August 31, 2020
Dear Family and Friends of Horace Mann Elementary School,
We are thrilled and beyond excited to work with you and our students this school year!
(We are literally celebrating over here:)
Our number one goal is to create both a caring and safe space where your beautiful children can thrive and where you, as their incredible parents and guardians can feel connected and supported simultaneously! We recognize that the time and space we are living in is different than any other, therefore the Horace Mann team of teachers and staff agreed that our shared vision is, “Distant Yet Together.”
We are beyond excited to meet again face to face, yet we also understand that our guidelines could change as cases change. We, as a team, are choosing that no matter what may come, we create together a compassionate, connected, caring, flexible, fun, and safe learning environment for our students and families. Our goal is to live with this vision in order to create a learning environment of excellence no matter what could, may, or may never come. We have great hope you will feel all of this in your experiences with us this school year. Afterall, you are your child’s most trusted source of safety and security that he or she may ever know here on Earth. We care to be sure you are also cared for in this process.
Caring, Health, and Safety
Sharing our vision is important as we begin talking more about our safety plan and next steps as we recognize we are working with children and their families at the core of all of these safety requirements. Resharing our focus for safety so that you are able to prepare our students for school during this time in our lives of COVID will assist our students to arrive for learning more confidently.
Wearing facemasks, social distancing, and washing hands regularly are the focus of our safety plan as we begin teaching and learning into the 2020-2021 school year. Our team developed plans for teaching and supporting students as they learn the new school safety components of #RCR: Respect, Compassion, and Responsibility while living in this time of taking care of ourselves and each other.
A few reminders for our students and families:
*Horace Mann doors will open at 8:30am for morning arrivals.
*Please help your child remember his or her facemask daily. If your child loses or forgets the face mask we have masks ready to go for your child! We will ensure we communicate with you when this happens.
*If you are dropping off your child daily, please pull up to the entrance where you can wait in line (if there is one). We have caring team members prepared to temperature check/ symptom check your child before exiting your car. Please allow for a team member to check your child before exiting your vehicle. Horace Mann doors will open at 8:30am.
*If your child is walking to school, please encourage your child to arrive at school no earlier than 8:30am. This is to ensure safety for all as supervision will not be present before this time.
*Bus Riders will enter the bus with a mask on. Buses will also have extra masks available in case a student forgot his or her mask or damaged it while waiting for the bus. Once your child’s bus arrives at Horace Mann, students will have their temperatures checked before exiting the bus at 8:30am.
*If any student is showing a temperature above 100 degrees or symptoms of COVID, we have a calming, private space for the student to be supervised and cared for until a parent or guardian can arrive to pick up the student. Our procedures are designed to maintain privacy and caring to students and families during this process.
*We are providing all school materials for students. Every student has a personal plastic box to store his or her materials for school.
* Students will be getting a Chromebook which will go to and from school daily. Please help your child charge his or her Chromebook nightly. Please keep the charger at home so that it is always available when needed.
*Students may bring backpacks and lunches. We have created personal spaces for every student within the classroom. Whatever the student brings to school will fit around his/her desk throughout the day. Simplicity is the name of the game at Horace Mann. We are always looking for new ways to minimize “things to be cleaned” while still maximizing education and the learning experience. If you have any questions about spacing or ideas for materials, please call or email your child’s teacher for more specifics. All public material cabinets that served as lockers in prior years will be closed for student use due to cleaning, safety, and wellness for all.
Classroom Lists & The Horace Mann Team
Thank you for your flexibility while waiting for the class lists! We recognize it has been a long wait and I am so grateful for the teams we have as our students are in awesome hands! We are mailing class lists from the Central Administrative Office on Monday, August 31, 2020.
Our incredible teacher team will be in contact with you shortly to welcome you to the classroom experience!
We have amazing teachers and team members preparing classrooms and learning spaces as we speak! Please meet our team members that will work with your children this year:
Our Fourth Grade Team Includes:
Team A
Mrs. Julie Duffee-Math
Mrs. Carly Monier-ELA, Science, and Social Studies
Ms. Doran- ELA
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Team B
Cayla Moore- ELA
Linda Medvetz- Math, Science, and Social Studies
Our Fifth Grade Team Includes:
Team A
Ms. Lisa Freidhoff
Mr. Kevin Rado
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Team B
Mrs. Erica White- ELA
Mrs. Heather Miller- Math, Science, and Social Studies
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Team C
Mrs. Nicola Smith- ELA
Mrs. Carolyn Detwiler- Math, Science, and Social Studies
During our COVID social distancing schedule we are pleased to announce a 6 day Special Rotation!
Our Special Area Teachers Include:
Mr. Dave Sheeran- STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Mathematics) & Technology
Mrs. Koren Greene- Library
Dr. Jennifer Rinkevich- Art
Mrs. Melanie Popson- Physical Education
Mr. Scott Kemerer- Music Technology (NEW!!)
Mr. Ben Saylor- Music
Our Learning Support and Gifted Education Teachers Include:
Mrs. Melanie Popson- Learning Support
Ms. Elizabeth Woods- Gift Support
Mrs. Leann Smith- Speech and Language Pathologist
Mrs. Grumbling- Occupational Therapist
Dr. Angela McMasters- School Psychologist
Our School Counselor/ 504 Coordinator
Mrs. Brenda O’Barto
Our Paraprofessionals & Teacher’s Aid Include:
Mrs. Mary Jo Shero
Mrs. Mary Slagel
Mrs. Dawn Balough
Our Administrative Assistant answering all of our calls and helping you daily is:
Mrs. Kristi Clark
Our Custodians Cleaning and Sanitizing Daily:
Mr. Jeff Syster- Lead Custodian
Mrs. Jeannie Fedor
And 1 more
Our Food Service Team Include:
Mrs. Jen Boyer- Lead Food Service Worker
Ms. Patty
Our School Principal/ Administrator:
Krista Sevajian
We know there may be a million and one more questions as you prepare your child for learning this school year and we are here to help if you have questions that we can answer. Our phone number is 724-463-8568. Thank you for being a part of our learning community no matter if you chose the Traditional Model, IDEAL, or Synchronous Learning! No matter where we are, we are in this together! “Distant Yet Together!” Wherever you are, you are still on our team! We are here in service and welcome questions to support this transition into our new school year.
Sincerely,
Krista Sevajian,
Horace Mann,
Principal