Harris Elementary School

College Go Week at Harris!

We are kicking off College Go Week on Monday. Students will be learning about college and careers. We also have a dress up day planned for Wednesday.

Text Book Fees NOW OVER DUE: You were prompted during registration to identify how you would handle textbook rental fees. If you are sending a check to school, please place it in an envelope with your child's name and teacher marked. Fees were due on Sept. 13. If you have not yet paid these, you will soon notice about overdue book fees. Thanks for your attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Anita Workman at 317-467-6731.

We believe that this is an important part of our partnership with parents, so we will again have our Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences. Your child's teacher will send a link on their messaging app to sign up for virtual conferences soon. These conferences will be held on either October 26th or 28th. If you have a need to meet wit your teacher in person, please let him or her know, so we can assess this need and plan accordingly.

Hancock County Promise: It is never too late to start saving for college. If you haven’t registered your child yet for an Indiana CollegeChoice 529 account through the Hancock County Promise - register today!

Clothing Borrowed from Clinic

Occasionally, a student needs to borrow clothing from our clinic. If your child has borrowed clothing, we kindly request that you wash and return these items. We have a limited supply available. If you would like to donate to our closet, we are currently in need of new underwear for boys in a small size (6-7) and boys size small shorts and t-shirts in new or lightly used condition.

Vaccinations

Letters were mailed to families whose students are not compliant with vaccinations. These dates do not have an exclusion date on them, and are being sent as a first notice for families. These letters are serving as gentle reminders about vaccinations needing to be completed. The GC official exclusion date is October 2nd this year, so we recommended to go ahead and complete the vaccinations. Virtual students are not exempt from the vaccination requirements. Please contact our clinic if you have any questions.

COVID19 - What if we are sick or have symptoms?

Effective Tuesday, September 8, 2020

All changes reflect guidance provided for schools by the Indiana State Department of Health

EVERYDAY AT HARRIS

All items subject to change as new guidance is received.

Technology: All Harris students will bring home their devices nightly. Please plan to have a system to safely store, charge, and return devices ready for learning each day. Please do not change passwords to the device or student applications.

Dismissal: Please remember that if your child is going home using a method differently than normal, please either complete School Dismissal Manager or contact our main office at 317-467-6731 to let us know before 1:00 pm.

Visits to Harris: Due to restrictions with CoVid 19, visits to Harris will be limited. This includes classroom volunteers and lunches until further notice. If you have a need to visit Harris, please contact the office to make an appointment.

Text Book Fees:  You were prompted during registration to identify how you would handle textbook rental fees. If you are sending a check to school, please place it in an envelope with your child's name and teacher marked.

Hand Washing: Students will be asked to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer often throughout the day. Please reinforce with your child the importance of washing and sanitizing their hands well.

Drinking Fountains: As noted in the district plan, drinking fountains will be closed. Students are allowed to bring their own, labeled water bottle with them. Please ensure that water bottles have a sealing lid. Only water is permitted. We will have water refilling stations available.

Lanyards and Masks: Harris, please ensure that your child has a clean mask for school every day. The lanyards have worked well for ensuring they are not lost.

Parent Teacher Organization

PTO: We have a wonderful Parent Teacher Organization. They have been so generous in helping buy some new things we need for the unique year we are facing, including: lanyards for face masks, additional traffic cones for our car line, and updated recess equipment for students and teachers. There will be more info from them on how and when they will meet. This year, we will need to focus on low or no contact fundraising options. Your support will be helpful in continuing to have the great resources we enjoy for Harris students. Thank you in advance for your support and generosity.

Fall Fundraiser

The PTO Fall Fundraiser is getting ready to kick off next week and will run from Sept. 21 - October 5. Due to restrictions related to Covid19, our fundraiser will be online and contactless this year. You will be able to create an account and link for your child and easily share that with family and friends who might want to help your child earn prizes and support our school. The great news is that you don't have to collect money since customers order directly online and the purchased products will ship directly to their address.

Whether you choose to participate in fundraisers, send in a direct donation to the PTO, which is a popular hassle free option, or just give teachers and staff a note of encouragement, we are grateful for what you are able to do.

Transportation

Car Rider Line: Many Harris and GIS families have chosen to use our car line. Efficiency in our line has improved greatly. A few things that you can do to help include:

• moving car seats to side of the car where your student enters and exits,
• helping your child learn how to manage the buckle independently,
• having your child put on his or her mask ahead of arriving at Harris,
• and making sure the book bag and other supplies are close to your child so he or she can grab them quickly.

We really enjoy seeing our families at arrival and dismissal!

Arrival

School Starts @ 7:50 AM

Upon entering Harris, students should report directly to their classroom. They may stop and purchase breakfast at one of our locations spread throughout the building. Breakfast will be eaten in the classroom. Please let your child know if he or she should purchase a school breakfast.

Harris AM Drop Off: Harris officially opens the doors to students beginning at 7:30 AM, using the car line off Elm Street on the north side of the building. Students left before that time are not supervised and left in an unsafe situation. Please ensure the safety of your child by supervising them until they are dismissed from your car by school staff.

