At Union Middle School, we are committed to the health, safety, and well-being of our students and staff members. To ensure this commitment, our Return-to-School Safety Plan for the 2020-21 school year is guided by the following principles:
- Ensuring student and employee safety and health
- Optimizing student learning
- Supporting student and staff well being
- Supporting families with school-related needs
Please remember that the current situation is fluid and frequently changing. We may revise or update this plan at any time, as needed, based on current Healthy Department and CDC guidelines. We will be sure to inform you of any changes that are made so that you are aware of how the school environment is being shaped by the current health climate in the community.
We invite any member of our school community to reach out to us at any time for clarification or questions regarding this plan.
Please click on a topic below to expand that section for more information.
- Students will attend school five days a week during regular school hours (Mon-Thurs: 7:50-2:50; Friday 9:30-2:50).
- Students’ schedules will include all core and elective classes.
- Students will have an advisory class on Friday for 30 minutes that will focus on social and emotional learning.
- Academic interventions, specifically Math Lab, will be held after school on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday in the Library Media Center.
- Front doors and the shop doors will open at 7:15 a.m.
- Doors within the building will be propped open to reduce the use of high touch points.
- 6th Period teachers will walk their classes out of the building to minimize having students congregate in the hallways.
- Students will be assigned seats on the bus and required to wear face coverings.
- Students will walk on the right side, indicated by signage.
- Students will walk on the right side of the stairs, indicated by arrows.
- Adults will be present in the hallways to remind students to stay on the right side.
- Signage will be placed throughout the school as reminders to stay 6 ft. apart, when possible.
- Hall passes will be digital and closely monitored by teachers and administrators.
- Full sanitization and cleaning will be done at the end of each day.
- Hand sanitizing dispensers have been installed throughout the school.
- Teachers and students will wear a face covering at all times.
- Student desks will face forward.
- Physical distancing will be maintained as much as possible.
- Students will be instructed to limit contact with other students and classroom objects.
- Students will be required to stay in their assigned seat.
- Students will be asked to report safety and sanitation concerns to their teacher.
- Students will sanitize their desk and chair at the end of each class period.
- Teachers will sanitize their equipment as often as possible.
- Each classroom will have hand sanitizer available for student and teacher use.
- Breakfast will be served from 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. with physical distancing protocols.
- We will have three lunches instead of two to promote physical distancing.
- Students can eat in the cafeteria or outside on the patio weather permitting.
- Cafeteria employees will wear face coverings and gloves at all times.
- Signage will indicate the flow of traffic and physical distancing in the lunch lines.
- Students will be given 15 minutes to eat and 15 minutes to go outside.
- Sanitization stations will be set up at the entrance of the cafeteria.
- Tables will be cleaned and sanitized after every lunch.
- Food areas will be sanitized between each lunch and at the end of each day.
Students will be asked to sanitize their hands upon leaving the cafeteria.
The school will provide each student with the following:
- 3 Inch binder with dividers and pencil pouch
- Chromebook
- Barcoded badge with lanyard and sticker for lunch, bus pass, and rewards.
- In place of planners, Google calendar and Canvas calendar.
- Access to digital copies of student handbook and PBIS presentations.
- Signage will indicate maximum capacity for each restroom.
- High touch points in the restrooms will be sanitized throughout the day.
- Restrooms will be sanitized nightly.
- Signage will remind students to maintain physical distancing.
- The district is adding some water bottle filling stations.
- Chromebooks will be checked out to all students the first week of school.
- Check out will be contactless by scanning student ID cards.
- Cleaning guidelines will be provided to students.
- Lockers will not be used this year to reduce crowding in the hallway. Students will be allowed to bring backpacks to school this year to transport their school materials.
- Library books will be accessed through a digital request form.
- Books will be quarantined and cleaned before the next checkout.
- Unfortunately, for the time being, the library will be closed. Students will be able to access books digitally or by requests through class time.
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- Gym lockers will not be used this year.
- Additional equipment will be purchased to minimize student contact.
- The primary sick room is located in the Main Office area.
- An overflow area with two additional beds will be located at the end of the attendance hallway separated by a three-panel privacy screen to provide additional bed space.
- Sanitization of the area will occur immediately following a student occupying this space.
- A Digital Log will be kept for students who have accessed the sick room(s).
- Quarantine protocols will be followed as outlined in the State & District guidelines.
- Parents will be encouraged to call the school in order to check out their students rather than come inside the building to do so.
- Parents are encouraged to email all-day (or multiple day) absences to the following email address: unionms.attendance@canyonsdistrict.org. For partial-day absences, parents should continue to call the Attendance Office (801-826-7510)
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- Back-to-School Night information will be accessed digitally via the Union Middle School website.
- 6th Grade Orientation will be held on Friday, August 14th following the guidelines outlined above.
- Per State and Canyons District requirements, we will not be having large group, schoolwide gatherings during the school year, including field trips, assemblies and dances.
