Local schools welcome students back to class

Opening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in regard to health and safety.

At this time, all staff and students over the age of 5 are required to wear masks when they are unable to maintain six feet of distance from others under a directive from the Office of the Governor. The mask mandate applies in counties where there are four or more active cases of COVID-19.

Masks need to cover the face and nose. Face shields are also acceptable under the directive.

Exceptions include people who are: eating or drinking; engaged in an activity that makes wearing a face covering impractical or unsafe such as strenuous physical exercise; talking with someone who is hearing impaired; giving a speech or artistic, musical, or theatrical performance for an audience that is physically distanced; and temporarily removing their face covering for identification purposes. There is also an exception for people who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, according to the directive.

Schools are also requiring health screenings before getting on buses or entering the building.

Families are reminded that plans and phases may change depending on local and state guidelines or directives.

Flathead City-County Health Department will be responsible for contact tracing should a teacher or student be infected by COVID-19. Close contacts are encouraged to stay at home for 14 days after their last exposure to the infected person. The health department and school administrators will work together on making decisions if a class, grade level or building should be closed based on various indicators of school/community health and health care capacity to treat infected individuals.

The following information was made available by schools.

Fair-Mont-Egan School

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 1 for grades 1-8 and Wednesday, Sept. 2 for kindergarten

Projected enrollment: 175 students.

A back-to-school registration day is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31. Families will be able to pick up a mask and registration forms in addition to other back-to-school documents. Chromebooks will also be issued to students learning remotely.

Health screenings: Staff will conduct screenings.

Schedule: Students in grades 1-8 will have a combination of on-site and remote instruction in the first few weeks of the school year. This transition is meant to help students become familiar with the new safety/health routines of on-site instruction in addition to learning how school will operate remotely if future closures were necessary.

Students will attend school on-site Sept. 1 with an early 12:30 p.m. On-site instruction will continue on Sept. 2 with remote learning occurring on Sept. 3-4. On-site instruction will resume Sept. 8-9, with remote instruction on Sept. 10-11. In the final week on the alternating schedule, students will be on-site Sept. 14-15 and learning remotely Sept. 16-18.

Kindergarten students will be divided into two groups. Students with last names beginning with A-H will attend school from 9 to 11 a.m., and students I-Z from noon to 2 p.m., on Sept. 2-4. All kindergartners attend from 9 to 11 a.m. Sept. 8-11. An 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. schedule begins Sept. 14.

New staff members: Ayla Taasevigen, first-grade teacher and Allison Williams, fifth-grade teacher

Other important information: Volleyball season is postponed until the spring. There will be no after-school program.

Phone: 755-7072

Website: fmemontana.net

Kila School

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 1

Health screenings: Staff will conduct screenings when students arrive in the parking lot.

Arrival and dismissal: Students may begin arriving at 7:40 a.m. Students must be picked up at 3 p.m. or 3:10 p.m., depending on grade level. If a family has students in both grade levels, the school asks they be picked up at 3:10 p.m.

New staff members: Mike Barton, sixth-grade homeroom/math/science teacher; Craig Lake and P.E./health teacher.

New curriculum: An algebra class will be offered to eighth-graders.

Maintenance projects completed over break: Kitchen roof was replaced; an awning was removed; LED lights were installed in the gym and elementary building; gym mats/pads were installed; and the gym decal was replaced. New middle school lockers and playground equipment is set to be installed by the start of school.

Other important information: The before- and after-school program will not be offered until later in the year.

Phone: 257-2428

Website: www.kilaschool.com

Smith Valley School

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 1 for grades 1-8. Kindergarten and remote instruction starts Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Health screenings: Staff will conduct health screenings in the upper parking lot when students arrive. Temperatures will also be taken before lunch.

Arrival and dismissal: Parents or guardians are asked to arrive at staggered times to drop off students by the first letter of their last name as follows:

A-C — 8:15 a.m.

D-K — 8:20 a.m.

L-R — 8:25 a.m.

S-Z ­— 8:30 a.m.

After students are screened, they will wait in designated areas by grade until a staff member escorts them to their classroom for the first couple of days. After a day or two, a decision will be made as to whether or not students can use the playground after screening. Parents or guardians are asked not to get out of their vehicles or enter the building at this time. Visitors are not allowed in the building with the exception of those who schedule an appointment. People are encouraged to communicate with staff by phone or device when possible.

Phone: 756-4535

Website: www.smithvalleyschool.org

Trinity Lutheran School

Projected enrollment: 162 students

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Health screenings: Staff will check temperatures at the door.

Arrival: Pre-kindergarten students will be dropped off and picked up at their own entrance so they do not have to go through the lobby.

New staff members: Sarah Groeling, fourth-grade teacher and Tim Rehbein, music director.

New curriculum: Grades K-8 will use a new reading program called “myView Literacy” and “myPerspective English Language Arts” from Savvas Learning Company.

Phone: 257-6716

Website: www.trinityed.org

Somers-Lakeside School District

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 8

Health screenings: Parents are asked to conduct screenings before students get on buses or arrive to school. Students who show signs of illness will go to a designated area to be picked up.