Dismissal

School Dismisses at 2:10

Special Transportation: As noted in the GC Re-Entry Plan, there will be no special transportation requests this year. The only bus students may ride to and from school is their assigned bus, which is determined by the student's address. Students may not ride home with friends, or make any other arrangements.

Leaving by car: Students who are being picked up by a car should use the car line off of Elm Street on the north side of the school. When picking up a students, please remain in your car. Staff will assist in safely loading students, and you will need to follow their directions. Please leave your car tag visible until after your child has entered the car. If you do not have a car tag, you may be asked to pull around. If you are picking up a GIS student with a Harris student, it is recommended that you do not arrive early. It takes GIS students a while to walk over. You must let GIS know that you are picking up a student at Harris so that they can be dismissed appropriately in their staggered dismissal. If your GIS child was unable to make it to Harris on time, you will be asked to pull around to the end of the line to ensure that the Harris car line remains efficient and safe.

Leaving by foot: For students who live in a walk zone and leave on foot, they will exit out Door 1 by the office after 2:10. For the safety of our walkers, cars are not to park in this area during dismissal. Parents on foot will meet their students outside of Harris near door 1. This year, you may not enter Harris to sit in our lobby. At 2:10, a staff member will identify the parent and retrieve the student one child at a time. Parents meeting students on foot are asked to practice safe social distancing outside and are encouraged to wear masks and/or follow all local and state guidance for safe social distancing.

Other Transportation Information

School Dismissal Manager:  Changes needing made to dismissal should be reported by by 1:00 PM.

Harris uses the School Dismissal Manager program or app to manage transportation arrangements for our students at the end of the day. Parents may also use this to report absences or schedule early dismissal for appointments. To ensure an accurate dismissal, any change you need to make to your child's after school transportation should be done through this prior to 1:00 PM.

Buses: Students at bus stops should wear a mask and socially distance at bus stops while riding a bus. On the bus, students will be assigned a seat, and sibling groups may be asked to ride together. Students should practice safe social distancing when entering and exiting a bus. When arriving at school, students should follow the directions of a staff member for safe unloading and report directly to their classroom. Buses will be cleaned after AM and PM routes.

Ride 360: This year you will have the ability to see your child's bus number, approximate bus pick up time and approximate, drop off time. Registering for this services is easy. All you have to do is go to your APP store, download the Ride 36- app, and enter your information that ties your student to your account.

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Breakfast and Lunch

USDA Waiver for FREE School Meals

We are pleased to share that the Department of Food Services has been approved for a nationwide USDA waiver to extend FREE meal benefits to all students in our school corporation. The waiver is effective immediately and runs through December 31, 2020, or until funding is no longer available. All students can purchase one breakfast and one lunch per day FREE OF CHARGE! Attached you will find an information letter outlining the waiver, and answers to a few questions parents/guardians may have regarding the change.

Lunch Prices 2020-2021:

• Elementary Breakfast: $1.75
• Reduced Breakfast: $.30
• Elementary Lunch: $2.85
• Reduced Lunch: $.40
• Extra Milk: $.50

Breakfast:  This year, breakfast will be Grab & Go. As students enter the building, there will be several stations that they can stop at and purchase a breakfast to take back to the classroom with them. Students will have a grain choice, one cup of fruit, and milk. Breakfast will be available the first day of school.

2-Hour Delays & Breakfast: Harris does NOT serve breakfast on 2-Hour delays.

Lunch: Lunch at Harris this year will have a few changes. We plan to use more than one supervised location for the purpose of keeping students with their classroom cohort and appropriately spaced. Students will eat in the same assigned area and assigned seat daily. Students will be distanced to the greatest extent possible. Tables will be cleaned between each group of students. Visitors are not permitted at lunch.

Lunch Accounts - Greenfield-Central is once again using www.ezschoolpay.com to put lunch money in your child’s lunch account (there is a small fee and you will need your child’s student number found on Powerschool). Lunch money may also be submitted by check when you come to registration. Please be sure to keep your child’s lunch account in good standing. Additionally, our cafeteria computer system does not have the capabilities to put a “block” on student lunch accounts for purchasing extra lunch items. You will want to make sure your child is on the same page as you when it comes to spending lunch account money. You can also pay textbook rental fees and iPad insurance on ezschoolpay as well!

Stay Connected with Harris

Future Dates at Harris

*The following dates are tentative and are subject to change based on national, state, and local guidance.

Harris Specific Dates

• Picture Retakes: September 29, 2020
• Parent Teacher Conferences: October 26 and October 28
• Fall Break: October 5 - October 16, 2020
• Thanksgiving Break: November 25-27

Opportunities Around GC

Coat Drive

• SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2020 AT 11 AM – 2 PM
• 2nd Annual Community Coat Drive
• The Apostolic Pentecostal Church, along with Steak n' Shake of Greenfield, will be hosting a free coat give-away on 9-19-20, 11am-2pm. Winter coats, sizes infant to adult, along with hats and gloves, will be available. Look for the APCGI tent set up in front of Steak n' Shake on State Rd. 9.