SIDNEY — The hours students will be attending classes in the Sidney City School District has been established for the 2019-20 school year. The new times add 30 minutes to each school day and have been adjusted in conjunction with the reconfiguration of the district.
Preschool students will attend classes at Whittier Early Childhood Center. Two session are being planned: 9 to 11:45 a.m. and 1 to 3:45 p.m.
Emerson and Longfellow Primary Schools will be in session from 8:50 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. All kindergarten through second-grade students will attend class at one of the two buildings.
Northwood Elementary School, which will be home to students in third- and fourth-grades, will begin classes at 8:40 a.m. and will dismiss at 3:35 p.m.
Sidney Middle School students — grades five through eight — will be in class from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Sidney High School students will attend class from 7:25 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Plans for moving classrooms and supplies are moving ahead, said Treasurer Mike Watkins.
“We have a master spreadsheet that we go through each meeting,” said Watkins of the committee who is overseeing the move.
As an item is completed, it’s turned to green on the spreadsheet.
Committee members include Superintendent Bob Humble, Watkins, Director of Curriculum Brooke Gessler, Student Services Coordinator Beth Abbott, Director of Special Education Chris Barr, Business Manager Jason McLain, Maintenance Supervisor Mike Shonk, Technology Specialist/Network Engineer John Michalos, Director of Communications Tiffany Rank and Principal Keith Helmlinger.
“It’s all moving pretty well,” said Watkins.
The group had been meeting every Friday but because so much preplanning is completed, they have started meeting every other Friday.
“There will be a lot of activity once the school year is over,” said Rank. “People will be able to see physical and visible changes then. Right now we’re in a holding pattern.”
Gessler said registration is now open for the Latch Key program and preschool.
“We are in the process of completing purchase of creative curriculum (for preschool) and are planning professional development,” said Gessler. “We hope to have that schedule set before the end of the school year.”
Watkins said there “behind the scene” work going on such as gathering boxes to move classrooms from one school to another. The district will be renting U-Haul trucks — one per building — for the move.
“It will probably take multiple days to move everything,” said Watkins. “The gymnasiums in each school will be the staging are to prep for the move. Everything will be marked with what building it’s going to.
“Typically during the summer, we move everything out of the classrooms to do deep cleaning,” said Watkins. “Once the boxes are in the receiving area in the new school, that’s where they will stay until the rooms are cleaned and the buildings are ready to be occupied again.”
Gessler said she’s still gathering information about the licensure some of the teachers might need once the start teaching preschool.
“We’re in communication with a college about a schedule and the cost of the classes,” said Gessler. “Some of the teachers will have to get CPR and CPI training and we’re going to work locally to get that.”
Humble said Abbott is still working closely with Shelby Hills so the transfer of the students goes smoothly.
“Keith (Helmlinger) has had inquiries from outside the district about bringing their kids to the preschool,” said Humble.
