Greetings Seawell Seahawk Families,

Optimism is the character trait of the month. Optimism is defined as having hope and confidence that future things will turn out successfully. In this time of reflection and resolution, I want to encourage families to remain hopeful about the future. included in that is remembering that we each have to do our part regarding both how we think about situations and our subsequent actions or reactions. In recent weeks, I have had the pleasure of meeting with various parents, groups, community partners and educational organizations; I am quite hopeful about our future and the work that will continue at Seawell Elementary. As we bring the year of 2022 to a close, let's move forward with optimism and believing the best of intentions regarding our learning community. Enjoy your respective holidays and traditions!!!

Remember at Seawell we value all, are committed to all, believe in all, and lead with the heart!!

The book fair was a great success and as a result, the library will soon be stocked with lots of brand new books!

ALL students deserve books of their own, and your hundreds of dollars in Book Fairy donations provided books for over 80 students in need.

Thank you to book fair co-chairs Caroline Zarzar and Jaime Cushing for their dedication and long hours and the 25 fantastic Seawell parent volunteers who helped staff the book fair this week.

I cannot even begin to express my gratitude.

Thank you for supporting our students. Thank you for supporting the library. Thank you for allowing all of us to experience so much book joy this past week.

Families can still shop online through December 15th:

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/seawell

Laura Nolan
Librarian

• Join the PTA for just $10 per person or sponsor a Seawell teacher or staff member for only $5 by clicking on the MemberHub link. As a PTA member there is no obligation to attend the PTA meetings or volunteer. We welcome other family members too, such as grandparents, to become PTA members, too!

• Volunteer with the PTA! There are several vacant positions, including PTA president. We are still looking for members of the yearbook committee and would love some volunteers! If interested in volunteering, please send an email to ptaseawell@gmail.com.

• Our Family OutReach Team (FORT) is seeking donations of canned goods and non-perishable items to be included in the holiday food baskets that are distributed every year to our needier families. Your contribution to this wonderful cause will help brighten the holidays for more than 65 Seawell children and their families.

• There are still ways to help out as we will be wrapping gifts, sorting food and distributing it all on Monday and Tuesday (Dec 12 & 13). If you would like to be a part of this uplifting event please Sign Up Here to Volunteer.

• Seawell Family Night on the Town. Thank you to everyone who joined us for our last event at Coronato Pizza. Thanks to our friends at Coronato Pizza for their generous donation to the Seawell PTA. Our next event will be at The Loop on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The Loop Pizza and Grill in Eastgate Shopping Center (1800 East Franklin St., near Trader Joe's) will donate a portion of sales to Seawell! Spread the word to friends and neighbors: order anytime from 4:00pm till closing - eat in or take out/curbside pick up. Be sure to add your receipt to the marked box at the register.

• Holiday gifts for classroom and specials teachers. Refer to emails from your room parents for more information about contributing to class gifts.

Seawell had 3 positive COVID-19 cases during the week of December 5-December 9.

CHCCS encourages eligible students and staff to get an updated COVID-19 booster. The updated bivalent booster is now available for people 12 and older (two months after they finish their primary series or any booster dose). It offers the most up-to-date protection against the latest Omicron variants. The booster, like all COVID-19 vaccines, is safe to get alongside your annual flu vaccine. The CDC also recommends a third dose for children 5 to 11 who have compromised immune systems. Click on these links for vaccination locations and more information on COVID-19 boosters

Families, please be sure to follow the following guidelines :

• Masks: In general, CHCCS remains a mask-recommended, but optional district. Masks continue to be provided for students and staff upon request. Exceptions to this protocol are outlined on our website as well as the below paragraph about COVID-19 positive staff/students.
• Also: Schools will no longer require masking in the entire building when there are clusters of 5+ positive cases in a small group or a cumulative total of 15+ positive cases in a school. More on this below.
• Symptomatic Staff/Students - Will be required to provide*:
• A negative PCR COVID-19 test, or
• 2 negative Antigen (Rapid) tests separated 24 hours apart in order to return to work/school, or
• An alternative diagnosis from a primary care provider.
• *This is not for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. This is to prove that the COVID-like symptoms being experienced are not COVID-19. Individuals who choose not to test for COVID-19 or get an alternative diagnosis from their primary care provider are required to follow the COVID-19 positive staff/students guidance.
• COVID-19 positive Staff/Students - Must quarantine for 5 days and can return on day 6 as long as they are free of vomiting, diarrhea, and fever without the use of medication and all COVID-19 like symptoms are improving (they do not need to be resolved). The individual needs to continue to wear a mask at work/school while indoors for an additional 5 days after returning. Please contact your school nurse for additional information and guidance on returning to work/school.

