Hiawatha Middle School
307 S. Morrill Avenue
Hiawatha, KS 66434
785-742-4172
(Fax) 785-742-1744
Lonnie Moser, Superintendent Ben Kettler, Activities Director
Kyley Gatz, Principal Kim Krauter, Counselor
November 13, 2020
Dear Parent and/or Guardian,
As you may have heard, the USD #415 Board of Education voted to move our mode of learning to remote, beginning on Monday, November 16th thru Wednesday, December 2nd. At this point, the board will re-evaluate the health situation in the community and will assess staffing at each building. Again, at this point in time, we are anticipating a return to the building on Thursday, December 3rd.
During remote learning, all students will be expected to attend their daily schedule of classes, beginning at 8:10 a.m. through Google Classroom via their school-issued device. They should follow the same schedule as they do in the building. Each student has been vigorously trained in the use of Google Classroom and utilize this technology platform daily in school. Each class period, teachers will be taking attendance, giving live instruction, facilitating classroom discussions and answering questions. In addition, students will be able to make appointments with individual teachers for additional assistance. If your student does not have access to the internet, please contact the school at your earliest convenience.
Throughout classes today, students and teachers discussed the importance of attending all scheduled classes and completing assignments. Classroom grades will be assigned in the same manner as they have been throughout first quarter. First quarter grade cards and FastBridge assessment reports will be mailed home today.
During remote learning, if your student is ill and is not able to login to classes to complete assignments and participate in live classes, please call the office before 9:00 a.m., as you would on a normal school day. When your student is feeling better, he/she should make contact with teachers as soon as possible.
At HMS, we currently utilize Bark and Go Guardian to monitor student devices. Our alerts help us to know if someone may be struggling and/or demonstrating behavior that is not in alignment with our student technology user agreement, which families acknowledged during the enrollment process. Go Guardian is a monitoring tool that allows teachers to visually see what students are doing while on their devices. If major concerns arise, you will be notified. Please encourage your student to maintain their device and charger in the way in which they received it. As you may be aware, we are limited in our number of devices and are unable to offer students “loaner” Chromebooks.
Parents and students, we recognize that this is an extremely stressful time for everyone. We are ready to educate your students in remote mode and desire for you to be an active learning partner for your child. Although we are sad to see our students leave the building for a few weeks, we hope to see their faces with anticipation beginning on Monday!
It continues to be our top priority to ensure the safety and well-being of our students as well as their academic success. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach me at 742.4172.
Sincerely,
Kyley Gatz, HMS Principal
The mission of Hiawatha Middle School is to provide all students with life-long learning skills and opportunities for academic, personal, and social growth in a safe and orderly environment. The educational program is designed to enable students to become productive citizens in an ever-changing society.