Jaguar Tracks
November 15th
Dear JE families,
I hope you all are staying well. I have to start by sharing that I am so proud of our student leaders! Our safeties and student council members have been so incredibly helpful and reliable! We also have many students exhibiting leadership qualities:
- Our third graders have written and shared announcements to support the cleanliness of our rest rooms,
- I have witnessed students in the hallways saying "good morning" to students they may not know very well
- Students are organizing whole grade games out at recess (which is so fun to watch!)
KINDNESS--YOUR PARTNERSHIP REQUESTED! This week, we celebrate kindness at JE! Our staff will be decorating T-Shirts and we will honor our school psychologist Lynnie Delaney by recognizing the importance of being kind to one another. Throughout this month, our students will be making announcements about what Kindness means to them. Would you like to participate? If so, go ahead and complete this quick survey to write an announcement that will be read by our fifth graders.
ALiCE Drill: We will be having our first A.L.i.C.E. drill this week. Our A.L.i.C.E. drills practice what to do if there is an intruder in the building. The drills are scheduled through the Reading Police Department and our Reading School Resource Officers will be present for the drill. Teachers review the procedures with their classes before we practice so they know what to expect. Our goal is to have a calm feeling in the building and return to learning after the drill is over. Teachers use an age appropriate presentation to talk with the children. I will send you an email right after the drill to let you know that it was completed
Last week we had an uptick in COVID cases. I want to thank our community for coming together during this time. Our staff, Elmy Trevejo especially, has done such an incredible job of caring for our impacted students and close contacts during this time. Below, you will find reminders from Mary Giuliana around key items to support each other and our community during this time:
- Test and stay is a program from DESE and DPH for in-school close contacts only. It does not apply to students exposed in family or other outside situations such as sports. Children are much more likely to test positive for COVID in these situations. and need to follow traditional quarantine guidance. Students in test and stay (and all close contacts) should not participate in outside activities during the 7 day time period they are in test and stay. This includes Little Treasures and YMCA programs.
- Travel guidance As holidays approach, please be aware that RPS has had a number of positive cases involving individuals who have traveled this school year, which has directly impacted our schools. While we cannot mandate what families do outside of school, we respectfully ask that families consider the health and safety of all of our students and staff, and follow the travel guidelines put in place by the CDC. Individuals who have been previously diagnosed with COVID within 90 days do not need to quarantine, and only those who are unvaccinated must quarantine after travel. Now that our youngest students will have the opportunity to be vaccinated, we hope to see a decline in case numbers, and expect that the travel guidelines will reflect that as the situation improves.
Friday:11/19 In Service Day for Conferences: No School for Students
In community,
Caitlin Shelburne
Celebrate Kindness
From the Health Office
It’s been a great start to the year! I want to thank you for everything that you are doing to keep our community safe. Although the situation has improved significantly, COVID continues to be a health concern and we must all remain vigilant about preventing transmission.
Just a reminder that if your child is sick – please keep them home. If they have any of the following symptoms, they will need to have a negative covid test or documentation from a physician/provider that offers an alternative diagnosis before returning to school……
- Fever greater than 100, chills or shaking chills
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- New loss of taste or smell
- Muscle aches or body aches
A COVID test is also required if your child develops a combination of two or more of the following symptoms:
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Nausea, Vomiting or Diarrhea
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Nasal Congestion or Runny Nose
If your child develops symptoms at school, and is consented for symptomatic testing, I can test them onsite. However, depending on their symptoms, you may be asked to follow up with a PCR test to confirm.
Please refer to PROCOTOL C from the DESE COVID testing flowchart.
https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/on-desktop/flowcharts.pdf
If you haven’t signed up for COVID testing at school, here is the link.
https://www.cic-health.com/consent/ma
If your child is identified as a close contact to someone that has tested positive outside of school, please let me know as soon as possible. Students are still required to quarantine and should not be coming to school.
Information and guidance for persons in quarantine due to COVID-19
Travel Guidance
If your child/children travel out of the state, we are asking that you follow CDC recommended guidance on travel. Here is the link that outlines what to do for unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html
Vision and Hearing Screening for grades 1-3
I will be starting state mandated vision and hearing screenings for our first grade students the week of October 18th. If you do not want your child screened, please send me an email by 10/15, requesting to opt-out. elmy.trevejo@reading.k12.ma.us
It takes a village to keep our schools safe. Thanks for your support!
