SEPTEMBER 2020
View current and past e-Communicators by visiting www.seamanschools.org/eCommunicator.
Important Dates
September 7: No School - Labor Day
September 9: Group A On-site Make Up Day
September 25:This will NOT be an Early Release Day
Communicator
Due to the ever-changing environment of this school year, the district will be suspending the publication of the printed Communicator until further notice. The district will be utilizing digital communication (such as this eCommunicator) to deliver important information and content to stakeholders. Digital communication will allow for more timely and accurate information to be released for public circulation.
Message from the Board President
Dear Parents, Students, Teachers, Staff, and Members of the Seaman Community:
First, let me say, welcome back to school; a year like no other! As we began our 101st year, the Board of Education toured each building and were impressed with the safety measures that have been put in place to ensure that we were ready to start the 2020 version of school.
Over the summer, the Ready to Reopen (R2R) Task Force spent weeks developing a strategic and intentional plan for reopening our school buildings. The decision to open in a hybrid model of student engagement did not come lightly, and we realize this plan comes with challenges for everyone. The task of coming up with a plan that would accommodate 4,000 students and over 800 employees was nearly insurmountable, but the task force (which included: students, parents, teachers, administrators, and board members) worked very hard to try and account for a wide variety of scenarios. Undoubtedly, it was impossible to come up with the perfect plan for everyone and we did the absolute best we could to create a playbook for this situation when none existed before.
Click here to read the full message.
James Adams
USD 345 Board President
Homecoming Parade - Cancelled
The 2020 Homecoming Parade has been cancelled due to public health safety concerns. Seaman High School administration is working on a plan to commemorate this event in a safe manner. More information will be released from the high school at a later date.
This cancellation also means September 25 will no longer be an early release day. Students will continue with a full-day schedule on this Friday (Student Group B: On-Site; Student Group A: Remote Learning; FCRL: Remote Learning).
Friday Night Football
We are excited for our first varsity football game on Friday night. In order to ensure that safety measures are in place to protect the health and well-being of our players, coaches, staff, and spectators, here are some new guidelines.
- Crowd size will be limited at varsity football games at Seaman Stadium.
- Varsity football players and other participants (band, cheer, dance) will be allotted vouchers.
- Spectators/Students with vouchers can redeem for ticket purchase at the stadium window.
- SHS students with an athletic card must also have a voucher to enter through the pass gate.
- NO Passes (Student, Centennial, District/Staff, Gold)
- Seating modifications will be in place to maintain social distancing.
- Temperature checks must be less than 100 degrees to purchase a ticket.
- Masks required and should be worn when social distancing cannot be ensured.
- Lawn chair seating & additional social distance seating areas will be provided on the south terrace.
- Portable hand-washing stations and hand sanitizer will be available in designated areas.
- Spectators must properly dispose of all trash in receptacles. Seeds & shells are NOT permitted.
- No re-entry will be allowed into the stadium. Unsupervised students should not attend.
- Student sign-up & lottery for allotted tickets will be drawn on Wednesday of game week.
- Students in attendance will be seated in the bleacher area to watch the game. Student groups are NOT allowed to gather unsupervised in social groups throughout Seaman Stadium.
- NO walk-up single game tickets will be for sale to the general public. Anyone wanting to purchase a ticket to attend the game must have a football voucher.
- Live streaming of games will be available when possible.
Follow the links below for more detail on athletic and activity plans.
Seaman Middle School Fall Athletic Plans
Seaman High School Fall Athletic Plans
Other Seaman High School Fall Activity Plans
Mobile Food Pantry
We have new dates, times, and location for Harvesters thanks to a partnership with IBEW Local Union 226.
USD 345 will have the Harvesters Mobile Distribution at IBEW 1620 NW Gage (this is off Lower Silver Lake Road) Monday, September 14, from 4pm-5pm
We will continue having the Mobile Distribution at this location and time on the 2nd Monday of the month. Future dates are as follows.
October 12
November 9
December 14
January 11
February 8
March 8
April 12
May 10
Ready to Reopen (R2R) FAQs
Check out our Ready to Reopen page for the latest information regarding the district's Ready to Reopen plan:
www.seamanschools.org/R2R
Submit FAQs here:
https://forms.gle/9QV1uqWN6onnKkbL6
2020-21 Calendar
The hybrid calendar below shows the student group days assigned for in-person learning as well as an overview of no school days.
Click here to view the 2020-21 Hybrid School Year calendar.
Shawnee County North WiFi
The Shawnee North Community Center has recently added wifi and Seaman students are welcome to use this new resource.
Shawnee North Community Center hours vary due to program schedules. The center is open at least 8am-5pm Monday – Friday. Later hours are available when programming allows. Please call ahead any time after 5 pm for evening hours or for any other questions. No guardian is required but there will be no direct supervision.
Shawnee North Community Center phone number is 785-251-6900.
Technology Support
Please call the USD 345 Technology Department Help Desk on Monday-Friday between 7:00 am-4:00 pm at 785-286-8483 for help with your district-issued device.
Student Technology Support
Parent Technology Handbook
Learning Logs
Electronic learning logs will be emailed on a daily basis to elementary and middle school parents on their student's remote learning days. High School students will complete learning logs on Wednesdays.
