Dr. Fehrman's Friday Follow-Up
September 3, 2021
Click here for the mobile-friendly link: https://www.smore.com/3ve9p
Stronger Together Shout Out
Last Friday was the first home game for the DHS Varsity Football team. The game was supposed to start at 7:00 pm, but the team couldn’t take the field until nearly 8:00 pm due to a weather delay. The DHS administration, along with Mr. Rodney Thomas’s Athletics department, did a great job keeping all the fans safe during the weather delay. And the Bulldogs brought home another win and are starting the season 2-0! Great job Coach Felton!!
Job(s) Well Done
The DHS marching band did an amazing job in their first home performance of the season. The band sounded phenomenal. The color guard looked terrific and their flags were beautiful! It was so fun to watch their performance during halftime and to hear all the cheers from the stands for their excellent performance. Way to go students and Mr. Ehrlich!
School Visits
Talley Street Upper Elementary
I had a great visit to several classrooms at Talley Street. First, I stopped in and Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Wren’s classroom. Students were reading a book and then comparing how one book was similar to and different from another book from the same series. Ms. Wren did an excellent job using one of the CSD Core Practices for Equity, Formative Assessment, as she reminded the students of the intended learning when she linked their conversations back to the learning target for the day. Great work Ms. Wren!!!
Next, I checked in with Ms. Fredette and her student teacher, Ms. Burks. Students were deeply engaged in their differentiated math lesson. As I listened in on Ms. Fredette working with a small group of students, she asked them to look for the algorithms in the math problems. I was so impressed with the high level of vocabulary being used by our 5th graders. I asked a student to define the term algorithm, and she was spot on! Way to go Ms. Fredette!!
I always love stopping off at Platform 9 ¾, also known as Ms. Farley’s classroom! Students were engaged in a language arts lesson. But what caught my eye was the poster with Crew Agreements and masking reminders. The third pillar of The CSD Framework for Equitable Student Outcomes is focused on building a positive culture and climate. I can see that Ms. Farley has truly engaged her students in creating a positive culture in her classroom as she gathered input to build these agreements.
Renfroe Middle School
I also had a great visit at Renfroe Middle School. During this visit, I stopped in to see several connections teachers. Ms. Chalberg’s Adventure Quest class is one of the all-time favorite connections classes at Renfroe. Now, you may think this class is all about camping and tree climbing, but Ms. Chalberg uses the core academic content and IB MYP Framework to help students enhance and enrich their knowledge while learning how to make the world a better place. Ms. Chalberg shared the outline of a new unit with her class and discussed how students would use dichotomous keys to identify trees and study how trees impact our overall environment. Ms. Chalberg is a stellar example of how to engage students in real-world learning.
I also enjoyed my visit to Dr. Hirschorn’s chorus class and Ms. Kraemer’s band class. Dr. Hirschorn’s students were playing family feud as they reviewed the notes and rhythm in a practice piece. Ms. Kraemer’s 8th graders blew me away with how well they played after nearly a year and a half of engaging mostly in virtual band classes. The music program at Renfroe is spectacular!
COVID-19 Information
Vaccination Event TODAY!
We are hosting another vaccine opportunity today (Friday, Sept. 3) from 5-7 pm in the Decatur High School parking lot. This event is free and open to the community.
All three vaccine options will be available.
A third dose will be available to those who are eligible (proof required). Please click here for additional information.
Any child between ages 12-17 receiving the COVID-19 vaccine must have proof of their age and a parent/guardian present.
Have questions about the event? Be sure to contact District Health Coordinator Shonda Moore at smoore1@csdecatur.net for more information.
Surveillance Testing
Parents - it is time to fill out the consent form for surveillance testing! The more participation we have, the better the program will be at identifying positive cases in our schools and slowing the spread in our community.
If you consent, your child will receive a free weekly diagnostic test for the COVID-19 virus. Our goal is to conduct testing at least once a week at each school (K-12). The types of tests that may be used include rapid antigen tests such as BinaxNow and PCR tests (for students with a positive rapid test). Collecting a specimen for the rapid antigen testing involves inserting a small swab, similar to a Q-tip, into the front of the nose. The PCR test is obtained through a nasopharyngeal swab inserted into the nasal cavity until it reaches the nasopharynx. The rapid antigen test is considered non-invasive, and the PCR test is considered minimally invasive. Notification of positive results will follow the same communication procedures we currently use.
Click here to fill out the consent form. Each student will need a consent form to participate in testing.
Go to https://www.csdecatur.net/covid19 to learn more about surveillance testing.