A special message and end of the year details...

Dear Folwell Families -

What a spring this has been! Our lives have changed and we have made constant adjustments as a result of the safety measures around the virus, Covid-19.    Now, more recent current events may be conjuring up many other emotions.  Coupled with wrapping up school and questions about the fall, it can feel stressful and overwhelming at times. 

Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Michael Munoz shared this message yesterday:

“The Rochester Public Schools community is mourning the horrific death of George Floyd. His life mattered and we grieve this untimely death.  It is heart wrenching to be physically distanced from our staff and our students during this difficult time.  We know you’re hurting.  But despite the distance, we want you, our staff, students, and community to know you are loved, supported and you matter.  We value inclusivity, where everyone can participate and reach their full potential.  Race should never predict life or death.

We are committed to the well-being of all of our students and staff.  For positive change to occur, we must all be advocates for racial justice.  We stand with our neighbors in the Twin Cities.  Please take care of yourself, and your neighbors.”

Our Folwell Staff wants to remind you that we are here for you and your families.  We love and care about you and your families!  All are welcome here!  You are respected here!  You are supported here!  Folwell: “Together We Will!”

Please remember that if you want to talk with someone, you can call my office, 328-3224, email me, wemoritz@rochester.k12.mn.us, or call our school resource line to work with our counselor, Stephanie Evans Hanson, or our school social worker, Lindy Lange, at 328-4971.

Here are some additional reminders for the upcoming week:

As shared last week, this week’s learning activities will include other learning areas and will be shared in the Google Classroom Streams of your child’s classroom teacher.  They will be posted by me and will include videos and links.

          -6/1 Make Your Own Adventure Monday

          -6/2 Trivia Tuesday

          -6/3 Well-Being Wednesday

• 5^th grade recognition is happening virtually on Wed, June 3, 1:30!

          -6/4 Field Day – Special Areas

          -6/5 Farewell Friday

·       Personal property pick up and school district property delivery

o   Families with students whose last names begin with letters A-Q are asked to come through between 9:00 a.m. and noon.

o   Families with students whose last names begin with letters R-Z are asked to come after the Falcon Farewell from 1:30-3:30.

(Families who are unable to come on Friday, June 5 are welcome to come on Thursday afternoon, June 4, from 1:00-3:00 or Monday, June 8, from 9:00-11:00.  If these times do not work for you, please contact the principal at wemoritz@rochester.k12.mn.us)

§  Falcon Farewell at 1:00 - Families will drive through “load and go” while staff are on the sidewalks waving! 

For the Personal property pick up and school district property delivery, materials to return may include library books, Action 100 books, classroom books, math reference books, manipulatives, iPads, chrome books and chargers you may have borrowed, etc.  Some families have said they have gifts to drop off for staff and this would be the time as well to drop them off with the other materials. 

For Personal property pick up and school district property delivery, use the “load and go” traffic pattern.  Queue up on 12^th Avenue heading south and drive west on 7^th street toward Folwell School.  Continue down the hill in to the Folwell Parking Lot. 

Please put a sign in a front window of your car with your child’s last names.  This will help move things along.  Staff will be coming to your car to get materials and to bring things back to you. You will not need to come inside of the building. 

If you choose to walk or bike, we ask that you follow social distancing protocols which is to remain six feet from others. Masks are strongly encouraged.

For the Falcon Farewell at 1:00, families will drive through “load and go” while staff are on the sidewalks waving and wishing you well as we transition in to summer!  Queue up on 12^th Avenue heading south and drive west on 7^th street toward Folwell School.   We’d love to see you one more time for the 2020 school year for smiles and air hugs!

In order to ensure the safety of our students and staff, those picking up personal belongings or materials are reminded to follow social distancing protocols which is to remain six feet from others. Masks are strongly encouraged during our pick-up events. If you are sick, or are experiencing any symptoms of illness such as a fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc. please stay home and contact your school’s principal to make other arrangements.

Please let us know if you have any questions or need further assistance.

Take care, Falcons!

Wendy J. Moritz

Principal

Folwell Elementary School

328-3220

328-3224

Folwell: “TOGETHER WE WILL!”

RPS Summer Programming

Dear RPS Families,

We have a few updates on summer programming and access to the Edison Administration
Building.

SUMMER SCHOOL INFORMATION
All summer school services will be offered through Distance Learning (DL). School
administrators have been working with RPS families and students on registration for
summer school. School administrators will also work with students on their technology
needs.

High School Credit Recovery
Two sessions will be offered.
● Session 1 is June 15 - July 2
● Session 2 is July 7 - 24

General Summer School, English Learner (EL) and Extended School Year (ESY)
● July 6 - 24 are student contact days for ESY.
● July 7 - 24 are student contact days for general summer school and EL.
● Teachers will share school routines and schedules with students and parents prior
to the start of the program.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Summer in Community Education will be a blend of face-to-face and online programming,
aligned with MDE/MDH guidance for health and safety. To explore our Community
Education offerings, visit rochesterce.org
● Adult Enrichment – online and in-person classes; tours suspended pending
venue/bus availability
● Adult Literacy at Hawthorne – blend of online and in-person classes, GED
testing, program intake, and technology support
● Adults with Exceptional Abilities – limited summer opportunities
● Early Childhood – in-person preschool in small groups; no early childhood
screening allowed at this time
● Facility Rentals – no building rentals in the month of June; will determine
July/August before the end of June
● PreK/Youth Enrichment – online and in-person classes in small groups
● School-Age Child Care – in-person in small groups at Ben Franklin, Jefferson, and
Washington elementary schools. To register for SACC, visit www.rochester.ce.eleyo.com

MEAL SERVICES
Meal services from any child 18 and under will be offered weekdays beginning on June
10.
● Drive/Walk-Up meal service 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM at four sites: Mayo and John Marshall
High Schools, Elton Hills and Riverside Elementary Schools
● Mobile meal service at several other community sites.
● Meal service times and locations will be posted on rochesterschools.org/COVID19

BUILDING ACCESS
Beginning on June 1, the Edison Administrative Building will be open for staff and public visitors
weekdays from 8 AM - 4:45 PM and will be following social distancing guidelines.

