Stonegate Elementary Newsletter

• September 7 - Labor Day - No School
  
• October 12-16 - Fall Break - No School
• November 2- Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences; E-Day
• November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break
• December 19-January 3 - Winter Break

• January 18 - MLK Jr. Day (No School)

• January 19 - No School
  

• February 15 - Presidents Day - No School

• April 2-9 - Spring Break

• May 26 - Last Student Day of School

• May 27 - Teacher work day

• May 31 - Memorial Day

The Indiana State Department of Health issued updated guidance at midweek. The response to COVID-19 requires us to be flexible to changing guidelines and recommendations. As new information becomes available from the ISDH, ZCS will continue to monitor and update our procedures and communicate this information to you to keep you informed. This week’s changes are in bold. A link to all updates can be found on the ISDH website.

ISDH has updated the *COVID-19 Screening for Parents (8/27/20) Please review this information as some of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 have changed. Please be advised that ANY one of the symptoms may be related to COVID-19.

What to do if your child has symptoms?

1. Please keep your child home if they are having ANY of the symptoms, even just one

• Fever (100.4 F) or higher or chills
• Sore Throat
• Diarrhea, Nausea, Vomiting, or abdominal pain
• Cough or Shortness of Breath, especially new onset or uncontrolled cough
• New onset of severe headache, especially with fever
• New loss of taste or smell

*New—If you are keeping one child home due to symptoms, all children in the home are to be kept home per the ISDH guidelines. Per the guidelines, all siblings and household members should remain home in quarantine.

1. Contact a healthcare provider to help determine if these symptoms are related to COVID or there is another reason for the symptoms.
2. Follow the healthcare providers recommendations- this may include testing and/or isolating at home.
3. Return to school will vary based upon testing results, close contact status, and physician statements regarding alternative diagnosis. Please SEE THIS LINK for information shared with us by the Indiana State Department of Health. https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:716c09b2-4dbd-41d6-a410-f14febf69c4d

All siblings and household members should remain home until test results have been reported AND the provider has determined if symptoms for the child require isolation and quarantine of close contacts.

*New-- If your child has been sent home with symptoms from school, the siblings will need to be picked up and stay home (see quarantine information below).

If you choose to not contact a provider your child can return to school in 10 days if fever free for at least 24 hours AND symptoms are improving. Siblings and household members will have to stay home for 14 days and quarantine. However, if a sibling in quarantine becomes sick they will have to then stay home for 10 days starting from the day after symptoms started.

When to Isolate?

The following persons should isolate:

• A positive COVID-19 test OR
• A provider diagnosis for COVID-19 that advises the person to isolate (regardless of test results COVID cannot be ruled out).

Isolation means keeping sick people away from healthy ones. For COVID-19, this means that the sick person stays in a separate bedroom or separate area of the home and stays away from others. This includes staying home from school and any activities. Currently, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that COVID-19 positive people with symptoms isolate for 10 days from the start of their symptoms, be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and show improvement of symptoms. Individuals who test positive without symptoms should isolate for 10 days from the date their sample was collected. For additional information see https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/files/20_Family%20isolation_COVID-19_8-10-20.pdf.

When to Quarantine?

The following persons should quarantine:

A sibling, family member or household member who lives in the same household as a person who is

• Sick with a COVID related symptom(s)

• Undergoing evaluation by a provider for COVID-19 symptoms
• Waiting for test results

• A person identified in direct contact (close contact) with a person who is in isolation either by a positive test result or a provider diagnosis (COVID-19 cannot be ruled out by test results)

Quarantine means separating people who were exposed to someone who was sick. Since people who were around other sick people are more likely to get sick themselves, quarantine prevents them from unintentionally spreading the virus to other people even before they realize they are sick. This includes staying home from school and other activities. Currently, the CDC advises that close contacts of COVID-19 positive people quarantine for 14 days after the last exposure with the COVID-19 positive person, even if they have a negative test. For additional information see https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/files/Family%20quarantine_COVID-19_8-26-20.pdf.

