Cub Connection October News
Gerner Family Early Education Center
Bring on Fall!
The start of fall is one of my favorite times of the year. The sights and scents just make me feel like I need to take advantage of being outside. I love spending time outside with my family to take in all the changes in the trees, weather, and experience the city. KC Parent magazine has provided a great summary of Outdoor Activities and places to explore around town together. I hope that each of you have the opportunity to take advantage of all the wonderful offerings our city provides during this cozy time of year!
As I've said before thank you for choosing Gerner as your child's education foundation. We are so glad you are a part of our community!
Warmly,
Rachel Ward
Coordinator of Early Education Programs
Important School Information
Mark your calendars for the following important dates!
Please plan to participate in upcoming events at Gerner:
- September 29th - October 13th - Believe Kids Fall Fundraiser
- October 16 - November 2nd - Free Shipping on Gerner Spirit wear
- October 30th - Fall Parties for all programs
- November 9th - 13th - Lil Angels Fall Pictures
- November 16th - Virtual PTA Meeting 6:00PM
- November 25th - No School for ECSE/Bright Futures
- November 26th & 27th - No School for all programs
COVID-19 Contact
As we continue to maneuver through COVID-19 situations, we wanted to make sure to clarify a couple of layers behind cases that are shared with the community.
- A case is when there is a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. It is district practice to notify the whole school community if there is a case involving a Gerner student or staff member. This will be an email sharing an update with the general population. Families would receive a direct phone call if their student was in direct contact with a case.
- A contact is an individual who had direct contact while the case patient was infectious. This person should quarantine themselves, meaning they should stay at home to limit community exposure and watch to see if symptoms develop. If your child would be in contact with an individual that tested positive for COVID-19, you would receive a phone call informing you.
- A contact of a contact is an individual who had or continues to have close contact with a contact. This person should take everyday preventative actions, like washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, and cleaning surfaces frequently, however quarantine is not necessary. This person should also be alert for symptoms.
While communication may feel vague, it is important to maintain confidentiality at times with situations. It is recognized that some families may feel that more information is needed to make decisions, but please know that information about other people cannot be shared.
Arrival and Dismissal Reminders
We have a number of programs in our building with different arrival and dismissal times. The following is a reminder of times and processes for families.
ECSE, Bright Futures, and Horizons families:
- AM Session is from 8:40 - 11:40
- PM Session is from 12:40 - 3:40
Car riders unload and load under the awning in the back of our building.
Bus route times can change throughout the year as additional children are added to buses upon enrollment. The office will contact families when adjustments are made by the bus company. Please call the office if there are questions about buses.
Arrival notes:
- If you arrive after 8:50 or 12:50, staff will not be present to unload your children and you may need to come to the front of the building for arrival.
Dismissal notes:
- Please have the car placard in the passenger window to allow staff to easily see who is ready for pick-up. If you are in need of a new one, please contact the school office.
- Our AM session has more car riders and we are continuing to work on the traffic flow to allow buses to move through the traffic at dismissal. We all appreciate your flexibility.
Tuition families:
We will continue to conduct car side pick up and drop off daily for Tuition students as we do not allow families in the building. We need your help with timing during the day so we can support all families and keep appropriate ratio in all classes during the day.
Arrival notes:
- Please drop off children between 6:30 - 8:30 AM.
- Family members will need to unbuckle and help children exit their car with masks on at arrival. Students will then be directed to their classrooms by a staff member.
Dismissal notes:
- Dismissal begins at 3:30 PM daily. If you arrive before 3:30, please know that you may be asked to wait until dismissal begins.
- Students will be brought to cars by staff with family members then buckling in the children before leaving.
Fall Parties
We will continue to celebrate fall with our students in their classrooms, but this year will look much different. Fall Parties will be Friday, October 30th. Parties will take place within the classrooms, but outside food or visitors will not be allowed. This will be a fun day with their friends to celebrate fall with each other. Teachers may ask for supply donations, but no food can be sent in.
Costumes are allowed, but not required. More information to follow regarding costume rules. If you have any questions about party details or costumes, please contact your child's teacher.
Meet the School Psychologist
This is Courtney Shepard’s third year serving Gerner as our School Psychologist. She serves as a part of the evaluation team for the Early Childhood Special Education program. She provides behavioral support in the building and collaborates with teachers and families to help meet the social-emotional needs of our students.
Ms. Shepard has put together a virtual office to support families this year, whether they are here with us in the building or participating in virtual learning. This virtual office is packed full of social-emotional resources including breathing exercises, movement videos, social-emotional learning activities, recorded read alouds, and Covid-19 resources. Please take some time to explore these resources to see how they may support your family!
School Psychologist Virtual Office
Please call Ms. Shepard if there are additional questions at 816-359-6902.
