**Maeser COVID-19 FAQs**
Year-End Checkout Information
As we near the end of the school year, we’ve developed a specialized schedule and procedure to allow students to gather their personal belongings from their lockers and turn in their school materials in a safe and timely manner. Please take a moment to review the schedule and find the specific day and time assigned for your student(s) to come to the school for year-end checkout:
If your student is unable to come during their assigned time, please email Mr. Simmons.
Information about yearbook pickup and graduation ceremonies will be coming soon. Thanks again for all your support!
COVID-19 Update: 15 April 2020
Dear Maeser Community,
Yesterday, the Superintendent and the Governor announced the continuation of the soft-closure of school through the end of this school year. Although we were hoping for a different outcome, we anticipated and planned for this.
The Superintendent calls this the “new now”, as it can’t be the new normal because nothing about this situation is normal. We are crisis-schooling and as you know, this isn’t normal. We appreciate that each of you have been doing the best that you can under the circumstances. We appreciate you being flexible and willing to adapt in this unsure time.
Because we are concerned about the already appearing mental and emotional burn-out in students, parents, and teachers, the Board has approved the following changes for the rest of the school year:
End-of-Year Calendar Adjustments
The last day of instruction will be May 8th.
Finals will be May 11-15. Only Math, Science, and Socratic (English in MS) will have finals (more below).
Online Remediation May 18-29.
Teaching/Classroom Adjustments
From now until May 8th, focus will be on the essentials. No “optional” or “extra” work will be posted, unless a student specifically asks for it. If they do, the teacher will reply directly to that student.
In order to align the middle school and high school, high school classes will now have the following due days:
- M: PE/Fine Arts
- T: Math
- W: Foreign Language/ CTE
- Th: Science
- F: Socratic
MS Due Days
- M: History
- T: Math/Fine Arts
- W:Latin/CTE
- Th: Science
- F: English
Continue online learning, meetings and assignments as scheduled on the calendar.
All assignments will be posted before 9am each day.
Grading
According to the direction from the Superintendent, no student should fail this term.
Letter grades will be assigned in Math, Science, and Socratic (English in MS). All other classes will be Pass/Incomplete.
Suggested grading
- A: earned from assignments and means highly prepared for next course
- B: earned and prepared for next course
- C: earned or enough to move on to next level, but probably needs extra support
- I: not enough evidence to support knowledge of content
Finals
Finals week: May 11-15th
- Math (including accounting)
- Science
- Socratic
Finals should be open notes, open book, and focus on synthesizing and applying the principles taught.
We will send out a schedule with specific days and times soon.
AP/CE Classes
AP classes should continue meeting and reviewing through finals and up to their respective test dates.
If needed, CE classes may continue until their end of year test.
Student Check-out & Yearbooks
Student check-out will begin May 20-28th. Details will be forthcoming.
Graduation
We are currently working with the Water Gardens movie theater to do a drive-in style graduation.
PrintComm is in the process of putting together video montage.
Cap/Gown pick-up details will be sent separately when available.
We hope this information is helpful to you and shows that we are consciously working with you to provide the excellence that you have always expected from Maeser. We love our Maeser community! You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Maeser Administration
Maeser Board of Directors
COVID-19 Update: 23 March 2020
Maeser Community,
We have just received word that our online school platform has been extended until May 1st as of a few minutes ago following an announcement from Governor Herbert and Superintendent Dickson. We will continue with the current schedule we have with online meetings, check-ins, and discussions. Spring break will still be held April 6-10th.
If your student has not logged on to their Google classrooms, please make sure they do so as soon as possible. We are alive and well online and education is continuing. We are thankful for your support for our team and the students as we navigate this brave new world together!
Sincerely,
Maeser Administration
Maeser Board of Directors
COVID-19 Update: 19 March 2020
Dear Maeser Families & Students,
We are counting Wednesday as a success! We woke up to an earthquake and ended our day with the sun starting to poke through the clouds. We hope that everyone who needed textbooks, Socratic novels, reading materials, items from lockers, or a chromebook were able to come. It was nice to see students and connect for just a moment face to face. We will now see you online!
If you have not heard from a specific teacher yet, please feel free to reach out to them via email. If you missed yesterday and still need material, please email your teacher directly. We can leave materials for you at the school for pick-up by appointment. Google classrooms are up and ready to go. Several classes have already met via google meet. It’s different, but it is the world we live in right now.
We feel very strongly that as a Maeser community we need the connection to keep some sense of normalcy and purpose. We understand that the online platform may not be your favorite and it isn’t ours either, but we are going to make lemonade out of the lemons we’ve been given.
The building is now closed. We are available through email to assist you. Please refer HS questions to Mr. Simmons at dustin.simmons@maeserprep.org; MS questions to Mr. Norris at jared.norris@maeserprep.org; or overall to Mrs. Ellis at robyn.ellis@maeserprep.org. We will keep you updated on any school changes through our weekly Maeser Updates and Facebook page. The FAQ will be very helpful to keep handy. We will also update that as new things come in.
On behalf of our Maeser Board, Maeser Administration, Faculty, and Staff, we feel honored to take this journey with you. We will indeed all gain wisdom from this experience together.
Sincerely,
Maeser Board of Directors
Maeser Administration
COVID-19 Update: 17 March 2020
Parents,
Thank you for your patience over the past few days as we’ve worked to bring Maeser’s magic online. We’re confident our teachers and students will rise to the challenge! Here are a couple of critical items for you:
Materials pickup
Students can come to the school tomorrow (Wednesday) to pick up materials out of their lockers and collect necessary materials. After Wednesday, students will not be allowed on campus until further notice. Those families who need to checkout a chromebook can do so on Wednesday.