Best,
Elmy Trevejo, RN MPH (elmy.trevejo@reading.k12.ma.us) 781-942-9161 ext 15140
Interested in learning more about math instruction in Grades 3-5?
Interested in substituting at JE?
Are you looking for a way to support our school? We have a great opportunity. From time to time, teachers attend important trainings during the school day. Usually, we hire substitutes to cover classrooms, but given the current staffing shortage we are having difficulty finding qualified substitutes. We know most parents/guardians are not able to commit to substituting regularly, but we want to offer an option for those who might want to substitute occasionally. Below is some information:
- Pay rate has increased - the NEW rate will be increased to $105/day for certified teachers, and the uncertified daily substitute rate will be increased to $100/day!
- Substitutes need to have a CORI and fingerprinting check
- Teachers leave detailed plans for substitutes to follow
- Parents/guardians will not be allowed to substitute in their child's class
Please contact Kristyn Cohen and Michelle Roach and CC me: kristyn.cohen@reading.k12.ma.us/ Michelle.Roach@reading.k12.ma.us
Festival of Trees
From the Desk of the PTO
PTO News
Hello everyone!
Thank you to all the families who donated their candy to our Annual Holiday Candy Drive. We were able to collect over 150 pounds of donations. Treats for Troops will send our contributions to deployed service members and veterans in the weeks to come. Thank you to all who donated and to Emily James and Alexis McDermott for making this drive such a success!
There are several volunteer opportunities we’re still looking to fill. Please email jevolunteers@gmail.com if you are interested in either of these roles:
Assistant for 5th grade yearbook. We already have a main coordinator but it helps to have 1-2 assistants in this role to sort photos, etc.
Book Fair coordinator for spring book fair. We will hold a second book fair this spring and need someone to help shadow Nicole O’Leary to learn the ropes for next year.
Also our Holiday Breads donation event is almost full. We have 3 spots left in the sign up genius. If you are interested please sign up below. For those unfamiliar with this event, we collect store-purchased breads (banana bread, pumpkin bread, etc.) and deliver them to the school for the staff at JE to bring home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Breads need to be delivered to designated addresses (106 Red Gate Lane or 43 Fairview Avenue) on Monday 11/22 or Tuesday 11/23.Thanks very much for your help in showing the teachers and staff how thankful we are for all they do! If you have any questions, reach out to Anne Maganzini (abmaganzini@gmail.com) or Suzanne Newell (suzanne.polizzi@gmail.com).
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044baea828a7fb6-holiday
Another friendly reminder that we are still accepting direct donations! We keep our direct donations drive open all year long! Any amount helps, but this year we are requesting $75 per student to cover the costs of our amazing enrichment programs and any field trips. Please give whatever you can! We do not do other fundraisers such as bake sales or wrapping paper sales, so our direct donation drive is very important! Remember that if your company does matching donations, Joshua Eaton is an eligible 504c!! You can donate by check made out to Joshua Eaton PTO via your child’s homework folder or sent to JE at 365 Summer Ave. Please note “direct donation” and your child’s name on your check. You can also donate at our Paypal link: www.paypal.com/paypalme/jepto or you can Venmo donations to @JoshuaEaton-PTO. Please write “direct donation” and your child’s name in the comments field of Venmo or Paypal.
Lastly, thank you to everyone who joined our virtual PTO meeting last Wednesday. We had a great discussion of upcoming events and fundraising. The next general meeting will be posed in February. If you have any questions in the meantime feel free to email JEPTOPresident@gmail.com
Have a great week!
Natalie and Meredith, PTO Co-Presidents
Joshua Eaton Website
Have you visited our website? We encourage all of you to familiarize yourself with our Joshua Eaton website www.reading.k12.ma.us/joshuaeaton. Here you will find all pertinent school information including:
· School Calendar with important dates and events
· Jaguar Tracks Newsletters
· Staff list and contact information
· Forms (Including CORI, Dismissal, etc…)
· PTO information
· Health Office Information
· Curriculum Information
· School Handbook
…and more!
This is your “Go-To” place for all JE information!! Our website is updated regularly, so stop by and take a peek!!
Native American Heritage month
If interested in exploring more, here is a resource with texts and activities to try with your children.
https://www.waterford.org/education/native-american-heritage-month-school-activities/