North Metro Flex Academy
Update January 18, 2022
Dear WONDERFUL NMFA Families
Please read the updated COVID guidance below. Thank you so much for keeping us informed of any of your children's absences.
This week we have been continuing the NWEA Assessments for Reading and Math for all grades. These tests measure growth from Fall to Winter. We will also be having students take the Spring assessment in May to measure growth from Fall to Spring.
Next Friday, we will be having awards and ALL-SCHOOL BINGO to celebrate our hard work!
At the NMFA Board Meeting on Wednesday, we highlighted the Annual Report and World's Best Work Force. Please check out the entire report located on on our website, www.nmfaMN.org under the School Board tab.
This month is School Board Appreciation Month. We greatly appreciate all of the time and dedication our school members show for supporting our school.
Thank you Pam Albrecht, Mike Leary, Ember Russell, Dave Isaacson, Joe Palkowitsch and Kyle Johnson for all that you have done this past year!
Please be safe, kind, responsible and...honest!
Sincerely,
Debbie Kranz, Principal
FREE AT-HOME COVID TESTS FOR ALL FAMILIES
UPDATED COVID CHANGES
Recently MN has updated its guidelines for Covid-19, below are the updates.
Schools and Child Care: COVID-19
CDC updated their recommendations for isolation and quarantine when sick or exposed to COVID-19: Quarantine and Isolation. MDH updated If You Are Sick or Test Positive and Close Contacts and Quarantine, and we are working to revise other guidance and materials to align with CDC over the coming days.
This updated guidance does apply to K-12 school settings (refer to Overview of COVID-19 Quarantine for K-12 Schools).
We are awaiting CDC guidance specific to child care. Until that is released, we recommend child care providers either follow existing child care guidance or follow the updated guidance for the general population. MDH continues to support use of the seven-day quarantine with testing for unvaccinated staff and children who cannot mask. This seven-day quarantine can apply if the person who was exposed:
- Does not have symptoms and does not develop symptoms.
- Had an exposure that has a beginning and end, such as an exposure that happened at school, a sporting event, or social gathering.
- Gets tested at least five full days after the exposure, and has a negative test result.
Minnesota Rule 4605.7070 requires any person in charge of any institution, school, child care facility, or camp to report cases of COVID-19 to MDH.
Use COVID-19 Case Report Form for K-12 Schools, Childcares, and Youth Programming (Camps, Sports, Extracurricular Activities) to report each child, youth, or staff member who receives a positive test result.
It is important that everyone in the school, child care, youth-serving program, and camp community take steps to reduce COVID-19 transmission, particularly to those who are not vaccinated, while balancing the need to maintain a strong system that effectively supports children, youth, staff and communities.
PLEASE REMEMBER:
If your child is experiencing any symptoms, please keep them home to monitor and test.
Please help us PRIORITIZE IN-PERSON LEARNING!!
- Please screen students at home in the morning – please do not sent them to school if they are having these symptoms.
At school this is what we are doing
- We are screening kids at school. If students have COVID related symptoms (please view the Decision Tree ) they will be sent to the office and parents will be called to pick up students.
- Students should be wearing masks on buses
- Students are expected to wear masks throughout the day, with mask breaks outside…
- Assigned seats in classrooms and at lunch, to help with contact tracing
- PPE supplies for cleaning in classrooms daily
- Air filtration UVAC systems and classroom air purifiers
REMINDER!!
If your student tests positive at any point please contact the school for next steps. If you student is awaiting test results please do not send them until you get conformation of a negative test. If your student becomes a close contact with someone who tests positive with covid19 please contact with school for next steps. Stay safe!
Request At- Home Test with link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOWfBSEJHIevsdA09ME6q95Ab-dTuVGlYhn6uFe6CHSvpUUg/viewform
TO REQUEST A COVID 19 AT-HOME TEST
Good Afternoon Families/Buenas tardes familias
Currently, as you may all know- there is a limited supply of at home tests within the state of Minnesota. To help combat this and to keep track of how fast we are utilizing these rapid tests- we are implementing a new system for requesting a test. We are asking that families use this form to request tests for each of their students when needed. We will send home the appropriate tests needed per enrolled students per family. Up until this point we were able to provide tests for families, however due to limited supplies we can now only provide them for students. Please save the link below:
You can also find this form on our website under Current Families- COVID Coordinator.
