Ms. Wold's Class

As we go into break, here are a couple of things to know.

• Please continue to practice healthy habits, like washing your hands and coughing into your elbow.
• Free food will be available each day next week, if you need it, and families will receive information on that.
• The Bethel Health Center will remain open next week.

We will look forward to having you back on April 1 April 29. We’ll be waiting for you.

I wanted families to know that I’ve put together a folder of materials for students to work on over the extended break, if parents are interested. If your student is in attendance today, March 13, 2020, they will come home with the folder. If your student is not in attendance and you would like the work folder, they have are available at the front office. You can pick up until 3:45pm today. None of the work in the folder or online opportunities I post are required. I simply want to make resources available to anyone who is interested.

In addition to the work in the folder, students have several online options for continuing to learn over the break. I recommend iReady online lessons for math instruction and/or IXL (login information is included in the student folders). Both are linked from this website under Student Resources>Student Links>Class Links. The kids know how to access this page and most know their logins by heart. I also recommend students continue their work on their fact fluency using XtraMath, which is linked from our website, as well.

For reading, I encourage students to read, read, read! As of the time of this post, the Eugene Public Library is still open and operational. The downtown branch is open 12pm-6pm and the Sheldon and Bethel branches are maintaining their regular hours. If you prefer to stay at home, they also offer several electronic options for enjoying library resources, including e-books, at no additional charge. Learn more here: http://eugene.libguides.com/ebooks. Need a library card? Go here: https://www.eugene-or.gov/1002/Get-or-renew-a-card.

I’ll also be posting additional resources periodically for families to explore. Again, nothing is required. I just want to share resources your child(ren) may find interesting during this extended break to keep those little minds busy! 🙂

I’m going to miss seeing these kiddos’ smiling faces the next two weeks! Take care of yourself and your families. Stay healthy!

At the request of Oregon Governor Kate Brown, all Bethel schools and programs will close beginning Monday, March 16th, and will reopen Wednesday, April 1st for students. Teachers are tentatively scheduled to return on Monday, March 30.

– While schools will not be open, we are finalizing plans to provide bagged to-go lunches at several of our sites. Details will be shared as soon as they are confirmed, including locations and times.

– Childcare providers that are located on school campuses will not be open during the school closure.

– This is intended to be a temporary closure and we will not be providing distance learning at this time.

– There are many decisions yet to be made, including whether these days will be made up at the end of the school year.

We all hope this closure will be successful in combating the coronavirus, and we look forward to being able to return to our normal, healthy school routine.

Latest update from the District Office:

At the direction of Oregon Governor Kate Brown and the recommendation of public health experts, Bethel School District will begin postponing events which are intended to bring together large groups of students, parents and staff. This is intended to encourage social distancing as a method to prevent the spread of COVID-19, although at this time no cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Lane County.

Large non-essential school and district-based gatherings and group activities such as Oregon Battle of the Books, music concerts, school assemblies, field trips, PTO meetings, KIDSPORTS practices and games, and family nights will be suspended. This action will remain in effect for approximately 4 weeks, with the possibility that the time frame could be adjusted. This means our Family Fun Night (tonight, March 12th) is postponed and the field trip to the Hult Center on March 17th are cancelled. We will work on rescheduling our Family Fun Night and information will be sent out later.

Bethel School District fully realizes that this change will impact a number of highly anticipated events for which students, parents, and staff have worked long and hard to prepare. We are not alone in experiencing these unanticipated changes; school districts throughout the state are now making similar plans to postpone events.

From the District Office:

Bethel School District families should know that the health and safety of our students and staff is always our top priority. We are in constant communication with Lane County Public Health (LCPH) and will be notified by them of increased precautions or actions the district need to take as a response to the coronavirus, COVID-19. LCPH also guides us on potential school closures or health-related measures in our schools. Any change that affects students, staff or school operations will be shared with families as quickly as possible.

Our District health team has increased the monitoring of illnesses and encourages families to follow the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines: stay home when sick, contact your health provider with illness concerns, and continue common preventative measures to remain free from illness, including hand washing, covering coughs, not touching eyes, nose or mouth.

As a preventative measure, cleaning and disinfecting of our schools is being performed daily with recommended products. Meanwhile, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and CDC websites continue to include updates on the virus. We encourage the use of these reliable sites as sources for accurate and factual information.

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
OHA: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/pages/index.aspx