Central Park East II
October 12, 2015
Fall Fair - This Saturday, October 17th 12 Noon to 5PM
Help Still Needed
VOLUNTEERS REALLY NEEDED FOR CLEANUP AND......
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR SET UP, CLEAN UP and activities throughout the day
Volunteers are needed for 1 hour shifts from 11 to 5 PM
We really need many people for Clean Up from 5pm to 6PM.
Many people make this quick and easy.
Got to: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4da9ac2da4f94-fall2
If this link is not working, try cutting and pasting it into a browser. Or, just email Nsmith3@schools.nyc.gov to sign up for a shift.
New Celebrations Brass Band at CPE II This Friday
CPE II is part of HONK NYC! 2015 Street Band Explosion. The New Creations Brass Band from New Orleans (http://honkfest.org/bands/new-creations-brass-band/) will be at CPE II this Friday, October 16th. They will visit classes and perform at Community Meeting (2pm this week.) The New Creations performance at our school is underwritten by funds raised via their Kickstarter. Some of you might be in a position to support, but everyone should take a look at their campaign: http://tinyurl.com/nzlsdq8
Murals are UP!!!!
Sego Mural So Far
Faith47 Mural
Columbus Day (or Indigenous People's Day) In the Classroom
Take That, Columbus! Celebrate NY Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday and Pow Wow This Weekend
CPE II Parents might be interested in reading about Indigenous Peoples' Day, a holiday celebrated in various localities in the United States, begun as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day. The purpose of the day is to promote Native American culture and commemorate the history of Native American peoples. Several cities across the US have adopted resolutions to recognize October 12 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day rather than Columbus Day. Here is an interesting article, "Time to Abolish Columbus Day"
Could it be Strep?
I wanted to alert you that strep throat is circulating around our sister school, CPE I. This strain of strep is mild, with most children only running a low-grade fever (or no fever) and complaining of a hot or sore throat, muscle cramps and a headache. The symptoms are mild enough in some kids that adults may brush it off as allergies or a cold. We thought this was important for you to know. If your child has Strep (or any other significant illness), please let us know, so we can inform the community to be vigilant.
Lice Tips from Yhane (Yes, we have a few cases of lice.)
EVERYONE should take a few moments to check your child's hair for lice and nits.
Yes, EVERYONE.
Who gets lice?
We have had black, white, Asian, Hispanic, bi-racial, multi-racial children with long, short, straight, wavy, thick, curly hair, clean hair, relaxed hair and hair with hair grease get lice and nits.
Don't assume it's the other kids who get lice and not yours.
How to check
A good, thorough check only takes a few minutes - let's say 5 minutes. Set a timer and check your child's head for 5 minutes - even short hair.
Start at the nape of the neck, make sure you check behind the ears, start at the roots and work your way along the strands of hair, work your way to the crown of the head. Check the entire head. Ask your child if they have any itchy areas and give that area special attention.
Lice are fairly easy to see, but they run into thicker parts of the head as you are looking through the hair. The nits are hard to see. They might look like flakes of dandruff or lint, BUT if you are not able to wipe it off of the strand of hair, it is probably a nit.
How to treat
The nits need to be combed off of the hair with a lice comb.
DO NOT think that just because you use a lice shampoo or oil, that you got rid of all of the lice and nits. Those products are a good start. But you will still need to give the hair a thorough combing with a lice comb. Not just once, but at least every other day, for 1-2 weeks.
The nits are the eggs, and if you do not get rid of the eggs they will hatch into bugs, which will lay more eggs, and they will hatch into more bugs and so on…
Even if you cut off the hair, you should still check the hair.
If you need a lice comb, I have plenty in the office. Send me an email (Yhane@cpe2.org) and I will be happy to send one home with your child.
Notification/DOE Lice Policy
It isn't necessary, but as a courtesy, if you let me know that your child has lice, I can let the other families know, so that they will be sure to check their children's hair. We will not broadcast your child's name. (See, I didn't mention anyone's name in this message.)
The truth is, even if the parents don't tell the teachers, in most cases, the kids tell us, or it is obvious because the child scratches their head so much. (Or comes to school smelling like tea tree oil.)
DOE policy says a child with lice CAN NOT attend school.
If your child has nits, the DOE says your child CAN attend school.
We will call you either way.
Just a footnote
Last Spring, when Hair Fairies came and checked the entire school for lice and nits, I asked the technician how many cases do they usually find on any given day. The technician told me 2-3 cases. We had 24 cases when they came to check us! Even a few of our teachers had lice/nits.
We really don't want it to get that bad again.
Needless to say, having lice and treating it is a major inconvenience - and expense.
Prevention
There really isn't a sure way to prevent getting lice, but there are effective ways to cut down on new cases of lice:
1. treat the hair thoroughly and properly for at least 2 weeks.
2. check the hair thoroughly and properly every other week.
3. keep hair up, braided, etc.
Thank you for your giving this your attention.
Yhane