Updates

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates

There are many questions surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) virus and its impact on Maconaquah Schools. This dedicated area provides related communications, including answers to several common questions. Please know that we are actively monitoring the situation on a daily, and even hourly basis, and will continue to share information and update content regularly.

Update on Coronavirus 4-2-2020

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Parents, Students, and Staff

As things continue to evolve and change, we want to assure you that we are doing our very best to keep you up to date with any new decisions made for Maconaquah Schools.

Our superintendent, administrators, and school board President met this afternoon to decide how to best address the changes suggested by Governor Holcomb. As you may have heard, all Indiana schools will now run virtually for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. This means that we will utilize eLearning to complete the remainder of our school year. Students will be required to complete eLearning assignments Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays beginning April 7th and ending on May 21st.

With that being said, we understand that there are technology concerns as our first day of eLearning approaches. We want to again remind you that if you need technology assistance of any kind, our technology staff will be available from 9 am to 3 pm to assist students on eLearning days. Please call the help desk at 765-689-9131 ext. 5999. No student or guardian should be on school grounds without having first contacted the tech center to set up an appointment for curbside pickup.

We will make a plan for returning items still on school property to students at a later date. If there is something your child needs immediately (i.e. medication), please contact your building nurse.

Many people are verbalizing their concerns with how our school will handle the 2019-2020 graduation ceremony. At this time, Maconaquah Schools are working on how we will recognize our graduating seniors. Stay strong class of 2020, you will get through this and we will do all we can to help you and honor you for your accolades.

As of April 3, 2020: Mobile Food Services

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Maconaquah School Corporation will no longer be able to provide curbside food pick-up. We will be donating food each week to previously established food pick-up locations, and we encourage our Braves families to utilize these resources if you are in need. The current locations include: Helping Hands (176 North Broadway, Peru, IN 46970) and the Bunker Hill United Methodist Church (100 E Broadway, Bunker Hill, IN 46914).

We are reaching out to other resources in an effort to add locations for distribution. Please monitor the Maconaquah website for these additions.

Hand out times for current locations are as follows: Helping Hands- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m to noon (Families who are not currently registered with Helping Hands must call and register prior to their first pick-up). Bunker Hill United Methodist Church- Monday through Friday, noon to 12:30 p.m.

It is very important to us that our students have every resource available to get through the upcoming weeks at home, so we ask that any family in dire need of assistance please call your student’s principal and they will do their very best to help.

Finally, we ask that you keep in mind that although Maconaquah has been leading the charge on eLearning for several years, this chapter in virtual education is brand new and will most certainly house a learning curve for both teachers and students alike. Be patient with our teaching staff, our technology department, our administrators, and your children as we all work to navigate this together.

Things will likely continue to change, and we will continue to update you on how Maconaquah School’s will adjust to these changes.

Thanks to all of those serving our community both inside the house and out. You are ALL essential in some way, and we WILL get through this TOGETHER.

Go Braves,

Jamey Callane

Superintendent

Maconaquah School Corporation

Tuesday, March 24, 2020 Parent/Staff Communication

Maconaquah Parents, Students, and Staff

Starting Tuesday, April 7, eLearning will begin for all Maconaquah students. Students will be required to complete three days worth of eLearning lessons each week. Our eLearning days will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays April 7 through May 1, 2020. All teachers will be available from 8:30 am until 3 pm to assist students on eLearning days.

If any student does not have access to necessary technological devices, or needs technology assistance of any kind, our technology staff will be available from 9 am to 3 pm to assist students on eLearning days. Please call the help desk at 765-689-9131 ext. 5999. No student should be on school grounds without having first contacted their school to set up an appointment.

All assignments will need to be accessed digitally. If your student does not have access to the internet, please contact Skyewaves at (888) 398-5264 or support@skyewaves.net for assistance with setting up affordable internet access at your home.

Starting Thursday, April 2, Maconaquah School Corporation will begin offering mobile food services to all of our Maconaquah families. There is a Google Form below that will need to be filled out if you plan to utilize this food service. This form must be filled out by Thursday, March 26. If you are unable to fill out the form or have any questions, please call or text Kim Lewis at 765-437-9881. Pick-up will be available Thursday, April 2, from 1 pm to 3 pm at Maconaquah High School.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJQq8kjtvkU_fsx2j6KEfGQctdKIUMkFLXNe_HvkwDZwwo6g/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thursday, March 19, 2020 Parent/Staff Communication

Maconaquah Parents, Students, and Staff

After Governor Holcomb’s press conference today, we wanted to give you an update on new guidelines being set in place due to the Coronavirus. All schools in Indiana will be closed until May 1, 2020. The state of Indiana and the Indiana Department of Education will reassess this in a few weeks, and make recommendations for what will happen after May 1, 2020. All state assessments (IREAD, ILEARN, ISTEP, IAM, WIDA, AND ISPROUT) have been cancelled for the 2019-2020 school year.

We have been in contact with our School Board President, School Board Members, Administrators, Corporation Nurse, Public Relations Officer, Food Service Director, School Safety Specialist, Special Education Coordinator, Technology Staff, Building and Grounds Director, and Maconaquah Education Association President over the past few days. A group of us are going to meet next Tuesday, March 24, 2020 to make recommendations for how we will utilize eLearning Days from March 30, 2020 to May 1, 2020. The state of Indiana has granted schools 20 waiver days (no instruction on those days). More than likely we will use a combination of eLearning days and waiver days. We will also be discussing how Maconaquah can help with providing food to our students and families during this period of time. We will update you on several different items after our meeting on March 24, 2020.