December 19 - December 30

• Teacher Workday/Winter Break

January 2

• School reopens

January 5

• SIT Meeting 5:30pm

January 16

• MLK Jr Holiday - No School for Students

January 20

• Second Quarter Ends

January 23

• Teacher Workday

Special Needs Advisory Council (SNAC)

Scan the QR code to learn more and receive SNAC communications:

(tap and hold on your phone)

Meeting Topic: Executive Functioning

Tuesday, December 13, 6:00-7:30 PM

Zoom Meeting Link

Please join us for the December SNAC meeting! Tania Treml and Kate Kennedy from our school district will discuss Executive Functioning. Everyone is welcome and we look forward to seeing you at the December meeting.

Can’t attend in person? Watch the playback of our meeting on the SNAC website http://snac.chccs.k12.nc.us/. Students should not attend SNAC meetings without the supervision of an adult.

SNAC is a group of parents, district staff, and community professionals working together for the continuous improvement of the CHCCS Exceptional Children's program. Our purpose is to promote inclusion in our schools. If your child currently has (or recently had) an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a 504 plan, is medically fragile, or has learning differences, then it is in your interest to get involved with SNAC.

Join our SNAC email list to be kept up to date on SNAC activities - email us at snacofchccs@gmail.com

Consejo Asesor de Necesidades Especiales (SNAC)

Escanee el código QR para obtener más información y recibir comunicaciones de SNAC

Tema de la reunión: Reunión de partes interesadas

Martes, 13 de Diciembre, 6:00-7:30 p. m.
Zoom Meeting Link

¡Únase a nosotros para la reunión de SNAC de diciembre! Tania Treml y Kate Kennedy de nuestro distrito escolar hablarán sobre el funcionamiento ejecutivo. Todos son bienvenidos y esperamos verlos en la reunión de diciembre.

¿No puedes asistir en persona? Vea la reproducción de nuestra reunión en el sitio web de SNAC http://snac.chccs.k12.nc.us/. Los estudiantes no deben asistir a las reuniones de SNAC sin la supervisión de un adulto.

SNAC es un grupo de padres, personal del distrito y profesionales de la comunidad que trabajan juntos para la mejora continua del programa CHCCS Exceptional Children. Nuestro propósito es influir en la política del distrito en temas de la CE y promover la inclusión en nuestras escuelas. Si su hijo actualmente tiene (o tuvo recientemente) un Programa de Educación Individualizada (IEP), un plan 504, es médicamente frágil o tiene diferencias de aprendizaje, entonces le interesa participar en SNAC.

Únase a nuestra lista de correo electrónico de SNAC para mantenerse actualizado sobre las actividades de SNAC; envíenos un correo electrónico a snacofchccs@gmail.com. Al igual que nosotros en Facebook, infórmese sobre las actividades locales

• Special Needs Advisory Council (SNAC) website linked here

• Ms. Lindsay Guge Cozon is our representative

This section will now periodically highlight clothing items found around our campus so that parents can alert their children to reclaim what was once lost! All clothing/items pictured can be found in the Lost and Found section of our cafeteria.

Lonely Jackets @ Seawell ES

This week I will simply caution families visiting our campus that we are experiencing quite a few staff/student illnesses. Influenza, an uptick in COVID19 and RSV cases are just some of the illnesses wreaking havoc in the last week. Please be mindful when enjoying festivities and take the cautions that you deem fit to keep your family as healthy as possible. We look forward to having you join us and enrich our learning community !!!

We’re hiring! CHCCS is hiring for a wide variety of available positions including Exceptional Children (EC), dual language, math and science teachers…plus bus drivers, facilities, maintenance and IT staff. Know someone who wants to join the CHCCS team? Please help us by using your networks on LinkedIn to share our posts and spread the word! Note that Seawell is still searching for:

• Fifth Grade LEAP teacher
  
• Instructional Assistants
  

Please call Seawell at 919.967.4343 ext 33201 or email ssilberstein@chccs.k12.nc.us to report absences and tardies.

Educational leave for students must be requested at least ten days in advance utilizing this form.

We are now able to have parent volunteers in our learning spaces again! In order to assist you with this process, please access the volunteer registration link . Note that you must go through the district volunteer process before beginning to actively volunteer in your child's classroom/school.