Dragon News
Findley Elementary School
September 24, 2021
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Greetings Findley Families~
I hope everyone is enjoying these first (HOT) days of fall! We are starting to get into a full swing here in our building. Routines are becoming established, teachers are launching their first instructional units and students are busy with the task of learning throughout the day. It is a wonderful sight to see. They have really done an exceptional job at adjusting to all the new health and safety protocols.
There is a lot to read in this week's newsletter, so I am keeping my message brief. We appreciate your continued support with following our arrival and dismissal procedures, Too Sick for School Guidelines and COVID health and safety protocols.
Have a wonderful weekend~
Sherry Marsh, Ed.D
Too Sick for School Guidelines
We would like to remind you about our guidelines for determining whether or not your student should come to school if they are ill.
If your student shows primary symptoms of COVID 19, we ask you to keep your child home and contact your health care provider to get a COVID test. You may also find THIS website helpful for Covid testing locations. Primary symptoms of Covid are defined as fever, cough, chills, loss of taste or smell and/or shortness of breath.
- If the Covid test is positive, please notify the school and quarantine your child at home for 10 days or as directed by Washington County Public Health.
- If the test is negative, please follow the Keep Ill Children Out of School guidelines
- If you do not want to test your student for Covid and they are showing primary symptoms, they should quarantine at home for 10 days.
- If your child has any other communicable disease symptoms, please follow the Keep Ill Children Out of School guidelines.
Please notify the office if your child will be out sick. We appreciate your help keeping our school community safe.
Additionally, if your child has been close contact with a known positive Covid case outside of school, please keep them home and notify our office. Our school nurse will be in touch with you regarding return to school procedures.
Attendance reminder
Rain or Shine-Reminder
Please dress your children appropriately for outdoor recess every day: Rain or Shine!!
For safety reasons on the bus and hallways please keep umbrellas at home!
What is Free Lunch
All students Kindy - 12th grade may eat breakfast and lunch for free here at Findley regardless of income status.
A free breakfast consists of a breakfast bar or cold cereal a fruit and a milk
A free lunch consists of Main Entree - Fruit / Vegetable - Milk.
If a student wishes to purchase just a milk, that is NOT free and costs $.50 per carton. Students will need to have money in their cafe accounts in order to purchase just a milk.
How do you add money to your students Cafe account? You will find the link to the Cafe payment portal through the link below.
https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/information-technology/parent-apps-resources
or you may send a check and/or cash in an envelope with your students name and teacher on it to the office. We will make sure that it gets to the cafeteria to be credited to your students account.
Safe Routes to School - Plan Your Trip
Back to school planning includes how your student will travel to school this fall. Beaverton Safe Routes to School invites you to explore your options for safe travel on our website:
- Suggested walk and bike routes for each school
- Safety tips for all modes of travel (walk, bike, bus, car)
- Arrival/Departure maps for each school (how students who travel by foot, bus and car should arrive and leave school)
The safety of our students depends on you!
To learn more visit: www.beaverton.k12.or.us/safe-routes
Families,
We have had several calls from community members and other parents regarding our students (and sometimes their adults) crossing Saltzman and Thompson in places where there is no crosswalk. This is very dangerous and unsafe for walkers and drivers! Please use the crosswalk at the signal on Saltzman and Thompson so we can keep all our Findley Dragons safe.
Dr. Marsh
International Walk + Roll to School Day
On October 6th, 2021 join people from around the world as we celebrate International Walk + Roll to School Day. Walk, bike, scooter, skate, roll, bus or carpool to school and be entered to win fun prizes. The grand prize winner will earn a new scooter with helmet! Walking and rolling to school is great for kids, our community and our planet. Here are the top five reasons:
1. Fewer vehicles driving to school reduces traffic congestion and carbon emissions near schools and in our parking lots.
2. More people walking and rolling builds school community and makes routes safer.
3. Physical activity boosts kids’ readiness to learn and improves their physical and mental health.
4. Kids have fun with friends and bond with families while walking and rolling together.
5. Being outside builds independence and lifelong transportation skills.
For more information visit www.beaverton.k12.or.us/safe-routes
TAG (Talented and Gifted) News:
On October 13th, all 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students will be administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Screener. This 30-minute test measures students’ learned reasoning abilities through verbal/picture analogies, number analogies, and figure matrices. Students do not need to prepare for this test. Getting a good nights sleep and having a good breakfast is all that is necessary.
Currently, the main purpose for administering the CogAT is to identify students for TAG in the area of intellectual ability. Students who score at the 97th percentile or above on the CogAT screener will be invited to test with the full version of the CogAT that is used for potential TAG identification. The full version of the CogAT will be given in late October.
Please go to the Beaverton TAG Website: https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/student-programs/talented-and-gifted for additional information on the rest of TAG testing this year. If you have further questions after reading that site, please feel free to reach out to Shannon Bauck. We DO NOT have firm testing dates yet for any of the other tests and will put them out as soon as we know them. There is a window of times on the website.
K-3 Parents may fill out parent nomination forms found on the above website or in the office. These forms should be returned to school by Wednesday, October 20th. 4th and 5th-grade parents do not need to fill out any forms as all students will be tested.
Volunteers-Important Deadline!
