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District OR1 Guardians,

District OR-1 will provide all breakfast and lunches at no cost to all enrolled students starting on Monday, September 28th, as the USDA recently provided waivers through the end of this year (December 31, 2020). Again, this waiver allows school districts to offer breakfast and lunches to all enrolled students at no cost.

Key Points of the Program

*The waivers that have been extended by the USDA allow districts to go back to the first day of school and claim all breakfast and lunches served. Because of this, District OR-1 will be crediting all meals that were paid at full (or reduced) price back to each student account in the date range of August 13th through September 25th, 2020.

*Because the program currently only runs through December 31st, the district will maintain the balances already on student accounts so that money will be available in the accounts during the second semester. At this time, no payouts will be made on current account balances.

*Starting again in January 2021, we will return to our regular pricing, and meals will again be charged to student accounts as normal.

*If a junior/senior high school student chooses to purchase an extra entrée or à la carte item, he or she can still do that, but those items will need to be paid in cash, as these extras are not covered by waiver extension. This “extra entrée” and "à la carte" option is not available at the elementary.

*Lunch counts will still be taken in the morning at both buildings to ensure accurate lunch counts.

*Students in the high school will need to let teachers know if they want a second entrée at the time the lunch count is taken. Students will pay for the extra entrée at the end of the lunch line.

*Kindergarten-3rd grade students “recess milk” will still be charged to accounts and those will still need to be paid for by families. When families send in money for “recess milk”, the money will be credited to the student account.

*All other current procedures the district has in place for breakfast and lunch will stay the same.

In order to facilitate the most accurate meal counts, we are asking families to sign up online for breakfast ahead of time. In order to sign up online at www.districtor1.org. Again, this is just to maintain accurate ordering. No student will be turned away if plans change.

Please note that some menu items may need to be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the higher volume of breakfast and lunches.

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:-) THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART :-)

If you indicate you want to participate, you will not have to utilize this service every day; you can choose to participate in breakfast. Lunches will be counted as we have always counted them during the morning home-room time.

**ON THE TUESDAY AT 9:00 P.M. PRIOR TO THE WEEK OF SERVICE**

Please, go to www.districtor1.org and choose “Breakfast--2020” on the right side of the page. You simply fill that form out by the TUESDAY at 9:00 p.m. prior to the week of service.

If you have further questions regarding this program, please contact your school’s secretary at 402-782-3535 x1 for Bennet and 402-780-5327 x2 for Palmyra.

Community Update for Friday, September 18, 2020

Good afternoon parents and guardians,

I just wanted to take a brief moment to update you on some of the things going on in the district.

School Meals: 

• Starting Monday, September 28th District OR-1 will provide all breakfast and lunches at no cost to all enrolled students through December 31st 2020.  The USDA recently provided waivers through the end of this year to allow school districts to offer breakfast and lunches to all enrolled students at no cost while also providing the district reimbursement for the costs associated with the production and serving of the meals. 

Key Points of the Program

• The waivers that have been extended by the USDA allow districts to go back to the first day of school and claim all breakfast and lunches served. Because of this, District OR-1 will be crediting all meals that were paid at full (or a reduced) price back to each student account in the date range of August 13th through September 25th, 2020.  
• Because the program currently only runs through December 31st, the district will maintain the balances already on student accounts so that money will be available in the accounts the second semester. At this time, no payouts will be made on current account balances. 
• Starting again in January 2021, we will return to our regular pricing and meals will again be charged to student accounts as normal. 
• If a junior/senior high school student chooses to purchase an extra entree or ala carte item, they can still do that, but those items will need to be paid in cash as these extras are not covered by waiver extension.  This “extra entree” and ala carte option is not available at the elementary.  
• Lunch counts will still be taken in the morning at both buildings to ensure accurate lunch counts.
• Students in the high school will need to let teachers know they want a second entree at the time the lunch count is taken. Students will pay for the extra entree at the end of the lunch line.
• Kindergarten-3rd grade students “recess milk” will still be charged to accounts and those will still need to be paid for by families.  When families send in money for “recess milk”, the money will be credited to the student account.
• In order to facilitate the most accurate meal counts, we are asking families to sign up online for breakfast ahead of time. In order to sign up online, families will be directed to a link on our website. That link will be available at the beginning of next week. 
• All other current procedures the district has in place for breakfast and lunch will stay the same.

• Please note that some menu items may need to be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the higher volume of breakfast and lunches. 
• Thank you in advance for your flexibility and patience.

Upcoming “No School for Students” Days:

• I would like to personally thank all of you for your understanding and grace as we work through these challenging times associated with COVID. In order to remain proactive to the ever-changing conditions associated with the pandemic and maximize our opportunities to keep our schools open with students on campus, we have scheduled some additional COVID Response Days for our staff.  These “no school days for students” allow our staff time to continue to enhance our district's remote learning capabilities, deep clean our buildings, and collaborate on ways to further increase student achievement and learning. 
• For your planning purposes, we will not have school for students on the following dates: 
  • Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 - No School for Students
  • Wednesday, November 4th, 2020 - No School for Students
  • Wednesday, December 9th, 2020 - No School for Students

COVID-19 Update: 

• We have had a few cases of COVID -19 in our district, and the total confirmed positive cases in our district currently stands at 3. Although I would like that number to be zero, the low number is a testament to our staff, students, and families adhering to our district procedures and complying with guidance from our local health departments. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences:

• Parent-teacher conferences are set for next Tuesday, September 22nd from 2-8 p.m. School is out that day at 1:30 p.m. as previously scheduled for the HS and 1:10 p.m. for Bennet Elementary.
• This year’s conferences will be much different from any other year because we are conducting the conferences in a “digital” format. Parents should be receiving communication from teachers and building principals about how the conference process will work for their child.
• Parent-teacher conferences are a great way to gauge your child’s progress at school and connect with teachers. 

