Somerset E-News

Upcoming Dates:

Mon-3/22: Somerset PTA Board Meeting 5:00-6:30 (on Google Meet)

Tue-3/23: Final Day for Bookmark Submissions

Wed-3/24: Bookmark Winners Announced

Thr-3/25: Book Character Day!

Distance Learning Packet Pick-up from 7:30am-6:30pm

Submit Pages Read Google Form on Seesaw Daily Announcement

Fri-3/26: No School-End of Quarter 3

____________________________

Spring Break-March 27-April 4 (School Resumes Monday, April 5)

____________________________

Mon-4/5: Return to School!!!

Tue-4/6:

Wed-4/7:

Thr-4/8:

Fri-4/9:

Somerset live is a family-friendly show airing live on YouTube. Kids can see their friends, teachers and all sorts of fun things. The show starts at 6pm and is about an hour long. We will start streaming at 5:30pm while Mrs Huettl will be reading books and telling stories, so you can tune in early, make sure everything is working great. You don't want to miss this event!

The video will be streaming live on YouTube at somersetsocial.org

See you tonight!

With the seating of the jury for the Derek Chauvin trial well under way, I want to let everyone know that in the days, weeks and months ahead, our school and District is here to support and listen. We know that this trial brings up feelings for our families of color, our families of law enforcement officers, and our community as a whole. As a district focused on equity, we cannot practice silence. In the classroom, if/when the trial is brought up we will make time and space for a conversation in a way that is developmentally appropriate for your child's grade level.

At Somerset, we believe it is not our role to tell students what to think or believe, but it is our responsibility to help them learn how to think. In order to do that, students must be able to hear from each other and share with one another, even when they may not agree. We must learn from each other’s experiences. We must value each other. There is a difference between beliefs and behavior. Our focus is behavior. At Somerset Elementary, every child deserves to know they are safe and will be treated with respect. We demonstrate care for one another by helping each other prepare to live in a diverse world. We help each other prepare for that world by honoring the diversity in our own school.

We also want to provide families with resources from the Minnesota Department of Education
to use if they want to have conversations with their children.

• How to Talk About Traumatic Events and Tragedies (MDE) (Click Here)

• Helping Youth after Community Trauma: Tips for Educators (NCTSN) (Click Here)

• Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Disasters and Other Traumatic Events (NIMH) (Click Here)

• School Climate, Safety, and Crisis (NASP) (Click Here)

• What To Say To Kids When The News Is Scary (NPR) (Click Here)

• Parenting a Child Who Has Experienced Trauma (Child Welfare Information Gateway) (Click Here)

Don't miss your chance to hear district updates on the Strategic Framework, Covid, construction and more! There will also be an opportunity to ask questions or provide feedback to the Superintendent, Principal or Somerset PTA Board, and hear more about what fun events PTA has planned for the rest of the school year!

Join us virtually, Monday, 3/22 from 5:00 - 6:30 pm! Google Meet Code: meet.google.com/zho-pihf-vhk

Join us and enter your kiddo's name for a chance to win lunch with Mrs. Huettl!!!

We are excited to announce that we are still going to have a Virtual Project Fair- Pandemic Style! We want to see all of the hobbies or projects you've been working on to stay busy during the pandemic. Stay tuned next week for more details on how you can participate in this year's Project Fair!

Our Kids Heart Challenge is in full swing! If you would still like to participate, there is plenty of time. There are so many people that are affected by cardiovascular disease and need our help! We need 13 more students to register online to receive the recess packet for the school!

NEXT WEEK IS ALSO A COIN DROP---will not count towards a specific student but for the school!

Here’s what you can do:

Register and find out how you can earn ALL of our heart heroes today!

1. Go to http://www2.heart.org/goto/somersetstars , or search “Kids Heart Challenge” in your app store.
2. Take the challenge! We want you to be heart healthy too!
3. Donate fruit snacks and juice boxes for our fun days next week!
4. Bring in coins if you do not want to register online!
5. Have Fun knowing you are helping others with special hearts!

We have some BONUS incentives for our students this year.

• 50 Students to Take the Challenge – Recess Bundle from American Heart Association!
• Encourage all Students to complete Finn’s Mission
• Any student who makes a $50 donation receives a KHC T-shirt!

We appreciate all your support in our efforts to help save lives -Thank YOU!

Ms. Westman, Physical Education Specialist

School District 197 cannot monitor the travel and activities of families and staff. We can make you aware of current recommendations by state and national public health agencies and urge you to abide by their recommendations and the protocols that help prevent the spread of COVID-19, whether you are away or at home. Our primary focus is the safety of students and staff and to preserve the levels of in-person learning and activities in place as allowed by current COVID conditions.

