February 4, 2022

Hello Hoose Hawk families.  I hope you have a great weekend.  Here are some pieces of information that are important for you to know.

Yearbooks on Sale Online - Be sure to order your childs yearbooks through Jostens online!  Click the link to purchase online:  Hoose Yearbook Online Portal - Order Here

Early Dismissal Days - Calendar Change: A recent change was made to the Unit 5 calendar for all schools.  On Friday, February 11th, ALL Unit 5 elementary schools will be dismissing students at 10:45 am.  Jr High and High School will also have shortened days (please check with the Jr High or High Schools for more information related to their timing).  Please be sure to mark your calendars.  Thank you!

1-1 Devices Coming Home - Each student will be having devices traveling back and forth to school daily as the weather continues to get colder until further notice.  We may be sending the devices home daily in case of a cold weather day requiring an eLearning approach.  Please be on the lookout for devices each day, help your student take good care of them, and have them return to school the next morning.  Safety and internet search filters are still active on all devices, 24 hours per day.  

COVID and/or Symptoms Reporting - If your student tests positive, or is a close contact to someone who tests positive, or has symptoms of COVID, please email or call us (309) 557-4414 here at school so we can contact you with any necessary protocols.  Please email Mrs. Blemler (School Nurse) at blemlec@unit5.org 

COVID Update - If your child has received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine we encourage you to  send a copy of their vaccination card to the school nurse to keep on file. It can be sent electronically to the school nurse or a copy can be dropped off in the school office. A COVID vaccine is not required for children to attend school and submitting proof is voluntary. 

Bus ID Cards (Z Pass) - A reminder to all families that students will be using their Bus ID cards (Z-Pass) to swipe on and off the bus each day.  Please be sure to check your child’s backpack for this ID.  If your child is missing their ID, let us know and we will make sure they get a new one as soon as possible.

Student Devices - A quick reminder that student devices continue to use school filters and security measures 24 hours per day.  Please help us continue to monitor student use and searches.  The Main Office is alerted to inappropriate use/searches.  We appreciate your support and partnership!

FirstView App - Unit 5, in partnership with First Student, is launching FirstView®, a bus tracking and parent communications app for your smartphone or desktop to help you track your child's bus.

Live Tracking: The FirstView® map screen shows you the location and direction of your student's bus, your student's stop schedule for the current day and timestamps for school arrivals and departures. You'l l know when the bus arrives or departs from school. (It is important to note that the tracking system may not work if your child's bus has been combined with another route.)

Predictive Stop Arrival Times: Analyzing route and real-time GPS data, it determines an estimated time of arrival to your stop provided on the FirstView® map. The app is designed to provide parents with a better guideline for bus location and ETA. Students should still be at their assigned bus stop 10 minutes prior to the estimated or scheduled arrival time.

Custom Alerts and Messages: Set up push or email notifications alerting you when your student's bus is a chosen distance or number of minutes away from your stop.

Multi-Stop View: Buses for all your students can be tracked with FirstView®. Using individual colors for each student, every selected stop appears on the map simultaneously for easy viewing.

Additional User Notifications: Connect up to three additional email accounts (including your own) to receive email alerts. This is a great feature for grandparents or caregivers!

Available in Multiple Languages: English, French (Canadian), Spanish, Vietnamese, Oromo, Chinese, Amharic, Tagalog, Somali, Tigrinya are available based on your phone's language settings.

Secure and Easy Access: FirstView® requires a password-protected account for app set-up. This way, only you can view your student's stop! These codes are provided to you by your district. Here is a  link on how to find the information for your student in Infinite Campus that is needed to register in the First View app.

Dedicated Customer Support: We are here to help you. Whether you are having trouble getting started with FirstView®, not seeing correct data or have an idea to make FirstView® better, we want to hear from you!

Contact FirstView® Monday - Friday (Support provided in English only):

Calling the toll-free phone number 888-889-8920 from 7:00 a.m. EST to 5:00 p.m. EST

Emailing Customer Support at support@firstviewapp.com

For more information and to download the app, please go to www.firstviewapp.com.

