October Family Newsletter

Hello Epworth Elementary Families,

Wow! It is pretty crazy that we are two months into the school year. Fall is upon us and you will see in this newsletter that we are already talking about conferences and the end of the first trimester. The students at Epworth Elementary are doing a great job of being ROAR students and are engaging in amazing learning opportunities.

One of the most frequent questions I have been asked as an educator (special education teacher, instructional coach, principal) is, "What can I do to support my child/ren at home?" The answer is pretty simple, read. Reading is one of the most impactful things that kids can be doing outside of the school day. Taking a look at the numbers we can see the power of repetition, consistency, and time on the amount of text a child will see.

• Student "A" reads 20 minutes each day - this totals 3600 minutes a school year, or roughly 1,800,000 words.
• Student "B" reads 5 minutes each day - this totals 900 minutes a school year, or roughly 282,000 words.
• Student "C" reads 1 minute each day - this totals 180 minutes a school year, or roughly 8,000 words.

As a dad of five children who are actively involved in after school activities I understand how fast evenings go. In the midst of the business I encourage you to look for opportunities to build reading habits into your child's day. This could be in the car, on the bus, before bed, before school, after dinner, etc. It is not so much about when this habit is built but instead that it is built.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out.

Take Care,

Greg Deutmeyer

Principal

greg.deutmeyer@wdbqschools.org

Save the date! Fall conferences are coming soon:

• November 8th (3:30-7)
• November 9th (3-7)

A sign up form will be emailed to families on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

On November 9th at 9:00 a.m. we will host our first in person Veteran's Day assembly since November 2019. This is a fantastic way for our school to honor all who have served in our nation's armed forces. For more information about the Veteran's Day assembly check out the at home letter here: https://tinyurl.com/4b27hh7k

Parents/guests are welcome to attend. This event will also be live streamed. Be watching our social media channels for the live stream link as we near this date.

On October 19th we will have picture retakes.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Our Epworth Elementary students are learning, growing, and doing great things each day. As you know, the Elsinger family is expecting a little bobcat in November. Mrs. Megan McKenna will be my long-term sub while I am on maternity leave until I return in January. Here is a little more about Mrs. McKenna:

Hello, my name is Megan McKenna. I’m so excited to fill in for Mrs. Elsinger when she is home with her new baby on maternity leave! I’m very grateful for the opportunity!

To tell you a little about myself I’ll give a brief synopsis of my educational background. I received a teaching degree at the University of Northern Iowa, and continued on to grad school there where I received my Masters degree in School Counseling. I worked in the Dubuque Schools up until we began having children, at which time I stayed home to care for them. When they were a little bit older I began substitute teaching, and have subbed for several counselors while they were on maternity leave, as well as spending a year as the counselor in a surrounding area school.

I currently live in Peosta with my family including my husband Mike and our three children. My daughter Kieryn is a junior at Western Dubuque High School, Katie is a sophomore, and my son Kellen is in 8th grade. They are all active in sports and extracurricular activities in school, and we love attending their events and school functions!

I am also active in the WDHS Athletic Booster Club, and other Western Dubuque groups. I enjoy being part of the school community and helping it grow and be great for our children!

I’ll do my best to continue the great job Mrs. Elsinger does while she is out, and I hope you will feel free to contact me if you ever have a need or any questions.

I’m looking forward to the next few months at Epworth Elementary School!”

If you ever need anything for your child or your family, please reach out at any time. There is a village here at Epworth Elementary and we are ALL IN to support you and your family.

Best Wishes,

Mrs. Elsinger and Mrs. McKenna

(563) 258-4013

carrie.elsinger@wdbqschools.org

This year we are able to host our book fair in person for families and students to attend the nights of fall conferences. The Epworth Elementary library will be hosting a Scholastic book fair to shop from on Tuesday, November 8th and Wednesday, November 9th. Families will be able to make their purchases via credit card, cash, or eWallet Scholastic accounts. Parents are able to set up eWallet accounts starting on October 17th or after at the following link: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/epworthelementaryschool. ​We look forward to hosting this event for families, and we appreciate all purchases made which help provide books for our school. ​If you have any questions regarding the book fair, please feel free to reach out to Kelly Gansemer at Kelly.Gansemer@wdbqschools.org.

Trunk-or-Treat

The annual trunk-or-treat will be held on Thursday October 27th from 6-6:45 p.m. in the Epworth Elementary parking lot. Please bring a non-perishable food product as a donation to the Epworth Food Bank.

Walk-a-Thon
We raised over $20,000 at this year's walk-a-thon! This money will go to supporting the experience that kids have at Epworth Elementary School. Thank you for your support!

Koppes Kreations

A portion of proceeds will go to the Epworth Elementary PTO. Koppes Kreations will be here the night of trunk-or-treat to deliver orders.

Cori Main recently joined the Epworth Elementary staff in our health office. Cori will be shared between Dyersville and Epworth Elementary Schools to provide coverage to the health office when Mrs. Green our school nurse is at her other building. We are excited to welcome Cori to our school!

Fall is a tricky time in Iowa as one day can be 60-70 degrees and calm and the next 30-40 degrees and windy. Unless it is raining, kids will enjoy outdoor recess. Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather.

What is Influenza (Flu)?

Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The first and most important step in preventing flu is to get a flu vaccine each year. Flu vaccine has been shown to reduce flu related illnesses and the risk of serious flu complications that can result in hospitalization or even death.

Influenza causes more hospitalizations among young children than any other vaccine-preventable disease. The single best way to protect against seasonal flu and its potential severe complications is for children to get a seasonal influenza vaccine each year. Flu vaccination is recommended for all children aged 6 months and older. Making healthy choices at school and at home can help prevent the flu and spreading flu to others.

· Stay home when you are sick. Stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

· Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.

· Clean and disinfect surfaces or objects. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill.

Flu Symptoms

Influenza (flu) can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly. People who have flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:

· fever* or feeling feverish/chills

· cough

· sore throat

· runny or stuffy nose

· muscle or body aches

· headaches

· fatigue (tiredness)

· some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

How Flu Spreads

Most experts believe that flu viruses spread mainly by tiny droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Less often, a person might get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes.

Period of Contagiousness

You may be able to spread flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

· People with flu are most contagious in the first 3-4 days after their illness begins.

· Some otherwise healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5 to 7 days after becoming sick.

· Some people, especially young children and people with weakened immune systems, might be able to infect others for an even longer time.

Onset of Symptoms

The time from when a person is exposed and infected with flu to when symptoms begin is about 2 days, but can range from about 1 to 4 days.

Treating Flu There are influenza antiviral drugs that can be used to treat flu illness.

(Information taken from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention website)

The 22-23 student handbook can be found by clicking the button below.

Social Media - Epworth Elementary can be found on Facebook, Instragram, and Twitter. You will find our handles in the graphic below.

Text Messages - Text alerts are a great way to stay up to date on upcoming events, changes, and need to know information from school. The graphic below will walk you through the process of setting up these messages.

SeeSaw - This is our new learning management system this school year. Teachers have been sharing out a lot of great things happening in classrooms through this app. If you are not connected through SeeSaw please reach out to your child's teacher and we will get you connected to this platform.