Reaching New Heights

Can you believe that it is October? This school year is flying by and before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here. We have installed the signage for our new school wide behavior expectations across the building since our last newsletter. SOAR (Safe, On Task, Always respectful, and Responsible). You will see this more as you walk throughout the school. Please talk with your students about what these four rules mean in every setting related to school.

This month is busier than ever as we will have inductions to the Jr. Beta Club, Camp Leopold field trips for 4th graders, a stage production of Hansel and Gretel, Literacy Night with Jonathon Haupt (Executive Director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center) and our first PTO Family Fun Night in over three years! These are big events, but we have even more things happening at our school. If you have not joined the PTO, please do so now to take advantage of the benefits that they provide members.

We encourage you to talk with your students about our October AVID Strategy of the Month: Learning Logs (KWLA, DLIQ, Stretch Journals. etc). These are strategies that students are using in class to help them learn Math, Reading, Writing, Science, and Social Studies.

Parents of Lex 2.5 that have students riding the bus, must sign up for free after school care. There is a 45 minute to one hour gap from the time that we end instruction at 4:00 pm and when the buses come. The Boys and Girls Club has agreed to provide free childcare during this time. In order for this to happen, parents of Lex 2.5 bus riders must complete the registration. Please check the notices, Dojo messages, flyers and other communications that you have received if you have a Lex 2.5 bus rider. If you have any questions, please contact the school.

Finally, we thank you for choosing Congaree Elementary School as your child’s school. We ask that you contact us if you have any questions or concerns about the school and how we can help you. Let's continue to work together, “Reaching New Heights.”

Christopher Dickey

Principal

All students should be in their classroom by the 7:30am tardy bell. Students who are tardy must be signed in by an adult in the front office.

Students are required to be in class for at least 50% of the day in order to be marked present. If you have an early dismissal before 11:00am or are tardy after 11:00am your student will be marked absent.

Students are not allowed to wear any type of costume, face paint or head coverings to school.

When sending in candy, sweets, or other items; please be mindful of students who may have allergies and do not send in items that contain nuts.

Per DHEC School-based Mass Screening Recommendations are that students have the following Screenings done:

2nd Grade: Vision and Hearing

3rd Grade: Vision, Hearing, and Dental

5th Grade: Vison and Hearing

All 4th Grade students who are new to the district who don’t have a record of a screening

done within the past year, will be screened for Vision and Hearing.

Grade Level Mass Screenings will be done by Nurse Ginny in the Health Room. If you do

not want Nurse Ginny to screen your child, please send a letter in writing to her. You

can email Nurse Ginny at gshull@lex2.org or you can send her a message on class dojo.

Dates/Times for screenings will be determined at a later date. Nurse Ginny will notify via

class dojo when your child’s grade level/class will be screened.

All over-the-counter medications MUST:

1) Be treated as all prescribed medications and all drug labeling requirements apply (must have pharmacy label).

2) Be for specific conditions that a child is known to experience (e.g. menstrual cramps, headache not due to injury, pain due to sickle cell).

3) List the generic name of the medication if use of a generic product is permitted.

Our Read with the Gamecocks program begins soon. This is an opportunity for students to earn FREE USC basketball tickets by keeping a reading log for a two-week period. Reading logs will be distributed at the beginning of October. Happy Reading!

Congratulations to our news show crew for this nine weeks:

Cadence Berry

Josiah Mayfield

Hunter Kelly

Layla Edmonds

Our fall book fair is almost here! Look for the schedule coming soon on Class Dojo. Don't feel comfortable sending cash or a check with your student to school for the book fair? Be sure to check out eWallet, a convenient, cashless option where you can set up an account before your child shops. See below for more information:

eWallet video

FAQ/eWallet

-Per DHEC Quarantine and contact tracing for exposure to Covid-19 is presently

suspended unless there is an outbreak. An outbreak is defined as: 20% or more of the

children/students/staff within a group identified as having Covid-19, or absent or sent

home due to Covid-19 within 72 hours of each other.

-Students with Covid-like symptoms: Must meet one of the following criteria to return to

school: exclusion from school for 5 days and then wear a mask for days 6-10 upon return

to school, or a negative Covid test result, or medical note (with or without test result)

saying student is cleared to return. Covid-like symptoms can include fever (oral

temperature defined as 100.4 or higher), Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing,

Loss of taste or smell, New or worsening cough, Chills, Fatigue, Muscle or body aches, New

onset of severe headache, Congestion or runny nose, Nausea/vomiting, or Diarrhea

-When a student test positive for Covid, parents are required to provide proof of the

positive test results. For home tests, parents are to provide Nurse Ginny a screenshot of

the positive Covid test with the student’s name and date. Parents must also complete an

Attestation Form. Please ask Nurse Ginny for an Attestation Form if your child tests

positive for Covid using a home test. Attestation Forms and pictures of positive test

results can be sent via email or class dojo to Nurse Ginny. Students who test positive for

Covid are to be excluded from school for 5 full days since symptoms started or from the

day of testing if student does not have symptoms. Students can return to school on Day 6

and must wear mask days 6-10. In order to return to school students must have an overall

improvement in their symptoms and be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-

reducing medication. To ensure that the correct attendance code is used when your child

is out with Covid, parents must notify Nurse Ginny on Class Dojo, email (gshull@lex2.org),

or calling the health room (803-755-7450).