Author: curt rheingans

April Covid Update

April 14, 2021

Dear Parents,

I hope this message finds all of you safe and healthy.  I wanted to take a quick minute and summarize the Health Department’s most recent Covid 19 protocols, in particular how they relate to the school environment. 

As we head into the home stretch of the school year, it is evident that Covid 19 is starting to affect elementary school age students more dramatically than it has in the past. We will continue to follow guidance from the Ogle County Health Department.

Those protocols are as follows-

If your child is showing symptoms such as headache, fever, cough, shortness of breath, your child needs to quarantine for 14 days or provide evidence of a negative Covid test.

If your child has a positive Covid test, he/she must be quarantined for 10 days after they exhibit the last symptoms of Covid. 

If the health department identifies your child as having close contact with someone who has tested positive, your child will have to quarantine for 14 days. The school will work closely with the health department to conduct contact tracing here at school. If the school identifies your child as a close contact, please know that the health department will contact you, as parents.

As a district, we have done a remarkable job of managing Covid related issues at school. I would like to personally thank everyone for their hard work and diligence; we could not have done this without true teamwork between home and school.  This has been a most unusual year; hopefully we are turning the corner and we can continue to keep our students and staff safe and healthy.

Most sincerely,

Curt Rheingans

return after break

Dec. 21, 2020

Dear Parents and Families:

First and foremost, I would like to start by wishing everyone a safe and healthy holiday season!  It has been the most unusual school year that any of us have ever experienced;  I am proud of our students and staff as they have worked together the past several months.

That being said, with the uncertainty regarding the potential spread of the CoronaVirus, we have made the decision to start back to school on January 7th and 8th with 100% remote learning.  These dates will align with the CDC guidelines for monitoring the possible peak from the Christmas holiday.

Face to face learning will resume on January 11th, provided that we do not experience the significant increase of Covid 19 as predicted by our local and state health departments.

If you have any questions, please call do not hesitate to call me at 563-210-4948.

Sincerely,

Curt

December Return

Dear Parents,

I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving with your family!! I am sure many of you are wondering how we will be returning to learn beginning next week – whether we will be doing remote learning or face to face. Our plan, at this time, is that Creston School will return to in-person learning starting Monday, December 7th. 

Please know that making this decision was not an easy one.  We reviewed all of our data as well as guidelines from the Health Department. I know that not everyone will agree with our decision to return to in person learning and, as always, if you feel that remote learning is better for your child please feel free to stay remote. 

Also please remember that this decision could change very quickly and if conditions dramatically worsen, we may have to make the decision to go remote again.  Thank you for your patience and for your diligence in safe practices.

Sincerely,

Curt Rheingans  563-210-4948

School after Thanksgiving

11-20-2020

Dear Parents,

I am writing in order to keep everyone up to date regarding the delivery of instruction after Thanksgiving. As many of you may know, the Ogle County Health Department has recommended that schools close down from Thanksgiving until January 19, 2021. Please be assured that we have been doing our due diligence to make sure that all students and staff are safe during this pandemic by doing extra cleaning and making sure the students have their masks on at all times during the day. To date we have only had one confirmed case of Covid 19. 

At this time Creston School will be going remote the week of November 30th and we will then make an informed decision regarding the rest of the period on Thursday December 3rd. Please remember that if we do decide to return to school December 7th, parents will have the option to keep their child home and do remote learning through the holiday season.

What are some factors that could cause our district to stay in remote learning?                        

  • A state mandate to do so, similar to what was put in place last spring
  • An inability to staff our buildings like we have seen in other neighboring districts
  • External community concerns relating to COVID19 spread and/or our local health care infrastructure unable to serve COVID19 patients
  • A combination of factors above.

What can you do now to be prepared for a future transition to remote learning?

  • Plan childcare/supervision for your student(s)
  • Plan for increased meals in the household for your student(s)
  • Secure a consistent connection to the internet.

We understand this is a stressful time for everyone. Please do not hesitate to call with any questions.

Curt Rheingans  563-210-4948

Covid

Good Morning,

Families -I am writing that letter which I have been dreading for nine months.  I guess the silver lining is that we have kept all of our students healthy for those nine months.

Today, we learned that one of our students has tested positive for Covid.  This student has not been in school for one full week. The Health Department has said that since that student has been gone for one full week, students are wearing masks, and because students eat lunch at home, we just need to monitor other students for symptoms.  We are doing exactly that and following their recommendations to the letter. 

In addition, we have been very careful about social distancing and I want to take this opportunity to commend our students, families, and staff for your diligence as we work through all of these challenging times.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Most sincerely,

Curt 563-210-4948

Free Meals

October 13, 2020

Dear Parents,

I am writing today to share some very good news. Beginning October 15, 2020, all students will begin receiving free breakfast and lunch on a daily basis. Each day your child will bring home a lunch for that day as well as a breakfast for the next morning. This free program will run for the entire school year.  I am so pleased to share this information and I know that it will help all students be prepared for learning.  

