Berylwood Elementary School

FROM DR. JASON PEPLINSKI, SVUSD SUPERINTENDENT March 12, 2020 Dear Simi Valley Community, Like you, we are all concerned about the spread of the novel coronavirus and the uncertainty it is creating in our daily lives. Today, the Ventura County Public Health department declared a local health emergency, which will provide additional resources for coronavirus response. Because of this declaration and in the interest of the health of our community, Simi Valley Unified has decide...d to close all of our schools beginning Monday, March 16th through Friday, March 27th. We hope to reopen on Monday, March 30th after Spring Break, but that decision will depend on the circumstances at the time. We will update families about our plans no later than Friday, March 27th. This closure is in support of the recommendations from public health officials to encourage social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. It is strongly recommended that students stay home during the closure as much as possible and do not gather in public places. We understand that school closures have significant impacts on our students and families and we hope to resume normal operations as soon as possible. We will have more information to come regarding lunch distribution for families in need by Friday afternoon, March 13th. This Friday update will also include any other pertinent information. We do not make these decisions without enormous thought and input from county and state officials. Although at the time of this email, we have no active cases of the virus in Simi Valley, we feel this is the best decision we can make. We thank you for your understanding during this challenging time. Sincerely, Dr. Jason Peplinski Superintendent, Simi Valley Unified School District See more

The following message was sent out by Dr. Jason Peplinski tonight, March 11 to all Simi Valley Schools community members: Dear Simi Valley Schools Community, A...s Spring Break approaches (March 23 to 27) and more news about COVID-19 (coronavirus) is reported, we wish to provide an update with additional information and the steps we are taking to prepare for coronavirus in our area. Each day, our staff members, our school board members and I continue to work closely with our county public health officials, the California Department of Education (CDE), the Ventura County Office of Education, our partner organizations (Rancho Simi Recreation & Parks District, City of Simi Valley, YMCA, etc) and our neighboring school districts. All of these organizations and more share our mission to ensure the safety and well-being of our students and staff as we find our way through a scenario none of us has seen before. For this situation, our primary guidance comes from the county and state public health officials, who work in conjunction with our county and state education offices. The CDE recommends that school districts create contingency plans for potential school closures. As of right now, our schools are open, but we know that this situation is fluid and can change quickly in the coming days and weeks with very little notice. At some point, the coronavirus will most certainly touch our community and our schools, and we are preparing for every possible scenario if and when that happens. Some decisions made in the last few days include: New cleaning protocols for our classrooms, bathrooms and buses. No new field trips or student/staff travel will be approved until further notice. Unless otherwise advised, prior-approved field trips and travel will continue. (Please make sure that you check directly with your child’s school/teacher if you have an upcoming trip, especially over Spring Break.) Optional activities will continue but parents have the discretion to decide on their child’s participation. This would include any non-school sponsored trips and non-academic events. Already scheduled on-campus and district activities will continue until further notice. We will continue daily to monitor student activities. Depending on the logistics and any changes in our community’s health status, more cancellations could occur. Cancellations of specific activities will be quickly communicated by your principals through our normal channels (email, app notifications, website, social media, all-calls). Please make sure that your contact information is up-to-date and please make sure that you mark the district’s email and your school’s email addresses as approved senders in whatever manner your email system requires. During over the next few weeks and especially during Spring Break, we strongly urge families to avoid any non-essential travel and re-evaluate all travel plans. (Many airlines and hotels are accommodating cancellations due to coronavirus concerns.) If your family plans to travel during Spring Break, please pay attention to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) travel advisories, alerts and guidelines for your destination. The CDC publishes a list of foreign travel advisories for coronavirus (you can find it here). For families who are traveling, please know this situation is changing daily and you may be asked to self-quarantine when you return. Additionally, please be aware that since this is a very dynamic and fluid situation, we do not know what travel restrictions may be enacted by the U.S. government over the next few weeks. It is entirely possible that you may end up traveling through a region (or an airport) that is added to the CDC watch list, which would place you and your children in a 14-day mandatory isolation period upon your return. Right now, there are no cases (presumed or confirmed) of COVID-19 among any Simi Valley students or staff members. If a student or staff member were to test positive and expose others at a school, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recommends that we meet with local public health officials to determine the risk level and to consider if a school or district closures is warranted. The Simi Valley Unified School District has established protocols for managing school site health and safety should an exposure be identified. The CDPH has published the School Guidance on Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 document to clarify their recommendations, which you can read here. We understand what an incredible hardship it will be for most of our families if our schools or district have to close for any length of time and it is the very last thing we want to see happen. But, this situation is shifting rapidly. We have to acknowledge that for the safety of our students and staff, closures may become a reality. Please try to make contingency plans for childcare in case this happens. In the event of a school or districtwide closure, we will do our best to provide enrichment activities for our students to work on at home. Also, if your family depends on the Free-and-Reduced Lunch Program, we will make every attempt to provide meals to all students who are in need. Locations for food pick-up will be shared with parents should a closure happen. Lastly, please remember that Friday, March 13, is a no-student day at all of our schools. The health and safety of our students and staff are our number one priority. We will continue to monitor this situation and to provide regular updates. I am very proud of all of our staff as they continue to work in the best interests of our students. I want to thank our community for continuing to support our efforts with patience and flexibility as we maneuver through this stressful time together. Sincerely, Dr. Jason Peplinski Superintendent Simi Valley Unified School District

