CSS Community Updates
January 18th, 2022
Upcoming Event Dates
- SAVE THE DATES
- January 28th Planning Day, No School
- February 9th K-5 Information Session Online 6:30 - 7:30 pm
- February 16th K-5 Lottery for 22/23 OPENS
- February 21st No School - President's Day
Principal's Message
Greetings,
This weekend, we had a day of remembrance for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s steadfast and unwavering work in furthering civil rights in our country is inspirational and we are honored to have this time to reflect on his legacy. As we continue to face matters of health and safety related to COVID, our community will continue to keep many of the ideals Dr. King stood for at the center of our work. These particular words of Dr. King really resonated with me this year: If you can’t fly then run, If you can’t run then walk, If you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
Despite the twists and turns this year, we will continue to move forward as a community. As of this week, our counseling team has kicked off our school wide Anti-Racism lessons and our equity team will gather to discuss a school wide week of action for a Black Lives Matter week of action in February. I am moved by the ways our community continues to keep moving forward.
Additionally, PPS has made significant changes to our COVID protocols based on guidance from health experts. These changes went into effect this week. The district is continuing to work on the procedures to implement these changes. Some of the larger changes include:
Reduction of isolation days to five days
Oregon will no longer consider masked contact in schools to be an exposure regardless of distancing. Schools are asked to only contact trace for times when students are unmasked and within 6 feet. All CSS meal times are distanced to six feet at this time. This means you will no longer get a notification of a close contact unless the exposure happened when unmasked.
Testing onsite at this time is for staff or students who develop symptoms during the school day that have a signed consent form on file. Test to return will no longer be viable due to shortened quarantine periods.
Please know that our staff is still processing these changes and are pivoting as quickly as possible. Our charge is to follow the protocols given to us by the district and health experts. More specific information about these changes is forthcoming.
Inclement weather arrival: The time prior to student arrival is allocated for teacher planning and collaboration. As you can imagine, our staff is stretched with the many challenges facing our school system, and the morning planning time can be a staff member's only planning time for the day. Having students enter the building into classrooms early would require interrupting teacher planning and collaboration, and cutting it short. Therefore, we will only implement inclement weather arrival when weather poses a safety concern for students such as lightning, hail, or heavy rain.
Thank you for continued patience as support as we navigate the many changes facing our school community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kristy Mize
SEGC Meeting Summary 1/6
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Hello CSS Community,
I have brought in a new collection of books from Multnomah County Library for the front display case and the staff lounge. The books that support International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan 27th, 2022. This collection also supports Oregon SB 664 Holocaust Education K-12 and will complement the Anti Hate Lessons coming to CSS this month. I will be setting up the display with materials from Amanda Gorman and her book/poem/Children's Anthem Change Sings on the K-2 eye level, picture books on the middle shelf, and YA and Older Elementary Books on the top shelf of the display.
If any families have items that would support the display and add to it would make it more meaningful to us all.
In library lessons, I will be reading the book Hold On to Your Music by Mona Golabek and Lee Coheh about the Jewish children taking the Kindertransport to England.
Kind regards,
Laura Axon
K-5 Lottery Information Session Online February 9th 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Inclement Arrival Reminder Late Start
Winter weather is upon us and this is a good time to review the inclement weather procedures. Please look for the orange flags on the playground and the front reader board of the school to signal inclement arrival. Please use the link below to review your inclement arrival location.
If it is a late start date school will begin 2 hours later:
10:40 am (late bell 10:45 am) for ML
10:55 am (late bell 11am) for K-5
Order Your CSS Yearbook Now!
Our school ID number is: 12440422 or search for Creative Science School.
Yearbooks are being created by our students and will be delivered in 2022 before the end of the school year!
Please Help Us Plan and Respond by Registering Your Child’s COVID-19 Vaccinations
Please note that if your child received a vaccine at a district-sponsored event on a PPS campus, that information is not automatically conveyed to ParentVUE. If your student was vaccinated at one of those events, please take a few moments to update your child’s status.
To update your children’s COVID-19 vaccine status, you will need their vaccine card. You can upload an image of the card into ParentVUE by following these simple instructions.
CSS Office Update - Please Review
Early Pick Up Information
If you need to pick up your student before the end of the school day, you do not need to call the office ahead of time. Please come to the front door and ring the buzzer on the call box. We will have you come in and sign out your child. Please allow extra time to get your student out of class and an extra 5 minutes in case your student is at recess or in the gym.
We cannot let students leave and meet you outside, you will need to sign them out in the office. If you would like your MidLevel student to leave campus on their own before the dismissal bell we need an email sent to the Admin Assistants each time allowing the release. Please email us: Joanna, jgoebel@pps.net and Lacy, lmckinney1@pps.net All staff emails are always listed on our website here.
Drop Off Information
If you are dropping off your student after the school day begins (at 8:45 am for MidLevel and 9:00 am for K-5), they must come through the front doors and sign in at the office. Staff can help them sign in. You are welcome to come in with your child, but you do not have to.
Thank you!
Lunch Volunteers!!
Hello CSS community - With the special set-up for lunch during Covid times, we need extra help. You would be supervising lunch and/or recess. This includes: helping kids space appropriately in line, wiping down mats when we sit outside and tables when we eat inside, and general supervision at recess.
Depending on the weather, you would be inside or outside. Please dress for the possibility of rain.
Time: 11:20-1pm (estimated)
Each volunteer must have completed the PPS background check: https://www.pps.net/volunteer and bring proof of vaccination to show in the office on your first shift.
Thank you!
Sign Up Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f49a4a62aa2f4c34-lunch
OHSU Screening
If you do not receive results from the screening testing, you should verify that your primary email and phone number are up to date via PVUE. OHSU is only emailing the primary email provided to the school.
If that doesn't work, please call OHSU: 833-376-1027
Families can also visit: https://www.ohsu.edu/health/k-12-covid-19-screening-program.
Creative Science School Weekly Screening Schedule
We have begun to receive OHSU labels. We have also been notified that due to the volume of schools/students signing up for the screening OHSU is behind on creating labels. Thank you for your patience. Please note: Not all students who signed up have received labels yet from OHSU. When these are delivered they will go home on Fridays.
Please keep these labels at home to attach to your student's sample. There are detailed directions linked here and attached to your labels. You will not get a test kit until you get labels.
If you get a test kit on Monday. Perform the spit test on Tuesday morning and then bring the sample to school that morning.
On Tuesday mornings, a district representative will be in the front of the school with a sign and a cooler for families to collect the samples during drop-off from 8:30-9am.
You can find sample collection instructions here.
Test kits go home on Mondays.
Please do the spit test on Tuesday morning and bring it to school for drop off on Tuesdays between 8:30 am and 9 am. We cannot take test kits after this time.
Keep your labels and please label your own student’s tube. Thank you.
OHSU expects to provide families with results within 48 hours of the specimen being dropped off at the school. You will receive a secure email with your child's results. Please be sure the primary email addresses are updated and you have the correct email address noted that you wish results to go to.
If it is a positive result, you will need to call the CSS nurse’s office and inform them immediately and follow the guidance provided to you. You will be asked to keep your child home from school. 503-916-6431 ext. 73339