Visitors are encouraged to make appointments before arriving at District offices. To do so,
please use one of the following phone numbers found below. Due to the volume of calls, you
may need to leave a message. We will do our best to return calls as soon as possible.

● Business Services & Payroll 328.4210
● Communications & Marketing 328.4500
● Community Education 328.4000 (at Northrop)
● Curriculum and Instruction 328.4301
● English Learners 328.4240
● Elementary and Secondary Education 328.4300
● Human Resources 328.4251
● Insurance Services 328.4280
● Registration and Records 328.4200
● Student Advancement 328.4275
● Student Nutrition Services 328.4218
● Student Services 328.4310
● Superintendent’s Office 328.4256
● Transportation 328.4260

Before entering our buildings, visitors will be required to “buzz” into a receptionist, where they
will be greeted and given further directions. Visitors should enter through Door #10.
Visitors are encouraged to wear a cloth or disposable mask while they are in our buildings
based on the Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Signs will indicate
waiting areas outside of common spaces to ensure social distancing.

At this time, school building hours vary. Your school will be communicating a material pick-up
and drop-off plan before the end of the school year.

We will continue to communicate with our families throughout the coming weeks and months
with RPS updates. We miss all of our students very much. Please be safe.

Sincerely,
Michael Munoz
Superintendent

ALL SCHOOL SING-A-LONG

Hello, Musicians!

We need YOUR help!! 

Make a VIDEO of yourself (and brothers/sisters!!) singing our Folwell school song! 

THEN, send to MR. SMILEY (jesmiley@isd535.org) who will mix our voices so we can sing together one last time before the end of the school year! How cool is THAT?!!! WOWEE!!! I know we can do this!!! (Even if you only know PART of it—that’s fine! Do your best and we can mix it in with everyone else’s voice.)

If you don’t remember all the words—no problem! Here's the link to to a YouTube with ALL the words to the Folwell school song!!

https://youtu.be/Vd66S7-WWF4

We're super EXCITED for this one!!!

Have fun, Falcons!!!

Falcon Fly By - Friday, May 22 - 5 p.m.!!

Need Groceries? One box of food for you and your family!

Need groceries? 

Channel One is teaming up with City of Rochester, MN Government, Cradle 2 Career, and Family Service Rochester to reach families in need.

On Friday, May 15, from 12:30 to 1:30, local families can pick up one free thirty-pound box of food along with fruits, vegetables at meats at the following locations:

Empowerment Center - 40th Street NW

Cook Park - 722 7th St NW

Boys & Girls Club of Rochester - 1026 E Center Street

Bear Creek Park - 1237 Marion Rd SE

This is a drive-through event, and patrons must stay in their cars.

Need groceries? bit.ly/foodbox_Flyer_photo1

¿Necesita alimentos? bit.ly/foodbox_Spanish

Ma u baahan tahay raashin? bit.ly/foodbox_somali

A Message About Summer and 2020-2021 School Year SACC

A Message About Summer and 2020-2021 School Year SACC

Rochester Public Schools

May 5 2020

Our daily activities have changed a lot recently, and SACC is no different. In mid-March, Governor Walz directed districts to pause with regular programming, to allow school-day childcare for emergency workers only for the remainder of the school year.

As summer approaches, we hope to return to some level of regular programming to meet the needs of all our SACC families. This means we are going to move ahead with SACC Registration, beginning May 6, for Summer 2020 and School Year 2020-2021. We realize that some of these plans are still likely to change, as we are awaiting summer guidance from the Minnesota Department of Education.
Here are the details, as of May 5: 

• Care will be available at Ben Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington Elementary Schools this summer.
• Summer registrations will be accepted as follows: 
  • Phase One, starting May 6, will be for contracts for four (4) or five (5) days of care per week and/or at least forty (40) days scheduled June 10-August 17.  
  • Phase Two, starting on or about May 18, will be for contracts for least three (3) days of care per week and/or thirty (30) days scheduled June 10-August 17, as long as space remains available.
  • If program space remains available, a final phase will allow any size contract.
• At this time, we are planning to have a limited number of children per site and per room. 
• Fees for the 2020-2021 Summer and School Year as Follows: 
  • $74 - Registration Fee
  • $33 - Scheduled Full Day for Summer
  • $38 - Drop in Rate for Summer

REGISTER FOR SACC

SACC will follow the safety guidelines recommended by the CDC and Minnesota Department of Health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If there are changes to these guidelines for summer care, we will reflect those changes in our program.

The current guidelines are as follows:

• Hand washing before and after each activity rotation
• Temperature checks for all staff and participants as they enter into the building
• Sanitizing our equipment before and after daily use
• Staff will wear masks while inside buildings and while outside when social distancing is difficult
• Limited group sizes of ten or fewer participants, with consistent staff members where possible.
• Any staff or participant will be sent home if they exhibit vomiting, a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or more, or other symptoms of infection
• Per CDC guidance, any staff or participant will be sent home if they exhibit symptoms of coronavirus, including cough or shortness of breath or at least two of these symptoms: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell.

If you have any questions please reach out to the SACC Main Office, you can email or call us at (507) 328-4040 between the hours of 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Grab & Go Meals