Lee County School District

Student Voice Survey The Student Voice Team of Kentucky is asking students in grades 6-12 to complete a student voice survey related to their experience with school and how COVID-19 has affected the way they are learning and feeling. If students in grades 6-12 would like to participate, please complete the survey at the following link. https://surveymonkey.com/r/svtcovid19

School lunches are once again being taken to pick up points throughout the county. The attached picture shows the locations and pick up times and these are also still on our webpage. If you need a lunch and have not been coming to get one please call us in the morning and we will make sure we have enough. Also, if you have been coming to get lunches but no longer plan to come, let us know so we can reduce our numbers. We can feed any child age 18 and under in the county. There have been many questions about our end of the year activities such as prom, graduation, and promotion ceremonies. At this time, the only thing we know for sure is that we will not be able to have prom on May 2nd as originally planned. If students have ordered tuxedos or other items for the prom it would be best to try now to cancel those things. If there is any chance for us to hold a prom or special dance later in the year, even after school is officially out, we want to do this for our kids. But until the spread of this disease is under control we can’t make any plans or set any new date. Additionally, we had moved the senior trip to New York up to July, but we are going to be working on cancelling that trip as well. With the affect this virus is having on New York right now, we don’t feel comfortable that going in July will be safe for our kids and staff. We will see what recommendations come from the governor’s office at the end of April and May and see if we can plan any other type activity for our seniors. Regarding end of the year promotion ceremonies and graduation, we don’t have an answer at this time. We know these ceremonies are important to our students and we are hoping that time will give us what we need to be able to have some kind of ceremony. For our senior class, this is especially hard as we know they will move on to other adventures in their lives. Our goal now is to plan to create a virtual ceremony of some type and be ready if this is our only option, but we also will have hope that we can have a ceremony at a later date. If seniors and their families have suggestions or input they would like to give, please reach out to Ms. Smith, Mr. Angel, Mr. Stickler, or Ms. Wasson through e-mail or give us a call. We miss our students very much and want everyone to know that these are tough times and decisions for all of us, but as Governor Beshear says, we will get through this together. The number one goal is to keep everyone healthy and come out of this stronger and closer in spirit than ever before.

KET Schedule Even though we are on spring break, we want to let you know that KET has changed its daily programming to bring educational opportunities for children of all ages. If you can access KET, you might want to check out the attached schedule and tune in for shows that would interest you and your kids.

Update on School Closing The governor has asked us to take additional time out of school and we will follow his recommendation. At this time, school will be out until April 20. March 23 - March 27 will be our second week of NTI days. March 30-April 3 will be our spring break. No NTI work will be required during that week. April 6 - April 10 and April 13 - April 7 will also be NTI days. We will be utilizing online learning as much as possible but will also develop new work packets for those in need next week. Our teachers are working hard to develop Facebook pages to connect with kids, Google Classrooms, and are trying to connect with students in many ways. They are doing everything they can to keep the learning going. Our classified staff including bus drivers, cooks, assistants, and support staff all continue to do work to support the learning of our students. We are proud of everyone for stepping up in this situation and taking care of our kids. We are also proud of our parents and are thankful for your support as we work through this challenging time together. We will be back in the schools and working remotely next week from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to help your children with lessons. Please remember that you can drop off work at Save-A-Lot, Jack's IGA, both Dollar Stores, and the Family Dollar.

Lee County Schools Closure Information Governor Beshear has now made a recommendation that schools be closed for the next two weeks starting on Monday, March 16. We will be following that recommendation and adding an additional week, which would have been our spring break, in an effort to help control the spread of the Corona Virus. We will be in session tomorrow. The first ten days of our closure will be NTI days, and we will make up two school days at the end of the year. We will return to school on Monday, April 6. Within the last few minutes we sent a phone, email, and text message to our parents, guardians, and staff about the closure. If you did not receive this message, it is very important for you to return updated contact information to school tomorrow. We appreciate your patience and support as we all work together in this challenging time.

Updated School Calendar Posted to Webpage We now have a link to the most recent school calendar on the Parent Resource link of our school web page. Should the calendar change in the future, you will be able to access the updated calendar on this link. We are attaching a current picture of the calendar here for your convenience.

Change in School Messaging System We will be making a change to our school messaging program to give parents more options in how messages are received. We have posted a news story on our district webpage about the different message types and how parents can select preferences on getting messages. A letter will also be coming home on Tuesday, March 3rd about the messaging system. On Wednesday, March 4th, all parents/guardians who have their cell phone numbers in our student information system should get a text asking you to opt in to receive text messages with our new system. If you don't opt in, you won't receive any further texts from our message system. Visit our webpage to find out more information.

Lee County Represented at the KSBA Conference Thank you Ms. Tipton and our art students for your creation for the KSBA conference.

We would like to thank all who came out tonight to honor Mr. Heber Dunaway. The former players and staff and the entire crowd that stood with respect for Mr. Dunaway was an awesome representation of our thanks for what Mr. Dunaway accomplished in his years as coach. Tonight was a great night to be a Bobcat!

No School In Lee County Tuesday, February 18-Friday, February 21, 2020 There will be no school the rest of this week due to illness.

Cooper Wise is recognized by the Lee County Board of Education for his charitable work. Cooper gathered socks and gave them to the elderly in seven different counties at Christmas.

Heber Dunaway being recognized for his contribution to the Lee County athletics program through the years. The gymnasium at the Lee County Middle/High is to be named in his honor.

Lee County Schools Closed Friday, February 7, 2020 After reviewing all weather information regarding snow coming in after midnight and continuing through the day tomorrow, there will be no school in Lee County Friday, February 7, 2020.

The Lee County Board of Education is selling Beattyville Elementary School and is currently accepting offers on the property. If you are interested in purchasing the school and property, please contact Mr. David Lyons at 606-464-5000 to schedule a tour of the facility. All offers on the property should be in writing and submitted to the attention of Mr. Lyons. Offers will be considered by the board at the upcoming board meeting on February 11, 2020.

Hazard Community and Technical College Classes at Lee County Area Tech Center. Contact Craig Herald at 464-5018 for more information.

School Board Recognition Month We would like to thank our school board members for their commitment to our students. William Owens, Lamont Coldiron, Donald Napier, Avis Thompson, and Janie Thorpe all keep the students in mind in every decision they make. We appreciate their service and dedication to our district!

Lee County vs. Powell County District Games Tonight

Evening Routes are still on snow plan. Please meet buses at designated stops. Winter break begins tomorrow and students first day back is January 2nd. We hope you all have a restful break and enjoy time with your family through the holiday.

Lee County Schools on Snow Plan 12-18-19 The Lee County Schools will operate our bus routes today using the snow plan. This means that buses will run modified routes and won't run all roads they normally run. There are a few patches of ice this morning from run off in areas that make it unsafe for buses to travel on many of our snow plan roads. We are attaching a picture of the plan and it is on the front page of our web page.

Our middle and high school students showcased their talents tonight at the Christmas concert. It is great to see students performing the music that they have been practicing. Congratulations to each student on a job well done.