The Triton Tribune
Be Kind ~ Be Awesome ~ Make The Right Choices
Volume 3 ~ Issue 6 ~ August 23, 2021
Wonderful Triton Staff,
"Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” ~Maya Angelou
I hope that you have had an amazing weekend. On Wednesday, I went on bereavement leave to Lexington, KY to celebrate the life of my father-in-law who suddenly became ill this summer after being diagnosed with three major illnesses. After a courageous fight, he finally passed away and is now in heaven. During the service, as I listened to each person speak of what he meant to him/her, one word came to mind - KINDNESS. He was kind and generous to family and friends. One story that kept repeating was about the lemons he would receive from us as my husband would often send him a box of lemons from our trees. Upon receipt, my father-in-law would share these lemons with family and friends. I heard many of them mention that he would drop off a lemon or two for them and how they felt loved by that small gesture. An act of kindness will always positively affect the receiver. As Maya Angelou said, "Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." My father-in-law was certainly a rainbow. Staff, I know that our return this year has been filled with many challenges and sometimes it is very difficult to look beyond our circumstances. In spite of that, I hope that every day you are being a rainbow in someone else's cloud.
Starting this week, ELM will host a COVID Pooled Testing Program conducted by Concentric by Gingko. The first date of testing will be on Tuesday, August 24 followed by August 27. All athletes will be mandated to participate in these testing opportunities. Other students can voluntarily participate. We have identified other student pools due to their close contact nature; however, parents of these students can consent, if they choose, for their children to participate. Please see the list below.
Now that students are back in person, one of the issues schools face, ELM included, are students using social media inappropriately. These cases become more prevalent when kids have access to mobile devices. Staff, please remind student that if they have mobile devices they are taking responsibility for what they use them for, especially in activities that are not appropriate for school; this could include using cell phones in classrooms and private areas such as bathrooms and locker rooms as well as posting inappropriately on social media. We are investigating more cases that have arisen last week. During TSP, please review the section on Bullying & Social Media so that they are aware of the consequences. ELM is focused on providing a safe space for students to learn; this include social media being a safe space for them.
With Week 6 approaching, this means that Progress Report 1 is around the corner. This is an important time of the school year, especially for students and families who will be experiencing the letter grade system for the first time. Teachers, please make sure that your grades are up-to-date as we prepare for next week. A reminder that PR1 grades are due to Ms. McGough on Wednesday, September 1 by 5:00pm.
We finally have a Robotics Coach, Ms. Conchas-Hererra. If you have students who are interested in participating in Robotics, please email her the names at tanya.conchas@sweetwaterschools.org. She will be organizing a meeting soon.
Finally, please read the newsletter in its entirety as there are many pertinent information regarding school for the next two weeks.
Here is the link to the student/parent newsletter.
Let's have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Finley
At Eastlake Middle School (ELM), we seek to maintain a safe environment for employees, students, families, and the community. To support those goals, we have partnered with Concentric by Ginkgo to provide an optional and free pooled testing program.
But first, we need your help! We are requesting each family to participate in this program to help safeguard the wellbeing of our entire school community. Please sign the consent request below and read the attached overview from Concentric to answer some questions you may have.
To get started, please fill out the consent form with your permission to perform a COVID-19 pooled test for your student at ELM. This process should take no more than 5 minutes to complete using a computer or a smartphone.
- First, click here (https://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com/minor-consent).
- Then, enter this access code: [SWEETWATER-ELM]
- Finally, enter your child’s information, and you are done!
Note: If you have more than one child, please complete the process once for each child.
What Covid Testing will ELM be offering?
ELM will be providing PCR Pooled Testing and Rapid Antigen Tests at least twice a week, maybe more. Our first dates of testing will be on Tuesday, August 24 & 27, 2021. Identified student pools will be given PCR tests as a group of 5-25 individuals. Results will be reported in 48 hours. If a pool shows a positive result, subsequent Rapid Antigen Tests will be used as a secondary test for a pool that shows a positive result. Additionally, Rapid Antigen Tests will be offered to all our close contacts that arise from Covid-19 positive cases that are reported to us. Below is an image that shows you how this routine testing will operate on weekly basis.
Who will be tested first?
For the inaugural week of this routine testing, ELM will offer the tests for the following student pools of individuals listed in the image below. By the third week, we will increase the number of cohorts based on the number of student consents that we receive.
