Welcome Back Letter

Dear Grace Lutheran Preschool Families,

We are so excited to begin this school year with you! The staff at Grace Lutheran Preschool has been working throughout the summer preparing policies, procedures and classrooms to make sure our children and families have the safest and best learning environment possible. Below are some of the new guidelines recommended
by the Centers for Disease Control and the state of Indiana. These guidelines are fluid and may change as Covid-19 affects us in various ways. We want to keep Jesus at the center of our plans and as the Bible tells us in Joshua 1: 9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified: do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will
be with you wherever you go. We got this! We can do this! Please keep us in your prayers as we will keep all of you in our prayers.

Here are a few things you can expect when you come back:
 We plan to start back to school beginning Monday, August 17. We will possibly alter the start date based on the status of the outbreak. We plan to have parent orientations the previous week on August 11, 12 and 13. You will receive a letter at the end of July to inform your family of your specific date
and time.
 We will be using a classroom communication app called Class Tag throughout the school year. The July letter will contain more information about how to join Class tag and to schedule a meet and greet with your child's teacher before the start of school.
 New arrival and pick up procedures-To limit the number of people inside, we are implementing a new side door and front walkway arrival and pick-up policy. A member of our staff will meet your child at the car as you drive up, take their temperature and conduct a quick health assessment. A staff member will help your child into the building, your child's teacher will show them to their locker and
get them safely to their classroom. The pickup procedure will be accomplished in a similar way. We will have children ready to go and waiting in the classroom. Each child will have a car rider number that will be given to each family at parent orientation. The car rider number will be on a tag to hang from your car's rearview mirror. As you drive up to school at your appointed pick up door we will have
a staff member see your car rider tag and radio in to the teachers which child to send out next. Staff will return your child to the car at the end of their class.
 Covid 19 Fever-free policy - If a child has a temperature over 100.4 degrees, they are required to stay home until they are fever free for at least 72 hours (3 days) without being given fever-reducing medications AND have had improvement in their symptoms AND at least 10 days have passed since their symptoms first appeared.
 Social distancing - Each classroom will be their own class unit. We will be social distancing whenever possible. We are making every effort for teachers and assistants to be with the same children and in the same room as much as possible. Each class will be their own class unit and the units will not mix.
Every effort will be made to keep children socially distant while at school during chapel, at music and on the playground.
 Face Masks - School staff will wear masks as much as possible when school is in session. It is
recommended that children wear a mask but it is not required.
 Cleaning procedures - We have always had strict cleaning and sanitizing practices. We will continue to
deep clean at the end of class as well as frequently cleaning commonly used toys, areas and surfaces.Any toys that cannot be sanitized have been removed from the classroom. Example-dress up clothes
 Personal hygiene - We will implement more frequent hand washing by children and staff. Hand sanitizer will have monitored use as well.

Please be patient concerning the changes that are required. I assure you there has been a lot of time and consideration involved in each and every decision and we are doing our best to do what is right for every child and family.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the school office (812-941-1912). If your plans to attend in this school year have changed, please let us know so that we can adjust classes accordingly. There is limited availability in the 2's and 3's and afternoon 4's classes. However, our morning 4's classes are full. We do have others on waiting lists and would like to be able to offer them a spot if you are no longer planning to attend.

Again, thank you for your patience and understanding during these uncertain and difficult times. We all have questions and we will do our best to answer yours promptly and clearly. We know that all of you have had to deal with unexpected burdens due to Covid 19. We wish to remove any uncertainty about your child's safety while at Grace Lutheran Preschool. Your children are a precious gift and we are committed to their welfare.

Thank you for entrusting your preschooler's education and faith building to us. We are blessed with such amazing families! Have a great rest of the summer! See you soon!

In His service,
Georgianne Weathers
Preschool Administrator