Solon Intermediate

FEBRUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Happy February SIS families!

By now many of you have heard that I have been assigned to Lakeview full-time for the 2021-2022 school year. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to continue my career in Solon with the Lakeview team. COVID presented me with a unique opportunity to not only continue supporting SIS but getting to develop a deeper understanding of Lakeview. While this year has not been easy, it provided so much growth for both buildings in terms of developing a stronger systemic approach to instruction as a PreK-5 team. It also provided a great deal of reflection for me. While I would love to continue being principal of both buildings, I know that that isn't what both buildings need. Lakeview and SIS will continue to grow as an elementary system, and the addition of another principal will give both buildings the individualized attention, support, and effort they deserve.

I am excited and appreciative of the opportunity to continue with Lakeview next school year. There are so many connections and moments of reflection and growth that I cannot wait to continue into next year. Lakeview, like SCSD itself, is filled with reflective, passionate, and hardworking educators and staff. I can't wait to see how much further we grow as I transition to full time principal at Lakeview.

While I am excited for the next chapter in my career, I will miss SIS deeply. I never could have imagined connecting with a building the way I did with SIS. In such a short time we created a family. We created an environment that fostered reflection, accountability, and teamwork. I am so proud of my time at SIS and know that they will continue to be the strong building that they have always been.

Take care,

Mrs. Tabor

VIRTUAL SPRING PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES FEBRUARY 18 & FEBRUARY 25

Spring parent/teacher conferences will be virtual. Following the same format as this past fall, teachers will be sending families a sign up genius and zoom link for the Thursday, February 18 and Thursday, February 25 conferences.

Given that the 18th is now a full day, parent/teacher conferences will start at 3:30pm that day.

Be on the look out for more information from your child's teacher on Monday, February 8th.

Classroom Valentine's Day Parties

Here are the guidelines and expectations for classroom Valentine's Day parties this year. The goal is to be able to still provide some valentine fun while still maintaining safe practices. Please let the office know if you have any questions.

No outside treats
No parent visitors and/or volunteers
Parties will consist of activities within the classrooms/cohorts (decided by each teacher)
Parties will be scheduled for Friday, February 12th

RECESS, WINTER & SNOW

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.

MASK USE REMINDER

Please continue to wear masks when in the school building. Gaiters, shields, and masks with vents are highly discouraged. Feel free to contact Mrs. Elijah or Mrs. Tabor with any questions regarding mask use.

Thank you for your continued support!

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

A MESSAGE FROM THE SOLON FOOD PANTRY

Solon Families

We’re here to help with financial Assistance for utilities, rent, and other emergency needs.

The Solon Community Pantry

Call one of these numbers to make a request:

319-331-1916

319-270-9884

319-594-1823

PERSONAL PHONES & OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES

We have recently seen a slight increase in student personal phone and electronic device use during school hours. Please help remind your child(ren) that all personal phones and electronic devices should be turned off and stored in their backpack during school hours. Students should let their teacher or the office know if they need to use the phone to contact a parent. Text messages and phone calls should not happen on personal devices, other than during an emergency.

Let the classroom teacher or Mrs. Tabor know if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support and cooperation!