Safety Drills - Practice to be Prepared!
It is important that students know how to respond to emergency situations that could occur at Gerner. Students and staff will participate in a variety of safety drills every month throughout the school year. Staff handle the drills delicately in order to help students understand the seriousness of the process, yet not make students feel afraid.
For the month of October we will practice two different drills:
- Fire Drill: The goal for this drill is to quickly exit the building and account for all students in case of a fire inside the building.
- Earthquake Drill: The goal for this drill is for all students to practice the Drop, Cover, and Hold On method for earthquake safety. This drill is scheduled a part of a regional drill called the Great Central U.S. Shakeout. For more information on the Great Central U.S. Shakeout, please visit the website link. Great Central U.S. Shakeout Link
If you ever have questions regarding the processes for drills, please contact your classroom teacher.
Gerner Family PTA
Gerner PTA
The Gerner PTA is a vital part of the school community, providing support to the classrooms with fundraisers taking place throughout the year. Our first fundraiser Believe Kids, kicked off on September 29th.
How can you help and be a part of the PTA work? Become a member and participate in meetings!
Membership forms were shared by teachers, online membership forms can be found at:
https://gernerfamily-pta-membership.cheddarup.com
PTA meetings will be virtual for this school year. A Zoom meeting link will be shared to closer to the meetings dates which are on the following dates:
- November 16
- March 1
If you have questions about PTA activities this year, please contact April Setser at Setsera@parkhill.k12.mo.us
Believe Kids Fundraiser
Parent Corner
Have you visited our "Parent Corner" yet? Over the course of the year, articles and resources will be posted to support the parenting process.
Now that kids have been in class for about a month, the new has probably worn off and they are getting in a routine of finding their favorite part of the day. You may be struggling to pull out information about the day to know what is happening. Please enjoy an article shared recently on the Macaroni Kid website titled "Conversation Starters - Asking Your Child About Their Day". There are some helpful question starters shared that I know will probably be heard in my car to understand more about my daughter's day.
Park Hill Star Awards
Do you know of a Park Hill Star? Is there someone at your child's school that you would like to nominate for a Park Hill Star award? The Park Hill Star award is presented monthly to a Pre-K or elementary teacher, a secondary teacher and a support employee. Anyone can nominate an employee for this award by using the Park Hill Star nomination form. The form will ask you to share how your nominee demonstrates our district values of continuous improvement, high expectations, integrity, visionary leadership and student focus.
If you would like to nominate an employee from Gerner, please use the link below.
Ian's Rainbow Flu Foundation
Tuesday October 6th from 6-8 pm Gerner Clothing Center is partnering with Ian’s Rainbow Flu Foundation (www.iansrainbow.org) to provide a flu vaccine clinic. It will be a drive thru clinic that will take place at the south parking lot of Gerner (adjacent to the clothing center). No sign ups are necessary, it will be first come first served.
In addition the clothing center will be opened from 5-8pm that night. Shopping sign-up times are available here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084fa4a72ba0fa7-ptapark
Feed Northland Kids
Park Hill has once again partnered with Feed Northland Kids for a FREE weekly community food kit.
These will be distributed at the same time and location school meals are distributed. For more information regarding school provided meals click here:
If you are interested in an additional voucher for a weekly free food kit, you must sign up here:
Community Food Kit Voucher Sign Up Form
If you sign up for the COMMUNITY FOOD KIT, you are agreeing that you will be able to pick it up.
WHERE: Park Hill Support Services Center at 9501 N. Seymore Ave., Kansas City, MO 64153. For directions: Click here.
TIME: 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every week on Wednesdays starting September 23, 2020.
A limited number of families will be selected. It is first come, first serve to those who have filled out the form in its entirety. Slots will go to those who can pick up the food.
- Once you sign up, the social worker Kellie Galley will email you the voucher.
- Show the paper voucher or a digital copy on your cell phone upon arrival.
- You will use the same voucher for weekly visits.
- This voucher is good for 1 Community Food Kit per family.
- If you have other students at other schools, only sign up for one voucher per family.
DAY OF HOPE
THE DAY OF HOPE Serves Residents of Platte County & families that attend Platte County School Districts
EVENT: November 7, 2020
Registration is NOW OPEN for the 2020 Day of Hope event. Registration closes October 24, 2020, so don't wait, GET REGISTERED NOW!
Birthday Treat option
We cannot distribute any outside food or beverages to our students. This means we will not have birthday treats from outside the school. If families or teacher would like to purchase treat for their students, please work through our Nutrition Services Department.
Gerner Family Early Education Center
Email: Wardr@parkhill.k12.mo.us
Website: http://gerner.parkhill.k12.mo.us
Location: 8100 N Congress Ave, KCMO, MO, United States
Phone: 816-359-4600