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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2020)
6A | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS MURAL from page 1A “It has to be very tastefully done,” Wood said. “With that in mind, I wanted to bring into the scene elements that might appeal to the popu- lation here on the Oregon coast, such as a lighthouse, like Heceta Head Light- house, in the distance.” His idea evolved into a scene of a mermaid on a rock with a sea lion below and an MAPLETON from page 1A “But as summer went along and custodians were setting classrooms up, we realized that while, yes, 25 students could fit in a classroom with six feet of physical distancing between them, the logistics of that was not necessarily pos- sible,” O’Mara said. At that point, the district began transitioning toward a hybrid model. But staff did not solidify their plans, knowing that additional an- nouncements from the state would be made. Then in late July, Brown instituted new restrictions on opening, based on state and county COVID-19 case rates, as well as local conditions. “So with the governor’s announcement, that solidi- fied our plans,” O’Mara said. “Now, we’re in comprehen- sive distance learning, based on the metrics.” State guidelines do allow for districts to open onsite in- struction for K-3 students, if certain transmission metrics are met. However, Mapleton has opted not to pursue the option. “Part of that is that there are so many unknowns about the virus,” O’Mara said. “I know currently what the data says regarding younger children spreading the disease, and how severely they get sick. But it’s hard to understand how a third grader can come to school, but a fourth grader can’t. And so we just decided to make it district wide. We’re going to have several K-3 students that have siblings at home, and so we just decided to wait until metrics are met for all students to come back on campus.” To help accommodate and train for distance learning, the district has moved its starting date to Sept. 14. To provide help for par- ents and students working at home, the district will be holding small, in person one- on-one sessions before school begins to teach new proto- cols. “We’ll do a little bit of an as- sessment for our smaller kids, just to know where they’re at with reading and math,” O’Mara said. “But mainly, it’s to just let kids and families know how to log in, the tech- nology and what the expecta- American ship sailing into the harbor in the distance. “It harkens back to fantasy, like a children’s book cover from the golden age of illus- tration with sailing ships and mermaids and that type of thing,” Wood said. Once they agreed on the concept, Clawson began the process of getting approval from the city, which has spe- cific regulations for public murals. “Getting it through the city council can take an inor- dinate amount of time,” said Wood. Funding the mural became another issue after Clawson’s business took a hit from the coronavirus pandemic. At that time, a friend of Clawson’s suggested that she start a GoFundMe page, a popular way of crowdfund- ing. The GoFundMe page reached its goal of $5,000 in just a couple months, all of which will go towards the cost of supplies and compen- sation for Wood’s time and effort. “I think everybody seems to have rallied at the bat,” said Wood. “The whole town got really excited about it and donated, even the mayor. So, we arrived at a monetary level we needed pretty quickly.” In the meantime, Claw- tions are for attendance. ‘And here’s a schedule for your online learning. Here’s your schedule.’ It’s really well laid out, along with office hours for teachers.” During orientation, each student will also be getting a Chromebook to use at home. “K-2 are getting touch- screen Chromebooks. We thought that was develop- mentally more appropriate, rather than trying to ma- nipulate a mouse. And then grades 3-8 will be getting reg- ular Chromebooks, while our high schoolers already have them.” The district will also be as- sessing internet connectivity within households. “We’re going to be able to get down to the nitty gritty to find out what connectivity issues are in their household,” O’Mara said. “Is it a problem when all kids are on the in- ternet at the same time? We can then adjust our sched- ules to meet that. If all three shouldn’t be on at the same time, then we’ll adjust our schedule to make sure they’re not.” As far as online learning itself, the district has worked to develop comprehensive programs. “There is a lot that goes into online learning, especial- ly to keep students safe when they are online,” O’Mara said. “We’re really focused on mak- ing it developmentally appro- priate. That’s really import- ant, especially for our littles. We have to make sure they don’t have more screen time than what they should have. And that’s challenging.” Once distance learning be- gins, the district has worked to make communication be- tween teachers, parents and students easier by having teachers on school grounds throughout the week. “We need to have easy communication for our fami- lies,” O’Mara said. “They need to be able to call the elemen- tary office and say, ‘Hi I need to talk to Mrs. Tempe.’ So we can transfer them to Mrs. Tempe. It’s simple, easy, one phone number to call instead of multiple phone numbers for different teachers.” As for class schedules, mid- dle and high school students will have a seven-period day schedule with shortened pe- riods, four days a week. Ele- mentary students will have a slightly different schedule. “What we’ve scheduled for the rest of the grades is odd-numbered grade levels will have online instruction with their teachers on Mon- day and Wednesday,” O’Mara said. “Tuesday and Thurs- day will be a short, 30-min- ute check-in for reading and math with educational assis- tance, as well as a hands-on art activity and a PE activity that they can do offline.” Even-numbered grades will have the same schedule, just opposite days. O’Mara also pointed out that nutritional services will be provided to students daily through bus routes. As to when the schools will determine whether or not they will transition to a hy- brid model with some days onsite, it will not be until at least October. “Every four to five weeks, I have it scheduled to look at metrics,” O’Mara said. “I will be monitoring them every week to see if it’s close to hav- ing three weeks of meeting the metrics. If the metrics are met, we’ll determine when we’re transitioning to hybrid. We’ll then make natural tran- sition times. There’s a good time in October. It will take a few days, but we’re hoping it will be a quick transition.” O’Mara pointed out that if Mapleton does transition to a hybrid model, students will have the ability to remain in comprehensive distance learning if they feel uncom- fortable transitioning. To help with determining whether or not the school can go to a hybrid model, O’Mara is asking families to communicate any confirmed COVID-19 cases with the district. “Right now, Lane County Public Health won’t release the numbers to anyone for any of the zip codes within our school district, because they all have less than 1,000 in the population,” O’Mara said. “I know just from hear- ing from people that have told me, there were five new cases in Western Lane Coun- ty, ‘outside of the Florence area.’ It’s either Dunes City or up in the Mableton area. We’re supposed to keep track of cases, but that relies heavily on families letting the school know, ‘Hey, someone in my family has it so we’re in iso- lation for two weeks.’ There will be a lot of relying on our families to communicate that with us, knowing that it will be kept confidential. We need to know so we can keep the rest of the community safe as well.” 240 HOURS This message brought to you by the West Lane Emergency Operations Group. www.wleog.org IDENTIFY • PREPARE • SURVIVE All types of roofing and repairs. Single Ply and Composition Specialist. CCCB#222167 541-972-1818 We are open and ready to assist you! SUSTAINED PEST MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR HOME AND BUSINESS SOME OF THE PESTS THAT WE TREAT: ANTS • COCKROACHES • FLEAS • RODENTS BIRDS • BEDBUGS • STORED PRODUCTS PESTS BEES/WASPS • GOPHERS “Since 1983” 541-997-4027 1-800-622-8993 Johnston Motor Company Visit our Website: www.swansonspm.com 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 Since 1939 Local Eats Your guide to great locally owned restaurants. Open for take-out only! 9 201 VOTED F E Get your emergency fi rst aid kit started with these essentials: ❑ First aid manual ❑ Aspirin or pain relievers ❑ Laxatives, diarrhea medicine ❑ Rubbing alcohol, petroleum jelly ❑ Soap, salt, baking soda ❑ Sanitary napkins, matches ❑ Triangular bandages ❑ Elastic bandages, pressure dressings ❑ Cotton balls, disposable diapers ❑ Scissors, needles, tweezers ❑ Popsicle sticks, splints, heavy string ❑ Thermometer, paper tape ❑ Syrup of Ipecac ❑ Personal prescription medications S IUSLAW N EWS INSPECT – CORRECT – PROTECT F LO E N C R If an emergency happens in your community, it may take emergency workers some time to reach you. You should be prepared to take care of yourself and your family for a minimum of 240 hours. what we value here on the Oregon coast, both contem- porarily and historically,” said Wood. “I hope it’s just a nice appealing image for children and adults to enjoy and remember Florence for.” SWANSON’S PEST MANAGEMENT BEST O Is your family prepared? son and Wood are still wait- ing for final approval from the City of Florence to move forward. “We’ll see what happens, but I think it’s a slam dunk,” said Wood. When the mural is fin- ished, he hopes that it will be something visitors and community members alike will take a moment to notice and enjoy. “It should be a symbol of We will be open every day from 11am-9pm. We are doing everything we can to safely serve our community. Thank you so much for all of the support and we will see you soon! 1285 Bay Street, Old Town Florence • (541) 902-8338 www.1285Restobar.com Surfside Restaurant at Drift wood Shores Resort is off ering a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu to go with curbside pick up, Wednesday through Sunday. We accept credit and debit cards for advanced purchase. Call 541-902-6447 and listen for the Surfside Restaurant prompt. Drift wood Shores Resort 88416 1st Avenue, Florence Traditional English pub fare, clam chowder, salmon bisque along with cream teas, unique desserts and baked items. Join us in our re-designed dining room, coff ee and tea bar, or enjoy outdoor seating. All social distance appropriate. 195 Nopal St. 541-902-0502 Open Wed-Sat 11:00-2:30pm