Cherokee Public Schools

To view information on Cherokee Public Schools Athletics COVID Guidelines please visit https://5il.co/k8ew.

10th graders & Seniors - Tuesday, September 22nd Josten's will be here to visit with the 10th graders about class rings and the Seniors about Senior items and announcements. Josten's will be back to take orders on Friday, September the 25th for any items. The meetings will take place in the cafeteria during 6th period (12:50 pm - 1:35 pm).

CPS is deeply grieved to have lost a member of our student body this morning. Our hearts are breaking for the Parker family and all the relatives who are touched by this tragedy. In this time of grief, we ask that our community keep this family in your prayers. Please keep our school community in your thoughts as we navigate losing a member of our Junior Class. Thank you, The Cherokee School Community Suicide Hotline Number 1-800-273-8255

Weekly Announcements!

Reminder: No school tomorrow - August 21!

Weekly Announcements for 8/19-21

August 19, 2020 Dear Cherokee High School Students and Families, I hope you have had a wonderful start to your school year! CPS is doing everything possible to make things as safe and equitable for all of our students. Due to funding loss and lower incoming revenues to our Cherokee School District, we will have some changes with the District ACT Testing and Concurrent repayment policies. This has been a difficult decision for our Administration, but this decision had to be made due to the changes in our funding. District ACT Testing: We will still offer school day District ACT Tests for our students here at Cherokee; however, tests will no longer be free to our students. Students who sign up to take the District ACT here at Cherokee will pay for the exam. This amount will cover the cost of the test and there will be no additional charges. ACT has been contacted and the Fall 2020 pricing will be out soon. The Fall 2020 test will be administered to our CHS students on Tuesday, October the 6th. Hopefully the cost will not exceed $50 per test for the student. Please continue to watch for information on the ACT testing in your email and Cherokee Public School’s social media. Concurrent Repayment Policy: We will no longer be able to offer the Concurrent Program repayment plan after the Fall 2020 semester. Beginning in the Spring 2021 semester, CPS will not repay students for any concurrent costs. CPS values the Concurrent Program as a very important part of our educational process; however, we will no longer be able to repay students for their books and fees. A normal 3-hour course will cost a student between $150-$350 for books and fees. With the tuition waiver offered by NWOSU and the OK State Regents, our Junior and Senior Cherokee students will still save money by not being required to pay the college tuition. According to NWOSU at this time, they will still pay for 6 total hours for Juniors (3 Fall & 3 Spring) and allow Seniors to take up to 6 hours of classes tuition free each semester (6 Summer, 6 Fall & 6 Spring). CPS will still encourage those students who are eligible to take concurrent classes to add rigor and prepare for college through the Concurrent Program. If you have any questions, I will gladly visit with you through email, in person, or by phone. I am so glad to be back at school to help our students with our new school year! Thank you for your support and encouragement through these changes in our Cherokee School system. Sincerely, Mrs. Anita Jordan, Cherokee Public Schools Guidance Counselor

HS Softball Games have been moved to OBA due to Ringwood’s field being unplayable. We will play Ringwood at 5:30 and OBA game to follow.

A Free and Reduced School Meal application is being sent home with each elementary student today. The yellow sheet in their backpacks will need to be filled out and returned to the elementary school. Here are a few things you need to know about these applications... You only have to fill out one form for your whole family!! EVERY student that attends Cherokee Public Schools will receive free breakfast and lunch again this year. Our child nutrition department has to have an application on file for every family. By filling out your application properly, you can help generate money for our school. For example, the amount of money we receive from the federal government in our Title programs is based directly on the percentage of students enrolled in the Free and Reduced program. Our reimbursement from the government for our cost of providing internet and phone service is also directly tied to that same percentage. Our ability to apply for both state and federal grants is also linked to the free and reduced program enrollment. Each child from your family will receive a treat when they bring the completed form back to school. If you have any questions please contact Amantha at the Administration Building or Kassie at the Elementary School.

Parents & Guardians picking up students in the car line. See attached image.

