Monday, September 14th  - Cohort A in school, Cohort B at home, Cohort C online

Doors Open: 8:15 AM

Arrival of Buses at BHMS: 8:35 AM (approx.)

Start of Homeroom (Panther Time): 8:45 AM

End of 6th Hour: 2:25 PM

Cohort C  Zoom Sessions: 2:30 – 3:30 PM

Doors Close: 2:45 PM

Information on Change in School Start Times:

All high schools, all middle schools and five elementary schools will have adjustments in start and end times for the 2020-21 school year. The student start time for middle school, with the exception of VMSS is 8:45 AM.

The overall District 196 decision to change start and end times at high schools, middle schools and some elementary schools is due to the transportation needs for our students during this unprecedented time in our district.  The goal for transporting students is to provide safety and to be on time for arrival and dismissal across our district.  In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to change start and end times at multiple schools across all levels (K-12).  Beginning this fall, buses will only be able to transport 50% of their students on each route. 

Cohort A:  Last name letters A – K (attend school on Mondays and Thursdays)

Cohort B:   Last name letters L – Z (attend school on Tuesdays and Fridays)

Cohort C:   Students/Families opting for full-time, at-home via District 196 Online Academy

Monday: Green Day, Cohort A students in school (Cohort B at home)

Tuesday: Green Day, Cohort B students in school (Cohort A at home)

Wednesday: All students at home. Staff Planning, teacher workshops, Schoology alignment, afternoon help sessions, deep cleaning

Thursday: White Day, Cohort A students in school (Cohort B at home)

Friday: White Day, Cohort B students in school (Cohort A at home)

Students in Cohort A & B will start the day with Panther Time then progress through their 6 classes including lunch.  Class sessions have been shortened to approximately 44 minutes in length. Students will progress from class to class using predetermined pathways for safety and social distancing.  The groupings of students will change with each class.

Passing times will be supervised and social distancing practices will be taught and reinforced.

Download Daily Schedule PDF

One, 30-minute synchronized zoom session each week, for each class on a daily rotation.

DOWNLOAD COHORT C SCHEDULE PDF

Schedules are available online Monday, August 31st, by accessing the Campus portal either on a student or parent app.  Paper copies of schedules will also be available on site at Open House.  

No Lockers (students will use backpacks):  With approximately 50% capacity in the school daily, this allows for each student to carry their own backpack throughout the day. Students should plan on being self-sufficient with their backpack and it’s contents and plan on taking everything home, every day.             

No Locker Room Lockers (Phy. Ed.):  Students will not use locker rooms. Students are tasked with dressing in athletic, multi-layer clothing, with tennis shoes on the days they are in school for Phy. Ed. Students will participate in Phy. Ed. in the clothing they wear to school. Swimming sessions will not start until November; allowing for changing and pool deck protocols to be developed.

School supplies will be different this year in our Hybrid and Digital Academy models. All students should have any supplies at home that they find helpful for the Distance Learning.

Please have your iPad charged and in working order everyday for Hybrid and Digital Academy. This will be your most-used learning supply. 

Students attending Hybrid classes at BHMS will not be sharing classroom supplies, but will be expected to bring their backpacks to each class with personal supplies for the day. 

Suggested Backpack supplies:

• Mask
• iPad
• Notebook(s)
• Pencils/Pens
• Personal Hygiene items such as 
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Wipes
  • Kleenex
  • extra mask

Fall sports will start September 21st  and end October 23rd.  Registration for soccer, cross country and girls tennis will open the week of September 8th.   Registration will be done through MyPaymentsPlus. Students will participate in athletics on their in-person hybrid cohort day only.  Cohort C students are eligible to participate with their assigned cohort based on their last name (A-K Monday and Thursday, L-Z Tuesday and Friday).  Activity busses leave BH at 5:00 PM. Registration will include a fee of  $50 and a current physical on file with the school nurse.

Student should arrive at 3:35 for scheduled practices.

We would like to welcome our 6th graders to Black Hawk on Wednesday, September 9th, and new and returning 7th & 8th graders on Thursday, September 10th.  This will be a staggered event throughout the afternoon and into the evening with times listed below.  

Our open house will allow students to pick up their schedule, walk the building, meet their teachers, pick up iPads (new students only), and receive technical assistance in accessing Schoology or Campus.  Technical support for parents/guardians needing to set up their Schoology or Campus access will also be available.  At this time, we will not be taking Lifetouch photos, selling spirit wear, or PE clothing. 

Please enter the upper level main doors and plan to exit the lower level doors next to the gym and where our main bus parking lot exists.  

In order to maintain a safe and socially distant environment (6 feet a part whenever possible), please wear a mask, come during your scheduled time (by last name), and students should come with only one parent/guardian.  Please, no additional family members and friends as we are practicing social distancing.   