These links will help with set up:

Parent App FAQ

Parent App Flyer

Parent App Quick Start Guide

Instructions to find student registration information

Menu Changes - Due to a nationwide shortage on some materials, and some food items, the necessity to change the breakfast or lunch menu does arise.  I would encourage families to check the menus regularly to be sure you know if any updates or changes to menu items daily.  The link to the menus is below:  Unit 5 Food Service Menus

Cold Weather - As the weather turns colder, please be sure to send your child to school with a winter coat, hat, and gloves.  We will continue to go outside for recess unless the wind chill is below 20 degrees.  We use the Weather Channel to determine this each day before recess times.  

Reporting Absences - We would like to first say thank you for helping us keep our Hoose Hawks safe through mask wearing, hand washing, and keeping students home if they have any symptoms.  If your child does have symptoms, please be sure to call the Main Office (557-4414) to report the absence.  Our School Nurse may follow up with families to help determine the best course of action.  

Masks - Masks are required for all students, staff, visitors, parents, volunteers, and anyone entering the building - including outside organizations that may use the buildings on the weekend.  Our students have done a tremendous job so far with mask wearing and we appreciate your support as we do everything we can to keep our kids safe and in school.

Attendance - Attendance is one of the most important components of student achievement.  Please remember that learning begins at 7:45 each morning.  Students arriving after 7:45 may be marked tardy.  We appreciate your help as we get students into the learning routines of school.

PTO Meeting – The next Hoose PTO meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 28th starting at 6:00 pm in the IMC or virtually (we will be offering both options).  

Late Start Dates – Our next late start date is approaching.  Please mark the following date on your calendars: Wednesday, February 16th.  On late start days, school starts one hour later at 8:45 am.  PLC teams begin meeting at 7:15 am. 

Pick-up and Drop-off – Pick-up and drop-off of students can take place in two areas around Hoose.  The Circle drive near the Main Office on the North end of the building and the large parking lot on the south end of the building are available for families.  

• Circle Drive – For AM drop-off, please be sure to proceed slowly through the circle drive for the safety of all of our students and staff.  There are visitor parking spots if parents need to park, please use these instead of parking in the drive.  Once you have entered the circle drive, please pull up to the curb (do not drop off in the drive lane) and have your child exit the vehicle on the sidewalk side.
• Circle Drive – For PM pick-up, the circle drive will be open for parents to pick up their student(s) at 2:15.  We do have a few specialized transports that pick up and depart between 1:55-2:15.  Please wait until 2:15 to pull into the circle drive so we can get our buses in and out of the drive as quickly as possible.  Once you have entered the circle drive, please pull up to the curb (do not pick up in the drive lane) and have your child enter the vehicle on the sidewalk side.
• South Parking Lot – The south parking lot is available for pick-up and drop-off at all times before and after school.  Our large transport buses do drop-off and pick-up in the driveway nearest the building on the south end of the building near the flagpole.  Please park your vehicle in the middle of the parking lot near the basketball hoops.

Hoose Website - We will continuously update our website throughout the year and add important and pertinent information for our families to use.  We also want the website to be a resource and help make connections to the community.  The site will be ever-developing, but please use it to help plan referencing our calendar, look for new items added, volunteer requirements, etc.  Thanks Hoose!

Calendar Additions – Please add the events/dates below:

• 2/1 - Online Registration opens for current students and incoming Kindergarteners
• 2/1 - February: Black History Month
• 2/11 - Early Dismissal @ 10:45 am
• 2/14 - Valentine’s Day
• 2/16 - Late Start Day
• 2/21 - President’s Day: No School
• 2/22 - Institute/SIP Day
• 2/25 - Progress Reports sent home backpack express
• Please be sure to check the Hoose Building Calendar for dates, assessment windows, etc...

Thanks Hoose!