Republic School District #309

Republic School District #309 is currently accepting applications for a Paraeducator for the 2020-2021 school year. This position will remain open until filled. Please visit our website for more information. https://www.republic309.org/o/rsd/page/employment-opportunities--642

School will be operating on Wednesday 9/16/20. Tri County health has given guidance to not close schools due to wildfire smoke, but to keep students indoors and limit all physical activity. Of course parents may choose to keep their students home (we can send make up work and the absence will be excused).

New! Republic School District will remain closed on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 due to poor air quality. Thank you and stay safe!

Due to poor air quality school will be closed tomorrow.

Republic Bus Riders: It has long been the practice for students or parents to bring a note to the office so they can ride a different bus than “normal” to attend different social events or meet the needs of families. At this time we need to limit that activity. Our bus drivers are working hard to keep seating charts, keep physical distancing as much as possible, and follow all of the guidance we’ve been given. We do understand everyone’s situation is different. If a child has two different residences or sometimes goes to daycare after school and sometimes to their house we will certainly work with you to make that happen. What we cannot do right now is have your son/daughter ride a different bus just to go to a birthday party or go play at someone else’s house. Thank you for your understanding as we’re doing our best to have in-person learning happening in the Republic School District.

September 8, 2020 Dear Families: We have had a great start to the school year and want to thank you in advance for ensuring that students are healthy and well when they come to school. In order to avoid sending students home if they have a temperature of 100.4 or above OR if they have other identified COVID 19 symptoms, please keep students home if they are sick. We are required to follow all Northeast Tri-County health guidelines and thank you in advance for keeping children home if they are sick. If you have any questions about our reopening plan or our health screenings at school, please contact me, Jeannette Bauer, School Nurse, or Kevin Young, Superintendent. Thank you again, we look forward to serving your children with an amazing school year! Most Sincerely, Carolann Gutierrez (Mrs. G)

Republic online students: We apologize for delays and lack of communication. We will be reaching out to all K-5 students today with an update and schoolwork. Please also check your school email at least twice a day. Josh Zakar is working with grades 6-12 and Diane Larson is working with K-5 students. Please trust we're doing the best we can, and I recognize we need to do better. Kevin

We have created a Frequently Asked Questions list for the start of school on our website. Be sure to visit to get most of your questions answered as to what the start of the school year will look like for your kids.

Driver's Education Classes Available

REMINDER AND NOTIFICATION: AUGUST 19, 2020 SCHOOL BOARD MEETING STARTING AT 6 PM. AGENDA IS LOCATED ON SCHOOL WEBSITE, follow this link: https://www.republic309.org/o/rsd/browse/101393 Republic Tigers is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/92078610706 Meeting ID: 920 7861 0706 One tap mobile +12532158782,,92078610706# US (Tacoma) +13462487799,,92078610706# US (Houston) Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 920 7861 0706 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/auusGjaH1

Getting ready for school to start. Changing out tables for single desks. Thank you Bobby Bouslaugh, Chris Bowe, and Mike Hammer our wonderful custodians and maintenance for all of your hard work.

August 6, 2020 Dear Republic School Families: My thoughts have been with all of you this summer, and I hope that you have had time to enjoy all of the wonderful summer events and traditions as much as possible. I have been busy with my husband moving into our own home, and I am so appreciative to have had the time to sort, organize and unpack. The Republic community has become home, and we are so grateful to be part of it. Although it has been an interesting summer with the events taking place around the world, one thing that we can count on is the upcoming school year. I know you are as anxious as I am to get our Reopening Plan out so that you can make decisions based on what is best for your children and your family. We have had our sixteen member “Re-opening Committee” meet three times, with more meetings next week, to discuss plans on reopening Republic Schools safely. We are charged with creating a plan which will meet all Washington State Health and Safety mandates/guidelines. Our plan will be finalized and posted on the district webpage and will be approved by our Republic School District Board at their meeting on August 19, 2020. Guidance and directives have had a major impact on the plans as we have had work within the scope of the weekly updates. We are confident however, that our final plan will meet the needs of students, and staff, while adhering to state and local guidance. To help jump start the school year, registration for high school students will take place next Monday through Wednesday, August 10-12, 2020. Students will visit the high school office where we will have ChromeBooks available for students to choose their electives for the year. Middle school students may call or email Mrs. Judy Hamrick at jhamrick@republicsd.org or (509) 775-3171 with their 1st/2nd/3rd choices for the 1st period electives of Shop, Band, or Life Skills. Facial coverings and social distancing will be enforced. We look forward to seeing and hearing from our great Republic Tigers! We will keep you posted on our Reopening plan as soon as it has been completed, and we will be available to answer your questions as they come up. Thank you for your patience as we work through this planning stage together and please know, we miss our students and want them to be back in school in whatever format that may include. I am in the office Monday through Friday between 8:00 am and 4:00pm if you have any questions or need assistance, cgutierrez@republicsd.org or (509) 207-7376 or my cell phone (509) 740-7489. Thank you, I know we will get through this challenging time, stronger, wiser, and more connected than ever. Please keep in touch and I hope to see you all either “live” or virtually very soon. Please take great care. Most Sincerely, Carolann Gutierrez (Mrs. G)

Update on Reopening: Our committee has worked hard on a plan to get students back into the building while following all of the guidance from OSPI, L& I, and the Department of Health. While our plan is nearly completed, I am hearing there may be new metrics and guidance coming soon from the Governor, OSPI, and our local health department. We have prepared for on site in person learning to start on August 27. If that has to change we will communicate that as quickly as possible. We will continue to work towards having students on campus to the extent we're allowed.

DEADLINE MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020! Parents to claim $399 per child in each household for DSHS EBT or P-EBT. Republic DSHS Misti Kennedy shared this valuable information with the school district. Address and student verification required. Apply online at washingtonconnect.org (select APPLY NOW and follow instructions) or call DSHS Customer Service Contact Center at 877-501-2233 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday (except observed holidays).

For those of you that are having difficulties view the graduation video here is a link to the YouTube to view it. Sorry for the inconvenience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWKCr-ZKWzk

If you need registration form(s) - please check under 'documents' with the file folder marked "Registrations Forms". You will find kindergarten, elementary, and high school registration forms here.

We are proud to share our 2020 graduation video! We'd like to thank Three One visuals for all their hard work in producing this video. Please share with loved ones who were unable to attend. When we chose a filming company we were ecstatic we were able to hire a company of former graduates of the Republic School. Please enjoy and Go Tigers! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c0HLwFQhrwuuuEu4vIsBHFeDheLCrl_l/view?usp=sharing

BOARD MEETING DATE CHANGE: The Republic School District regular monthly meeting for August 2020 has changed to Wednesday, August 19 with workshop at 6 p.m. and meeting at 6:30 p.m.

LOST CAMERA! A lost camera was found last week on the Tiger Trail - if you know someone who lost it please contact the District Office at 509-775-3173 to describe the lost item.

The Reopening Committee is looking for 2 parent representatives. The meeting dates are tentatively scheduled for the following dates from 10am to Noon: 7/28, 7/30, 8/4, 8/6, 8/11. If you are interested and can attend on those dates, please email Kevin Young (kyoung@republicsd.org) by Friday afternoon. We will notify the two selected before 5pm on Friday (7/24). If you are not selected please fill out our community survey on our website if you haven't done that yet. While we'd like to include more people, we also want to keep the number on the committee manageable. Thank you!