Family Hawk Talk

Welcome back from Winter Break and almost a whole week of snow days! Hopefully, we can have a whole week back to get back into the school routine.

Our students had a wonderful first semester! Please continue to encourage your student to follow the Hawk Vibes!

Respect: follow directions, appreciate differences in everyone in our school community

Responsibility: complete assignments on time, come to school regularly and on time

Dedication: commit to doing their best all the time

Cooperation: work with teachers and classmates to learn

We are continuing our speaker series for parents!

NAMI will be on campus on January 21, 2025 at 6:30pm for a one hour mental health presentation for parents/guardians of middle or high school aged youth. The presentation will include warning signs of mental health struggles, facts and statistics, how to talk to your child, and how to work with school staff.

We are right in the midst of cold and flu season! If your student is not feeling well with the following symptoms, please do not hesitate to keep them home from school:

• Fever over 100.4 (24hrs without medicine: Tylenol/ibuprofen)

• Cold symptoms (coughing, sneezing, runny nose, congestion)

• Stomachache and/or vomiting, Diarrhea (vomiting/diarrhea to stay home 24 hours after vomiting is done)

• Sore Throat

• Unexplained Cough/ Shortness of Breath

• Signs of Conjunctivitis (pinkeye)

• Signs of Head lice (persistent itching scalp, nits in hair, or lice present)

• Rash (if present need to be evaluated by physician)

• Covid precautions as well, follow the Healthy Hawk Way.

Any questions or concerns please contact the nurse office:

Nurse Candice Herb

Email: cherb@vpschools.org

Phone: 636.923.3634

Many of our students carry water bottles with them throughout the day, which is wonderful! Hydration is a key to a healthy student.

In the past, we have had a water cooler with paper cups for students to use during lunch. Beginning this semester, students will be asked to use the water bottle filler station in the cafeteria, so we are encouraging all students to carry a water bottle with them during the day!

As part of continuing efforts to provide services that support student wellness, Valley Park School District is partnering with Hazel Health to offer free mental health teletherapy visits for all students.

Appointments are available WITHOUT going through our school counselors. To contact Hazel Health click here.

With Hazel HEART, students can meet with a licensed therapist from school or at home, bridging the gap until local therapists become available or helping with less acute issues. The referrals can come from school personnel or directly from a parent or guardian. Like all Hazel telehealth services, parental consent is required.

This service is available to all Valley Park School District students and it is provided at no cost to VPSD families. Please note, Hazel works with insurance plans, and collects insurance information as part of the consent process. Hazel works with all students at no cost to families, regardless of insurance status, including families that do not have insurance. When insurance is billed, the district will cover any out-of-pocket costs. We encourage families to check with their insurance plans to determine if there are any annual caps on the number of allowed therapy sessions, as Hazel visits might count against any limits.

Hazel HEART mental health services include:

• Short-term therapy visits: Therapy sessions can help students cope with everyday issues such as anxiety, bullying, withdrawal, grief, peer and family relationships, depression, not enjoying things they used to enjoy or simply not feeling like themselves.

• Care coordination: Family resource managers from Hazel work closely with families to coordinate their child's care. If your child needs additional services outside of what Hazel can offer, Hazel will help families connect with great local providers.

• Therapists who care: Hazel therapists know how to connect with children and teens. Their multilingual team practices culturally competent care for all students.
  
  

This expanded partnership is designed to increase access to quality health care for all students, working in partnership with community providers to quickly address the social-emotional needs of students who may be struggling.

Learn more here.

Through a grant with DESE, all Missouri School Districts have a partnership with Varsity Tutors, an on-demand, online tutoring and learning support services program, free of charge. We are now set up to begin using this program with our students so I wanted to provide you with some information as well as some things you could send out to your parents.

Varsity Tutors is accessible to all students, K-12, via Classlink. Students access it by logging into Classlink (which they can log in at home or at school-does not need to be on a school device) and choosing the Varsity Tutors icon.

Jan. 13: SAEBRS (social/emotional student assessment) given

Jan. 14: Principal's Council meeting

Jan. 17: Triple A Celebration

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Facebook: @ValleyParkMiddleSchool

X (Twitter): @MrsSyron