What is Pooled Testing?
Pooling can test 5- 25 people using one test. All students in a class, pod, or cohort swab their own noses and place their swabs in a single tube (that’s the pooling step). The samples in that tube are then run as a single sample, using one test. See it in action here.
Why Pooled Testing? Why Should My Student Participate?
You know the old saying: “knowledge is power.” Tools like pooled testing empower us to make great decisions. Without knowing the specific prevalence of COVID-19 in our school, it’s tough for us to make informed decisions about safeguarding our school community, returning to school, or continuing in-person learning.
Only students with completed consent forms are able to participate in testing. If you do not want your family to participate, your student will not be included in the testing program. We hope you do!
Testing empowers us to make these informed decisions about in-person learning and allows students, teachers, and staff to come to school with peace of mind.
To learn more about pooled testing, read the attached overview of Concentric’s pooled testing program and watch this video from another school using this service.
For more information, visit Concentric by Ginkgo’s website or reach out to Mr. Nafarrete at mendel.nafarrete@sweetwaterschools.org
If your students have not logged on to Jupiter Grades, please remind them so that they start checking their grades regularly. I have also informed parents on how to complete their login process via email and newsletter.
Please inform students of the following tutoring opportunities:
- 7th grade math tutoring is available (See times below).
- The library is also open from 7:15am - 8:00am for you to have a study place. It is open Mondays - Thursdays.
Finally, students may still be struggling with technology. Genius Bar is now open for technology support. Mr. Torres is the teacher who will be providing that support. Please have students complete the request form by clicking on this LINK or see image below to scan the QR code or us the bit.ly URL.
Currently, we are investigating a couple of Instagram Accounts that include either Eastlake Middle School or elm_ or elm. tag names. Many times, these accounts are used for showcasing arranged fights, gossip, which typically becomes cyberbullying, voting on couples or potential couples, which also becomes a form of bullying or harassment. These are just a few.
Regardless of where and when students decide to create an account with ELM involved or join one of these accounts tagged with ELM, any investigations that reveal their involvement will be reviewed for appropriate consequences. With the initials of ELM or our full name provides the nexus for school authorities to investigate. Using school IPADs is also an automatic school nexus for investigations.
I encourage you to have conversations with your students in TSP regarding this issue. Remind them about being responsible users. If you want material regarding appropriate social media use, commonsense.org is a great place to start.
Coming soon, the district will be offering routine COVID testing program for all students at ELM. Additionally, we will also be offering close contact testing without leaving campus. Please refer to the image slide below.
In the meantime, the district will continue to offer Rapid Antigen COVID testing, in partnership with San Diego State University (SDSU) and Communities Fighting COVID, at various campuses throughout the week.
This week's site testing schedule is:
- Monday: Chula Vista Middle School
- Tuesday: Mar Vista High School
- Wednesday: Chula Vista High School
- Thursday: Hilltop High School
- All sites will operate from 9:30am-12:30pm with a pause for lunch and reopen from 1:00pm-3:00pm.
Click on this link to register for testing. Or you can scan the image in the flyer below.
For the month of August, the testing calendar will be posted on the district’s COVID website here: http://www.sweetwaterschools.org/covid-19-information/#rapidcovidtesting
We are so excited for the new school year and ask for your continued help in keeping all students and staff safe by wearing your mask, washing your hands, getting vaccinated and getting tested.
Thank you for your patience as we make slight adjustments so that we can feed everyone who wants to access the free meals for this school year. At ELM, we serve two meals: breakfast and lunch. ELM does not have after school program so we do not serve supper.
Breakfast will be served during two time slots:
- Before school: 7:30am - 8:05am (35 minutes)
- Nutrition break Monday - Thursday: 10:09 - 10:19 (10 mins)
Lunch will be served during two time slots:
- 7th Grade: 12:17pm - 12:47pm
- 8th Grade: 12:52pm - 12:22pm
Due to the split lunch, we anticipate that we will be able to serve everyone who want to access the meals during lunch from Mondays - Thursdays.
For Friday, we will continue to release groups of students in 5-minute increments during the last 10 minutes of class.
Eastlake Middle School
Email: easter.finley@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: elm.sweetwaterschools.org
Location: 900 Duncan Ranch Road, Chula Vista, CA, USA
Phone: 619.591.4000
Twitter: @erfinleysd