Good Morning, We had a great start to our school year. We knew that as we move forward with onsite education we would learn to deal with COVID 19 on a daily basis. Today, we do not have any positive cases with our students but we do have students that have been exposed. Students who are exposed are quarantined for the amount of time needed to be safe for return to school. In an effort to give you the autonomy to decide if your student should stay home, CPS is reporting that there are students in quarantine until August 31, 2020 for a 3 year old, 4 year old and 1st grade student. They have not tested positive but have been exposed. The school has been cleaned and we are taking social distance measures. CPS will remain open at this time and will evaluate each situation individually. The situation changes almost hourly so further information will be provided as quickly as can be accomodated. If you have questions, please contact Donna Anderson at 580-596-3391.

We will not be attending the Enid JRH softball tournament this weekend due to a scheduling conflict.

4th - 12th Grade Parents & Guardians - As we all gear up for the new school year, you may have some concerns on how to monitor your students internet usage. CPS uses a program called Securly to monitor students internet use and keep students safe. You can create a Parent Portal Account for free so that you can see everything your child is doing on their school issued device! Parents & Guardians will receive an email from Securly inviting them to sign up. Here is a short video on how to set up your account. https://vimeo.com/289430119

Today's Activities: HS Softball in Enid. Game starts at 3:30pm

The Elementary Virtual Meet the teacher can be found at https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1M0HRIhc4MpwdGygwACfKVbhoXr6RqoZpilM8e0_OezY/present?slide=id.p

JH/HS Softball games have been moved to Kremlin. Games start at 4:30pm.

At the August 10th, 2020 board meeting the issue of PPE and the wearing of masks was voted on for policy. The vote was to wear masks or face coverings that are PPE and school approved according to the dress policy. The vote determined that if social distancing was possible the mask or face covering could be removed. Places such as the cafeteria, outside classroom, auditorium and classrooms with few students who can social distance can remove their mask. The instructor in each class can determine if social distancing is appropriate. Students in 5th grade will wear face coverings or masks while at the middle school or high school and use the methods of social distancing at the elementary. Students 3 years old to the 4th grade will not be required to wear a mask but will have methods in their room to social distance. This policy is for 30 days to determine our county’s ability to sustain a yellow code from the Oklahoma Health Department. The policy will be revisited to take action to increase the wearing or decrease the wearing of PPE. It is our hope that this compromise between wearing masks and face shields all the time and trying to provide normalcy of a school day will be accepted and our community will fight with us to keep the school open and not in Distance Learning. Masks will be provided the first day of class. We encourage everyone to find the type that is approved and best for you, if it’s not one we have provided. We look forward to Friday and seeing all the kids. Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School

We are excited to see our students next week! To view our District Calendar please visit: https://5il.co/iegh

The Miss Cherokee Pageant is tonight at 7pm. They will be abiding by the CDC regulations that started June 1st by requiring social distancing during the pageant. We have not limited the number of attendees but ask that you stay home if you have been sick or have had a fever in the previous 72 hours. Precautions have been taken to assure the safety of guests. CPS and the Miss Cherokee Pageant are not responsible if illness occurs while attending this event. As always, use your judgement on activities to attend. The pageant will be streamed at www.cherokeechiefs.tv

The Cherokee Board of Education values our community and their input. We will be setting a policy for our organization regarding personal protective equipment usage and it must be developed in compliance or consistent with current recognized written standards, applicable laws, regulations, Executive Orders and/or “guidance.” Whether that is OSDE’s Oklahoma School Safety Protocols or something else is the district’s decision. And, of course, continue to collaborate with your local health department and the Oklahoma State Department of Health. If you are a patron of our school district and would like the opportunity to discuss the issue of PPE in school, there will be an item on the agenda at the August 10, 2020 meeting for anyone to speak. There will be a sign in sheet at the meeting where you will sign in. You will be given three minutes to address your concerns. Only items on this agenda can be discussed and personnel are not to be discussed in an open meeting. The meeting will begin in the high school library at 7:00 on Monday, August 10th and move to the auditorium if there is no way to social distance in the library. Thank you, Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School