Our staff has been very busy this last week. We have packed the entire school, and as we speak, the last of our crates are being moved to Union Middle School to be stored until the new school is ready this summer. In that process, we have bagged the things the students left in their desks. Mostly, there are bits of pencils and crayons,left over notebooks, the rest of their math workbooks. Because the students may want them back, we have put them in bags with their names on them. Out of 435 desks, we had three students in the whole school who had: one pair of eyeglasses, a few dollars, and another item we thought had some value. We called those parents to come pick their bags up separately, because those items were more important.
To give parents the opportunity to come and pick up their student’s items, AND to give the students where possible, a chance to say goodbye to the school before it is torn down, we are inviting you to come to the school on MONDAY. You will also have the opportunity to return your child’s school library books.
Because of the regulations we are working under with COVID-19, and to keep you and our staff safe, we are asking you to do the following. (These guidelines must be enforced, so please help us make this work.)
Three things will happen:
Return library books!
Pick up student’s desk items!
Wave to teachers!
Stay safe!
On Monday, from 9:00 am to 10:30 am, we have established these times by family last name to drive through the drop off lane at the school. We will have employees on the south side with the family’s bags. Students must stay in the car. The driver will be able to open their door and pick up the bag. Bags are tied together, if there is more than one child in a family. We are asking that families have a card in their car window with the family name written on it and the children names listed so the employee can help you with the right bag.
After you pick up your bag, on the NORTH side of the drive through, the teachers will be lined up–with social distancing–to wave to their students in a REVERSED parade. Your family is the parade in the car, and we are the spectators! We hope this will give the students a chance to see the school and the teachers from a safe distance. We have been given permission to do this ONLY if we do NOT have walk-ins during this period of time.
Families are assigned by last name to come at these times for the “parade”. Please try to be on time so we don’t back up on 7800 South:
9:00-9:15 A-B
9:15-9:30 C-E
9:30-9:45 F-L
9:45-10:00 M-R
10:00-10:15 S-t
10:15-10:30 U-Z
After 10:30 am, the staff will leave and the bags will be moved by the small parking lot in front of the kindergarten area and available for anyone to pick up during the rest of Monday. Please note that the bags will be unattended on the honor system. We have asked the contractors to minimize any traffic in the area for the remainder of Monday.
Please be aware that demolition of the building and construction will take over after Monday, so any bags left after Monday will not be available. We know it is a short window of opportunity, so if needed, please contact a neighbor or friend who may be able to help you. Also, please know that there is little value in the items in the bags, so we are also not overly concerned if the bags are NOT retrieved. Please don’t feel pressure if you cannot come. As mentioned above, every desk was emptied, and precious and expensive items have already been retrieved earlier, such as cellphones.
We know these are stressful times for families. We love you and miss you. We look forward to better days ahead. One of those happy thoughts that is keeping our Midvalley community going is our new school. We hope this little opportunity might bring a bit of closure for your child, if this works out for you. If not, please know you are in our thoughts, and we will see your students in an online class or in the fall in our beautiful new school.
Stay safe and healthy.
