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Dragon News
Findley Elementary School
October 8, 2021
Message from Emily Gotfried-School Counselor
Dear Findley Community,
First, thank you so much for the incredible support of our school, staff, and students as we head into the fall season in our building! It’s been AMAZING getting to see your children. They are the reason we show up each day. They are incredible and I’ve never been more proud of our Findley Dragons.
I’m going to take off my ‘counselor hat’ for just a moment and put on my ‘parent hat’… I have a school aged son who I have sent back to school. I know it’s unbelievably hard some days. I know that even though it’s great to have our kids back in school, it can still be stressful and worrying to have your kids out of your arms and into the world during a pandemic… I know that no parent wants their child to get sick. No parent wants their child to stay home for 10 days. As a parent, like you, I totally understand the fear and the worry that surrounds this time. We are all trying to keep our kids safe and I understand how hard and big that feels some days. I just want to say, you’re doing an amazing job. This is not easy.
Putting my counselor hat back on, I also think about how we want our community to respond and treat each other when someone gets sick or if a child needs to stay home due to an exposure. I know it is an extremely difficult situation for families. When we are in these situations, it’s hard not to let that worry come out in different ways. We talk with our friends and families about our worry and sometimes forget that our children are listening.
What we’ve noticed is that the kids are indeed, listening. They are picking up on what the adults are sharing and even though they don’t always tell us, they are fully tuned in to their surroundings. Yet again, our children are faced with situations that take away their sense of control (friends being quarantined, fears of being quarantined, or fears of getting sick) and this can cause stress and anxiety in children. We’ve also noticed additional fears that a person might not be accepted into the community because of sickness or quarantine, creating more stress and anxiety.
Something we could use your help with at this time is talking with your children to support them in processing these big feelings.
Some questions to consider with your child to help with this might be:
How would I want my classmates to treat me if I was home sick?
How would I want them to treat me when I am all better and back at school?
How would I hope my community shows up for me?
What are some of my fears right now? Who can I talk to about these fears?
What is my job as a student/child right now?
What is the adult’s job right now?
If your child is having a hard time explaining with words, perhaps they can draw about their feelings and thoughts or show you through play.
It is really important that your child knows that the adults at school and the adults at home are in control of keeping them safe and are making the best decisions we can based on science and recommendations from experts. It is important they know that their job is to be a kid and let us worry about the hard stuff. It’s important they know that they belong here in this community and that if they need to stay home for any reason (sickness, quarantine…anything!) we will be joyous upon their return and welcome them back with loving and open arms. It’s an impossible time right now for many… we are learning ways to cope and carry on as we live in the era of Covid-19. Please take good care of yourselves as parents. And thank you so much for considering the well-being of our community as we navigate this time.
If you’d like to talk more about supporting your child and community at this time, please reach out to me –Emily_gotfried@beaverton.k12.or.us.
Dragon Dash 2021
Sparky made an appearance!
International Walk, Ride, & Roll to School-Oct 6
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.
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!
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! 10/18/2021
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.
Boy Scouts
Dear parents,
Here’s a word about our Cub Scouts Pack 718.
Pack 718 operates from Findley School and is a chartered organization of the Findley Elementary PTO, and is actively recruiting new boys and girls grades K-5 for the year 2021-22.
The Scouting Program focuses on helping kids develop character, citizenship responsibilities, sportsmanship, fitness, respect for all, personal achievement, community service, and having fun with adventure.
Please watch this short video about the Pack 718 activities – https://youtu.be/UT4bnboZI3E
Scouts from the Pack 718 will be in their Class A uniforms at school on Tuesday 10/5. Please encourage your kids to ask any questions, explore and know more.
Please contact pack718leads@gmail.com if you are interested in joining hands.
Thank you.
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
11th-Indigenous People's 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