#SimiSchoolsFirstDay2019

SPRING BREAK WILL BE FROM MARCH 25 TO MARCH 29. DURING THAT TIME THE DISTRICT OFFICE AND ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS WILL BE CLOSED. WE WISH THAT OUR STUDENTS, STAFF AND THEIR FAMILIES HAVE A WONDERFUL BREAK AND ENJOY THEIR TIME TOGETHER. THANK YOU!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM DR. PEPLINSKI: Dear Students, Parents and Staff of Simi Valley Schools: Please be advised that ALL Simi Valley Unified School District schools will be open tomorrow at the normal times. As of now (5 p.m.), the fires are far enough away from us and the air quality is good enough for schools to be open. We determine this by consulting local, state and federal agencies who monitor the conditions in and around us. We also have sent our maintenance and faci...lities’ teams to any schools affected by smoke and ash today to clean up any issues caused by the fires, especially on the west and east ends of Simi Valley. If there is any change in this status, we will notify everyone again through these same channels. We also post the same messages to our district Facebook (www.facebook.com/SimiValleySchools/) page, Twitter (@SimiValleyUSD) and the district’s website (www.simivalleyusd.org). Please understand that we cannot answer individual emails throughout the night. We look forward to seeing our staff and students tomorrow. Thank you, Dr. Jason Peplinski SVUSD Superintendent

REMINDER: ALL SIMI VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOLS AND OFFICES ARE CLOSED TODAY, FRIDAY, NOV. 9, DUE TO THE FIRES. WE WILL REOPEN ON TUESDAY, NOV. 13 (MONDAY IS VETERAN'S DAY). PLEASE STAY SAFE!

SIMI SCHOOLS SECOND ANNUAL FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL SOCIAL MEDIA CELEBRATION! #SimiSchoolsFirstDay2018

SVPD K-9 presentation!

SVPD Showed Berylwood students what their K-9s can do!

Thanks SVPD for an amazing K-9 demonstration today!

MONTE VISTA SCHOOL is a special place to visit this morning. Farm Day is being held at the campus. In partnership with the California Women for Agriculture orga...nization, we brought third grade students from our elementary schools to visit for the morning. Almost 800 students were led through 30 different booths and exhibits, each featuring an agricultural display. Horses, goats, pigs and cows were on hand for snuggles and pets. Students planted tomato plants and inspected farm-friendly insects. A huge thank you to Dr. Stephen Pietrolungo, principal of Monte Vista School, and Mrs. Kate Snowden, principal of Wood Ranch School, for the excellent organization of an amazing educational opportunity for our students! See more

Berylwood Elementary School Teacher Jill Robles received a $5,000 prize package from the Helpful Honda People on May 7. Robles, who teaches fourth grade, was nominated by her daughter, Victoria, who said her mother was a dedicated teacher who goes above and beyond for her students.

LOOKING FOR SOME AMAZING ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK? And a fundraiser too? Royal High School's Drama Department proudly presents "Annie Jr." Running nightly (7 to ...8:15 p.m.) from April 25 to 28, Annie Jr. will be held in the MPR at Royal High School. (1402 Royal Ave.) Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for elementary students. And, 30% of all ticket sales will be given to the elementary school of your choice. See more