PRINCIPAL’S CORNER

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year. We are excited to begin this journey with you. We are confident that this will be a successful school year working as partners to achieve academic excellence.

We look forward to working with you as we begin the new year with remote instruction. Our teachers are committed to delivering quality education to our students and making the connections that make the difference in your child’s learning. If you choose to remain at West Utica Elementary in the remote learning, you do not need to do anything. Your child’s schedule is already being built and teachers will remain the same through the year, even if we transition back to in-person learning. If you choose to go into the Utica Community Schools Virtual Academy for the 1st semester, that choice must be made by Friday, August 14 by following the instructions here.

You can expect frequent communications from us as we look forward to the start of the 2020-21 school year. I want to share a few things as we prepare for this new year:

· While we are in the office, we are limiting visitors to those who have a specific reason to visit the school. We ask that you please call our office to schedule an appointment. Prior to entering the building, you will be asked to do a pre-screening, wear a facemask, use a hand sanitizer that is located inside our door and observe social distancing.

· Although building access is being limited, please know that we are always happy to talk and work with you to answer your questions over the phone. Our office number is (586-797-6600).

· We anticipate teacher assignments being emailed to you on August 28.

· The structure of a typical in-person school day is being used as a guide for the remote learning. For instance, your child’s schedule will begin at 9:10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Both synchronous (real time learning with the teacher) and asynchronous (learning experience created by the teacher which are accessible at any time) will be used with whole class, small group and/or individualized instruction. We will provide you with more specific information in the upcoming days.

· We have had a few questions about a recommended school supply list. We are preparing lists and will share those with you shortly.

· Every student this year will receive a district issued device. These devices will have single sign-on for your child and will be loaded with the applications (apps) and resources that our teachers will use to support learning. We will be sharing a schedule with you soon on how the devices will be shared with your family.

We are excited to be partnering with you again as we look forward to the start of school on September 1st. Both the district and our school will be communicating with you further to provide you with a better understanding of the supports your child will have and what their days will look like. There is a great deal of information on the UCS Website at this link to answer many of your questions.

If you have any questions, please feel free to respond to this email or call the office at 586-797-6600.

Enjoy the remaining summer days.

Sincerely,

Alisanda Woods