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New School Year Update - Secondary Campus

September 03, 2020
By Lance Haliday, Principal

I hope this post finds you and your family safe, healthy, and spiritually strong.  We are pleased that the first days of distance learning have gone so well.  We realize that we are not starting the school year the way that we had wanted to, but everyone is doing their best to succeed in this unique learning environment, and for this we are truly grateful.  Keep up the good work, everyone!

Our School Board and Administration continue to monitor the latest pandemic-related developments regarding the school's ability to reopen school with students on campus.  We pray that Sutter County's coronavirus numbers will soon decrease to the point that we can reopen our campus.  Thank you for partnering with us as we pray toward this end.

One answer to prayer that we want to share with you is regarding our recent visit from county officials on the SCORE team (Sutter COVID Outreach Resiliency Effort).  They were very pleased with our supervised distance learning on campus and validated that what we were doing was very much in compliance with state and local COVID guidelines.

Here is some important school information and updates to share as we move forward:

  • Distance learning using Microsoft Teams and Zoom is off to a strong start.  Teachers are taking attendance in their live class meetings which impacts students' academic grades.  Encourage your student to begin connecting to the class meeting a few minutes early to be in attendance when the class session begins.
  • Parents can monitor class assignments by downloading the Microsoft Teams app to their phone or computer and logging in with your student's username and password.  This also gives you the ability to receive notifications every time an assignment is posted or when teachers send a message to their classes.
  • Our On-Campus Supervised Distance Learning Program is in full swing now and is near capacity.  We have 36 students divided into three learning pods or cohorts placed in classrooms on campus.  Students bring their laptops to campus and attend their live class meetings virtually as well as work on their various assignments and projects.
  • We are in need of more adult volunteers to help with supervising the pods.  If you are interested and available, please contact the school office.
  • We are pleased that FCS parents took the opportunity to purchase over 65 laptop computers through the school for their students to use in distance learning and later when we they return to their classrooms for school.
  • Our first Chapel is tomorrow, Sept. 4, at 10:00 a.m.  Even though this Chapel service is a virtual one, students are expected to "attend" it just as they do on a normal school day.  We are blessed that we now have approval to hold in-person chapels on campus provided they are held outside, look for an email update soon as to when we might begin doing this.  The thought of our students gathering again on campus to worship the Lord and hear His Word is exciting and encouraging!
  • Both the Jr. High Retreat and the High School Retreat are in the process of being rescheduled for next Spring.  You will be notified as to the exact dates later.
  • sports participation survey will soon be sent to parents of high school students to determine which teams we can have this school year.  Sports which are usually in different seasons may be in the same season this school year.  This means that students may have to choose between two sports in which they would normally participate.
  • There is no school on Monday, Sept. 7, due to the Labor Day holiday.  The schedule for Tuesday to Thursday of next week is the same as on the Distance Learning Schedule previously shared with you; however, for Friday, Sept. 12, we will follow the Monday schedule with classes for periods 1, 3, 5, and 7 at 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. respectively.  We will have Chapel during the 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. time slot; the exact time will be communicated soon.

I will continue to update you on relevant information as the need arises.  Thank you again for partnering with us in the academic and spiritual training of your student(s).

"... that in all things He may have the preeminence." (Col. 1:18b)

Blessings,

Lance J. Haliday
Jr./Sr. High School Principal