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12811 Glades Road Boca Raton, Fl. 33498 Phone 561-672-2000 October 9, 2020 Greetings West Boca High Families; It has been wonderful to see so many students back in their physical classrooms with a successful reopening of all of our campuses last week. While families continue to choose distance learning, our teachers are doing a remarkable job balancing a blended model of in-person and remote instruction, simultaneously. For children who return to their physical campuses, it is essential to remember that facial coverings continue to be required until further notice. The facial covering protocol, as outlined in the District’s COVID-19 Student and ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Employee policies, is in place to help ensure the safety of students and staff. ​ It is vital that both parents and students remain fully aware of the latest changes to important District policies and guiding procedures. ● According to updated Student Policy 5.326, students must “not come to school if ill ​ ​ ​ including, but not limited to: symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, diarrhea, severe headache, body ache, shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite and sense of smell, and other flu-like symptoms.” Refer to the Covid-19 Guiding Document (pages 12 and/or ​ ​ ​ page 18) for additional information. Protocol for COVID Positive Students, please refer to page 23. ● With regards to updated Visitor Policy 2.065, and implementing protocols in order to ​ ​ ​ keep our campuses safe, it is important for visitors to understand “access to all District property will be limited to current students, current staff, pre-approved parents/guardians/guests, vendors and contractors, and invited guests with principal or designee approval. Visitors must take their temperature prior to arriving at District property and the visitor shall not report to a District Property if they have a temperature of 100.4 or higher.” According to the policy, “visitors shall not report to District Property while using fever-reducing medications.” ● Please be reminded that students are expected to follow the District’s Student Code Of ​ ​ Conduct to create a safe learning environment for all students in Distance Learning and ​ in person. Parents, take the opportunity to speak with your child about protecting, and not sharing, their confidential login information. ● Making Your Choice 2.0 is the School District of Palm Beach County’s consistency plan for each semester to ascertain the students who intend to switch from Virtual to Brick and Mortar or Brick and Mortar to Virtual. The dates listed below are important for you and your family to review: First Semester Action and Timeline: Monday, October 5, 2020 - First Semester final selection date window opens for ​ Parent/Student decisions about their desired learning platform. The window opens for switching from Virtual to Brick and Mortar or Brick and Mortar to Virtual. Parents will need to go back to the Make Your Choice tile in the student portal to change the desired learning platform and register for bus transportation if needed. Wednesday, October 14, 2020 - First Semester final selection date window closes for ​ Parent/Student decisions about their desired learning platform. Wednesday, November 4, 2020 - Parent/Student desired learning platform is ​ implemented and selected choice begins. No further changes for First Semester. Second Semester Action and Timeline: Monday, January 4, 2021 - Second Semester final selection date window opens for ​ Parent/Student decisions about their desired learning platform. The window opens for switching from Virtual to Brick and Mortar or Brick and Mortar to Virtual for the rest of ​ the school year. Parents will need to go back to the Make Your Choice tile in the student ​ portal to change the desired learning platform and register for bus transportation if needed. Monday, January 11, 2021 - Second Semester final selection date window closes for ​ Parent/Student decisions about their desired learning platform. Tuesday, February 2, 2021 - Parent/Student desired learning platform is implemented ​ and selected choice begins for the remainder of the year. No further changes for the Second Semester. Make Your Choice LINK Parents and guardians are asked to finalize their plans for their child’s mode of instruction, in-person or distance learning, for the remainder of the first semester which ends on January 29, 2021. The window to make your choice is currently open and will close on October 14, 2020. Changes will ​ take effect on November 4, 2020 and remain until the semester ends on January 29. After winter break, parents will be asked to make their choice for the second semester which begins on February 2, 2021. That window to indicate your preference will be open from January 4-11, 2021. For more information please visit the Make Your Choice page. ( click on for link ) ​ ​ ​ Frequently asked questions LINK Click on each question for a link to provide the answer for the question. Why are parents and guardians being asked to commit to distance learning or in-person instruction? What is the timeline for making my choice? How, specifically, do I make my choice? How long will my choice remain in place? What if I change my mind? If my child attends in-person instruction, and then tests positive for Covid-19, what is the process for notifying the school? If my child is registered for in-person instruction and must stay home due to Covid-19, will they be allowed to return to campus when their health improves? Once I make my choice, will my child still have the same teacher(s)? What happens if a child’s parent registers a choice for distance learning and the child shows up to school for in-person instruction on any given day? Will the student be turned away? If too many students sign up to return to in-person instruction, how will that be handled? Meaning, is there a capacity cut off? What happens to students in overflow? If a student attending in-person instruction lives in the same household as an individual who tests positive for Covid-19, will the student be able to attend classes virtually while self-quarantining without being counted as absent? If a student is in the same classroom as an individual who tests positive, but was not told to quarantine because they were seated six feet away from the positive case, will the student be permitted to self-quarantine, and take part in distance learning, in an abundance of caution without being counted as absent? In any of these scenarios, what is the protocol? Do I notify the principal, the teacher, or both? What is the metric the District is following? Have HVAC filters been upgraded? Testing - Upcoming PSAT Testing Please Reply: ​ : ​9th grade parents ​ October 27th, 2020 is the 9th grade PSAT. The PSAT is a practice SAT examination, which measures college readiness. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-8-9/taking-the-test At this point in time, we are inviting the 9th grade class to test under the safe guidelines that all students will be 6 feet apart, masks must be worn throughout the whole exam, and sanitizer and cleansing wipes will be provided. The test will start at 7:30 am and run until approximately 10:30am. Students will report directly to the gym. If your child will be testing the PSAT please email [email protected] by 10/13/2020 so we can make ​ ​ proper seating arrangements. If your child needs transportation by bus, please let us know as well. If your child will be testing, please have your child look out for further information via their school email. If you have additional questions, please email your child's school counselor. Thank you. 10th grade parents: ​ October 29th, 2020 is the 10th grade PSAT/NMSQT. The PSAT is a practice SAT examination, which measures college readiness. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/inside-the-test At this point in time, we are inviting the 10th grade class to test under the safe guidelines that all students will be 6 feet apart, masks must be worn throughout the whole exam, and sanitizer and cleansing wipes will be provided. The test will start at 7:30 am and run until approximately 10:30am. Students will report directly to the gym. If your child will be testing the PSAT please email [email protected] by 10/13/2020 so we can make ​ ​ proper seating arrangements. If your child needs transportation by bus, please let us know as well. If your child will be testing, please have your child look out for further information via their school email. If you have additional questions, please email your child's school counselor. Additionally, there is a makeup date for the 10th grade PSAT on January 26th, 2021 if you feel more comfortable having your child test then. Thank you. ​ STATE TESTING INFORMATION: The following tests will be coming up soon. All students needing any of these tests, regardless of whether they are brick and mortar or virtual, may come take the test on the dates shown. We are taking stringent precautions for the safety of our testing students. We take temperatures at the door prior to admitting anyone, space testing desks at least six feet apart, provide hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes for all students, and ensure that everyone in the testing location is masked at all times. October 19,20,21: For Seniors only. FSA ELA Retake (This is a graduation requirement and should be taken by any senior ​ who has not yet passed). This is a three day test and students must commit to all three days in order to get a passing score. October 22, 23: EOC Bio, Geometry and US History.

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