On August 19, Governor Kate Brown announced that all volunteers must provide proof of vaccination or complete a medical or religious exemption to volunteer in any K-12 school by October 18. As part of the volunteer application process, you'll be asked to upload your vaccination card or an exemption form.
Beginning October 18, we will start checking for proof of vaccination for our lunch time volunteers.
Findley PTO
Findley PTO: Supporting our students by connecting parents, staff, and the community!
Visit our website at www.findleypto.com or email president@findleypto.com.
Dragon Dash Update 9.24.2021
Happy Friday Findley Families!
Congratulations to the following classes who have earned a donut party: Bricker (1st Grade) Potocki (5th Grade) O'Mara (3rd Grade) Skiba (5th Grade) Howard (Kindergarten)
While the donut parties have already been won, there is still a chance for your student's class to win the ice cream gift cards from Handel's if they are the top earning class. Keep those donations rolling in to support our school and remember the more your student raises, the more raffle tickets they earn and the more chances they have to win some amazing prizes!
If you haven't signed up your student for the Dragon Dash, it's not too late! Register them at pledgestar.com/findley today!
As a reminder, if you donate, or have donated, directly through your company's website (i.e. Benevity) for matching purposes, make sure you submit a copy of the receipt to dragondashpm@gmail.com to ensure your student gets credit for the donation. Please note that company matching does not count towards prize levels.
We are still in need of volunteers to help with the setup and break down of the arch during the week of 10/4-10/7. This would be before or after school, the effort and time needed is minimal but the impact is big. You don't have to sign up for both shifts or the whole week... any day AM or PM will help. Please sign up here if you can help make our return to Dragon Dash memorable.
Thank you for your support! Have a great weekend!
-The Dragon Dash Team
Passport Club
Dear Findley Passport Club members,
It has been a long time since we have gotten together and taken a trip around the world!
Well, the Passport Club has been exploring how to adapt to the new environment we all find ourselves in and happy to introduce a virtual Passport Club for Findley students!
Here is a summary of the steps to get in on the fun with more detailed instructions below:
1. Download this month's maps (We are starting with September this month)
2. Visit this month's virtual classroom
3. Learn this month's maps
4. Take the quiz when you are ready
This is a whole new experience and we understand that there will be a lot of questions, learnings and changes as we navigate this new virtual Passport Club.
Please rest assured that we are dedicated to making this the best that we can under the circumstances and ask for your patience and understanding as we all go through this process together.
With that being said, let's have some fun and travel the world together!
In addition, here is a reminder in regards to Passport Club:
Passport Club is a volunteer-run geography enrichment program offered at Findley to 2nd – 5th grades. This is an optional program and is not mandatory.
- Please practice with your child for several minutes a day to help them get ready!
Grade Level Clarification:
- 2nd-4th grade students have the option of 5 levels of study to choose from. However, students are encouraged to learn all the items in each level up to grade level.
Grades Grade level
2nd Grade. Level 1 and Level 2
3rd Grade. Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3
4th Grade. Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4
5th Grade. Special Itineraries (SI) study maps
- For example, a 2nd grade student would be asked to learn the following for the month of September:
- Level 1: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, & Antarctica
- Level 2: Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, & Indian Ocean
Most importantly, those Passport Club members who participate by October 10th will be in line for a special "surprise" from the Passport Club!
Sincerely,
Vothy Heang and Xiao Shi
Passport Club Leads
Step #1 Download this month's maps
Maps (password = findleypassport)
Step #2 Welcome to the virtual classroom
Step #3 Learn the Map for this month
There are lots of fun ways to learn each month's maps!
- Use Quizlet - SEPTEMBER PASSPORT FLASHCARDS - QUIZLET
- Color the maps - On the virtual classroom there is a password protected map that has suggestions on how to color each level's countries (password = HelloWorldDL)
- As always, the best way is to study with your parents
Step #4 Take the quiz
When you are ready, decide what level you want to test for this month. Here are the links:
Level 2 (Includes Level 1)
Level 3 (Includes Level 1 and Level 2)
Level 4 (Includes Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3)
Level 5 (Includes Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4)
Community Resources
Bethany & Cedar Mill Library. - https://library.cedarmill.org/summer-reading/
Talking to Children about Scary Events
Coronavirus and Covid: A book for Children about the Pandemic
FREE E-Book "I Love you" A story about not being able to visit relatives during the pandemic
Extensive list of Children's Books related to the Pandemic
COVID-19 Free Washington County Counseling (+accepts undocumented folks)To request an appointment, email COVIDCounseling@co.washington.or.us or call Washington County Behavioral Health at 503-846-4528.
Student Health Center - Catherine Kately Williams is the new mental health provider. KateleyWilliamsC@nhcoregon.org It is easiest to reach her via email as she does not have a specific phone routed to her. Cat is available M-F 8-5 and will conduct sessions via zoom. She will serve a bridge gap, providing up to about 10 sessions before she moves students on to a long-term counselor if necessary. They are set up to take every major insurance plan including Kaiser for OHP kids. They will also have an intake person who can help families get the kids on OHP.
Up Coming Events
September
October
4-8 - Walk & Roll Week
4-8 - Dragon Dash Week
6th - International Walk & Roll Day
14th - Picture Day
20th 3-8 pm - 21st 8-6pm Conferences
21st - 22nd - No School
November
11th - No School Veterans Day
12th - No School Grading Day
24-29th - No School - Thanksgiving break