Here are key points of information:

• The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) highly discourages out-of-state travel.
• The MDH recommends a 14-day quarantine upon return to the state
• The MDH recommends being tested 3-5 days after return to the state. (Here is a link to order no cost adult and child COVID-19 Test at Home)
• As of Jan. 26, 2021, the CDC requires all air passengers, including U.S. citizens arriving in the United States from a foreign country to be tested no more than 3 days before their flight departs. Travelers must provide proof of a negative test result or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 before boarding the flight.

Does the district require a 14-day quarantine after travel?
When families or staff elect to travel, they must decide if their activity adhered to COVID mitigation protocols such that they will not risk exposing other students or staff by returning immediately, against the MDH recommendation to quarantine.

Again, the district cannot monitor these behaviors and must rely on returning students and staff to act responsibility and in the best interest of those around them. Only you can answer the question “should I quarantine before returning?”

Ask yourself these questions which are based on the MDH/CDC recommendations:

• Was I able to maintain 6 feet of distance from anyone who did not travel with me, both indoors and outdoors?
• Did I wear a mask covering my mouth and nose when in shared spaces, including public transportation
• If you shared a household or space with others from outside of your own household, did you and they wear masks when in shared spaces?
• Did you practice safe hand hygiene, washing often with soap and water or hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol?
• Was I around anyone who had symptoms of COVID-19 or was quarantining due to exposure or a positive test?

Students/staff SHOULD NOT return if:

• You have any symptoms of COVID-19.
• You learn that you have had close contact with someone who has since tested positive for the virus. Contact your school’s health office for guidance before returning.

Register soon for our upcoming virtual and in-person classes!

• In-Person: One-Day Babysitters Training (Grades: 4-8), Kung-Fu (Ages: 5+), Wizards of Chess (Grades: K-4) and Kidcreate Studio arts/crafts classes. All class sizes are limited, register early. Evening classes at Mendota Elementary.
• Virtual: Coding with Tech Tac Toe and Tech Academy Classes
• GRASP Summer Packets available for registration now

Register HERE for our classes! Register soon, spots are limited! Please call 651-403-8313 if you have any questions! Scholarships available.

In December, the School District 197 School Board made a decision to change the name of our high school and work with stakeholders to develop options for a new name. As part of this process, the School Board has decided to form a School District 197 High School Name Committee and is requesting help from our community to help develop the name options. We are seeking students, staff, families, alumni, and community members who can bring a diversity of experience, age, race, ethnicity, and gender to the naming process.

Participation on the committee means a commitment to four virtual evening meetings and it is important that team members commit to attending all sessions. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please CLICK HERE to review the meeting dates to ensure you are available and then complete the online application by Friday, April 2.

We anticipate a great response to help develop name options for our high school. The selection of the committee members will be made by the superintendent after a careful review of submissions for the committee. It is unlikely that all of those seeking to participate on the committee will be selected. However, we will also provide opportunities for all stakeholders to provide input or feedback about potential school names during the process. Applicants who are selected will be notified on Tuesday, April 13.

If you have any questions, please contact Carrie Ardito, the director of communications, at carrie.ardito@isd197.org.

Use the Box Tops app to scan your store receipt, find participating products and instantly add cash to your school's earnings online. visit: https://www.boxtops4education.com/

Did you know you can choose a charity to receive a portion of every Amazon purchase you make? Visit https://smile.amazon.com and Choose Somerset PTA!

Sibley's National Honor Society chapter is hosting a sock drive on behalf of the Salvation Army. We are looking for donations of clean, gently-used or new socks. We have also spread the word to all of the middle and elementary schools in the district, and they too are taking part in this volunteer project. We are taking donations for “The Sock Madness” starting in March 15th through the 25th. Donations can be dropped off in the Sibley lobby or at any of the other district schools. For more information, please contact Janelle Christensen at janelle.christensen@isd197.org.

There will be a collection bin in the main hallway at Somerset for student to place their donations.

School Age Care (SAC) is happy to announce that we are offering after school SAC to families whose children are returning to in-person school. The first date of SAC will be the first day that your child is back in school in person.

Flexible scheduling is available. Please contact Necole Berglund at necole.berglund@isd197.org for registration information.

SAC Summer Camp provides a full day of supervision and recreational activities for students entering grades Kindergarten through grade 8 in Fall of 2021. (Incoming Kindergartners must be 5 by their first day of camp). We provide a safe, caring environment for children that respects each individual. Join us for guest presenters, a variety of creative, learning and enriching activities and access to our SAC Bike Fleet! Please contact Necole Berglund at necole.berglund@isd197.org or 651-403-8054 for more details and registration information.

