West Side February Newsletter

• February is Black History Month. If you would like to share a story with us, or an idea please contact your child's teacher or Mr. Donlon.
• Progress Reports will come home the week of February 8, 2021.
• No School on Friday February 12 and Monday February 15th ~Mid-Winter Break
• Very important that children have a mask at school. Whether a car rider, or bus rider, children will need a mask when departing and entering the school.
• The weather has certainly changed so be sure children are dressed appropriately each day. We go outside for recess if it 15 degrees or above!
  
• During this time of COVID19, if you need to contact Nurse Kelsey with questions feel free to call the school at 293-2531.
  
• The Annual West Side Elementary Yearbook will be available very soon!

I've heard about so many of our students doing the right thing this year. Starting next week, and each and every week, teachers will select a student from their classroom that exemplifies Good Character. This is a student using one of our 14 Character Values that we have displayed in our hallways.

Caring, Citizenship, Cooperation, Courage, Determination, Effort, Fairness, Honesty, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect, Responsibility, Self-Discipline, Trustworthiness

Parents:

When it comes to navigating the challenges of parenting in a pandemic, you are not alone. Triple P - Positive Parenting Program - offers free virtual sessions each month covering topics such as creating new habits, managing challenging behaviors, and reducing parents’ stress. Topics for January include Raising Responsible Teens (Spanish only), Addressing School Attendance Problems (English only) Improving Homework and the E-learning Experience (English & Spanish). Check out the calendar of virtual sessions at www.ElkhartCountyParents.org for dates and information on how to register or call Triple P’s bilingual phone line at (574) 226-0160 for more information.

Padres:

Cuando se trata de navegar los retos de ser padres durante una pandemia, no están solos. Triple P - Programa de Crianza Positiva - ofrece sesiones virtuales gratuitas cada mes, que cubren temas tales como el de crear nuevos hábitos, manejar comportamientos difíciles y reducir el estrés de los padres. Los temas para enero incluyen: Criar adolescentes responsables (solamente en español), Tratar los problemas de ausentismo escolar (solamente en inglés), Mejorar las tareas y la experiencia de E-aprendizaje (Inglés y español). Para más información acerca de las fechas e información de como inscribirse, mire el calendario de las sesiones virtuales en www.TriplePCrianzaPositiva.com, o llame a la línea telefónica bilingüe de Triple P al (574) 226-0160.

Parents, please make sure and keep ALL kids in the family home from school if a child has a fever, and/or more than 1 potential symptom of COVID9, such as headache and sore throat; coughing and congestion etc. Please contact the nurse if you are keeping your child home for COVID19 related illnesses. If anyone in the household is COVID19 tested, all students must remain home from school until everyone's test results come back negative.

We will continue with daily meal distribution Monday through Thursday for our in-person students. On Friday our virtual students may pick up meals at West Side from 11-1 PM.

Two-Hour Delay

Hybrid Students: School Starts at 9:05 am. If you ride a bus, it will arrive 2 hours later than the regular schedule.

Virtual Students: Regular School Day for students-learn virtually from home.

School Cancellation:

Hybrid Students: School starts at regular time and students attend virtually at home.

Virtual Students: Regular school day for students-learn virtually from home.

In February we are planning to hold a virtual safety meeting for parents. Please join us online for this informative session. We will share school safety procedures, and also how we continue to keep students safe while online.

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COVID 19:

Concord Community Schools will follow local and state health official guidance. We are committed to providing transparency and will notify the affected families in the event that a COVID19 case impacts our school. As we move back into a hybrid model we are asking our teachers to ensure............

• Masks should be worn at all times except when eating or outside if social distancing is achieved. This means that masks should be worn during PE and recess unless students are outside and socially distant.

• Seating charts should ensure that no two students are within six feet of each other or any other person. This means that the front row of desks should be at least six feet away from where the teacher is presenting information.

The identification process for the High Ability Program will begin this month. The screening pool of students to be considered is currently being established, based on previous test scores, teacher recommendation, and/or parent recommendation. Letters will be sent to the parents of students who qualify. Those students will then receive further testing throughout the school year. Please watch for this important information.

If you would like your child to be considered for High Ability testing, please contact Mrs. Brittany Robledo, High Ability teacher, by January 29, 2021. Parents making this request will receive a parent recommendation form. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Robledo at 574-293-2531 or brobledo@concord.k12.in.us.

The Center for Healing and Hope (located in Goshen) provides COVID-19 testing and is a clinic for uninsured and under-insured individuals. They also do a lot of work in immigrant advocacy. This is from their website "We are committed to bringing hope to our immigrant neighbors and communities through providing resources and advocacy services to those in need. We believe that everyone deserves the best care, support and assistance we can give, regardless of who they are or where they are from. That is why we are committed to the well-being of each individual and the neighborhoods and communities where they live. If you or someone you know is an immigrant and in need of local resources, please click here to learn about Elkhart County Hope Network, Goshen Resident ID (GRID), and our Immigrant Resource Guide. Call 574-534-4744 to learn more."

Email: gdonlon@concord.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.concordschools.com/o/cwse
Location: 230 West Mishawaka Road, Elkhart, IN, USA
Phone: 574-293-2531
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConcordWestSide/
Twitter: @Concord_WS