Somerset E-News

Upcoming Dates:

Mon-3/15:

Tue-3/16:

Wed-3/17:

Thr-3/18: Bookmarks Due for Distance Learners

Fri-3/19: Submit Pages Read Google Form on Seesaw Daily Announcement

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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!

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)

Today is the last day to submit your videos for next week's Somerset LIVE! We are so excited to see all of our talented Somerset Stars!

Need some ideas? Check out these sample videos! Get your videos submitted at somersetsocial.org TONIGHT!

Head over to https://somersetsocial.org for all the details!

Somerset will be hosting in person tours for incoming kindergarteners and new to Somerset families on Thursday, March 18 at 7:00pm .Reservations are REQUIRED. Please call Jacki Smith at 651-403-8200 to reserve your spot.

Facial coverings are required.

Have you registered? Have you tried parts of the challenge?

Ms. Westman learned about CPR and strokes when she registered!

Another way to help: DONATIONS: On our jump days we need juice boxes and fruit snacks---enough for all students at Somerset! Can you donate a box of fruit snacks or juice? We need these by next Friday March 19th!

The week of March 22nd-March 25th will be a coin drop-Students can bring in coins for jump day! Coins will not count towards one special student but be put into a general pot! If you are trying to raise $50 for the t-shirt that has to be done online. Here is the registration link---

Go online and Register at http://www2.heart.org/goto/somersetstars or download the “Kids Heart Challenge” app in your app store.

I appreciate the support you give to your student(s) and to American Heart Association!

Tracy Westman

Registration is open now for In-Person and Virtual Classes this spring! In-Person classes are in the evenings and at various schools in the district and open to all youth. You don't have to attend the school to attend the classes.

GRASP Summer Correspondence is open for registration now through April 23rd.

View our classes HERE! Please call 651-403-8313 if you have any questions!

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