Need to translate this newsletter in a different language?

¿Necesita traducir este boletín en un idioma diferente?

Click "Translate Newsletter" in the upper right-hand corner black box!

¡Haga clic en "Traducir boletín informativo" en el cuadro negro de la esquina superior derecha!

Winter has arrived! Time to make some hot chocolate and curl up with a good (virtual) book. “Check out” the ebooks and read-aloud videos on Epic, Destiny, and MacinVia – your child can find these links on The Bus and Canvas.

Below is Liam Neeson reading The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Books are important tools to teach children about race, equity, diversity and inclusion.

The Nutcracker in Harlem is a retelling of the classic story The Nutcracker set in the Harlem Renaissance era. Follow Marie as she dreams about all her mother's Christmas ornaments coming to life.

Shared reading is a cozy way for children to develop literacy and language skills. Make reading together a part of your winter break or holiday traditions.

NO SCHOOL for Winter Break December 23 - 31.

Classes will resume on January 4.

We will continue virtual learning through Winter Break.

Read more details on the DMPS Website here.

• Wash your hands often
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• Cover your mouth and nose with a mask when around others- you could spread COVID-19 to others even if you do not feel sick.
• Cover coughs and sneezes
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily
• Monitor Your Health Daily

• People who have symptoms of COVID-19
• Fever/Chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Muscle & Body Aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste/smell
• Sore Throat
• Congestion/Runny Nose
• Nausea/Vomiting/Diarrhea
• People who have had close contact (within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more) with someone with confirmed COVID-19.
• People who have been asked or referred to get testing by their healthcare provider, or health department.

Not everyone needs to be tested. If you do get tested, you should self-quarantine/isolate at home pending test results and follow the advice of your health care provider or a public health professional.

Test Results

If you test positive, know what protective steps to take to prevent others from getting sick

• Stay home

• Isolate from others-stay in a separate room from other household members if possible. Wear a mask when around other people.

• Isolate at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared and
• At least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication and
• Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving ** Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation

• Monitor your symptoms- if you have an emergency warning sign such as difficulty breathing, seek emergency medical care immediately
• Call ahead before visiting your doctor
• Tell your close contacts that they may have been exposed to COVID-19. An infected person can spread COVI-19 starting 48 hours (or 2 days) before the person has any symptoms or tests positive. By letting your close contacts know they may have been exposed to COVID-19, you are helping to protect everyone.

If you test negative, you probably were not infected at the time your sample was collected. The test result only means that you did not have COVID-19 at the time of testing. Continue to take steps to protect yourself and others.

• If you still have symptoms of COVID-19 and have tested negative. Please stay home and minimize contact with others. Strongly encouraged to follow up with your primary care provider.

• Know how Covid-19 spreads

• COVID-19 spreads easily from person to person, mainly by the following routes

• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within 6 feet).
• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes, sings or talks.
• Respiratory droplets cause infection when they are inhaled or deposited on mucous membranes, such as those that line the inside of the nose and mouth.

• People who are infected but do not have symptoms can also spread the virus to others.

Lori Griffith BSN, RN
Nurse
Findley Elementary
lori.griffith@dmschools.org
P-515-242-8407
F-515-323-8617

If you ordered a Kinsa smart thermometer earlier this year, please contact Nurse Lori.

Contact information above.

All COMPLETED fundraiser orders (along with the money) are due by next week FRIDAY.

Mrs. Huyser will be at Findley on Thursday and Friday from 7:30 - 3:30 stationed inside the building facing Oxford Street. Look for the signs, we are also offering curbside pickup. Orders must go to Mrs. Huyser, NOT the office. Thanks so much for your support of our Findley Fundraiser!

Please contact Gloria Huyser at gloria.huyser@dmschools.org or text at (515) 37-9834 if you have any questions. Thank you for all of your support!!

Food Service pick up will be available while students are on 100% virtual learning starting Monday 11/16 from 11am to 1pm. Meals will be offered weekdays at all the high schools and middle schools and a few elementary schools. Extra food will be provided for weekends. You can go to any location and pick-up food for children ages 1-18.

The following schools are the closest to our neighborhood:

North High and Harding Middle School. Available 11am-1pm, Monday-Friday.

Also Note: The Mobile Food Pantry is available on Thursday Nov. 19, 4-6pm at Harding Middle School.

Harding Middle School

1st & 3rd Thursdays: 4-6pm

203 E Euclid Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50313

(515) 242-8445

Polk County Northside Food Pantry

Open M,W,F 8:00am-10:00am

Open T, Th, 11:00am-1:00pm

3010 Sixth Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50313

(515) 286-2220

https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/cfys/services/polk-county-food-pantry-sites/

Salvation Army Temple

1330 Sixth Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50314

(515) 282-3422

https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/desmoines/cure-hunger/

Our Lady of the Americas

2nd & 4th Tuesdays: 4-6pm

1271 E. 9th Street

Des Moines, IA 50316

Highland Park Christian Church

2nd & 4th Thursdays: 12-2pm

4260 NW 6th Drive

Des Moines, IA 50313

POLK COUNTY RIVER PLACE FOOD PANTRY

Open M-F 8:00am-5:00pm

2309 Euclid Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50310

515-286-3695

Bidwell Riverside Center

Food & Clothing Pantry/Various family services

1203 Hartford Avenue

Des Moines, Iowa 50315

(515) 244-6251

https://www.bidwellriverside.org/

December 11-18th CHANUKAH • Jewish Eight-day “Festival of Lights”, also known as Hanukkah, celebrating the rededication of the Temple to the service of God in 164 BCE. Commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek King, Antiochus, who sought to suppress freedom of worship.

December 12th- OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE • Christian Celebrates the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (by her title, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of Mexico and the Americas) before Juan Diego, an indigenous convert to Roman Catholicism, on the Mexican hill of Tepeyac in 1531.

December 15th- BILL OF RIGHTS DAY: Commemorates the signing into law of the ten original amendments of the United States Constitution in 1791.

December 18th- NATIONAL ARABIC LANGUAGE DAY: Dating back more than a millennium, Arabic was born out of Proto-Semitic languages of the ancient Middle East. Today, it’s spoken by more than 400 million people in 25 countries.

Website: findley.dmschools.org/
Location: 3025 Oxford Street, Des Moines, IA, USA
Phone: (515) 242-8407
Facebook: facebook.com/findleydmps