Solon Intermediate

JANUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Happy New Year SIS families!

I hope the winter break met you with renewed hope, inspiration, and relaxation. While I know that a change in the calendar year does not erase the challenges we continue to face, I do know that we will continue to grow stronger together! We will continue to support, grow, and reflect with and for one another. We will move forward one day at a time, remembering that all possibilities lie within our willingness to keep trying!

Take care,

Mrs. Tabor

RECESS, WINTER & SNOW

As we approach the colder months, please help remind your child(ren) to bring their jacket, hat, and gloves to school. Unless there is inclement weather, recess will be outside. It is important that students come to school with the proper outdoor accessories. Please be sure to label all winter items with your child's name. This will ensure that their items will get back to them if they happen to forget or misplace them in the building or on the playground.

We will be providing sledding as an option during recess on Thursdays. The snow must be at least 2-3 inches for us to sled. When there is enough snow on the ground, students wishing to participate can bring their sled from home and store it outside by the exterior library door. Any student not being safe, responsible, or respectful will not be allowed to sled. Let Mrs. Tabor know if you have any questions.

Recess will be hard surfaces only for students without snow pants and boots.

FRIENDLY OFFICE REMINDERS

Here are a few friendly reminders from the office staff. Please let the front office know if you have any questions.

Please keep sending water bottles to school with your student(s). Due to COVID, water fountains are still shut off in the building. However, the water filling stations are still operational.

Communication regarding absences and tardies should be sent to both the classroom teacher and Mrs. Arwine (school secretary).

Please remind your child to check the lost and found for any of their items they may have misplaced.

CONTACT TRACING - PROCESS REMINDERS

The following provides a review of this process when the school receives notification of a positive case.

1. You will receive an email stating there was a positive case in the classroom. At this time, the nurses begin an investigation into the close contacts and other details surrounding this case.

2. If your son/daughter needs to quarantine you will be called by a nurse. This means both parties were within 6 ft for a minimum of 15 minutes without masks being worn consistently or correctly.

3. If you don’t receive a phone call from a nurse indicating the need to quarantine, you may receive notification (phone call or email) that he/she was a close contact but does not need to quarantine since masks were worn in the classroom.

***PLEASE NOTE: Johnson County Public Health is calling close contacts not being quarantined due to mask use. They are encouraging families to be on a “light quarantine.” This means while they are allowed to come to school, they should otherwise be home when outside of the school day.

4. If your son/daughter is not a close contact to the positive case, you will receive a final email communication indicating the investigation is complete.

We understand the communication can be confusing at times. Johnson County Public Health follows up on each positive case. Due to the number of cases and possible contacts, they may not be aware of a subsequent exposure at the time they are making the call. This means that while your child may not be exposed from one exposure, they may be from another. Please feel free to ask them questions about the case they are calling you about. When did the exposure take place? Did both individuals wear masks during the exposure?

Please see this document “Quarantine vs. Isolation.” This will help explain the scenarios the nurses talk through when your family is affected by Covid.

Kris Elijah and Amy Link are always happy to help you navigate through this process. Please reach out to either of them with questions.

LV & SIS nurse

Kris Elijah, RN, BSN

kelijah@solon.k12.ia.us

319-624-3401 x1288

Middle & High School Nurse

Amy Link, RN, BSN

alink@solon.k12.ia.us

319-624-3401 x1404

COVID-19 ILLNESS PLAN