Solon Intermediate

Happy December SIS families,

I have rewritten this month's message several different times, trying to decide what to focus on. I've thought about mentioning so many different aspects of these next few weeks leading up to break. I've thought about attempting to provide more clarity on what Seesaw is and isn't during quarantine; or how self-quarantining is not a permanent option, nor is it meant to be online school right now. I've thought about kindly addressing the tension that is so clearly visible in our community around how we might or might not feel about COVID, mitigation strategies, or being onsite.

I entered education because I wanted to inspire. I wanted to inspire hope, a sense of community, empathy, and possibility among all students. I wanted to be the change I so desired in this world, and while I recognize how cliché that may seem, it is my truth. It pains me to see such a strong community like Solon be so divided and, let's be frank, sometimes cruel to one another. So much unnecessary judgement is clouding us from seeing the bigger picture of supporting and teaching our children.

This year has not been easy. I have had my moments of own personal struggle. I have doubted myself and struggled on how to best support staff, students, and families. Yet, the truth is that no matter the challenge, I show up each and every day because your children matter to me. Their well being and ability to grow and learn matters to me. The staff and teachers matter to me. Their well being and ability to feel empowered and capable through this all matters to me.

So as you move forward this month, please consider these four things:

• Your child's teacher is working extremely hard to provide a safe, loving, and supportive learning environment for them. They are doing their best to implement all necessary mitagation strategies so that your child stays safe while still having the opportunity to learn. They are trying their best to balance safety and best practice so that your child can be given a chance to still grow academically and socially/emotionally, despite the current pandemic. Please show them patience and empathy. Please reach out to them when you have a question regarding mitigation concerns or misunderstandings within the classroom. They are truly here to support you and your child.
  

• We must be in this together otherwise we risk students continuing to feel the pressure and anxiety from the tension visible in this community, and across the nation. We may not all agree on the best steps to take when it comes to addressing the pandemic but we can practice empathy and compassion, especially for those who may not see things the same way we do.
  

• Do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions and/or concerns regarding overall building mitigation procedures or instructional access during quarantine. There is no better way to address an issue or bring clarity to a question than to talk about it directly with the school.

• Seesaw is not online school right now. If your child is quarantined, they will be able to access any content the teacher is currently making available in the classroom. This may not include live zoom sessions or daily lessons/activities for each subject area. As of right now, seesaw is meant to be an opportunity for students to still be somewhat connected while quarantined. It cannot replace or mimic onsite teaching.

I realize that I have shared a lot. I also realize that I may or may not regret being this candid in my message (haha). Strangely, something inside me says that perhaps it's needed right now, and maybe it will help. At least I hope it does, because this community means too much to do anything less than our very best for one another.

Take care,

Mrs. Tabor

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.

• Please send all self-quarantine requests directly to Mrs. Tabor.

We have received several questions regarding what happens when we receive notification of a positive case. The following provides a review of this process.

1. You should 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 we talk through when your family is affected by Covid.

We are happy to help you navigate through this process. Please reach out to either of us with questions.

Thank you,

Kris Elijah and Amy Link

Solon Community School District Nurses

COVID-19 ILLNESS PLAN

Dear SIS families,

This year has certainly been a challenging one, but we are committed to providing the best support for our students and families. I wanted to reach out to provide some resources for you to help provide some coping strategies and techniques to utilize if needed. On my website, please see the SIS resources page for some coping/calming strategies in addition to those classroom resources that students have available from our zones of regulation unit. SIS student resources offers those additional strategies and the 4th and 5th grade tabs under the SIS tab provides feedback regarding classroom lessons for students.

Mrs. Pentico SIS counseling webpage

We continue to support the kindness campaign at SIS and encourage students to spread that kindness around. their homes and community during this time. Please see this daily kindness inspiration idea for additional encouragement to spread kindness.

For families that have students, quarantining, please let me know if your students would like to check in virtually. As always, if your child is experiencing any difficulties navigating through this time, please reach out to me.

Here are the guidelines and expectations for classroom Holiday parties this year. The goal is to be able to still provide some holiday 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 within the last hour of the school day on Friday, December 18th

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.

12/3 - Early release (dismissal @ 1:39pm)

12/10 - Early release (dismissal @ 1:39pm)

12/17 - Early release (dismissal @ 1:39pm)

12/18 - Classroom Holiday Parties

- Early release (dismissal @ 1:39pm)

12/21 - 1/1 - Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)

Instagram Solon_intermediate

Email: jtabor@solon.k12.ia.us
Website: https://www.solon.k12.ia.us/o/sis
Location: 200 West Fifth Street Solon, IA 52333
Phone: 319-624-2381
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IowaSolonIntermediateSchool/
Twitter: @SolonCSD