Greenlodge Weekly Update 10/6/2021
#ReachForYourBest
Dear Greenlodge Families,
It was great to see some sunny weather today after a hard past two days here at Greenlodge. The rain and more positive COVID cases certainly made for a hard start to the week. I realize that receiving information about positive COVID cases in our school can be stressful and overwhelming. We are trying our best to be mindful of the volume of emails that families are receiving from our school, and trying to make sure the emails are as clear and transparent as possible regarding how the positive COVID cases may directly impact your family. It is not a perfect process as we try to maintain confidentiality and privacy of the community members who have tested positive. Nurse Duckworth and I have been working closely with the Director of Nursing, and our Testing Coordinator when communicating information to families.
I want to thank all the families, teachers and nursing staff that have been involved in the recent positive COVID cases. As a parent myself, I know it is a hard phone call to recieve when your child has tested positive or identified as a close contact . While I know it is hard and impacts your entire family, we greatly appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
I hope you all have a nice rest of the week, and a great long weekend.
Best,
Jenny
Important Dates
- October 8th - NO BEFORE/AFTER Care. (Professional Development Day for the YMCA)
- October 8th - Pick up mums/pumpkins/donuts from PTO between 3-4p outside
- October 11th - No School , Columbus Day (YMCA is also closed)
- October 18th- Greenlodge Picture Day
Greenlodge families!
We are only 2 weeks away from our Greenlodge Fun Run on 10/4. Our goal is to raise $20,000 for school improvements.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OFFICIALLY OPEN!
We want all families to help our school by registering on MYBOOSTER.COM today and enter your family’s details.
If your family feels it’s not in the position to financially support the school, that’s ok. Families can actually support our school by also SHARING about our fundraiser with friends and family online. Sharing IS supporting. When you register on MYBOOSTER.COM, there are easy share features available that you can use as a great tool to help!
We are working hard to make this fundraiser safe, fun, and successful for everyone!
Thank you for supporting Greenlodge through the Greenlodge Fun Run.
Pick up your Mums/Pumpkins/Donuts
Notes from the Nurse
Click here to join our Testing Programs: Check out Nurse Duckworth’s video discussing how important it is to have maximum participation in our school-based testing.
It works: we are catching positive cases that might otherwise spread
It’s easy: it takes ten seconds and is painless
It protects vulnerable, unvaccinated children
It will help keep classrooms open
Close Contact Notifications: when we have a positive case at school, we work diligently and as quickly as possible to contact trace and notify families. It is complex work and may take some time. We may not be able to reply to individual inquiries during this period. Please know, all close contacts are contacted by phone and receive an email with specific instructions. All others will receive an email notification of the positive case.
Please see below close contact quarantine procedures related to Test & Stay:
Covid-19 Symptoms: Monitor daily for symptoms. Please - keep your student home and have them PCR tested immediately if they have below symptoms! Waiting to see if symptoms improve/worsen will only delay their return. Health officials have asked us to have a LOW THRESHOLD for testing because the delta variant is more infectious. With less physical distancing, there is potential for many close contacts if we have a positive case in school. Help us keep the virus out and sign up for testing so your student can stay if they are exposed.
Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
New loss of taste or smell
Muscle aches or body aches
Cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough)
Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms
Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea when in combination with other symptoms
Headache when in combination with other symptoms
Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms
Testing Sites: In addition to the pediatrician's office, you could try one of the Project Beacon, City of Boston, or Transformative Healthcare sites for a free test (their results are coming in pretty quickly). Please send all testing results to the school nurse for clearance. Other options include:
CVS Pharmacy: appointment required, 19 Eastern Ave Dedham, MA 781-326-7104
AFC Urgent Care: appointment not required, 370 Providence HWY Dedham, MA 781-461-0200
PM Pediatrics: appointment not required, 719 Providence HWY Dedham, MA 781-461-6767
Convenient MD: need to have a telehealth visit before testing, 983 Providence HWY Dedham, MA 781-819-6400
Food Allergies around Halloween: We have several students at Greenlodge with life-threatening food allergies. NO OUTSIDE FOOD MAY BE BROUGHT IN FOR CLASSROOM TREATS. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Health Conditions: if your student has a change in their health status or home medication routine, please contact me.