Please remember to use the Minnesota Department of Health home self-screening tool each

day before sending your child to school.

https://www.isd197.org/district/covid-19-resources/home-self-screening-tool

If your child develops symptoms of illness while at school, we will be using the MDH decision

tree to determine the next steps that need to be taken in order to maintain a safe environment at

school.

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools/exguide.pdf

You will be called to pick your child up if they present with two or more “less common”

symptoms or one “more common” symptom. Further guidance on how long your child will need

to be out will be given by the school nurse depending on the situation.

If a positive case arises in your child's class, you will be notified and advised to quarantine your child for a 14 day period. During this time, the entire class will move to distance learning format temporarily. It would be best to have a back up plan ready for remote learning ready to go, given that a situation could occur at any time.

Thursday Packet Pickups will continue on the dates listed below for Distance Learning classes only. Because we will now have students in the building, the Packet Pickup table will be placed on the main sidewalk and families will need to hop out and grab their child's packets. We will no longer have staff available to deliver your packets curbside. The Packet Pickup times will remain 7:30am-6:30pm. Please avoid picking up your child's packet between 8:10-8:40 and 2:15-2:45 as these are our arrival and dismissal times and the parking lot will be busy.

Packet Pickup Dates 2021

Thursday, March 25 (Distance Learning Only)

Thursday, April 15

Thursday, April 29

Thursday, May 13

Thursday, May 27 (Final Packet Pickup)

Somerset will again compile a Somerset Family Directory this school year. Families that would like their information included in the Family Directory should complete the linked form for each of your Somerset Stars. We will send out the link to the Family Directory next week. Updates will be made throughout the year as more families add their information.

Click here to provide your information for the directory.

We are off to a slow start, but here is the start to our Somerset Family Directory! We will update with new submissions weekly until the end of October, at which point updates will become less frequent.

2020-21 Somerset Family Directory

All students and staff at Somerset will be required to wear face masks when inside of the school building and while riding the school buses. Masks may be removed while outside when social distancing of 6 ft. or more is in effect and while eating or drinking indoors. We will spend the first few weeks of students being on site to review and practice these expectations.

Please be sure to LABEL your child's mask with their name. Masks will not be placed in the Lost & Found.

Students riding the bus to school must wear a masks while riding the bus. Hand sanitizers will also be placed on all busses. Students will have assigned seats on the school bus. Upon arrival at school, all students will remain on the bus until they have been dismissed by a Somerset staff member. We will space out the dismissal of busses to help with social distancing. There will be stars spray painted on the sidewalk as a social distancing visual as well.

If a positive Covid case is found on the school bus, students sitting two rows in front or behind of the student that has tested positive will be asked to quarantine for 10 days. For these 10 days, the quarantined students will join our Distance Learning class at their grade level to continue with their instruction.

Breakfast and Lunch will continue to be offered for free to ALL students. Breakfast and Lunch will be consumed in classrooms this school year. A grab and go breakfast option will be available to all students as they enter the main doors in the morning. Depending on the grade level, lunches will be delivered to the classroom OR students will walk with their class to the cafeteria to pick up their lunches and return to their classrooms.

We will not be able to have the fruit and vegetable bar this school year. Instead, fruits and vegetables will be pre-packaged for students. There will still be both a hot lunch and sandwich options for students each day.

For the 2nd semester, there will only be a hot lunch option each day, no alternate will be available. Please visit the Somerset Menu page for daily lunch options: https://schools.mealviewer.com/school/SomersetElementary

Students in the in-person model will receive 30 minutes of outdoor recess each day. Our recess area is broken up into sections. Each class cohort will be assigned to a certain section of the playground, which will rotate on a daily basis.

Students will not be required to wear masks while outside at recess. We will have recess paraprofessionals supervising recess and helping to teach students to remain social distanced while outdoors. There will be one para outside assigned to each cohort of students.

Each in-person student will be assigned their own locker to use while at Somerset. There will be no sharing of lockers.

Just a friendly reminder to please continue to contact our Somerset nurse Kali Gray at 651-403-8202 if your child is either COVID positive or a close contact with another COVID positive person/family member. Despite being in Distance Learning, ISD197 will continue to maintain a snapshot view of how COVID is affecting our staff and student population.

COVID-19 Dashboard on the ISD197 website: https://www.isd197.org/district/covid-19-resources/covid-19-data-dashboard

Email: libby.huettl@isd197.org
Website: www.isd197.org/somerset
Location: 1355 Dodd Road, Mendota Heights, MN, United States
Phone: 651-403-8200
Facebook: facebook.com/somersetelementary