Freeland Learning Center Newsletter

As you know, this time of year can present some challenges when it comes to staying healthy. Up until today, the Freeland Learning Center had not experienced any widespread health-related problems, but today it appears that the stomach bug is going around. Today, we had a lot of students that were called in (excused) due to fever and vomiting, along with several others that became ill during the day.

I thought it best to share some important information to help reduce the spread of any communicable illnesses that students may get. I realize that one of the most difficult questions parents of young children face is, “What should I do when my child doesn’t feel well?” You certainly don’t want to send your child to school if they’re sick, but you also don’t want to keep them home if they aren’t sick. Below are the guidelines that we follow, all of which are provided by the Saginaw County Department of Public Health.

When to Keep a Child Home?

1. Fever: A child has a temperature of 100.4°F. The child should not return until 24 hours of no fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications.
2. Diarrhea: A child has two loose or watery stools, even if there are no other signs of illness. The child should have no loose stools for 24 hours prior to returning to school. Exception: A healthcare provider has determined it is not infectious.
   
3. Vomiting: A child that is vomiting. The child should have no vomiting episodes for 24 hours prior to returning to school.
   
4. Rash: A child develops a rash and has a fever or a change in behavior. Exclude until the rash subsides or until a healthcare provider has determined it is not infectious.
   

The staff here at the Learning Center will continue to take the necessary cleaning precautions to help prevent the spread of any illnesses, but I would also encourage you to talk with your child about the proper hand-washing and coughing/sneezing techniques, as well as the importance of avoiding touching their eyes, nose, and mouth.

The Freeland Learning Center would like to invite children who will be age 5 by December 1, 2019 to attend our Young 5/Kindergarten Registration on Thursday, February 28th from 5:00-7:00 p.m. For those of you that currently have a Young Five student here at the Learning Center, there is no need to attend this event as your child will automatically be enrolled in kindergarten for next year. If you have any questions, please feel call our office at 989-695-5721 or click the button below for the informational flyer.

Just as a reminder, our students will be going outside for recess when the temperature (with the wind chill) is at or above 10°. Looking ahead at the forecast, it is quite likely that we may be inside for recess all next week.

Report cards for the second marking period will be made available in Skyward (via the parent portal) on Monday, January 28th. A hard copy of the report card will also be sent home with your child that same day.

If you have not yet done so, please check out the district's new app. This app will allow you to stay up-to-date with access to real-time information from each of the Freeland schools. I also encourage you to periodically check the Learning Center's Live Feeds, News, and Events as we will be updating those items regularly. We will continue to move away from the Skyward messaging system for school-wide news and information as quickly as possible.

The app can be downloaded for free in the following ways:

Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apptegy.freeland

iPhone:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/freeland-community-schools/id1418588052?ls=1&mt=8

Once you've downloaded it, you will want to go to "settings" to edit your notification preferences.

All of our classroom Valentine's Day parties will take place in the afternoon on Thursday, February 14th. As is the case with all days involving classroom parties, i.e. Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s, etc., lunch visitors are not permitted. The reason being that our gym simply cannot accommodate the large number of guests, while still leaving room for all of our students. I appreciate your understanding in advance. Family members are, however, more than welcome to attend the classroom parties. Below are the times for each grade level’s classroom parties:

Young 5's: 2:05-3:25

Kindergarten: 12:00-2:00

1st Grade: 1:30-2:30

We have accumulated a lot of winter attire, i.e. jackets, hats, gloves, snow pants, etc.. Please remind your student to check the lost and found, or feel free to stop by and take a look for yourself.

The next PTO meeting will be held in the STEM Room (also the library) at Freeland Elementary School on Tuesday, February 5th at 6:00 p.m. There will be discussion about the future of the Sweetheart Dance (previously known as the Daddy-Daughter Dance), as well as other PTO-related functions.

Just as a reminder, our lunch times can be found below.

Kindergarten: 11:20-11:45

Young 5's: 11:50-12:15

First Grade: 12:20-12:45

Do you have a special skill, talent, or new class idea that you'd like to share with others? Not only does it benefit those students or adults that have a desire to learn something new, but it's also a great way to earn some extra money. If you are interested in teaching a Community Education class for students and/or adults, or would simply like to learn more, please contact Marcus Hillborg at 989-695-5721 or hillborgm@freelandschools.net. You may also want to take a look at the course proposal sheet using the button below.