It would be appropriate (and a nice gesture of school spirit and solidarity) for students to be in uniform when they come to school.
Pickup times tomorrow are as follows:
- 7th-8th Grades: 8:00-10:00am
- 9th-10th Grades: 10:00am-12:00pm
- 11th-12th Grades: 12:00-2:00pm (families with students in multiple grades can come at the time that is most convenient for them)
Communication
Teachers will be using email and Google Classroom to communicate with parents and students. Teachers have already begun reaching out to students with assignments and instructions.
Students should be checking their school email regularly. Teachers are in the process of adding parent emails to Google Classroom so they can send progress reports. Please reach out to your student’s respective teachers with questions about specific classes.
Questions
We have created a Maeser COVID–19 FAQ sheet with answers to the questions we have been receiving over the past several days. It will be updated regularly. Please check to see if the FAQ sheet answers your question before emailing teachers or administration. If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you in advance for all your support during this strange time. We love our students and are sad we won’t get to see them every day, but we hope to carry on with what makes Maeser special.
Maeser Administration & Board of Directors
COVID-19 Update: 16 March 2020
Dear Maeser Families,
I’m sure today was a bit strange for you, but rest assured your support team here at Maeser was extremely busy preparing for the next three weeks of home-based learning supported by Maeser curriculum. As you noticed, Maeser has taken the current COVID–19 situation seriously and has pro-actively dismissed on-site classes to a remote learning platform for the next three weeks. April 6-10th is still Spring Break. We will re-evaluate during Spring Break to determine our next steps.
Today your middle school team and high school team met together to develop a game plan for the next three weeks. Your MS student received a MS letter via email from Mr. Norris and your HS student received a HS letter via email from Mr. Simmons today with updates following today’s training. Our community has the greatest opportunity to exemplify and live the mission and motto of Maeser to its fullest through this challenge. We are all in this together!
We have developed a FAQ sheet to help you navigate some of the common questions that we have been fielding already from the community. In this time of uncertainty, we are trying to be consistent and transparent. We are not panicked, but are thoughtfully navigating our way to be responsible and accountable to you as parents and to our students.
On Wednesday, if your student needs to pick up books or materials at the school, we have staggered times to comply with the social distancing recommendations from the Utah Department of Health. We have designated those times as:
- MS: 8-10 am
- 9-10th: 10-12 pm
- 11-12th: 12-2 pm
- Families with multiple students in different grades can pick convenient time.
Please read the attached letters and FAQs to help you navigate virtual office hours and on-site office hours/support labs. We also have an accessibility lab available every day from 9-2 pm. We will send the link to sign up to also minimize the number of students at one time. That will be published tomorrow morning. Additionally, Counseling will be available through virtual office hours: MF 10-12 pm, TWTH 3-5 pm. As your students navigate the “new normal” for a bit, we anticipate they may want this counseling resource and you may also find it comforting.
We anticipate there will be a few bumps and glitches as we begin this process, but we are flexible and appreciate your feedback as always. Please direct your questions for HS to Mr. Simmons at dustin.simmons@maeserprep.org, MS to jared.norris@maeserprep.org or overall to Mrs. Ellis at robyn.ellis@maeserprep.org
Sincerely,
Maeser Administration
Maeser Board of Directors
COVID-19 School Dismissal: 13 March 2020
Dear Maeser Faculty, Staff, Students, and Families,
As a community coming together to support one another in such honorable work is truly a great endeavor. With the evolving COVID-19 situation, our state is rapidly addressing the needs of all Utahns and Maeser is doing its part for our students. As of this afternoon, we have been given specific instructions on the rapidly evolving situation and our next steps.
For the next two weeks, all Utah schools are on School Dismissal. That does not mean what you may think. It means that we will be moving to remotely educating the majority of our students with an open campus that will serve a limited number of students who do not have computer access at home or who have specific educational plans and services that have been outlined in an individualized educational plan (IEP). Essentially, your student will still be in school but attending from home in most cases. Campus will have designated hours for students to come and pick up paper/pencil packets if requested in this format and obtain needed materials from their lockers if needed.
Monday and Tuesday, March 16-17, will be Teacher Work Days prepping to move to this remote platform. Most of your students will know how to access the Google Classroom and PowerSchool already; however, further instructions by Maeser email will be sent to them. The plan is that on Wednesday, March 18th students will be expected to do the following:
- Log in remotely and start completing assignments.
- Those without computer access will be given open lab appointment times to access computers from campus.
- Those students who receive special services related to their IEP will be given classroom time on campus to complete their work.
- Students who need support labs will be given lab times that will be available on campus for those support labs to receive additional help in relation to math, science, and writing.
- Attendance will be tracked or monitored by checking in at appropriate times with the teachers.
- Precise directions and times for these services will be part of our planning next week. Stay tuned for more emails.
- Work daily to read, study, complete problems, write, complete assessments, etc.
- Parents may be needed to proctor tests of your students.
- Assignments need to be uploaded by due dates.
- Guardians/parents should be added to your student’s Google classroom to increase transparency and support during this change in placement.
We know you will have lots of questions. Our team is committed to Maeser’s students and will do what is necessary to support them. We will send updates on Monday after our training as we refine our plan.
Sincerely,
Maeser Administration & Board of Directors
Click here to view the official press release from Gov. Herbert’s office