From The Nurses Desk December

By now everyone should be well versed in what the recommendations are for protecting yourself, your family, and others from the COVID-19 Virus. With that being said I won’t write about COVID prevention.

Brighten the holidays by making your health and safety a priority. Take steps to keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy—and ready to enjoy the holidays.

1. Avoid large gatherings and stay home for the holiday. Keep home gatherings to only those that reside in your immediate household. It isn’t forever just this year so that you can be with your family next season.

2. Wash hands often to help prevent the spread of germs. Remember it’s also flu season. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds. It’s also not to late to get a flu shot.

3. Bundle up to stay dry and warm. Wear appropriate outdoor clothing: light, warm layers, gloves, hats, scarves, and waterproof boots.

4. Manage stress. Give yourself a break if you feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and out of control. Some of the best ways to manage stress are to find support, connect socially, and get plenty of sleep.

5. Don’t drink and drive or let others drink and drive. Whenever anyone drives drunk, they put everyone on the road in danger. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.

6. Be smoke-free. Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke. Smokers have greater health risks because of their tobacco use, but nonsmokers also are at risk when exposed to tobacco smoke. There are many ways to stop smoking and depending on what you decide there may be assistance or insurance coverage to assist you.

7. Fasten seat belts while driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Always buckle your children in the car using a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt according to their height, weight, and age. Buckle up every time, no matter how short the trip and encourage passengers to do the same.

8. Get exams and screenings. Ask your health care provider what exams you need and when to get them. Update your personal and family history.

9. Get your vaccinations. Vaccinations help prevent diseases and save lives. Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year.

10. Monitor children. Keep potentially dangerous toys, food, drinks, household items, and other objects out of children’s reach. Protect them from drowning, burns, falls, and other potential accidents.

11. Practice fire safety. Most residential fires occur during the winter months, so don’t leave fireplaces, space heaters, food cooking on stoves, or candles unattended. Have an emergency plan and practice it regularly.

12. Prepare food safely. Remember these simple steps: Wash hands and surfaces often, avoid cross-contamination, cook foods to proper temperatures and refrigerate foods promptly.

13. Eat healthy, stay active. Eat fruits and vegetables which pack nutrients and help lower the risk for certain diseases. Limit your portion sizes and foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. Also, be active for at least 2½ hours a week and help kids and teens be active for at least 1 hour a day.

Be inspired to stay in the spirit of good health! Listen to The 12 Ways to Health Holiday Song or a holiday health podcast.

In Elementary, students have been learning about what to do when they feel a strong emotion- excited, scared, angry, sad. First recognize that your body is feeling a strong feeling and how did you know. Next giving yourself a stop signal- Stop, Chill, Relax, Calm Down. And lastly how to calm down- taking deep breaths, counting, taking a walk, positive self talk, etc. We worked on proper deep breathing and how this can focus your mind on the breaths and not the strong emotion.

As we move into the holiday season, kindness is a gift everyone can afford to give. A great idea that can be done at home is to make a paper chain with decorated white paper or colored construction paper. Have the kids write one act of kindness they can do each day as they pull the strips off. Or challenge your kids at the end of each day to tell you one kind thing they did. There are many small ways to show kindness. Here are some ideas for kids to try.

1. Donate a food item to the local food bank

2. Make christmas cards for neighbors or loved ones

3. Sort through your toys and donate any that you no longer play with to charity or your local church

4. Write a letter to your sibling telling them why you love them

5. Clean your bedroom

6. Write a note and mail them to the houses with great christmas lights saying thank you for lighting up their house for you to see

7. Send someone a care package

8. Write thank you cards for your teacher, coach, or people that have influenced you in a positive way

9. Clean up the area where you live by picking up litter. Make sure you wear gloves and do it with an adult.

10. Do something nice for your parents without them asking you to

11. Make a christmas card for someone at school

12. Help cook dinner for your family

13. Give someone a compliment

14. Hold the door open for someone

15. Smile and say “Hi” to others.

I hope everyone has Happy Holidays!