Who is a Close Contact

An individual is considered a close contact if any of following when

• * You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more. This could be a single encounter of more than 15 minutes or multiple encounters within a single day that add up to more than 15 minutes.
• You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19
• You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them)
• You shared eating or drinking utensils
• They sneezed, coughed or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

Keep in mind that anyone who lives with or stayed overnight for at least one night in a household with the infected person while he or she was infectious is at highest risk.

In addition, ZCS works with the Boone County Health Department (BCHD) confirm close contact status identified by our trained (Johns Hopkins University) contact tracers including what activities may put a person at greater risk of exposure. We are conservative in our approach in order to prevent or slow the potential for spread of the virus. This is to allow ZCS to continue to offering in-person educational opportunities and activities.

Finally, please be respectful of each other's privacy. We are all in this together and by working together we can minimize the spread within the community. It is through these efforts that we may continue to offer programming as we are doing now. We all look forward to a better way to reduce the spread and remain healthy in the near future and allow us to return to full time school and school related events.

SGE masks for sale until Tuesday 9/1. Super comfy! Comes in sizes XS, S, M, L, and XL $17. Cash or checks made out to Angela Bourff (please put in an envelope with your child’s name, their teacher’s name, and what size(s) you want.

Just a friendly reminder of our school start and end times:

• 7:30 AM - Office opens
• 7:50 AM - 1st - 4th Grade - arrival time
• 8:00 AM - School begins
• 8:50 AM - Kindergarten - arrival time
• 9:00 AM - Kindergarten - school begins
• 2:20 PM - Student dismissal time
• 2:30 - School ends
• 3:30 - Office closes

If your child has forgotten something at home (i.e. water bottle, lunch) and you want to bring it to school, you are welcome to do so. When you arrive you will see a large plastic bin by the front doors. Please place your child's items in the bin with his/her name, fill out the log book, then ring the bell letting us know there is an item waiting for your child. We will be sure to get the forgotten item to the student in a timely manner.

Implementing social distancing on buses has reduced our capacity. Thanks to everyone who assisted with this issue by accepting some transportation responsibility this semester. Please note that a pre-registration call is required if your child has not ridden the bus and needs to check capacity for your area. Transportation can be reached at 317- 873-1237.

Now that are school days are becoming routine, we want to remind families about transportation changes. If your child needs to have a dismissal change, please be sure to call the office (317-873-8050 ext. 0) before 1:30pm. You can also call anytime and leave a message on the attendance line (317-873-8050 ext. 2) as this is checked throughout the school day. Please be sure NOT to leave a message after 1:30pm. Thank you for helping us keep all our students safe.

Please click here to see Indiana required immunizations for the 2020-2021 school year.

Child Find is the process for locating, identifying, and evaluating individuals with suspected disabilities who may need special education services, regardless of the severity of their disabilities. This is the responsibility of ZCS regardless of whether a parent affirmatively requests an evaluation. ZCS provides a Free Appropriate Public Education to any child who qualifies as having a disability, in accordance with federal and state laws. ZCS is responsible for locating all children ages 3 through 22 years of age with a suspected disability who reside within the boundaries of its district. With early identification and intervention, frustration and academic failure can be prevented, which in turn creates a positive learning experience for students. Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), which encompasses academics and/or social and emotional learning, is an essential component of the child find process. Utilizing screening assessments, the ZCS team members identify students in

need of intervention, implement action plans, and monitor the response to the targeted interventions. In addition, the evaluation referral procedures in ZCS provide the framework to refer students with suspected disabilities for evaluation.

Speech Assistance Program

The Speech Assistance Program is designed to provide support to students with single sound articulation errors that are not age appropriate within the general education setting. Following the MTSS approach, this program allows for early identification and treatment of mild articulation disorders so students receive assistance without having to be identified under special education. The Speech Assistance Program is a three-tiered system in which progress is monitored to determine if additional supports are needed. If adequate progress is not demonstrated, a referral for evaluation will be prompted to determine eligibility under special education.

ZCS Food Service Associate SUB positions available at our cafeterias at a pay of $11.40 per hour! Work when it suits your schedule! After you try us out, perhaps you’ll want to join us on a regular basis! Click here to apply directly and call 317-873-1232, ext. 11630 with any questions!