This is the information we have as of March 19, 2020. We will continue to communicate with you as information comes out. We recognize these are challenging times, but we will all get through this together.

Go Braves,

Jamey Callane

Superintendent

Maconaquah School Corporation

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 Parent/Staff Communication

Maconaquah Parents, Students, and Staff

Well, things seem to change by the hour when it comes to guidance about the Coronavirus. Even though we are on a two week break, we continue to monitor this every day. We wanted to give you an update on where we are as of today.

Today, March 18, 2020, is the first day our buildings have been open since our Friday, March 13, 2020, 4:00 p.m. shut down to all personnel. At this time, our buildings will be open to essential personnel only to conduct “deep cleaning.” Essential personnel include our custodial staff, technology staff, and corporation office staff. We are following the CDC and Governor's recommendation to not meet with more than 10 people in one setting and to practice social distancing. As of today, we have not had any confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Miami County. This, of course, could change in the next few days.

We have been in contact with our School Board President, School Board Members, Administrators, Corporation Nurse, Public Relations Officer, Food Service Director, School Safety Specialist, Special Education Coordinator, Technology Staff, and Building and Grounds Director over the past few days. A group of us are going to meet next Tuesday, March 24, 2020 to make recommendations moving forward after our Spring Break ends. We thought it was important to give you an update and to let you know that we are monitoring the current reports very closely and making adjustments based on the guidance we receive from many different agencies. These are challenging times, but we will all get through this together.

Go Braves,

Jamey Callane

Superintendent

Maconaquah School Corporation

Friday, March 13, 2020 Parent/Staff Communication

Maconaquah Parents, Students, and Staff

Upon receiving recommendations from the Miami County Health Department, we will be restricting access to ALL individuals from ALL Maconaquah School Corporation buildings starting today at 4:00 pm until Wednesday morning, March 18th. This means absolutely NO students, staff, or personnel of any sort will be allowed to enter any campus building during this time. All activities previously scheduled after 4:00 pm today have been canceled.

We have been advised that the COVID-19 virus can survive on surfaces for up to 96 hours, therefore we are restricting all bodies from our buildings for that amount of time in hopes to eliminate the spread of this virus within our buildings. At the end of the 96 hour restriction, only essential personnel will be allowed back on campus starting March 18 through March 29, as previously communicated.

In addition, The U.S. Department of State has recommended against all cruise ship travel (https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/covid-19-cruise-ship). With the receipt of this information, we have decided that any student or staff member that participates in cruise ship travel during the next two weeks will be required to self quarantine for 14 days upon their return.

Maconaquah students and staff are our greatest priority. We will continue to monitor the situation and update you of any changes as they may occur.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we do our best to keep our Braves family as safe as possible.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 Parent/Staff Communication

As a precautionary measure to help prevent the spread of any and all viruses currently circulating, including COVID-19, all Maconaquah school buildings will be closed starting Monday, March 16th, and continuing through Monday, March 30th. Only essential personnel will have access to enter any building. Spring intercession will no longer be in session March 16th through March 20th. All extracurricular and athletic events and practices will also be canceled during this two week closing.

Maconaquah School Corporation is utilizing the two week shut down during spring break to allow custodial staff to thoroughly deep clean each building and all buses.

Maconaquah is planning to conduct school as usual upon our return on March 30th. Prior to students and staff returning from Spring Break, administrators and school board members will reassess the situation to determine what activities will continue once school is back in session.

If any student or staff member travels to a high risk location during the next two weeks, we recommend that you self quarantine for 14 days after your return. If you travel to a level 2 or level 3 location, we require that you self quarantine. There will be no repercussions for students who self quarantine based off of international travel, or having been exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19. If you are unsure of the risk level of the location you are traveling, you can find that information at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html.

We will be in contact with any major changes, but in the meantime, this school website is dedicated to answering any questions related to COVID-19. Please refer to this page for any pertinent updates.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time, and will do our best to keep our Braves family updated and informed as any new changes may occur.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 Parent/Staff Communication

Maconaquah Parents, Students, and Staff

The school system has been working closely with local public health officials to plan and prepare for the possibility of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) within our school community. In preparation for potential impacts, Maconaquah School Corporation plans to monitor students using normal school procedures to assess possible symptoms. For those unaware, patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection have reported mild to severe respiratory symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. We encourage all students and staff to practice good health hygiene to prevent the spread of any illness, and to see their health care provider if they show any signs or symptoms of the virus. Preventative measures include:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

We understand these are common practices but want to reiterate the importance of proper hygiene in an attempt to keep our students and staff healthy.

Additionally, as we draw closer to Spring Break, we ask that safe practices are utilized during time away from school. Families considering international travel should keep in mind that this situation is rapidly evolving. International travel to areas where COVID-19 is spreading may result in delays or possibly quarantine if travel recommendations change while abroad. If any student or staff member travels outside of the state or country we ask that all efforts be made to use proper preventative measures to reduce illness, and that if any symptoms arise, please seek medical attention before returning to school.

For more information on COVID-19 visit the CDC’s site https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus and the Indiana State Department of Health https://www.in.gov/isdh/28470.htm .

Thank you for doing your part to keep our school community healthy.

Acknowledgments: This website was originally written by Noblesville Schools and was recreated by Maconaquah Schools on 3/11/2020.