Completed learning logs are required by the Kansas State Department of Education and will determine the district’s funding. Electronic learning logs will be the same form, each day. Please complete a form for each student on each day a learning log is due.
Free & Reduced Applications
Children need healthy meals to learn and Seaman School District offers healthy meals every school day. Your children may qualify for free or reduced price meals. Please submit your application today! Call 785-575-8650 for more info. Qualifying for free or reduced meals will also reduce your school fees.
Full Meal Costs
Breakfast: $1.85
Lunch: $2.65 (K-6)
Lunch: $2.90 (7-12)
Reduced Meal Costs
Breakfast: 30¢
Lunch: 40¢
Click here to view school fees.
Families can qualify for Free or Reduced Price meals by application, or by Direct Certification from the State of Kansas (the family receives food assistance). To reduce school fees a Consent by Disclosure must be on file with the Food Service Department by either qualification method. This form is available online with the Application Packet for Free or Reduced Price Meals.
Click here to apply online.
COVID-19 Response
If/when the district is notified of a positive COVID-19 patient, the custodial staff will be informed so impacted areas are thoroughly disinfected. If possible, custodial staff will close the area and wait 24 hours or as long as possible prior to disinfecting. However, if that is not possible or school is in session, the cleaning will occur immediately.
Please refer to the following exposure guidelines for information on how the district will respond to COVID-19 positive cases. As you can see, the district will be responsible for contact tracing within our buildings. It is very important to monitor your health on a daily basis and if your student has symptoms, please stay home to protect our school community.
Remote Day Lunch & Breakfast
If you are interested in ordering USD 345 lunch and breakfast while your students are at home during the month of September, please see below.
School lunch and breakfast will still be provided to students on days they are away from school. Each month, families will be sent an online order form to select the meals they will need each week. Wednesdays will be breakfast and lunch distribution days at SMS and Logan. If you are a FCRL student and you need lunch and breakfast five days a week, you will pick up five days worth of breakfast and lunch on Wednesdays. If you are a hybrid student, you can pick up three days of breakfast and lunch on Wednesdays. All meal orders will be debited from school lunch accounts based on the student’s free & reduced meal status. This service will begin on September 16.
Please complete and submit a form for each student who is ordering lunch and breakfast by Friday, September 4.
Order September Lunch & Breakfast:
https://forms.gle/n9A989q3JL5URqUs8
Lunch Menu
Click here to view the lunch menu. You can also subscribe to calendar feed for quick access as you're planning for your day.
Mask Requirement
USD 345 will require all students, faculty, staff, vendors and other visitors to USD 345 school attendance centers to cover their mouth and nose with a mask or other face covering at all times except as described below:
a. While eating;
b. While working—other than to prepare food or meals—in a room or office that is (1) not open to students or visitors and (2) in which all individuals present can maintain a 6-foot distance from other individuals with only infrequent or incidental moments of closer proximity;
c. While engaged in an activity during which it is unsafe or impossible to wear a mask or other face covering;
d. Children who are not students and are 5 years of age or under—children age two years and under in particular should not wear a face covering because of the risk of suffocation;
e. Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering—this includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance;
f. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, or communicating with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication;
g. Persons for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines; and
h. Persons engaged in any lawful activity during which wearing a mask or other face covering is prohibited by law.
Masks Required on the Bus
In an effort to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our community, the Seaman School District will be requiring that all students and staff wear a mask or other face covering while riding the bus. Bus drivers may drive without masks if a mask causes a problem with the driver's visibility. Masks will be worn by drivers when students are loading and unloading.
We are also requiring an at-home health screening before loading the bus in the mornings. Please check your child for signs of illness including: fever (temperature of 100 degrees or higher), chills, rigors, myalgia, malaise, headache, sore throat, cough (new uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing), shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, and new smell or taste disorders.
We believe that requiring masks and regular health screenings are the responsible action to take in the interest of minimizing risks for everyone on the way to and from school and school activities.
Additional safety measures we will be taking include:
- One rider per seat (with the exception of family units)
- Disinfecting buses between routes daily
- Deep cleaning the bus fleet on remote Wednesdays
- Assigned seating
We sincerely appreciate your cooperation with this policy. If we all do our part, we can help ensure that we can continue with in-person learning this school year.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your building principal. Thank you for your attention to this important update.
Board Digest
Following each board of education meeting, the Director of Communications recaps the board meeting in the Board Digest.
Click here to review the latest board meeting.
The Seaman USD #345 Board of Education will meet at the Seaman Education Center, 901 NW Lyman Rd, in the Ann Minihan Board Room on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 PM with the exception of March and April, which will be held on the third Monday, and any regular scheduled meeting may be adjourned to another time and place when necessary.
Regular meetings remaining for the 2019-20 school year:
September 14, 2020
October 12, 2020
November 9, 2020
December 14, 2020
January 11, 2021
February 8, 2021
March 15, 2021
April 19, 2021
May 10, 2021
June 14, 2021
July 12, 2021
Parents and other community members frequently request help in knowing the best way to communicate with the school. The communication guideline chart below will serve as a helpful resource. By contacting the following people in the prescribed order, questions will be answered more efficiently and effectively.
Click here to view the Concern Chain of Command.