WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!

We are so excited to get our students back to the classrooms, either in person or online. This year we will be starting a bit differently than other years, but we are just as prepared and thrilled to start our new school year.

Our teachers have been training during much of the summer to be prepared for new curriculum and the new online platform, Canvas, that we anticipate will better meet the needs of our Provo School District families. Our district Tech department has purchased and is preparing to issue a chromebook to every student in the district. Our custodians have worked tirelessly in cleaning every inch of the building and are prepared to be ready “for anything” that may come our way in keeping our students safe. Secretaries have been working throughout the summer to register students for school – both for online or at-school learning, and getting ready to support a new way of coming back to school. School and district administrators have been frantically chasing the latest information and designs of how we may be starting our year, but we believe we have the best plan possible for our community’s health and well-being, and in meeting the learning needs of our children. So here we go!

As mentioned, things will be different in Phase 1 of our return to school. Please remember that this is just temporary, and we will hopefully be phasing in to a more “traditional” school year soon. School times have changed: Monday through Thursday school will begin at 8:50 am and end at 1:50 pm. Students will come on either Monday and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Thursdays, and will be assigned their days through the district. Student support classes and remote learning will be held on Fridays. Because we are following state guidelines of social distancing in the classrooms by keeping smaller numbers of students and adults in the building, and also aligning students within families that attend more than one school in the district, we cannot take requests for which days students attend. We know the schedule may not be ideal for all families, but hopefully the options the school district have presented will help most families find a viable option for their children to attend school.

Many beginning-of-the-year practices will not be happening as we have known them, but we will make it fun for our students and informative for parents. Back-to-School Night for our students will possibly be a Zoom of the classroom by their teachers, and possibly a “Drive By Evening” on August 18th so students can “meet” their teachers at a distance. More to come with details!

Parent Information days will be held remotely by Zoom on August 19th and 20th. More details on scheduled class times will be coming from the teachers about these days. We are still making district decisions around SEPs, whether in small meetings or remotely, but they will be held on November 4th-6th.

In the classrooms, learning focuses will be on language arts (reading, writing), math, and the Spanish language. Science and social studies will be integrated in the language arts programs. We will be running space missions in our new Space Lab and STEM classes, as they support the core curriculum in language arts, math, and science. Students will be trained in learning the Canvas platform in technology, and all of our specialty classes will be online classes throughout the week. Our traditional assemblies, meetings, family gatherings, and students screenings (vision, hearing, etc.) will unfortunately be on hold for the time being. We encourage our families to support our PTA as they work to inform parents, and support teachers and the school. There is still much to do to keep our school functioning at its best from a distance, and we need your help!

In my June Principal’s message, we introduced our new teachers so parents and students could make a connection with their child’s teacher. We have one more 2nd grade teacher we would like to introduce, Daniella Nuila. Here is her message to her students:

Hello! My name is Daniela Nuila and I am your new 2nd grade teacher! I was born in Provo and grew up in Spanish Fork, Utah. I attended high school in Orem at UCAS and graduated in 2017. I then decided to apply for the Elementary Education program at UVU and graduated this last May. I love reading, hiking, watching movies and singing with my sisters with our karaoke microphones! I have loved teaching and am so excited to continue here at Canyon Crest!

Again, parents and students, we are very excited to have our students back at school. We have missed you! Parents, there are so many more questions I’m sure you have. I have prepared a FAQs attachment that addresses some of the most frequently asked questions that you may want to refer to. I’m sure more questions, and possibly concerns, may arise as we get started in this unique year, so PLEASE feel free to contact our main office to schedule an appointment so we can address your questions. We are part of a big team and want to hear your feedback so we can mitigate concerns as they come to us. Communicating with us is the best way to do this.

We will see you all soon! Thank you for your enthusiasm and support in helping us get off to a great start!

Sincerely,

Rene Cunningham, Principal