Wildcat Update
October 16, 2020
Dr. Craig got married over the weekend!!!
Announcements
Calendar
Parent teacher conferences are October 22 and 23. Students will be dismissed at 12:05 both days. Please schedule a time to meet with your child's teacher. All conferences will be on zoom.
If you would like a conference with music, art or PE teachers email the special area teacher you want to conference with and they will schedule an appointment Thursday afternoon.
Music- christopher.guevara@dvusd.org
Report Cards
Reports cards will be coming home on Monday, October 19.
Honor Roll and Principal's List
Honor Roll and Principal's list assemblies will be conducted in the students classrooms and recorded. The recordings will be uploaded into student CANVAS shells. You may watch them by having your child log into their CANVAS course.
Wildcat Den
Wildcat Den will be open to student to purchase items with the wildcat bucks they earned for demonstrating CATS character. They can also spend their birthday buck. Ask your child about it next week.
Spirit Week
October 26-30 is spirit week. See the attachment below for details.
Candy Drive- Fall Treat Bags
According to the DVUSD guidance document we are not able to share food. This includes having parents donate candy to be redistributed to students.
However we are able to purchase candy as a school and have classroom teachers assemble the bags in their classrooms. These treat bags will be sent home on October 30.
If you would like to send in a donation to help pay for the candy, you can sign up for PTSA. Annual membership fees are $7 per individual member. Cash, check and PayPal payments are accepted. Make checks payable to New River PTSA or submit through PayPal to Nreptsa@gmail.com. There are also membership forms in the office for you to come in person to join.
OR you can send a cash/check donation to the front office.
Food and Nutrition
Breakfast and lunch will continue to be free for students when they come on campus until Dec. 31. Curbside services moved to Thursday only and will include breakfast and lunch for 5 days.
Click here to access the virtual breakfast and lunch menu.
Please support our school!
Sign up at frysfood.com/account/communityrewards and secure.escrip.com/signup/index to support New River Elementary.
School Spirit T-Shirt Order
Orders are still being taken online at spiritandpride.com or call 1 (800) 854-4452. See the attached flyer. The orders will close October 22.
Shot Records
Nurse Holley needs shot records. They can be turned in by person, fax or scan and email them to holley.nelson@dvusd.org.
Hello Families,
The motto this week in school is:
I know what I am looking forward to today.
Do you have something you are looking forward to today? This motto seems simple enough, but we may realize that we often do not have an answer when we take a moment to think about it. It's so easy to fall into the habit of merely moving through our day, but we deserve to enjoy our day too!
When we ask students what they enjoy most about the school day, the most popular answers are lunch and recess. If you think about it, that answer is equivalent to the adult version of TGIF. Yes, we look forward to Friday. But what if we also enjoyed Monday? Isn't that something we want for our children?
This week help your child enjoy more of their day by asking them what they are looking forward to in school today. Remember, the more answers they have, the more likely they will enjoy their day!
After all, our children deserve a great life,
but the only one who can truly give that to them is themselves.
Consider putting a sticky note with the word KNOW on it in your car or somewhere where you will see it each morning before your children leave for school. The sticky note will remind everyone to know what they are looking forward to today. Encouraging your child to have more than one answer to that question is helpful because they have even more to look forward to in their day!
“Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although
Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.”
― A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
Have a wonderful week,
Danna Evans
All Things E.Q.
From Nurse Holley
Dear Parent/Guardian:
The directive from Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) is that during this pandemic year, if your child experiences any viral symptoms, even if mild, to keep them home and getting them tested or isolation for 10 days from when symptoms first started.
This directive is extreme but necessary. COVID is the virus that we are concerned about this year and we want to err on the side of caution for everyone's safety. Please remember that when you use good judgement to keep your child home for viral symptoms, you are keeping other children and school staff safe. It is just not about an individual family this year, it is about keeping all of us in the community safe, especially those that have underlying medical conditions. Our concerted effort is for the greater good!
Schools will also have a low threshold criteria for sending students home; this means that a child will be sent home if he/she displays one or more of the symptoms listed below for COVID-19:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. You know your child best and if they have a complaint, the first thing that should come to mind is COVID; minor symptoms in previous years are now red flags for COVID this year. Please ask yourself each morning before you send your child to school if he/she is well. If your child complained of any mild symptoms the day before, the evening before or during the night, you have to ask yourself, "Is this normal for my child to have this complaint?" Along with using your parental instincts/observations, dig deeper and pull out COVID symptoms list and ask your child if he/she has any other symptoms on the list to get the whole picture. If your child woke up in the middle of the night and complained of a stomachache or headache or if you had to give your child over the counter medication that is not normally given everyday, that means you need to keep the child home for observation that day and isolate him/her for 10 days if he/she has one or more of the COVID symptoms above.