Busing: Parents are asked to transport their children to school whenever possible to reduce the number of riders and arrive no earlier than 8:05 a.m.

Other important information: Classes at Lakeside Elementary will be self-contained with specials being taught in the classroom. Breakfast and lunch will be distributed and eaten in the classroom and recess will be held by grade level at the elementary.

Somers Middle School students will go directly to their homeroom in the morning and lockers will only be used at the beginning and end of the day, and at lunch. Passing periods and dismissal times will be staggered. Before leaving each classroom, students will sanitize their desk and chair. Middle school students will be assigned groups to eat lunch in order to reduce the number of students in a common area at one time.

Families opting to do remote learning are asked to stay with that model through the first trimester. The district will provide training for students and parents in how to use Google Classroom and other tools. Teachers will be available online and by phone from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and will respond to emails within 24 hours. There will be live online meetings with students at least twice per week.

Middle School students will attend real time Zoom classes.

Phone: 857-3661

Website: www.somersdist29.org

St. Matthew’s Catholic School

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 8

Projected enrollment: 150 students

Health screenings: Teachers will conduct screenings before students enter the building.

New staff members: Sarah Baker and Andrea Hanson, Pre K Academy directors; Emmy Hartney, fifth-grade teacher; and Rhonda Hawkins, Language arts teacher.

Open house and chili cook off: 5:30 p.m. Sept. 23.

Phone: 752-6303

Website: stmattsaints.org

Stillwater Christian School

First day: Wednesday, Sept. 9

Projected enrollment: 425 students

Health Screening: All parents will be required to sign a waiver of liability and health-screening agreement, through which they will agree to conduct daily temperature and symptom checks for symptoms associated with COVID-19. Staff will also conduct routine temperature checks to ensure the health of all students and employees on campus.

Arrival and dismissal: Students may start arriving at 7:45 a.m. at designated locations based on grade. Students will go directly to their main, or first-period classroom until school starts. Students who arrive after school starts will have to check-in at designated locations.

At dismissal, students who are not scheduled for extra instruction, athletics, or the after-school program will be required to leave campus on a staggered schedule to minimize crowding and traffic. The schedule is as follows:

Preschool/Kindergarten — 2:50 p.m.

Grades 1-4 and high school: 3 p.m.

Eighth grade: 3:10 p.m.

Parents are asked to limit their visits to campus during phase 2. Preschool and kindergarten parents (one parent only) will be permitted to drop their child off at the classroom door. With the teacher’s permission, parents may visit or volunteer in classrooms on a limited basis after going through a prior health screening.

Other important information: Junior high and high school students with more than one class in the same classroom will sit in the same seat for each class when possible. Students in grades 5-12 will have access to lockers at alternating times to avoid crowding in shared spaces.

The school will continue to offer special classes such as music and art with efforts made to minimize sharing supplies. Art students will receive supply kits. Band and choir students will use specialized mouth/instrument coverings in addition to physically distancing themselves from others.

Water fountains will be available for bottle filling only. Students must bring their own water bottles, labeled with their name.

During lunch, students will spread out in the cafeteria, lobby and classrooms. Cafeteria seating will be arranged so students don’t face each other. Kitchen staff will distribute meals, utensils and napkins. Microwaves will be redistributed into classrooms/designated locations by grade level with regular disinfecting and sanitation.

New Staff: Kristine Birkenstock, fourth-grade teacher and soccer coach; Becca Blauert, first-grade teacher; Allen Hazen, sixth-grade Language Arts, history, and Bible teacher; Arthur Morken, middle school computers and technology; Valerie Pierson, second-grade teacher; and Hannah Silvey, 10th and 11th-grade English and 11th-grade Advanced Placement English.

Open house: Tuesday, September 8th - It will look somewhat different this year; we will email details to our school community next week.

Phone: 752-4400

Website: www.stillwaterchristianschool.org

West Glacier School

First day of school: Sept. 14

Projected enrollment: 60

Health Screenings: Parents will be asked to conduct screenings before students get on buses or arrive to school.

Schedule: Students will attend school from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., which is a change.

Whitefish Christian Academy

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 8

Health screenings: Parents are asked to conduct screenings. If a child develops a fever or acute respiratory illness at school, they will wait in a designated sick room to be picked up. If two or more students in a single class contract COVID-19, that class will move to remote learning for two weeks.

Arrival and dismissal: Times will be staggered for student drop-off and pick-up to avoid crowding outside of buildings. Grades 5-8 should be dropped off on the Eighth Avenue alley at the gate. Students in preschool through fourth grade should be dropped off at the front door. Parents with students in more than one grade level may choose where they want to drop their children off. Student pick-up will be the same, expect siblings of preschool through fourth-graders and siblings in grades fifth through eighth will go to the front entrance.

Parents and guardians are asked to limit the time they spend in the building.

Phone: 862-5875

Website: www.whitefishchristianacademy.org