Thursday Folders – September 2, 2021

Posted September 2, 2021

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Principal’s Corner

Asbury Eagles,

As a school we are always balancing social-emotional, academic and the health and safety of students and staff. These three areas are our pillars to success. I know many of you are sitting with many questions about health and Safety. Please know that both the health and safety of our students and staff are at the forefront of all the decisions that we make. I wanted to dedicate this Thursday Folder’s Principal Corner to detailing out what our COVID-Related policies and guidance and send out a separate DEET with this information.

In my partnership with you, it is my goal to get you as much information as I have so that we can continue to keep health and safety at the forefront. With that, I wanted to take time to answer some questions about our guidelines. I will also be on the playground after school today and tomorrow starting at 2:40 to answer any questions. If you are not able to make that time, then we will host a virtual Q&A tonight on zoom starting at 6:30. More details about these gatherings are below.

Questions:

Where does Asbury come up with their COVID-19 guidelines?

We, as educators, do not claim to be health experts, so we work with our partners in the health field with any and all decisions related to COVID-19. DPS works closely with CDPHE to determine all policies, including decisions on cohorting, masks, and quarantining. These policies are then shared out to schools and schools implement these policies.

What is our mask policy?

Beginning Monday, Aug. 9, masks are required for all students, visitors and staff while in all DPS schools and buildings, regardless of vaccination status. When staff and students are outside, they do not have to wear masks. During mask breaks, students should have their masks off the entire time.

Once someone tests positive, how is it determined who quarantines and who does not?

DPS and Asbury align with CDPHE quarantine guidance for routine classroom exposures which does not require quarantines for close contacts with positive COVID cases for students or adults resulting from typical classroom exposures because Denver county exceeds the 70% vaccination rate metric.

When Asbury receives information about a positive COVID-19 case we follow the guidelines given to us from the district. So what is this process?

  • We receive the information that someone tested positive for COVID-19
  • We then begin to collect information on who was in close contact, where this exposure happened, for how long and if any exemptions were met. We do not make any decisions at the school level at any time in this process.
  • Our COVID Coordinator, Tanya, who is also our Health Tech, calls the COVID hotline and leaves a message (there is no longer a live person we talk too)
  • Once Tanya receives a call back from the medical expert on the hotline, she gives the data that was collected and the medical expert makes the determination for who, when and how long those are to be quarantined and not
  • We then take this information and work on letters. These letters we receive from the district are batch letters that we plug in the information and send out.

For more information about the decision tree, please see the guidance document.

What is our communication policy to inform the community and staff about a positive COVID-19 case? 

In each positive COVID-19 case reported, we send out multiple layers of communication. We work with our district partners to determine the specifics for the dates, who is to quarantine and for how long.  Once we have this information, we work to send out these layers of communication:

  1. School-Level and Staff -Level Communication: Each time their is a positive COVID-19 case, we will send out an all staff and an all community level email detailing out which grade level was impacted by positive case
  2. Class-Level Communication: Each time there is a positive COVID-19 case, we will send a follow up email to the impacted class to let them know that the positive case. In this letter, we will also share the soonest you could test, if this is something that you would like to do.
  3. Individuals who Need to Quarantine: For those that need to quarantine, we will share a separate communication detailing out the information on when and for how long individuals will need to quarantine. We will also include information for the soonest you could test.

In order to protect the individual and not infringe on the health care privacy act, we can not share any information beyond positive cases at the grade level.

Pick Up and Chat Afterschool Today and Tomorrow:  I will be on the playground, under the green structure, at 2:40 today and tomorrow to answer any questions and chat through any of these questions

Questions? Please input your questions.

In Partnership,
Jeanna Doung

School Notes

Action Requested:

Important Information

  • During Pick Up and Drop Off please do not block driveways- let’s remember it’s a neighborhood school!
  • Picture Day will be on October 4, 2021- More information to come
  • Health Reminders:
    • Please send your students with a water bottle to school every day. We have started a ‘stop everything and drink’ initiative at the school so that we can all be reminded to drink more water!
    • Please send your child with a mask everyday to wear while inside the school building.
  • Open Para Positions: We have a few open paraprofessional positions at Asbury. If you or anyone you know is interested in learning more about this rewarding and exciting work, please reach out to Jeanna Doung!
  • Student and Adult Safety: We want to ensure students are able to safely arrive and leave school. So we have information about a Crossing Guard and a reminder about drop off and pick up:
    • Crossing Guards: To ensure our students safety as they come across Evans, we are looking to hire a crossing guard. If you are interested in this position, please see more information and reach out to Jeanna Doung with potential candidates.
    • Reminder about drop and pick up: To ensure student safety and to avoid congestion, please do not park in the Kiss and Go lane. Also, please do not drop off across the street and have students run across the street.
  • Quarantine Plans: SLT met and determined guidance around If a student or group of students needs to quarantine (we will be sharing this out with CSC to get further input):
    • If a student goes on quarantine, teachers  will share work within the first 48 hours. The work will be reflective of the developmental age of the students and what is going on in their classrooms. There will be no live or hybrid learning option, so the work will not include live learning or ‘Zooming’ into the classroom.  Students can expect both math and literacy work to complete during their quarantine period. Students and families will always have the option to reach out to teachers for guidance and support.  This guidance does not apply if families self-select to quarantine.
  • The PBL (Project Based Learning) leadership team is looking for three adult Asbury Community Volunteers to help support our incredible PBL program at Asbury.  If you are interested in learning more about any of these positions, please contact Meaghan McCabe at momccabe24@gmail.com.  Thanks!
    • PBL Materials Supporter:  Are you an organizer who loves to create Sign Up Genius posts?  This might be the volunteer job just for you!  You will be working with all grades, K-5, helping grade level teams to collect items for PBL units.  This job will involve working with Meaghan McCabe to get a list of items needed for each unit, create sign ups, send sign ups via School Deets to specific grade levels, and collect/organize the items for the teachers.  This volunteer position will be needed throughout this coming school year and will be needed in spurts.
    • PBL Guest Speakers/Teachers Supporter:  Are you a connector?  Do you know a lot of people throughout the community or are willing to seek out resources to support PBL units Kinder-Fifth grade at Asbury?  If yes, this is the volunteer job for you!  You will work sporadically throughout the year with Meaghan McCabe to find guest speakers and teachers for PBL projects in grades Kinder-Fifth.
    • PBL Field Trip Supporter:  If you like to plan excursions, this volunteer position has your name on it!  You would help Meaghan McCabe to find and schedule field trips to enhance the PBL experience.  The workload would involve supporting grades Kinder-Fifth and will be sporadic throughout the year.
  • Meet your Specials Team!
    • Our specials team – Ms. B, Mr. Howard, Ms. Ravel, and Ms. Werner – are so very excited to be able to see students in our classrooms regularly again this year! We wanted to take a minute to share a bit about ourselves, our classes, and teaching philosophies. If you have any questions regarding any of our classes, please reach out! We hope to see you soon!
    • Art with Ms. Werner
    • Music with Ms. B
    • PE with Mr. Howard

PTSO

PTSO memberships are $10/year. You can pay via Venmo @AsburyPTSO-AsburyPTSO, cash or check

  • We are looking for Room Supporters! Do you enjoy supporting teachers and paras to make sure they have everything they need? This is the job for you! We are looking for one room supporter per kindergarten class,  two room supporters per 1st-5th grade,  volunteers to support the specials team, and the multi intensive teams. If you are interested in learning more please contact Meaghan McCabe at momccabe@gmail.com
  • Asbury Backpack Program. We are currently looking for 2-3 individuals that would like to lead the Asbury Backpack program. This would include obtaining fresh food and packing backpacks on a weekly basis. If you are interested please contact Amy Fitzgerald at amy.jo.fitzgerald@gmail.com
  • Do you have old toys or prizes at your house? Or did you order too many pencils for your gift bags? Donate them to Carnival! We want your toys, games, puzzles, legos and other small prizes your kids no longer want! Please drop them off in the office by September 20th. Please make sure donations are age appropriate. All donations will be sanitized prior to Carnival.
  • Did you love the “Welcome Back Eagles” Sign? Want to celebrate the people in your life in a BIG way AND support Asbury Elementary?  Order any greeting from Card My Yard Denver until September 30th and you will receive $10 off the greeting and CMY Denver will donate $10 to Asbury!  Use coupon code ASBURY21 for the discount.  The greeting can be ordered up to 12 months in advance but must be in the following zip codes:   80206, 80209, 80210, 80220, 80222, 80224, 80231, 80246, 80247, 80230, 80205, 80218, 80207 and 80238.

Important Dates

  • 9/9 Papa Johns Dine Out
  • 9/14 PTSO meeting 6-7pm
  • 9/24 Carnival 5-7pm
  • 9/28 Birdcall Dine Out
  • 10/4 Picture Day

Parent Resources:

Flyers/Links