Alpine Union School District

COVID Testing with CovX will take place tomorrow, Friday, January 28th from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm in the Shadow Hills parking lot. Please pre-register at https://www.covxlabs.com/prereg-form to make sure your registration is complete. Uninsured testers can use any government issued ID. Once registered you will not need to register for future tests.

COVID Testing with CovX will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, January 26th and Friday, January 28th from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm in the Shadow Hills parking lot. Please register at https://covxlabs.formstack.com/forms/prereg_alpine_schools.

COVID Testing

Calbiotech will be in the JMMS Gym on Monday, January 17 during MLK Day to provide COVID saliva tests to staff, students and the community from 7:30 am to 2:00 pm. Register at https://patient.mdiqhealth.com. Please note the change of location from the staff parking lot to the gym for this day.

Dear AUSD Families, We have scheduled a COVID vaccine/booster clinic for Wednesday, January 19. The clinic will take place at JMMS in the staff parking lot from 7:30 am - 10:30 am. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will both be available for all eligible for the vaccine (students and adults). Spots are limited. Here is the link to register: https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1637119729918 In an effort to make COVID testing easily accessible to our families and community we will continue to make COVID testing available three times a week at our school sites (Monday at JMMS and Wednesday and Friday at SHES). This Monday, January 17 testing will take place in the JMMS gym. We are posting to hire additional custodians to support each of our schools. If you know of anyone interested in this or the many other positions we have available please have them look online or call the District office at 619-445-3236. Keep the faith! We will get through this together! Dr. Rich Newman Alpine Union School District Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth

We will be offering three different COVID testing sites this week. The Monday testing site at Joan MacQueen Middle will offer the saliva COVID test and Wednesday and Friday at Shadow Hills Elementary will offer the nasal swab COVID test. All sites are open to the general public.

Dear AUSD Families, Happy New Year! As we begin 2022, I wanted to share a few important updates. Through Friday, we will provide a third and final opportunity for any parent who did not pick up a free At-Home COVID for their child test to pick one up in the front office of their child’s school. Please note that the tests are only for AUSD students and we do not have extras to give to those who already received one. We have also increased the number of COVID testing days at our school sites. For the next two weeks, we will be offering three testing opportunities. COVID testing will take place on Monday at Joan MacQueen Middle in the staff parking lot from 7:30-1:00 and on Wednesday and Friday in the bus lane at Shadow Hills Elementary from 7:30 -12:30. As a reminder, testing is open to anyone in the community. A COVID vaccine and booster clinic has also been scheduled for Wednesday, January 19 at JMMS. More details will be forthcoming shortly. As always, we appreciate your support! Stay healthy, Dr. Rich Newman Alpine Union Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth

COVID tests and testing

Winter Break Grab & Go will happen today (12/20) from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm at Joan MacQueen Middle School. Come by to get 2 weeks worth of Breakfast and Lunches for FREE for all children 18 and under.

We have been in close contact with the Alpine Sheriff’s Department regarding the latest school threat Tik Tok Challenge. While there has been no threat made to any of our schools, there will be increased patrols in our community and around our school campuses. We take any potential threat seriously and appreciate our local law enforcement for their commitment to the safety of our students, staff and community.

Dear AUSD Families, We would like to clarify the information you received yesterday regarding the free and voluntary iHealth At-Home COVID-19 test. In the Alpine Union School District, these tests are NOT a requirement and are NOT mandatory. They are available for families in the school office that would like to pick up the test. They are optional and are offered as a courtesy to families who would like the option to test their child at home prior to returning to school in the new year. As always, we appreciate your continued support.

Free At Home COVID Tests

Winter Break Grab & Go will handed out on Monday, December 20th at Joan MacQueen Middle School from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. We will be providing two weeks worth of Breakfasts and Lunches. This is FREE to all children 18 and under!! Your child does not have to be a student in the AUSD district or be present. Come by and let us help you with your grocery bill during the break. If you have any questions, please email kmassey@alpineschools.net or call (619) 445-3639.

A message from AUSD!

Thank you Veterans!

