Reminder today is meal distribution day! We are distributing to Union Gap students now until 1:30. Students do not have to be present but parents/guardians will be required to identify their Union Gap School students in order to receive meals due to updated state and federal guidelines for this school year.
Union Gap Families – we will be distributing meals tomorrow in front of the school between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm. Meals can only be provided to Union Gap School students. Students do not have to be present but parents/guardians will be required to identify their Union Gap School students in order to receive meals due to updated state and federal guidelines for this school year. Hope to see you then!
Student/Internet Technology Needs: Washington State's survey is now available to be completed to determine family internet and technology needs. Please complete this survey for EACH student in our school. This survey will also be used for those grade levels that have not yet received laptops. The survey is in English and Spanish. You can switch to Spanish on the form in the upper right hand corner of the survey. This information is due to the state on Monday, so please complete before noon on Sunday for each student in your household that attends Union Gap School:
https://bit.ly/3iQdCdT
From the Principal, Mr. Vincent
Parents, today has been a busy, full, and special day with teachers returning to the building. Here are some important details:
8:20 on 8/20: I will be hosting virtual announcements for students daily in the morning. From there, students will transition to their first class on Teams. Invites coming soon.
DAILY SCHEDULE: Classes will be presented live from 8:30 AM-2:00 PM on most days BUT NOT FOR 5 HOURS STRAIGHT. Teachers will be working to establish their grade-level schedules this week which will include 1) Instruction, 2) Planned Activities and 3) Be Active Times. COMPLETE SCHEDULES COMING SOON :)
RECORDED VIDEOS: For each class, each day, videos will be recorded and posted for students to watch if they cannot attend live sessions.
PACKETS BEFORE TECHNOLOGY: More technology is on the way. Stay tuned for announcements by grade-level. Until then, new packets of work will be available starting first on Monday 8/24 and then on Wednesday's starting on 9/2.
2019-20 8TH GRADE STUDENTS: For students who will be starting at their new high school in Yakima School District, stay connected by downloading their app (https://www.ysd7.org/mobileapp) or following the information located on their website (https://www.ysd7.org/).
Much, much, much more to come, but please know, WE ARE HERE TO HELP and we determined to help your students learn so much this year.
(Also, check out my YouTube Channel for the Daily Cub... I'm still getting used to it, but I'm excited about trying out new ways to stay connected: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV7Oi_XA1tI-VVYbyPtvplJCNJVVQ8jR4)
Parents of YSD students: Make sure you have downloaded the Yakima School District app (search in your app store for Yakima School District). This app will give you a lot of information, especially for incoming freshmen, including how to get your 1:1 laptop device and orientation information. Otherwise go to their district webpage at www.yakimaschools.org for this information.
As mentioned before, the state is looking at providing internet access to those families in need. They are now requesting information from our district around this. Please fill out this survey ASAP as this information is due to the state on Monday.
https://bit.ly/3fAhrlK
We are proud to announce that we have been awarded 338 laptops, 162 LEGO Education SPIKE Prime sets for grades 6-8 and a stipend for Internet connectivity by @CDWCorp, @Intel, @LEGOFoundation and @FirstBook to provide digital equity for children in need! We are one of 45 schools in the nation to receive this award. We will be able to provide laptops to all students in grades K-8 following receipt of these laptops in October. Yay!
ADDING 6th GRADE:
6th - 8th grade parents: Please fill out the following survey https://bit.ly/3fAhrlK regarding your technology needs (internet access and/or laptop) for your child while distance learning. Following completion of the survey, please sign up for a time next week to receive a district assigned laptop when you (or any adult responsible to sign for a computer) and your child can attend a basic technology training at the following website https://bit.ly/33q4vMB . The link to sign up will also be available on the district website at www.uniongapschool.org.
If your student already has a computer available, you will not be provided a district laptop at this time, as we want to make sure that all students have access to a computer for distance learning. If you had used a personal computer in Spring and are now signing up for a district laptop, you will be called by the office to verify your technology needs. The nation is short on available laptops, so we want to make sure that all students without the needed technology get assistance first versus providing computers to all students at this time.
We will soon be providing basic training for all families. If you sign up for the basic training above, but will be using your own laptop, please bring it with you to the training. Otherwise, a district laptop will be assigned at the training.
