August 12, 2020
Dear Parents,
We want to remind you that registration is open for the upcoming UJS school year, and we encourage you to register your child(ren) for UJS as soon as possible. Our first day of in-person classes for the 2020-2021 school year begins on Sunday, August 30. For those choosing the online option, classes begin Sunday, September 13. Registration for both in-person classes and an on-line option is available at unitedjewishschool.org.
Children in pre-K through Grade 4 will be attending class at Temple Emanuel, and children in Grades 5-10 will be attending classes at Congregation Ahavas Israel. Please remember that all students will be required to wear face masks as they enter our buildings. These masks must be worn by all students throughout the morning.
For children coming to class in person, each Sunday morning, at 7:00 a.m., we will email you a link to a simple, seven question, on-line health form which you will fill out for each of your children prior to being welcomed into school.
Because of additional protocols in place for arrival, it is especially important for all students to arrive on time.
We ask that parents begin to drop off their children at Temple at 10:15 am so that we can socially distance entry. Classes will take place from 10:30 am to 12 Noon. Drop off and pick up at Temple will take place in the front of the building and NOT at the parking lot entrance. Students will be greeted by staff members and escorted to class. We ask that parents remain out of the building.
Pick up will begin at 12:02 pm. We ask that parents form a single file line of cars in the front entrance of the building. Students will sit socially distanced by classes in the sanctuary until their ride arrives. All families with children at the Temple Emanuel campus will be sent a numbered tag, unique to that household. Students should become familiar with this number. When a car arrives with this numbered tag on its dashboard the number will be announced. Children will be escorted by staff to their car. Staff will have a master list of all the numbers assigned.
We ask that parents begin to drop off their children at the school wing entrance to Ahavas Israel beginning at 10:30 am so that we can socially distance their arrival. Classes will take place from 10:45 to 12:15 pm. Students at Ahavas Israel will be dismissed by grade level beginning at 12:17 PM. We ask parents to park and remain with their car upon arrival. Parents will then communicate with their children as to where they are parked via text or hand wave or motion.
Please remember that we are not offering any snacks to the students, so make sure that they eat breakfast before coming to school! We do not want any eating in any of the class spaces. We have purchased UJS water bottles for every student. We would like our students to bring these or any other bottle filled with water to class each week. No food can be brought into either building.
If a student tests positive for Covid-19 on any day following attendance at Sunday school, the campus on which he/she attended will be closed for the next two Sundays. We will inform the entire school community of the reason of the closure, but we will respect the medical privacy of the individual. However, we will inform those who may have had close contact so that they may be tested.
Supplementary Hebrew
Because of the challenges of Covid-19 we have decided not to offer early morning Hebrew on Sunday mornings or midweek Hebrew on Wednesday afternoons. Supplementary Hebrew will be offered virtually with our Hebrew instructors. Students who sign up for this program will be contacted by one of our teachers who will coordinate weekly 30-minute sessions. Hebrew sessions will be offered each week that we have Sunday classes.
Virtual UJS
We recognize that some families are not comfortable bringing their children for in-person classes. For these students we are offering a virtual alternative for the entire 2020-2021 school year. These classes will be team taught by Sharon Spungen and Shoshana Jackson. The first day of classes for our virtual program will be Sunday, September 13. These classes will then meet every Sunday that our in-person classes meet. Virtual classes will follow a different time schedule and several grades will comprise each class. Kindergarten-Grade 2 will meet from 10:00 to 10:30 am. Grades 3-8 will meet from 10:45 am to 12:15 pm and will split the time between Judaica and Hebrew.
Rabbi Michael Schadick
Rabbi David Krishef
Interim Directors, United Jewish School
Rabbi@grtemple.org
rabbik@unitedjewishschool.org