Dear JMMS Families, Let me begin by thanking you for your patience and grace as we dealt with the unexpected circumstances of a power outage. We fully expect to be open and welcome our students back on campus tomorrow, Thursday, October 28. Crews have been working all day and expect to complete the installation of new power lines early this evening. Please download our District App on the Apple or Google play store. It will ensure that you receive all of our messages and communications. Again, thanks for your patience. Let the learning begin once again! Sincerely, Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth Alpine Union School District

Dear JMMS Families,  Approximately one hour ago the Fire Department was called to Joan MacQueen Middle School (JMMS) due to an electrical short that caused an outage on campus. School at JMMS will be closed tomorrow as crews begin working to restore electricity and determine the cause of the outage. The electrical outage only affects the JMMS campus. All other campuses will be open and operating as normal.  Busses will not be running to JMMS tomorrow.  We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide updates tomorrow. A HUGE thanks to the Alpine Fire Department for once again quickly responding and ensuring the safety of our campuses.

REMINDER COVID testing will be held in the JMMS staff parking lot, Wednesday, October 20th between 7:30 am and 12:30 pm. Testing is open to members of the public. Please pre-register at https://www.covxlabs.com/prereg-form

Dear AUSD Families. One of the key things the pandemic has shown us is the importance of our relationships with friends, family, neighbors, and our school community. We have been reminded of the importance of our schools as both places of learning and also support for our students, families, and our Alpine community. I am truly proud of how our school community and Alpine have responded to the pandemic. At each crossroad, we have tried to place the priorities of our community first and foremost. We have consistently pushed to allow for more local control and fewer mandates from the state. At each opportunity, we have sought and successfully received waivers to open our schools, permission from the state to form learning pods, and served as a model for San Diego county. The pandemic has made the work of running schools much more complicated. In many ways, we must now function as a health department —something schools have never been asked to do before — while also continuing our efforts to connect students with the resources they need for learning and growth. Health protocols change often, sometimes daily, making our work in a state of constant change. We understand that families and students have strong emotions and questions about COVID-19 safety measures, including masks, vaccines, and testing requirements. We have continually voiced our desire to not have a one size fits all strategy from the state. We believe this type of strategy does not work for teaching and learning and it doesn’t work for determining how a school community should be able to respond to the pandemic. As you know, we were the only school district in San Diego county to open this school year providing parents the choice of whether their child should wear a mask to school. In addition, not only have we been open for in-person learning longer than any school district in San Diego, but we have also set the bar with being one of the first in the state to upgrade our HVAC systems, and were the first in the state and country to vaccinate our staff. In November we will also be the first school district to roll out Pfizer booster vaccines to all staff. Recently, posts on some social media outlets are suggesting keeping children home from school to protest a COVID-19 vaccine requirement announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom. While there are many differences in points of view on the vaccine issue, keeping students home would only result in lost learning time for our students. Our students had much-unfinished learning last year due to the pandemic. I urge those who feel strongly about the vaccine mandate to voice their concerns to the Governor and local officials and not place our staff in the middle of political decisions they have no input on. While we are being told that our school funding will not be impacted by absences, our children will be. Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Our district has no control over the proposed mandate, which would treat the COVID-19 vaccine similarly to the 10 vaccines on the list already required by California law for students attending K-12 schools. The mandate would not apply until COVID-19 vaccines are given full authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. Exemptions for both medical reasons and personal belief would be available unless the state legislature votes otherwise. From providing regular meals, safe spaces, emotional and mental health supports, trusted adults, and positive interaction with their peers, the importance of ensuring routines and consistency with school time can't be overstated. People may disagree about the methods schools are required to follow, but I hope we can all agree that keeping our schools safe and open is what's best for our students. Together, let's make sure your child has what they need to thrive and be successful in school this year. I will continue to advocate that our excellent track record of safety and our proactive work is a factor that should provide us more control over decisions. As always, I appreciate your continued support. Keep the faith! Sincerely Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent and Principal on Earth

We are excited about our first Lunch on the Lawn at JMMS tomorrow, October 7, 2021. We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that it does not rain. In the event our luck does not hold and we have to cancel it ,we will reschedule it for next Friday.