As more data is collected and we learn more about COVID-19, here is further detailed findings about symptoms in children per MCDPH experience to date (09/24/2020):
• Approximately 13% of all COVID-19 cases in Maricopa County to date have been among kids ages 0-19
• The majority (over 75%) of all children with positive COVID-19 tests reported at least one symptom
– The most common symptoms reported are similar to many viral infections ~ fever, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, cold symptoms, or diarrhea
• Pre-school children have fewer symptoms overall
– Fever is the most common symptom in preschool children
• More than half of elementary school aged children reported fever and/or headache
• Children age 12 and over reported more symptoms overall
– Over half reported fatigue, headache, muscle aches and loss of taste and smell.
– Less than half report fever.
Some existing health conditions warrant considerations by the school nurse:
- Students with Asthma: Student having asthma symptoms like coughing and wheezing can take his or her inhaler and child may return to class if symptoms improve after taking rescue inhaler.
- Students with Other Chronic Medical Conditions: Any student with a known and documented diagnosis e.g. allergies, migraine headaches, may return to school when symptoms have improved, and student has NO fever for 24-hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and student has no other symptom that could be associated with COVID-19. A physician should assess any student with unresolved symptoms.
Below are some information that can be helpful to know:
When can my child return to school?
Per Maricopa County guidelines, in order for your child to return to school the following must take place:
- See a healthcare provider and receive a negative PCR or antigen COVID-19 test and provide proof of negative test to nurse AND at least 24 hours since last fever without the use of fever-reducing medication AND other symptoms have improved
OR
2. Your child does not see a healthcare provider. The following must occur:
- Child MUST stay home from school for ten (10) days from when symptoms first appeared, AND at least 24 hours since last fever without the use of fever-reducing medication AND other symptoms have improved
3. The child may return to school as soon as feasible, if symptoms are confirmed by a doctor’s note to be part of a known chronic noninfectious condition (e.g., allergies, asthma). The person may return to school 24 hours after fever resolves and other symptoms improve if diagnosed with an alternate laboratory confirmed illness (e.g., Strep throat, influenza) by a doctor’s note.
What is the difference between isolation and quarantine?
- Quarantine keeps someone who might have been exposed to the virus away from others during the incubation period
- Isolation keeps someone who is infected with the virus away from others, even in their home
Regarding COVID testing:
- People with symptoms awaiting COVID-19 test results should isolate until results are known.
- People identified as close contacts of a person with COVID-19 should quarantine for 14 days after their last exposure, even if they have a negative COVID-19 test result
- AHCCCS covers testing at any testing location, you do not need to take your child to see the PCP first but you can call the healthcare provider for advice.
- Alternative methods to collect samples for testing (e.g. saliva, oropharynx and nasal swabs) are less painful than the nasopharyngeal swab
What is the point of getting tested if you or child have been identified as a close contact since you have to quarantine for 14 days anyway?
- Knowing COVID status is very helpful . If positive, we can start that chain of contact tracing to identify close contacts to keep your family, friends and community safe. Remember that COVID testing results are confidential and a positive confirmed case also helps us identify outbreaks at a school so that we can take action to keep other students and staff safe.
Again, please don't hesitate to reach out to me via phone or email, I'd be happy to discuss any concerns or questions you might have related to symptoms, testing, etc. I want to also say "THANK YOU" in advance to all of you that are making this concerted effort for the greater good. For more information about COVID-19 and FAQs for parents,please visit: https://www.maricopa.gov/5493/K-12-Schools-and-Childcare-Facilities#childcare
Parents can email MCDPH regarding outbreaks at COVIDparenthotline@Maricopa.gov • Parents can call the hotline: – Dial 2-1-1 – Press option 6 for COVID-19 – Press option 3 to connect to a hotline staff member
New River School
Email: tina.craig@dvusd.org
Website: https://www.dvusd.org/newriver
Location: 48827 North Black Canyon Highway, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone: 6233763500
Facebook: facebook.com/NewRiverElementarySchool
Twitter: @NewRIverWildcat