Thank you!
Actualmente, como todos saben, hay un suministro limitado de pruebas caseras dentro del estado de Minnesota. Para ayudar a combatir esto y hacer un seguimiento de la rapidez con la que utilizamos estas pruebas rápidas, estamos implementando un nuevo sistema para solicitar una prueba. Les pedimos a las familias que usen este formulario para solicitar pruebas para cada uno de sus estudiantes cuando sea necesario. Enviaremos a casa las pruebas apropiadas necesarias por estudiante matriculado por familia. Hasta este momento, podíamos proporcionar pruebas para las familias; sin embargo, debido a los suministros limitados, ahora solo podemos proporcionarlas a los estudiantes. Guarde el siguiente enlace:
Formulario de solicitud de prueba COVID de NMFA
También puede encontrar este formulario en nuestro sitio web bajo Familias Actuales-Coordinador COVID.
¡Gracias!
DECISION TREE
This is what we refer to at school to make decisions on students staying home and or testing positive for Covid19. We ask that you use this at home as well. Just a reminder to all families if your student is testing positive or is in need of isolating at home due to close contact that you contact the school for next steps and your students return date.
NMFA Families here are a few weekly announcments!
- Re-enrollment for 2022-2023 school year were sent home last week and NEED to be returned with all students.
- The classroom turns in all their forms FIRST will have a classroom REWARD***
- NMFA survey was sent home on bright orange paper. This is for a check in with families.
- NWEA testing started last week
TUTORING AVAILABLE
- Tutoring kick off was last week – there are still some spots available for afterschool tutoring if you are interested, please sign up your student on the online link to register.
Staff Spotlight
Classroom Corner
Nancy Erickson- 3rd Grade Teacher
Have you met 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Erickson yet??? She has a big heart for NMFA since she has been here since the FIRST YEAR it opened! How cool to have her and her dedication to this school and students! She is also involved in a daily writers' workshop in 3rd grade, which improves our student's speech, grammar, and overall spelling. You can find her volunteering her time at NMFA book Fairs and other NMFA events!
FUN FACTS:
~Loves the Cabin
~Has 3 children
~Taught in London, England
Say " HELLO" if you see Mrs. Erickson around NMFA; she is an important and special piece to our NMFA Family!
Art and Music Update from Ms. Anderson
Art:
We have been very busy in the art room the past couple of weeks! The older students have been creating different types of pinch pots and sculptures using clay. We are learning about different textures we can use to decorate our pottery, as well as how to paint and seal out projects.
The younger grades have been working on winter themed artwork where we get to explore drawing, the use of chalk pastels, and watercolor!
Music:
We hope you enjoyed our winter music concert videos! Now that things have slowed down a bit in the music room, we are going to use some time to learn so more about the basics of music theory such as melody, rhythm, and beat as well as some music history. We will also be singing new songs, playing new games, and incorporating instrument playing as much as possible.
Upcoming Dates - MARK your calendars!!
***NO SCHOOL MONDAY JANUARY 17th for MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY***
January 3-4 - Distance Learning for all grades k-8 (School Closed)
January 10th - School Wide NWEA Testing starts
January 17th - Martin Luther King Jr. Day (NO SCHOOL)
January 19th - 5:00 School Board Meeting, 6:00 Annual Report and World's Best Work Force Report will be presented
Tutoring Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after school from 4p-5p
LOOKING AHEAD:
Keep a look out for Spring Clubs and After school activity sign ups!
Letter from NMFA Destination Imagination Coordinator:
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I am the Destination Imagination (DI) coordinator. Your child has been meeting once a week for the past month.in a small group. We have been working on solving problems as a team. We use the creative process: identify the challenge, brainstorm, plan the solution, and then try the solution out. Our biggest challenge is being successful as a whole team and not working on our own solution. Some of the teams have come a long way already.
Destination Imagination revolves around a long term challenge and a quick challenge. There is a statewide competition on April 2 that we hope to compete in. Our goal is to complete the long term challenge by March 25 so we will be ready. We will continue to practice instant challenges each week. We will not know what the instant challenge is until the day of competition.
Below is a link to a video that introduces the long term challenges for this year. (The group will not be doing the Monster Manners. That is for the youngest group.) It is just a brief description. As your group narrows down the choices, we will go into greater detail on what the different challenges entail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M507FZt22tc
Ms. Ceil