Devices and training will be coming soon for other grades as soon as we receive more devices from our vendors
New Supply Lists for 2020-2021 School Year are now posted on the website:
English Supply List: https://5il.co/j78b
Spanish Supply List: https://5il.co/j78d
7th and 8th grade parents: Please fill out the following survey https://bit.ly/3fAhrlK regarding your technology needs (internet access and/or laptop) for your child while distance learning. Following completion of the survey, please sign up for a time next week to receive a district assigned laptop when you (or any adult responsible to sign for a computer) and your child can attend a basic technology training at the following website https://bit.ly/33q4vMB . The link to sign up will also be available on the district website at www.uniongapschool.org. If your student already has a computer available, you will not be provided a district laptop at this time, as we want to make sure that all students have access to a computer for distance learning. If you had used a personal computer in Spring and are now signing up for a district laptop, you will be called by the office to verify your technology needs. The nation is short on available laptops, so we want to make sure that all students without the needed technology get assistance first versus providing computers to all students at this time.
We will soon be providing basic training for all families. If you sign up for the basic training above, but will be using your own laptop, please bring it with you to the training. Otherwise, a district laptop will be assigned at the training.
Devices and training will be coming soon for other grades as soon as we receive more devices from our vendors.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SECURE NEW INTERNET SERVICES!
The Union Gap School District is part of an effort in trying to increase broadband access in our region. One of our first tasks is to map access to show need. I am asking Union Gap families to access this site from your home computer/device and take the 1 minute survey. It is a speed test that will log your upload and download speed. No identifying data will be published. It will populate a map with dots.
Everyone is encouraged to take this survey, so please spread the word! Especially those at limited speeds. If you are not able to access the internet at all, you can report this by taking the survey from a mobile device, or a public connection such as one of our school parking lot drive-in hotspots.
Here is the link: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/building-infrastructure/washington-statewide-broadband-act/speedtestsurvey/
Let's get as many dots as possible! There will be significant opportunities to secure funding, but we need to be ready with our needs assessment.
Thank you for helping with this important effort.
Lisa Gredvig
Superintendent
SCHOOL UPDATE BASED ON HEALTH GUIDANCE:
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
The school year will begin on August 20, 2020, with students engaging in an upgraded fully-remote/distance learning model. In this model, all students will learn from home. We will remain in distance learning through Quarter 1 which ends on October 23. We will re-evaluate our community infection rate with the Yakima Health District at the end of September to determine if a hybrid model is possible following this time.
Depending on the progression of the virus, we are prepared to remain in this model but are also ready to transition to “in-school learning.” Parents will have the option to remain in distance learning when a hybrid model is approved by health authorities.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM THE SPRING?
This fully-remote/distance learning option will be a significantly enhanced version of the approach that we used in the spring of 2020. Here are some of the components for the upcoming year:
• Teachers will teach and connect with their classes daily.
• Students will follow a consistent school day schedule five days a week and it will include Specialists.
• Students will be expected to attend classes daily and attendance will be taken.
• Grading practices will return to normal with all school work graded accordingly.
• Technology will be provided to meet the needs of students.
• ClassDojo will be the learning platform for grades K-2 and Microsoft Teams will be used for grades 3-8.
• We will be training parents/students, in person or virtually, on technology in the coming weeks.
As conditions with the virus progress, we will continue to keep you apprised of any changes or adjustments to the learning and teaching process. Information regarding your student’s learning schedule and details is forthcoming. Please continue to check for updates on ClassDojo, district website and mobile app. Thank you for your patience and unity as we move forward in this unprecedented time.
See you TODAY (Tuesday) for our last meal distribution from 10:30 - 11:30 am. We will start back up with meal distribution when school starts. Again, note new time - only an hour. It is hot outside! See you soon!
See you TODAY (Tuesday) for meal distribution from 10:30 - 11:30 am. Again, note new time - only an hour. It is hot outside! See you soon!
Fall learning is dependent on the health status of our area. Please see ClassDojo for specifics. This information was also mailed to all UG families today.
See you TODAY (Tuesday) for meal distribution and crafts from 10:30 - 11:30 am. Again, note new time - only an hour. See you soon!
Reminder: Bulk meal distribution is tomorrow (Tuesday) from 10:30 - 11:30 am due to summer heat. See you then!
The founder of Respuesta Comunitaria Latinx al COVID-19 en Washington scheduled a live Facebook event with the state school superintendent last week. The interview is in English and interpreted in Spanish by a certified interpreter. Here is the link to the recorded event:
https://www.facebook.com/walatinxcovid19/videos/298762077974506/
Reminder: Survey closes Friday
The Union Gap School District is planning for the 2020-2021 school year discussing a variety of scenarios based on guidance from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and Yakima Health District (YHD). As part of our planning process, we need your feedback. Please complete one survey per family.
This survey is in English and Spanish. For Spanish - Click on link below and change the language to Spanish in the upper right of the survey.
https://bit.ly/2BomB61
See you TODAY (Tuesday) for meal distribution from 10:30 - 11:30 am (note new time - only an hour).