West Harrison has partnered with the NFHS Network and plan to broadcast our Hawkeye athletic events LIVE. That means that if you or family members can’t make it to the game, the live action can be watched from anywhere, on your phone, tablet, computer or smart TV. As part of the partnership with the NFHS Network, they will return a portion of each subscription sold back to West Harrison! With each subscription you will be able to have 3 logins at once making this a great way to share with a family member. Joining the IAHSAA: West Harrison High School-Mondamin, IA is easy, just follow these simple steps:

1. Go to NFHSnetwork.com

2. Enter West Harrison in search box

3. Click “Follow” so you can stay up to date on all upcoming Hawkeye broadcasted events

4. Click “Subscribe” for all subscription options for our school.

Thank you for your continued support of Hawkeye athletics. Note: This will only cover those events in the East Gym

** If you experience buffering issues while streaming the event there are a few possible causes. According to NFHS Network website, one issue is with your connection speed with your ISP. NFHS recommends a speed of at least 2 Mbps.

NFHS also recommends you use the Chrome browser. Using a different browser could lead to buffering or freezing issues. You may also need to clear your cache and cookies and reload the page.

If you are still experiencing issues, you will need to contact NFHS Network support. Their contact page link is: https://playonsubs.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005317186-Contact-Customer-Support?fbclid=IwAR0URulQajwKYtiiFcuFZtPaolsITWClQI7dyxC1c5jljqqGtote1OMCPBc

Hello! My name is Claire White and I am the Special Education teacher for Life Skills and a few Elementary students. I am originally from Clarinda, IA. I went to college for my bachelor's degree at Central Missouri State in Warrensburg, Mo. Since my bachelor's, I have obtained a Masters In Reading Education and am finishing my Special Education endorsement (2 classes left to go!) I currently live in Missouri valley with my son Briton, three cats(Hamlet, Stella, and Meow Meow), and my dog Spike. My son and I are very close. Most weekends you can find us having a movie marathon or a fire pit!

I love working at West Harrison. I have the best staff to work with, especially the paraprofessionals I work with daily, lets just say I wouldn’t do my job well without them. I love working one on one with students and feel that coming to this district is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I feel a part of a community that really cares for teachers and students.

This year has been crazy, rewarding, and a whirlwind and I cannot picture doing it anywhere else. Thanks to all of the staff that have made me feel welcome! Happy Holidays!

There have been a few changes in the business and computer classes this year. The main change has been with moving most assignments online.

The accounting students just finished learning the accounting system for a sole proprietorship set up as a service business. The students will now change their focus to a merchandise corporation.

The introduction to computers students have been learning Microsoft Office. The majority of the students are working on Access databases.

The introduction to business students are learning about what marketing is and how it affects our society.

The students in personal finance have learned about budgets, savings, and investments. The students are currently learning about the types of debt. Over the next few weeks, they will learn about credit scores and insurance.

Happy holiday everyone! Things have definitely changed this year but we are survivors. There is a lot going on in this Middle School classroom.

Seventh-grade reading has completed Lyddie and is now reading about others who have endured harsh working conditions. They will continue to analyze text and work with using text evidence in their writings. Eighth-grade reading has been working their way through reading Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This has definitely pushed their reading comprehension but they are thriving and catching on well! They will continue to read through the play and then will move into writing their argumentative essay using textual evidence. As we round out the quarter, both grades will be given an opportunity to view the movie of their respective books.

Both seventh and eighth-grade English have been working through their language books. Currently, the eighth grade is working on spelling rules while the seventh grade is learning more about correct quotation usage. Each week students also write a journal based on a prompt I give them. It has been interesting, to say the least when reading what they write; they can be quite funny.

Seventh-grade science has started into their new book and has been learning about cells. They have also been working on using their vocabulary terms in their lab reports; this has proven to be a challenge for them, but they are rising to the challenge well. Learning about cells will lead us into learning about genetics and eventually to behavior. We will continue to work through lessons with labs and class discussions.

STEM has been a favorite for many students. In STEM we work through the design process and then students get a chance to try their hand at a problem-solving project. They have done some amazing work and have come up with some amazing ideas in their quest to solve their problems. Students also get a chance to work with coding in STEM and while this is not their favorite part of the class they have made some cool creations.

It has been a crazy first semester, but I’m happy to be in school with the students every day. I look forward to seeing how each student progresses and rises to meet the challenges in the classroom and outside the classroom. Stay safe and healthy!