currently available through April 20!
BookFlix
TrueFlix
Watch and Learn Library
For all three sites listed above: Username: Learning20 Password: Clifford
Free EBOOKS
Username: ABDO Elementary Password: 2020
Science and Social Studies:
Brain Pop
Username: bucklandpandas Password: Pandas1
Mystery Science
Scholastic Learn at Home
Online Research for Elementary Students
Physical Education Resource:
Active Home
Hip Hop Public Health
Go Noodle
Ways to Get Moving at Home
Listen to Stories:
Audible
Music Websites:
Whack A Note
San Francisco Symphony
Classical History and Music and Games
Jam Studio (online mixer)
For a list of resources from Mrs. Braatz, click here.
Talking to your children about coronavirus:
Click here to go to a Brain Pop on coronavirus.
PBS Resources for talking to kids
Age of Learning Resources
To help families across the U.S. whose schools are closed in these difficult times, Age of Learning is working with our school and district to provide free home access to ABCmouse Early Learning Academy, Adventure Academy, and ReadingIQ during the period of the closure. These leading digital education programs include valuable educational content for Pre-K, elementary, and middle school students.
- ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy is the leading and most comprehensive digital early learning resource for students in preschool through 2nd grade. ABCmouse offers a research-validated curriculum with more than 10,000 individual Learning Activities and more than 850 complete lessons along our Step-by-Step Learning Path. ABCmouse includes a significant amount of Spanish language content.
- Adventure Academy is a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) for students in 3rd through 8th grade. Adventure Academy brings learning to life as it builds critical knowledge of essential curriculum topics with thousands of learning activities in language arts, math, science, and social studies in a safe and engaging virtual world.
- ReadingIQ is an advanced digital library and literacy platform for children through 6th grade that provides access to thousands of high-quality books, all curated by experts to advance literacy. ReadingIQ includes many books in Spanish, and an offline mode that does not require continuous Internet connectivity.
To redeem:
Redeem Code: SCHOOL5853 (This code will work for all 3 products.)
*For these three resources, some parents have gotten the message "wrong school district" when they typed in the username and password using a phone. For some reason, it works better registering from a computer.
Click these links and enter the code:
ABC Mouse
Reading IQ
Adventure Academy
Thursday Nights at 7:00 - Dolly Parton will read a bedtime story here.
Families who need help finding meals for their children ages 18 and younger can text FOODNC to 877-877 to locate nearby free meal sites.
From Mrs. McNair
5 Tips to Help Parents Survive While Being Quarantined at Home with their Children
Create a schedule- Khan Academy’s website is a great resource. (khanacademy.org) Khan Academy has created age-appropriate schedules for parents to help children stay focused while continuing to learn.
Maintain a routine- Having a routine is a great way to ensure that children stay on track. Creating a screen time routine is especially important during this time. Create a set time everyday that children can use their electronic devices. That way they do not become too focused on constantly wanting to use their devices.
Embrace art supplies, sticker books, puzzles, etc.- These activities will create a fun, learning environment for your child while taking a break from academics and electronic devices.
Allow time for your child to write letters/journal- Allowing children time to write a letter to a loved one or to journal their feelings during this time is not only a great way for them to express themselves, but it will also create memories for years to come.
Find ways for your children to learn while having fun- PBS kids (pbskids.org) is a website with educational videos and games for children. There is also a section for parents with tips on how to maintain normalcy during this time.
