Dear Student and Parents: August 11, 2020

I am hopeful this letter finds you and your families safe and well and you have enjoyed a great summer break. The staff has been working very hard to prepare for a safe and effective return to school despite the many obstacles and challenges we are facing. 

Please refer to the Van Buren Schools Reopening Plan (available on school website) for general district and county health guidelines including county alert levels, the requirement of masks for staff and students PK-12, social distancing requirements, daily temperature checks, sanitizing protocols, etc. 

This correspondence is intended to provide additional details and information as it pertains to Van Buren High School specifically. 

  • Student School Day (regardless of educational model - Traditional, Hybrid, Remote)

    • Required Attendance/Participation: 8:00 AM to 12:45 PM 

  • Arrival/ Dismissal

    • School Transportation

      • Arrival: 

        • Students must wear masks on bus

        • Students will have their temperature taken prior to entering the building 

        • HS students will enter “Auditorium Lobby” (door #9)

        • Students will go directly to their first class (no loitering in cafeteria or parking lots)

      • Departure: 

        • HS Students relying on school transportation will remain in the building and will be supervised and supported from 12:45 PM until 2:05 PM.  

    • Personal Transportation (Student Drivers, Walkers, or Parent Pickup): 

      • Arrival: 

        • Students must wear masks 

        • No entrance permitted prior to 7:35 AM

        • All HS students to enter “Main Entrance” (door #2) 

        • Students will have their temperature checked prior to entering the building 

  • Departure: 

    • Students may be dismissed from the building at 12:45 PM

    • HS Students may purchase a lunch from our Food Service Department, but will need to leave the building immediately after (“Grab and Go”) 

    • Students needing academic support from teachers may make prior afternoon arrangements with classroom teachers 

  • Class Schedules 

    • Student course requests from the Spring were scheduled into a typical 8 period day. 

    • With the unknowns of the school year, we will be operating a traditional block schedule, with Odd period classes (1, 3, 5, and 7) occurring for the duration of the first semester. Even period classes (2, 4, 6, and 8) will occur the second semester. This will be the case, regardless of how the school year progresses. 

    • Schedule Delivery 

      • Students can expect to receive their schedules in late August. 

      • Any questions or schedule changes needed can be directed to Mr. Zender (mzender@vbschools.net

      • Schedule changes should occur prior to Sept. 4th 

    • Minimum

      • Students must be enrolled in 3 of 4 class periods, each semester. 

    • Study Halls 

      • To reduce student numbers and better promote social distancing, students may request to be excused from Study Halls at the start or end of the school day (period 1 OR period 7) with the completion and submission of the following form 

      • Student Release Form (Attached)

    • CCP Release

      • Students may be released/excused from Van Buren High School for the purposes of a CCP course. 

      • Once schedules are updated, with the below form, students will not be required to be in the building for a class period in which a CCP class is scheduled, even if the CCP course is online.

      • Release - Private Transportation Form (Attached)

    • Millstream Career Tech. Center  

      • The proposed daily student schedules above coordinate and accommodate the current reopening plans for students enrolled at Millstream. 

      • Students utilizing private transportation to/from Millstream, please complete and submit the above “Release - Private Transportation Form” 

  • Course Adjustments 

    • Course Fees 

      • With the continued changes and adjustments to student course schedules, we will be delaying the required payment of course fees. 

        • Course fees will be payable online - Details to follow

        • The course fee sheet can be viewed on our website 

        • Some minor adjustments may occur with our English Dept. offerings

    • English Department

      • We have consolidated our High School English Course offerings for the upcoming school year. Generally, all Freshmen will be enrolled in Eng. 9, Sophomores in Eng. 10, and Juniors and Seniors enrolled in Literature Survey. All courses will be one full-credit.  

        • Some students may be enrolled in multiple if credit deficient 

    • Semester Courses

      • The following 0.5 credit courses have been transitioned into full-credit (1.0) courses as they will have an equivalent workload and time of instruction to traditional full-credit courses 

        • Career Development (Fr.), Foundations Courses (So.), Government (Jrs.), Economics (Jrs.), History Through Film (Jr./Sr.), Current Events (Jr./Sr.), Holocaust (Jr./Sr.), Astronomy/Forensics (Jr./Sr.)

  • Lockers 

    • Students will not be issued lockers. Students are permitted to carry book bags and expected to keep belongings with them. 

  • Lunches 

    • The high school will not conduct a formal lunch period. 

    • “Grab and Go” lunches will be made available to all students. 

    • Students using personal transportation are expected to leave the building after obtaining their lunch. 

    • Those students who rely on school transportation may remain in the building but will need to follow social distancing requirements and eating areas

  • Student Support 

    • Teachers will be available for student support in the afternoons. 

*Some elective teachers may have reduced or altered availability. 

  • In traditional or hybrid models, students may be able to request face-to-face small group support starting at 12:45 pm. 

  • In hybrid or remote models, staff will be available for student support of online instruction from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm with communication occurring through Schoology or school email accounts. 

  • Schoology 

    • In order to improve the experience of our parents, students, and teachers, the Van Buren School District has committed to a consistent district-wide Learning Management System (LMS). This will be used in place of Google Classroom, Moodle, and other various platforms of the past. Parents and students will no longer have to find and learn different systems in order to access course information and class assignments. Parents will visit one portal and have access to class information for all of their students enrolled in the district in one place. Schoology also has a calendar feature that lays out all major assignments, quizzes/tests, and projects and a messaging feature that will allow for improved communication with teachers. Additional information regarding Schoology, including how to create a parent account and tutorials for using Schoology will be shared with you at a later date.

  • Opening Knight orientation/open house

    • We will not hold our annual Opening Knight event this year

    • School pictures will be taken later in the fall during the school day

  • Student Registration (OneView)

    • ALL Van Buren students and parents including those opting into the committed virtual learning experience must complete OneView, our electronic student registration process PRIOR to Monday, August 31st. This digital process will be used for obtaining Emergency Medical Information and Parent/Student agreements. Your cooperation and participation is greatly appreciated. (Step by step details can be found on the school website (www.vbschools.net), under “For Parents” tab). For those who require assistance or internet access for this process, please contact the school office. 

  • Immunizations 

    • Seniors, as per Ohio Revised Code, public schools must require that all students receive their 12th Grade Meningitis immunization.

    • Please contact the Hancock County Public Health Dept. or your family physician. 

As always, your patience, flexibility, understanding, and continued support throughout this process are greatly appreciated. Please do not hesitate to contact the office with any questions you have or assistance you might need. We are here to support you in any way possible. 

Sincerely, 

Kevin Shoup 

Van Buren Local Schools

High School Principal