August 16, 2021

Greetings Outlaw Families,

We hope this letter finds you healthy and still enjoying summer! I want to let you know that it is an honor to be part of such an incredible school community, and I am excited to get to know each and every one of you. In addition, I want to thank all of the students, staff, and families I have already met for making me feel so welcomed. As we get started, I hope you find me approachable, willing to learn, and invested in a growth process that includes and values your feedback.

In an ordinary year, you’d likely be receiving just one of these letters about school start-up information, but this year there are still a few items in flux related to our new schedule format and our COVID-19 safety protocols. So, in addition to this letter, please expect to hear more from us as we get closer to the start of school. In the meantime, we hope you find the following information useful in planning for the fall. Thank you for all you do to support our students and staff! We are excited to reconnect with our school community and have high hopes for a great school year!

Regards,

Steve Stancliff
Principal
“Belong, Prepare, Inspire”

Important Dates

• August 16th: School office open; First official day of fall sports (registration is open!)
• August 20th: Student schedules available to view through Tyler-SIS (by 4 pm)
• September 6th: Labor Day observance
• September 7th: Orientation for 9th graders with the Outlaw LINK Crew (8:30 – 3:20)
• September 8th: First day of school for 10-12 grade students

School Schedule

As you may have read last spring, a team of administrators, counselors, and teachers convened a series of planning sessions to determine what our schedule format would be for this school year. The schedule they landed on strikes a balance between offering students plenty of options throughout the school year while allowing them to focus on fewer classes at any given time. Here are some of the details:

• Students attend four classes a day for 90 minutes each (except on early-release Fridays)
• Courses run for nine weeks (Four 9-week sessions over the course of the year)
• Math and some music classes will meet for 45 minutes (accompanied by a 45 minute study session) in all four 9-week sessions

Monday – Thursday (90 minute classes) Early Release Friday (60 minute classes)

• Period 1 8:30 – 10:00 Period 1 8:30 – 9:30
• Period 2 10:05 – 11:35 Period 2 9:40 – 10:40
• Lunch 11:35 – 12:15 Period 3 10:50 – 11:50
• Period 3 12:15 – 1:45 Lunch 11:50 – 12:30
• Period 4 1:50 – 3:20 Period 4 12:30 – 1:30

Note: The day will also include a “zero period” before school (7:30-8:20) to provide some flexible options for PE and music.

Community Health and Safety Measures

We are excited to have students in school full-time and for the possibilities and connections that it brings. We also recognize that there are still significant community health concerns and risks associated with the new variant of COVID-19. In addition to practicing other universal precautions such as handwashing and social distancing, our current plan is to follow state guidelines and have all students, staff, and community members wear masks when they are inside school district buildings. Exceptions to this practice for athletics and other performances will be communicated to students by their coaches or advisors. We would like to thank our school community in advance for your support in helping us meet our state requirements. We will try to be as prompt as possible in communicating any updates or changes associated with COVID-19 protocols.

Adjustments to Class Schedules

We want to extend our gratitude to our students and families for their patience as we made a late adjustment to our master schedule. Due to some of the logistical realities that have emerged with a spike in COVID-19 cases, we had to adjust the sequence of our math offerings. Math classes will now follow the same 90 minute/9 week model as the other subjects. Again, we apologize for the timing of the decision, and any confusion it may have caused.

Counselor Check-Ins

We are grateful for all of those families who came in this week to meet with their counselors and review schedules. This effort should save staff and students time during the first week. If your student was not able to come in, they will have an opportunity to connect with their counselor next week. Please remind students that even if they are planning on changing their schedule, they need to report to the classes that are listed until they meet with their counselor and the change is official.

Dates for Fall

Please know that the dates listed below represent our planning at this point, but could change depending on guidance from our partners at the state local health agencies.

• Monday, 9/6: Labor Day observance
• Tuesday, 9/7: 9th grade orientation (regular school & transportation schedules apply)
• Wednesday, 9/8: First day of school for 10-12 grade
• Wednesday, 9/15: Homecoming Powder Puff game
• Friday, 9/17: Homecoming parade and game
• Saturday 9/18: Homecoming dance (format/location pending)

Chromebooks

Parents/guardians of 9th graders and new students: please look for the responsible use agreements to be coming home with your student early next week. Signing and promptly returning the form will allow your student(s) to quickly engage with many aspects of their classes, and it will allow teachers to fully utilize the digital tools available to them.

If your student is returning to the high school and kept their Chromebook over the summer, now is a great time to dust it off, get charged up, and  make sure it is working properly. Please reach out as soon as possible if a Chromebook or charger has been lost or is not working properly.

COVID-19 Safety Protocols

As we strive to make sure that students continue to have an opportunity to attend school in person. We would like to remind students and families of some of the protocols we will follow for students who come on campus for classes and activities.

• Students and staff to wear masks indoors unless they are in a private enclosed work space.
• Students to wear masks outdoors for class activities unless the activity allows for adequate social distancing and requires physical exertion.
• Whenever possible, students to maintain 3-6 of physical distance while they are attending class.
• Hand sanitizing at the beginning of classes
• Desks to be sanitized in between classes
• In-class activities requiring interactions in close proximity to be limited to less than 15 minutes
• Encourage students to eat outside whenever weather permits
• Eating inside to be limited to the first 15 minute of the lunch break in order to reduce exposure that would require contact tracing and quarantine
• Our athletic director and coaches will communicate with families and student athletes around protocols for participating in sports or other activities. Spectators need to wear masks to indoor events and to outdoor events when social distancing is not possible. As a general reminder, our goal for athletics is to preserve the season for our student athletes that have worked so hard and prepared for their competitions. To achieve that goal, everyone involved needs to do their part to be safe and responsible.

Steve Stancliff
Principal
Sisters High School
541-549-4045
steve.stancliff@ssd6.org