Schedules are available online Monday, August 31st, by accessing the Campus portal either on a student or parent app.  Paper copies of schedules will also be available on site when you arrive.  Traffic patterns for walking the building will be posted. Please follow these and walk through stopping only for a short time to say hello and greet your student’s teachers. 

iPads for students new to Black Hawk will be available in the Media Center located on the second floor.

Please attend at the time that corresponds with your last name.  If that time does not work that’s okay, however, safety is our priority.  We need to maintain social distance and limit congregation.

Immunizations

Your child's immunizations should be up-to-date when school starts on Monday, September 14th. Although there may be more flexibility for this coming school year due to COVID-19, it is still important to keep your child's immunization schedule current. Please reach out to your health care provider to determine how they are handling well-checks and immunizations. As always, please submit current immunization records or a notarized conscientious objection form to the school nurse prior to the start of seventh grade.

Watch this video from the Minnesota Department of Health

A list of Dakota County clinics participating in the

No Shots No School initiative

Sports Physicals

If your child will be participating in a school sport, they must have a sports physical completed with their health care provider prior to the first day of practice. Sports physicals are good for three years. If your child has recently received a sports physical, please send the "2020-2021 SPORTS QUALIFYING PHYSICAL EXAMINATION MEDICAL ELIGIBILITY FORM" to the school nurse. You may also contact the school nurse if you are unsure when your child's previous sports physical will expire. 

https://www.district196.org/services/health-services/health-records

Other Health Information

If your child has a chronic health condition, takes prescription medication, and/or has additional health concerns for the 2020-2021 school year, please contact the school nurse to discuss your student's health needs.

School Nurse Contact Information: 

Molly McQuown
Nurse
Office Hours: 7:30 am-3:30 pm

Google Voice #: 612-405-2805 (call or text)
Fax: 651-683-8527

What happens if the iPad issued by the school district gets damaged?  In previous years, the district offered an Optional Protection Plan for $20/device to assist families with accidental damage costs.  However, due to the economic effect the pandemic has had on families as well as the conversion this summer from FeePay to MyPaymentsPlus as our online payment system, the decision was made to automatically enroll ALL iPads with this coverage at no cost to families for the 2020-21 school year.  What this means is the first incident (non-intentional damage) on each iPad that results in the district being charged will be covered by the district.  Beyond that, the following will apply:

·   There is a $40 deductible for the 2nd incident

·   If there is a 3rd incident, the school and family will work out a plan that makes sense for each situation

·   Intentional damage to an iPad is not covered (including 1st incident)

·   Lost iPads are not covered and must be fully replaced by the family (estimated at $344) unless a police report is provided indicating the iPad was stolen in which case, it will be replaced at no cost to the family

·   Power cords/bricks are not covered under this plan as any replacements for those will be the responsibility of the family (unless covered under warranty)

Each day staff and parents should check each of these symptoms before school. If a student or staff person exhibits any of these symptoms, they should stay home and contact their doctor for follow-up on testing or a doctor’s visit:

Students or staff should stay home if they:

• Have one or more symptoms of COVID-19
• Live with someone who has symptoms of COVID-19
• Have been in close contact (within 6 feet for greater than 15-minutes, with or without a mask) with anyone who has been instructed to isolate due illness or a positive test
• Have been advised by a medical provider that they may have been exposed to COVID-19

All staff and students and visitors are required to wear masks at all times (except lunch). Everyone can wear their own mask, but if a person arrives at school without one, a mask will be provided. In either case, wearing a mask is required.

Classroom desks and workspaces will be spread out to use the full square footage of each room and maximize social/personal distance.

Hallway and Traffic Pathway Modifications:  Students will find directional arrows on the walls and carpet, spaces dots, and possibly some “up only” or “down only” staircases to prevent congestion.

An industrial safety firm (IEA) has been employed by the district to identify areas for shielding (main office), create signage, standing-space dots, one-way traffic flows, one-way stairwells, etc. to ease student traffic flow and facilitate spacing.

Drinking Fountains: The use of drinking fountains will be discouraged unless students are filling a water bottle.

Clorox/Cleanser Wipes: We request and will accept donations of these. These can be sent to school and left at the main office.

Spacing dots will be used. Only siblings can sit together and may need to do so to maximize spacing to other students.

We are fortunate to have a large cafeteria that can hold 550 students on a regular day. At half-capacity, our cafeteria can have 225 students. Each table will have dots to designate which seats can be used for social distance by students to maximize spacing. Students will have touchless transactions with cashiers. All meals will be packaged (grab and go).

PayPams is our new lunch account payment system. Please see below for information on how to set up an account.

Unfortunately, during this time, Black Hawk is not a place for students to congregate before or after school. Due to social distancing precautions combined with limited supervision, we ask that students are not dropped off before 8:15 AM and must exit school by 2:45 PM.