Dear Huntley Hills Parents,
This is a busy time of the year for our teachers, students and parents. To add to that, DeKalb County School District (DCSD) shared an updated reopening plan during the Town Hall on Monday, and recently emailed families more specific details of reopening on Tuesday with proposed timing for January 2021. Below is DCSD’s reopening timeline and some important points from the Huntley Hills Principal Advisory Council (PAC) School Address to assist you.
The below chart was pulled directly from a parent letter emailed on Dec. 16.
DCSD Reopening Timeline
HHES Reopen Information
We’re happy to welcome our return to face to face (F2F) students back in the building. We’ve been planning and preparing to create a safe as possible environment for both our staff and students. Ensuring that learning and safety go hand-in-hand. Outlined below are a few key highlights and what you can expect in the coming weeks.
Together with the School’s Reopen Task Force, elementary Cluster schools, PAC and PTA, we prepared a plan to reopen our school and will share the full plan on plan Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 at 6 p.m. during a virtual school meeting. The plan will also be posted on our HHES website and sent in Tiger Talk.
You can expect these topics and more to be covered in the reopening plan:
-Tiger Time
-Schedules
-Specials, recess and lunch
-Safety precautions
We will review your intent to return submitted surveys. In addition, teachers will poll parents on their return to F2F to prepare Group A and Group B, student desks and materials. When organizing groups, we will plan according to family households.
If your child(ren) is RETURNING F2F please complete the transportation & special request survey.
If you need to CHANGE your intent to return, use the survey here.
Instructional Time Change
Beginning on Monday Jan. 4, 2021, we will follow a new schedule to best prepare us for F2F learning. The new time is 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. This helps our students with the following:
Additional time for small group instruction and for students to complete individual work.
Aligns virtual learning and F2F schedules upon our return to school in Jan. 19.
Teachers will be online by 7:45 a.m. Instruction begins for both groups at 8 a.m.
Teachers will send the new schedule Friday, Dec. 18.
Wednesday Student Support
Instruction is our number one priority during digital learning. To support our students, all staff members will begin supporting students on Wednesdays.
Your class has designated teachers/paras to provide small group and individual instruction for targeted skills and/or acceleration. Your homeroom teacher will be arranging and communicating the groups with you.
Your teacher will provide you with the time and staff member working with your child’s group or one-on-one Friday, January 8, 2021.
Please ensure your child virtually attends their small and/or individualized instruction.
Teachers are still available Wednesdays for conferences. Please email your child’s teacher if you need to schedule a conference.
Montessori Lottery Changes
DCSD School Choice Office has notified Huntley Hills that we will no longer hold a local Montessori lottery.
All interested parents must complete an application online at https://www.yourchoicedekalb.org/apply/ from Jan. 7 – Feb. 5.
Huntley Hills families have first priority to fill vacant Montessori seats.
Thank you for supporting our school and students first semester. Happy Holidays and happy New Year to you and your family! The first two days, Jan. 4 and Jan. 5 are digital learning days, so teachers will see students virtually Thursday, January 7th.
Stay safe,
Mia Ford, Principal