April 21, 2020

Dear Cedar Cliff Families:

As you are probably well-aware, recently, the closure of Ohio schools was extended to the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
Here are some topics you (or someone you may know) may be wondering or concerned about as we progress through the end of the year:

• We will continue off-site instruction through the remainder of the year. We understand this type of instruction is not easy and presents challenges to all families and some more than others. We will not provide NEW assignments to families after May 14 (Thursday). However, you may still receive communications from your child’s teacher, particularly if your child is missing assignments or you, as a parent, are interested in enrichment activities for the summer break or to enhance learning after such a dramatic shift in educational programming. Also, please remember, we were already prepared to NOT have school on Friday, May 15 (due to a lack of calamity days missed). This will continue to be the case as this was not an expected day of attendance.

 

• The week of May 18-22 you should expect a call from your child’s administrative office. We will be scheduling a “yearly cleanout” for all families. We will be bringing families in a very few at a time to turn in textbooks, library books, Chrome books, pick up any awards your child may have earned this school year, pay any school fees that are owed, and clean out lockers, cubbies as well as the lost/found. We will do everything we can to maintain social distancing this week and provide hand sanitizers for all to use during this time. There will be stations in the cafeteria for folks to check out for various activities and then individuals can make the rounds to their teachers for the return of materials. Again, expect a call for a schedule time from the principal’s office—we will do what we can to ensure all families have to only come in one time if they have children in various levels of the building (i.e. Elem./MS/HS).

 

• We want to remind all College Credit Plus (CCP) students of some important items. The deadline to sign up for CCP for the 2020-2021 school year is now May 1st. If you would like, you can scan or send the form to the HS office or Mrs. Tingelstad. Additionally, textbooks for this year’s CCP courses will need returned to the HS by May 1st unless otherwise directed by the University.

 

•  Seniors concerned about scholarships and college applications should email Mrs. Tingelstad at: [email protected] and she will be able to provide information on specific questions. Many of the scholarship deadlines have been extended and families can get information about those via the district website under the Counselor Corner tab of the High School site.

 

•  All second semester exams have been cancelled—teachers have been instructed on how to address this in ProgressBook. These will be treated the same as exam exemptions were counted in the past when computing final grades.

 

• We have been asked about four major events since the extension of the shutdown period—those events are listed below with the most up-to-date information I can provide:
  • Graduation: We will not be having graduation on May 21 at the university. It is officially moved (for now) to Thursday, June 25, at 8:00 pm on the football field. We have a rain date scheduled for Friday, June 26, on the field at the same time. We CANNOT provide the details surrounding who can be in attendance at this time. Currently, social distancing rules are more defined and closed off—there is no guarantee those rules will be the same the last week of June (nearly two months away). I am hoping we can have graduation open to a normal crowd for the class of 2020 since this is an outside event, but if we cannot have Major League Baseball, we will not be able to have an outdoor graduation either. As an example, if we can only have 150 people in a gathering, then we will issue tickets per student and limit the numbers. It really does depend on the Governor’s rules at the time. Lastly, this date is tentative as well—if we cannot do this on June 25 or 26—we will look at July---if we cannot do it in July we will look at August---but we are going to have a graduation for this class if it is remotely possible. I also want to stress, graduation will look different this year. We may not have all the activities folks are accustomed to seeing in the ceremony. It is difficult to plan when we are not even sure who can attend or who will be permitted to participate in the ceremony. Our main and primary focus is to allow this class to have some time together, give the students an ovation for their efforts, and the recognition they deserve—that is and will be our focus.
  • Prom— We are currently examining two types of Prom activities this year—both a ‘normal’ and a ‘social distancing prom.’ Obviously, you cannot dance at a prom and have social distancing. So we are planning on Prom (for now) sometime the last week of June, possibly the Tuesday of the week of graduation (June 23). If social distancing rules are loosened, we will have a normal prom—if they are not, the administration will be discussing options with Mrs. Barber (the Junior Class Advisor) and coming up with a “replacement prom” plan. Again, it is too early to outline the concept for this but we will have to make the decision at some point. Therefore, we have decided Monday, May 18, is decision day—we will decide at that time if we are having a 1) normal, 2) replacement, or 3) no prom. Again, the social distancing rules will govern whatever decision we make. We are merely hoping for the best as the next two months move forward but, again, there will, at some time, be a point of no return.
  • MS Midnight Mania— We are examining the week after graduation for this –possible Monday or Tuesday (June 29 or 30). The same parameters outlined above apply here. All decisions depend on Social Distancing guidelines. If these events/businesses are open, we will try to hold this event---if they are not open to the public, then we cannot try to have this activity. May 18 will be decision day for this activity as well.
    o Elementary Field Day: Again, the last week of June is the target date. More information to follow if this is a possibility. As always, May 18th will be decision day and Social Distancing rules apply.
  • Food Service Program: The district will continue to provide lunches during the shutdown period. If your child needs lunch or food items, please notify Gay Christian at: [email protected], and we will have food items available for your pickup. We care about the needs of our students and want to help in any way we can. Our pickup days are
  • Tuesday from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. We ask that families let us know each week if they will be arriving for pickup. The last pick up for the year will be Tuesday, May 12!
  • The OHSAA, based on Governor’s DeWine’s recent school closure decision, has cancelled Spring sports for the year.
  • Please remember to vote if you have not returned your ballot already. The deadline is quickly approaching for all ballots to have been post-marked to count for the election. As a reminder, the district does have a levy on the ballot for this election and please remember, Every Vote Counts!

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• ​If you have internet and/or WiFi issues, the HS parking lot does have a signal that would allow students to upload information and send assignments to staff. This signal does NOT extend to the front of the school, but does extend outside to the parking lot of the High School. We are referring to this as the “parking lot pull-up”—individuals can drive around, park their cars, and send/upload information to staff without ever leaving their vehicles and disregarding social distancing protocols. We realize with the closure of public libraries and many of the coffee shops students are accustomed to visiting to complete assignments, this is a way for students to complete assignments at home, utilize district internet for staff communication, and then return home. We put this forward as an option for students and their families should the need arise.

• Please encourage and work with your child to complete any assignments issued over the shutdown period. We really are trying to keep education in mind and ongoing despite these difficult times.

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We include this information as well—we know you have all heard it many times, but it bears repeating:

These simple preventative measures are known to minimize the spread of communicable diseases. Health authorities indicate that the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are the same recommendations for preventing the spread of the flu virus. The following steps, posted on the BCS website, successful in preventing the spread of flu and the common cold, can also help prevent COVID-19, including:

• Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands
• Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or upper sleeve when coughing or sneezing
• Avoiding contact with people who are sick
• Staying home if you are sick and contacting your healthcare provider

Please continue to visit the Cedar Cliff Local School District website at: https://www.cedarcliffschools.net/. We will continue to try to post the most up-to-date information and guidelines from national, state and local health officials as it arrives to us.

Please note this situation continues to evolve and we will continue to provide updates as things change. Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your children.

Sincerely,