Medication Administration & Accommodations: If your child needs medication or medical accommodations during school hours, please contact me. Signed medical orders are mandatory.
Health Portal: it is preferred that families use the SNAP Health Portal for communication and documentation. Please see the DPS Health Office website for information. If you are having difficulty logging into SNAP, I will contact you soon to fix this.
Physical Exams: Please send in updated physical forms from the pediatrician whenever your student has an annual visit. We are required by state regulation to ensure 4th grade students receive a physical exam.
State-Mandated Health Screenings
Nurse Duckworth has begun the state-mandated health screenings this week and continue on an ongoing basis until they are completed. Screenings by grade are as follows:
1st Grade: Vision (Far, Near, and Stereopsis); Hearing; Height & Weight (BMI)
2nd Grade: Vision (Far, Near, and Stereopsis); Hearing
3rd Grade: Vision (Far, Near, Stereopsis); Hearing
4th Grade: Vision (Far, Near); Height & Weight (BMI)
5th Grade: Vision (Far, Near); Postural Screening
A referral letter is sent home if the student does not meet the vision, hearing, and postural screening parameters, recommending evaluation by your physician or vision professional.
Parents/guardians may opt out of the health screenings via email to the School Nurse and are encouraged to provide an updated physical exam form that the screenings have been completed by the PCP.
FOOD SERVICE UPDATE
Dear Families - Due to national shortages of food and packaging materials, labor shortage and vendor delivery delays and cancellations, our menus are subject to change based on availability. Please know that our team is working hard to provide meals every day, adjust on the fly, and provide updates about menu changes as soon as possible. We may need to make quick menu substitutions based upon what we hand on hand, but we are trying our best to make comparable changes wherever possible. Thank you for your continued support and patience. Please stick with us through this challenging time!
Dedham Public Schools Food and Nutrition Department
Playground Usage
Attendance
- If your child is sick or will be out of school for any reason, please call the attendance line. 781-310-4799 to report the absence.
- If your child is required to stay home due to illness or quarantine , they are no longer able to attend school remotely.
- The school will excuse up to 7 absences in a six month period. Students who are chronically absent will receive notification from the school.
- Please see the student handbook for full details regarding attendance.
Bus Students
We appreciate your help in making this a smooth process!
School Meals Program
All school meals will continue to be FREE for Dedham students through June 30, 2022. We still encourage families eligible for Free/Reduced lunch to complete the registration process, as it ensures you can benefit from the other program offerings including access to reduced fees in other areas. Also, please note that due to supply chain issues, our posted lunch menus may be subject to last minute changes.
Please see the Breakfast Flyer from our Food Service department.
Helpful Tips
- Please send your child in with a refillable water bottle everyday.
- Whenever possible we eat lunch and snack outside. You may want to pack a beach towel in your child's backpack to sit on.
- We encourage you to pack an extra mask in your child's backpack.
- Check out the DPS Back to School page for more helpful information.
Check-out the Greenlodge Homepage!
- Links to current and past newsletters and headlines
- Food service information
- Bus application
- Families Digital Support Page
- Counseling resources
- Coronavirus Updates
Other District Information...
Dedham Public Schools has translated resource pages:
Please click here for translated curriculum and resources.
Haga clic aquí para ver el currículo y los recursos traducidos.
Clique aqui para obter o currículo e os recursos traduzidos.
Пожалуйста, нажмите здесь для перевода учебной программы и ресурсов.
Ju lutemi klikoni këtu për kurrikulën dhe burimet e përkthyera.
الرجاء الضغط هنا للحصول على المناهج والمواد المترجمة.
There is also a Parent Support Group for Spanish speaking families.
Learn more here:Parent Support Group Flyer (Spanish)
Video Overview of Parent Support Group (Spanish)
Substance Abuse Support Group for Children: Please see this flyer for information about a virtual group to support children dealing with the impacts of a loved ones substance abuse.
About Us
Email: jmcgowan@dedham.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.dedham.k12.ma.us/greenlodge
Location: 191 Greenlodge Street, Dedham, MA, USA
Phone: 781-310-4000
Facebook: facebook.com/GreenlodgeDedham
Twitter: @GLDGESchool