Hello Families!
Today’s correspondence contains information for drop off and pick up procedures.
As mentioned in our updated Fall 2020 Covid Operation Plan, before you leave your house in the morning, you MUST fill out the Escuela Student Health Screening. Staff will confirm that you have completed the form when you pull up to your designated drop off location. If you have not filled out the form, we will have to ask you to go and park, complete the form, and then return to the drop-off line.
Our summer families and all staff have found it helpful to create a shortcut on your phone’s home-screen to access the morning screening easily.
iPhone Users:
- Open the Health Screening link in Safari on your phone
- Click on the “share” icon
- Scroll down until you see “Add to Home Screen” and click
- You will be prompted to change the name of the shortcut, if you desire
- Click “Add”
- An Escuela icon will appear on your home screen
Android Users:
- Open the Health Screening link using Chrome as your browser
- Click on the three-dot menu [⋮] in the top right corner
- Scroll to “Add to Home Screen”
- A popup window will appear, allowing you to name the shortcut for easy recognition
- Once you have named the shortcut, click “add” to finalize the process of adding the shortcut to your home screen
***A technical note, if your form is rejected, try refreshing the page and submitting again. Please make sure you get the green “your response has been submitted” notification before arriving on campus.***
We know mornings can be a challenge with young children, but it is important to fill out the screening form before you arrive at school. Filling out the form before you arrive on campus will also ensure that you are able to move swiftly through the drop off process, as each class is given a 15 minute window to drop off.
Families with students enrolled in multiple levels will be receiving additional instructions via email shortly.
If you miss your assigned window, you must call the office (505-242-3033) and wait until 8:30 a.m. to drop off your students.
To *hopefully* make the drop off process easier, Ms. Sarah and Ms. Elora created videos to explain and walk you through what the morning drop off process will look like.
Toddler and Primary Drop Off Process
Dismissals
Compared to arrival, dismissal will be so simple – no temperature taking or health screening forms!
All children will wash hands at the end of the day before dismissal, and we strongly recommend that you also have them wash hands when you get home.
For Elementary, you will pull up on 7th, in front of Harwood where you dropped off. Ms. Sarah will be looking for you and will communicate via walkie talkie to the classroom. Children will be ready to go and will walk through Harwood and out to meet you. This is basically the reverse of arrival, without the health checks. Jr. El dismissal is from 3-3:15 p.m. and Sr. El dismissal is 3:15-3:30 p.m. If you have children in both levels, we will of course call them all when you arrive (ideally as close to 3:15 p.m. as is reasonable).
For Early Childhood (Toddler and Primary), pick up times are as follows:
Mornings only: 12:15-12:30 p.m.
School day: 3-3:30 p.m.
Extended day: 4:15-4:30 p.m.
Regardless of your pick up time, the process will be the same. On your child’s first day, we will provide you with a name placard to be hung from your rear-view mirror. Pull into the south parking lot, off Granite, and DO NOT park. Simply pull forward and stop at the sign, similar to arrival. Ms. Elora or Ms. Elizabeth will be waiting for you and will use a walkie-talkie to communicate with your child(ren)’s teacher that you have arrived. A teacher will walk your child to the gate and then Ms. Elora or Ms. Elizabeth will walk them to your car. As your child approaches, you may turn off your car and get out to assist your child into their carseat. Once your child is secure in the car, please pull out of the pick up area.
If you have children in multiple levels, you will need to pick them up in each designated location (South lot for Toddlers and Primary, or Harwood for Elementary) to avoid cross-pollination between pods.
We recognize that this new routine poses challenges for both families and staff. Please know that we will make adjustments for the processes as they are needed. Remember, we are all in this together and it is going to take compromise and hard work from us all to help keep our students, staff, and community safe while on the Escuela campus.
With gratitude,
Friedje vanGils
Head of School