Thank you again for your support of our district. 

Have a great rest of your day and enjoy your weekend,

Michael Hart 

Superintendent of Schools

Go Panthers!

Olson Complex Football Game Guidelines for Patrons (as of Aug. 24^th)

We are operating under 75% capacity at the Olson Complex per our local DHM

We require masks be worn at our facility at all times for spectators

We have allowed 8 family members per PHS athlete, coach and manager to be placed on a pass list.  Visiting teams have been allowed 4 family members per player, 2 per coach and 2 per manager. The remaining seats up to capacity limit (approx. 150-180 depending on visitor roster size) will be limited to “first come” to gain entrance.  ADMISSION GATES OPEN @ 5:30pm

IMPORTANT:  Parking for predetermined player family pass list individuals will be in the north lot only, parking for non-pass list individuals will be in the south parking lot only.  Once we have reached capacity the gates will be closed.  Please see the attached photo for additional parking directions.

Home team fans on west end of the bleachers, visiting team fans on east end of the bleachers

Concession items will be limited to grab and go and priced in increments of a $1

Restrooms will be available for all spectators

Games will be live streamed through Striv TV for those unable or wishing not to attend https://striv.tv/channel/palmyra/

No pep band

Programs will be available via a QR Code that can be scanned by a smart phone upon arrival

No field access for anyone other than players, coaches and managers will be allowed before, during or after the game.  We ask that everyone please leave the complex in an orderly and timely fashion at the conclusion of the contest.

Palmyra High School Gym Facility Guidelines for Patrons (as of Aug. 24^th)

We are operating under 50% capacity per our local DHM. 

We require masks be worn in our building at all times for spectators

We will allow 8 family members per PHS athlete to be placed on a pass list.  Visiting schools will be allowed 6 family members per player, 4 per coach and 2 per manager to be in attendance.  The remaining seats up to capacity limit (approx. 150-170 depending on visitor roster size) will be limited to “first come” to gain entrance.

Home team fans on north end of bleachers, visiting team fans on south end of bleachers

All spectators will enter through the west doors (east doors will be locked) and exit through the south doors at the completion of the contest.

Concession items will be limited to grab and go and priced in increments of a $1

Restrooms will be available for all spectators

Games will be live streamed through Striv TV for those unable or wishing not to attend https://striv.tv/channel/palmyra/

No pep band or visiting cheerleaders

Programs will be available via a QR Code and can be scanned by a smart phone upon arrival.

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The first map lists street names for driving directions.  The bottom map is the completed Olson Complex for a better visual, also with driving instructions. 

Address: 1100 W. 11^th St. Palmyra, NE  68418

Good Evening Bennet Elementary Parents,

Welcome back to the 2020 school year. I am looking forward to having the students back into the building and establishing a routine. Our staff has been very busy preparing their classrooms for students. Here are a few key points before our first day on Thursday.

• The school day begins at 8:20, and the tardy bell rings at 8:30. Students are not allowed to be dropped off at school before 8:00 a.m. unless they are using the before/after school program. The circle drive may be used for pick up and drop off beginning at 8:00 a.m., as parents will not be allowed in the building during these times. All elementary students will enter through the front doors and be temperature checked upon entering their classroom.
• Visitors at this time will not be permitted.
• Students will be required to wear masks during the day, as we will be following the local health department guidelines. All students will take scheduled mask breaks throughout the day with their class.
• KDG-3rd grade students will eat lunch in their classrooms, and 4^th-6^th grade students will eat in the lunchroom.
• Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school each day, as they will not be allowed to use the drinking fountains. Water bottles need to have a lid (no straw) and be clearly labeled with student’s name or initials.

Procedures for exiting the school will be:

1. KDG will exit through the preschool doors beginning at 3:10 with Mrs. Dvorak’s classroom, followed by Mrs. Nitzsche, and then Mrs. Wusk.
2. 1^st-3^rd grades will exit out the front doors.
3. 4^th-6^th grades will exit out the gym doors.
4. Bus students will exit out the North doors.
5. Parents/guardians picking up child/ren from the before/after school program between 3:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. will need to call the office at 402-782-3535 and meet their child at the front door. If you are picking up after 4:00 p.m., you will need to pick up from the playground area/gym using the playground entrance, or the second set of entry doors in the front of the building.

• The circle drive can be used for pick up and drop off of students. Please be cautious of the A.M. buses using the circle as well.
• All students will need their own headphones, as these will be stored in the classroom and not be able to be shared among students.
• Birthday treats will not be permitted at this time.
• Please make sure all students’ items are labeled before bringing to school.

Thank you for your continued support during this time. I look forward to working with your family!  Please contact the school office with any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Linde Walter