Cooper Elementary Newsletter

TOGETHER WE RISE: Raising the Bar, Closing the Gap,

Believing All Kids Do Well If They Can

October 2020

Cooper Elementary

Principal

Lynnae Harvey

Secretary

Lacey Utley

Main Office

PH: 515-574-5602

Hours: 7:45 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

FDCSD Main Office

104 S 17th St.

Fort Dodge, IA 50501

PH: 515-576-1161

FX: 515-576-1988

Superintendent

Dr. Jesse Ulrich

Director of Special Needs

Lynnae Harvey

Director of Education Services

Stephanie Anderson - Elementary

Kirsten Doebel - Secondary

Dear Cooper Families, Welcome Back! A sentiment extended a little late, but completely heartfelt! When we closed back in March, I never thought that we would be considering whether it is safe to come back to school in the fall, and that we would have all the restrictions that we have. Good News- We have made it through the opening of school, the whole month of September and are looking forward to October! We hear all the time that change is hard, and that is definitely true for school this year. Our saving grace is that even opening school was uncertain, so we are all grateful for the fact that we get to be here at all, even if it is different. One of the main differences is that you, our parents and families, can not come into the school. I do want to thank everyone for their understanding with this. It is hard to send our children into a setting we might not know, and with people that we are not that familiar with. We appreciate your trust, and hope with our virtual open house, virtual family engagement event and upcoming virtual events, that you are feeling comfortable with the school and the adults that your children are spending time with. Our Family Engagement event was on September 29th and you would have received a video from your child’s teacher prior to that. The videos and recording of the Q and A portion will be posted on SeeSaw for K-2nd grade and on Google classroom for grades 3 and 4. If you have questions about either of these platforms please reach out to your child’s teacher. These are the platforms that we will be using for any type of at-home learning. Another change in how we do business at Cooper is the expectation that everyone wear a mask when it is not possible to social distance. I can tell you that I, and the majority of our staff, thought this would be very difficult for our kids. We are pleasantly surprised with the way our students are handling this. I would say above 95% of our students have and wear their masks every day with absolutely no complaint. As a school we do offer mask breaks a number of times throughout the day. Students are always welcome to request a mask break as well. We do experience many lost and broken masks and then students ask for extra masks frequently. We have started checking student bags, lockers and desks before providing another mask. We have been lucky enough to have a parent of one of our staff make and donate hundreds of masks that we have been giving to those students. Because we want to be responsible with our resources I am asking that families check bags and try to send a clean mask every day. Chrome books have been distributed to all 3rd and 4th graders. We are having students take these home each day, charging them at night and bringing them back the next day. Any help that we can get from hope is greatly appreciated. We are hoping that the Ipads for K-2 grade come any day and then we will have the same expectations for those. October brings Parent Teacher conferences (in a virtual format) on October 20th and 22nd. Please watch for a sign up for the conferences. We also hope to have a Halloween party for students but it will look different from other years. More details will be coming regarding this as well. October also brings some cooler temperatures. We will go outside for PE and recess if the weather permits so please send a jacket with your child. I would like you to know what a privilege it is for me to work with you and your children at Cooper. If you ever have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me. Sincerely,

Mrs. Harvey

Important Days to Remember

October 5th– No School Teacher PD Day

October 6th– 6:00pm Cooper Booster Club Meeting

October 7th– School Picture Day

October 20th– 4:00-8:00pm Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences

October 22nd-No School

October 22nd-8:00am– 12:00pm & 4:00pm—8:00pm Virtual Parent Teacher Conference

October 23rd– No School

Cooper Family Fun Night scheduled for October 15th has

been canceled due to Covid 19 restrictions.

National School Bus Safety Week: October 18-24

The school bus is the safest vehicle on the road. Students are about 70 times more likely to get to school

safely when taking a school bus instead of traveling by car. The greatest risk to children is not riding a bus,

but approaching or leaving one. Teach your children to follow these practices to make school bus transpor-

tation safer.

Safety Starts at the Bus Stop. Your child should arrive at least 5 minutes

before the bus is scheduled to arrive. Remind your student to wait for

the bus at least three giant steps (6 feet) from the curb.

Get On and Off Safely. When the bus arrives, your child should wait until it

comes to a complete stop, the door opens and the driver says it’s ok

before approaching the door. Encourage kids to use the handrails.

Use Caution Around the Bus. Remind your child to never walk behind a school bus. If you child must

cross the street in front of the bus tell him/her to walk along the sidewalk or side of the street to a

place at least 5 giant steps (10 feet) in front of the bus before crossing. You child should make eye

contact with the driver to ensure the driver can see him/her.

In addition, drivers can make school bus transportation safer by learning and obeying the school bus laws.

Yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. Motorists should

slow down and prepare to stop their vehicles.

Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate the bus has

stopped and children are getting on or off the bus. Motorists must

stop their cars and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the ex-

tended stop arm is withdrawn and the bus begins moving again

before they can start driving again.

Thanks for helping us keep our kids safe on our school buses!

It is the policy of the Fort Dodge Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ancestry, age, gen-der, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, physical attributes, religion, political party preference, political belief, socioeconomic status, veteran’s status, actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, services, and em-ployment practices. If you have questions or grievances related to this policy, please contact Dr. Stephanie Anderson (Director of Elementary Education), and Dr. Kirsten Doebel (Director of Secondary Education), Central Administration Office, 109 North 25 th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501, (576-1161) or contact the Civil Rights Midwestern Division for U. S. Department of Education Office, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-4544. (Alternate for Section 504 is Pamela Stangeland, Director of Special Education/Special Needs, 515-574-5675).

The District’s Compliance Coordinator for Affirmative Action is Kimberly Whitmore, who can be reached at 576-1161 or 109 North 25th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.

The District’s Designated Investigators of Physical/Sexual Abuse of Students by School Employees are Dr. Stephanie Anderson (Director of Elementary Education), and Dr. Kirsten Doebel (Director of Secondary Education). They can be reached at 576-1161 or 109 North 25th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501. The alternate is Pam Stangeland. She can be reached at 574-5675 or 109 North 25th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.

The District’s Officers for Harassment Complaints and Allegations are Dr. Stephanie Anderson (Director of Elementary Education), and Dr. Kirsten Doebel (Director of Secondary Education). They can be reached at 576-1161 or 109 North 25th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.

SCHOOL PICTURE DAY IS COMING

School picture day is Wednesday, October 7 for At School learners. It is important students arrive at school on time on picture day. At Home students will have school pictures taken between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday, October 9 at the Central Office. Families can come at whatever time is most convenient for them. Please consider ordering school pictures online this year. To order before picture day visit MyLifeTouch.com. You will need to enter the Picture Day ID, which can be found on the picture day flyer and is unique to your school. You can also find the ID using the Picture Day Finder on the Lifetouch website. If you plan to send the order form and payment to school with your child you will need to send the exact amount for payment as the schools will not have change. Your child will need to be responsible for the form and payment as parents/guardians are cur-rently not allowed in our buildings due to the public health landscape.