Lake Hamilton School District

VIRTUAL ACADEMY INFORMATION Is your student attending the Lake Hamilton Virtual Academy?  If so - click the following link for LHVA information, including sample schedules.  https://lhsd.info/LHVA-Documents-20-21 #LHWolfNation

WOLF PACK READING DEN The Wolf Pack Reading Den distributed over 200 books yesterday. It was a great day seeing students and their families excited to read new books together before the school year begins! #LHWolfNation

WOLF PACK READING DEN TUESDAY The Wolf Pack Reading Den will be hitting the road tomorrow, Tuesday, August 3, for a special summer book giveaway! Books will be setup outside of the bookmobile for giveaway at the following times and locations: 9:30 a.m. - Pearcy Baptist Church Parking Lot (5985 Airport Road) 10:30 a.m. - Corner of Airport Road and Marion Anderson Road 11:45 a.m. - Harp's Food Store Parking Lot (146 Thornton Ferry Road) 1:00 p.m. - Royal Baptist Church Parking Lot (7402 Albert Pike) Books will be available for all ages of students. Each student may choose 3 books. Due to social distancing guidelines, no one will be able to enter the bus. Books will be available on tables in front of the bus. Face-coverings are required. Hand sanizitzer will be available. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Wolf Pack Reading Den has not been able to run a normal summer route this year. We hope to see everyone out tomorrow for our special book giveaway! #LHWolfNation

UPDATED FACE COVERING REQUIREMENTS Based on recent recommendations from healthcare professional organizations and from the Lake Hamilton School District Ready for Learning Team, all students in grades K-12 will be required to wear a face-covering when physical distancing is not possible.  Administrators and teachers at the K-3 schools have agreed that this change is appropriate.  This strategy is being implemented to protect the health and safety of all students and staff, including our youngest learners.  Face coverings are effective in slowing transmission when combined with other measures including physical distancing, cleaning and disinfecting, and handwashing.  The Lake Hamilton School District will provide three washable cloth face coverings for each student.  Since this change may be significant for some families, the district is reopening Lake Hamilton Virtual Academy (LHVA) enrollment for grades K-3 until Friday, July 31, 2020.  Parents who would like to enroll their K - 3 students in the LHVA should email lori.bush@lhwolves.net for the registration form.  Please visit the "LHSD is Here" website to view the updated FAQ documents and building-level ready for learning plans pertaining to reopening school for the 2020-21 school year at this link: https://lhsd.info/LHSD-is-Here   #LHWolfNation

UPDATED 2020-21 SCHOOL CALENDAR On Thursday, July 9, 2020, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced the state would move back the start for the 2020-2021 school year.  The Lake Hamilton School District Board of Education approved a new calendar for the 2020-21 school year during the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 20, 2020. The updated calendar moved the first day of school to August 24 (1st - 12th grade) to comply with Governor Hutchinson's directive.  Kindergarten students will begin on August 26. New for the 2020-21 school year are student digital days that will take place on September 18, 2020,  February 12, 2021, and April 16, 2021. On student digital days, students will be at home working on digital assignments while teachers remain on campus interacting and directing student learning. Visit this link to download the calendar: https://lhsd.info/2020-21-LHSD-Calendar #LHWolfNation

WHAT WILL SCHOOL LOOK LIKE IN 2020-21? CHECK OUT THE BUILDING LEVEL "READY FOR LEARNING" PLANS! The Lake Hamilton School District continues to prepare for the 2020-21 school year. Building level "Ready for Learning" plans have been developed to give students, staff, parents, and community members a look at what school will be like this year (https://lhsd.info/Ready-For-Learning). Our hope is that the information included in the building level plans helps answer many of the questions you may have about reopening schools. Plans continue to be updated as the district receives updated guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Arkansas Department of Health. Please continue to visit https://lhsd.info/LHSD-is-Here to view updated FAQ's, Virtual Academy, Ready for Learning plans, District Communications, and more! For those interested in registering for the Lake Hamilton Virtual Academy, the registration deadline has been extended until Friday, July 24, 2020. Click the link (https://lhsd.info/LH-Virtual-Academy) for more information on the LHVA, including the registration link. For those that have previously registered for the LHVA, Lori Bush, LHVA Coordinator, will be contacting you soon.

SPECIAL EDUCATION RECORDS In accordance with Federal and State guidelines, due process records collected on Special Education students in the Lake Hamilton School District who have graduated, moved, were dismissed, or found ineligible for special services prior to 2014 will be destroyed. Parents of these students, or the child himself (if he has reached the age of 18), have the right to request this information. Call 501-760-7759 by July 30, 2020 if you wish to request these records.

On Thursday, July 9, 2020, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced the state would move back the start for the 2020-2021 school year. The new dates for school districts to start classes will be between August 24 and 26. The Lake Hamilton School District will begin working on a new school calendar to meet the updated directives and will release it after the board meeting on July 20, 2020.

The Lake Hamilton School District Board of Education approved a new calendar for the 2020-21 school year during a special called meeting on July 6, 2020. The new calendar moved the first day of school to August 18 to allow district faculty and staff additional professional development days prior to the beginning of school. New for the 2020-21 school year are student digital days that will take place on September 18, 2020 and February 12, 2021. On student digital days, students will be at home working on digital assignments while teachers remain on campus interacting and directing student learning. Visit this link to download the calendar: https://lhsd.info/2020-21-LHSD-Calendar #LHWolfNation

SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE From March 16 until June 25, the Lake Hamilton School District food nutrition department served 208,777 meals to children 18 years or younger through the meal delivery and distribution due to the COVID-19 school closure. The LHSD would like to thank the Chartwells K12 Food Nutrition team as well as all of the LHSD employees that volunteered to assist in meal delivery and distribution during the bulk meal feedings. #LHWolfNation

STUDENT HEALTH STATEMENT On Tuesday evening, June 23, 2020, a parent notified one of our coaches that their child had tested positive for COVID-19.  The student-athlete had been on campus that day for a workout.  The district followed established procedures that included immediately contacting the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).  We investigated the nature of the athletic practice and determined the number of students in close contact with the student who tested positive.  Close contact is defined by the ADH as within the six-foot range for at least 15 minutes.  Only one student met that criteria, not because of the practice, but because they apparently rode to school together. The parent of the student in close contact was notified and advised to quarantine for 14 days, get tested for the virus, and stay away from campus, per ADH guidance.  Though the district was not advised to do so by ADH, out of an abundance of caution, scheduled practices for this activity only were canceled for the remainder of the week.  Our coaching staff followed every health precaution set in place by the ADH including screening each student upon arrival and wearing face coverings when in close contact with students and other staff.  Students participating in this practice maintained well over six feet of distance between them. The district regrets that one of our students is infected and another has been exposed.  We wish them well and hope to see them back in a couple of weeks.  We remain confident that we are able to continue to provide a safe environment for our students on campus for any organized purpose.   The suspension for the solely impacted team ends Friday, June 26.  Planned activities for all sports at all levels are set to proceed as scheduled for the week beginning Monday, June 29.