Parents, please check your child’s backpack on a daily basis to make sure they are bringing home the meals. We want to make sure that the meals are making it home, being consumed and that we are not littering these free meals throughout the village of Creston.

In these challenging times for everyone, it’s nice to be able to provide this support to all of our students.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Stay safe!

Thank you,

Curt Rheingans

Remote learning day

Dear Students and Families:

As part of our Return to Learning Plan, Creston Elementary School will be conducting REMOTE LEARNING FOR ALL days on Wednesday, September 2 and 16.  On these days all students will attend school remotely in order to practice remote learning in case we need to go fully remote in the future.

Remote learning looks different this year than it did last spring.  Teachers are currently providing instruction for both in-person and remote students.  It is expected that instruction on the REMOTE LEARNING FOR ALL will follow the same schedule that is currently being followed in the classroom.  Students will need to be logged in at 8 AM for class and can be expected to attend class until around 12:30 PM.  Students will also be expected to complete any special assignments in the afternoon, as they are doing now.  

In the next week, teachers will share additional information with students and their families on what to expect the REMOTE LEARNING FOR ALL day to look like, resources that will be needed, and technology that will be used.  This will give students and teachers both the opportunity to participate in remote learning activities.  

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your teacher or the school at (815)384-3920.

Welcome Back!!

August 18, 2020

 

Dear Creston Community,

 

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for 2020 to take a positive turn.  Together, I think we can do just that.  Let’s get our school year started on the right foot!  

Welcome back to another exciting year of learning at Creston School. This year will definitely provide everyone with some type of unique learning opportunities whether you are attending school in person or  through remote learning. Please know that we are all working hard to deal with the challenges, accept what we cannot control or change yet still do the absolute best for all of our students.

Last year the theme for our school was “Win the Day.” This year, we will continue with this same theme, Win the Day! With so  many new and unexpected things happening around us on a daily basis, this theme will be even more important this year. We plan to make sure that every day we make every minute count, that we always strive to learn new things and we keep safety first and foremost.  In a nutshell, We want to win the day by providing safe learning!

I know I am speaking for everyone at school when I say we are extremely excited to have the students back tomorrow..  We’ve been away from one another for too long!

Please remember when we start Wednesday, we need to make sure that we are winning each and every day.  Together, we will support one another, persevere and continue to grow and learn.

As always, please feel free to contact me at 563-210-4948 if you have any questions.  I know you’ve heard it a thousand times but we truly are all in this together.

Yours in Education,

Curt Rheingans

Return to School

Back to School Information

 

In-Person Instruction

  • First attendance day for students is Wednesday, August 19th
  • Doors open at 7:45 AM
  • Students must have a mask to enter the building and wear it throughout the entire day
  • Masks will be provided or parents may send students with their own masks
  • Students will be checked in and immediately sent to their home room
  • Official Start time 8:00 AM, this is a change from previous years- please note
  • Dismissal time 12:30 PM
  • Grab and Go lunches will be offered- students will order in the morning and lunches will be delivered to classrooms prior to dismissal
  • Frequent Mask Breaks will be given to students
  • Mid-morning snack break will be provided (healthy snack provided or students may bring their own)
  • Please bring a filled water bottle- water fountains will be off

 

Remote Learning

  • First attendance day for students is Wednesday, August 19
  • Remote learning Chromebook and textbook pick-up day will be on Tuesday, Aug. 18th from 2:30 PM-3:30 PM if you cannot make it during these times, please contact the school to schedule an appointment, students will need these materials at 8 AM, Wednesday, Aug. 19th to log in to their classes. Teachers will include information for logging in and setting up accounts in the pick up materials.
  • Assignments posted by 8 AM in their google classroom each day
  • Teachers will provide instructions on how to access google classroom and passwords (if any) needed
  • Students must be logged into class at 8AM and attend all meetings as assigned
  • Same requirements as In-Person instruction for attendance, participation, and grading
  • Live stream lessons will be streamed from classroom, students are expected to attend all lessons
  • Teachers will respond to emails after 12:30 dismissal
  • Emails sent before 3 PM will be answered that day, anything after 3 PM will be answered the following day

 

All Students

  • Registration paperwork that is not complete will be sent home by the office, registration fees may be sent with students, along with any paperwork
  • Attendance will be taken daily
  • Grading returns to traditional grading (not pass/incomplete)
  • Must call office to report any absences
  • No visitors in school building, please call office (815)384-3920 and we will make arrangements to accommodate your needs
  • First day photo opportunities will be available at the Creston School sign in front of the building.  The sign will be ready for photos by 8/14/20.  

 

Bus Students

  • New route times will be provided by Monday, August 17.
  • Assigned seating will be used
  • Families will be seated together
  • Masks must be worn on bus at all times

 

We look forward to seeing everyone!  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school at (815)384-3920 or call Mr. Rheingans at (563)210-4948.