PC Principal's Post
Every Student. Every Day. No Matter What.
Prairie Center Elementary
Home of the Pioneers
11/7/2021
2 Weeks
Open Enrollment!
Don't forget....Open Enrollment is almost over and will end in a few days!
This is your opportunity to enroll in new benefits or make changes to your existing benefits.
Please sign in to your enrollment site: Registration
Your company identifier is OPSD
The Olathe Public Schools Benefits Team can complete your enrollment over the phone. Please call (913) 780-8024.
For detailed instructions on how to self-enroll, please click Online Instructions. To return to your enrollment page after initial registration please click here: Login.
Veterans Day
United Way Deadline
DISTRICT INFORMATION
We've been shorted lunch trays to the point that we will be out of stock by Tuesday of next week. We're currently working on securing round paper plates to get us by until we can get more trays. I expect we're at the point we'll need to go back and forth between trays and plates for the rest of the school year.
2. ELEMENTARY ASSESSMENT SPREADSHEETS
Please remind staff to fill out their classroom/grade-level spreadsheets from 1st quarter and anything that is due 2nd quarter (assessments and windows are listed for each grade-level on the spreadsheet). Please contact Nicole Atencio if teachers cannot access their spreadsheet.
3. CHANGES TO THE DISTRICT MASK MANDATE
At its Nov. 4 meeting, the Board of Education approved a Test to Stay program beginning Monday, Nov. 8 that would allow students and staff at all levels, Pre-K through 12th grade, who have been exposed to COVID-19 and who are not showing any symptoms to continue to come to school, if they agree to test daily at a district testing location and properly mask during the Test to Stay period.
To be a part of the Test to Stay program, parents must
-Make a daily appointment for their child to go to the district testing location or through their
own provider and be tested daily for the exclusion period.
-Home tests will not be accepted. If the test comes back positive, they will need to remain
home and complete the period of isolation for COVID-19 illness. If their results remain
negative, they can remain in school.
-Fully vaccinated students would not need to quarantine or be in the Test to Stay program if
they do not show symptoms. (Vaccinations are now available for students aged 5 and older.)
-To participate in the Test to Stay program if exposed to COVID-19, please work with your
school nurse.
Beginning on Monday, Nov. 29, masks will become optional at the high school level. The change in masking was made due to a decrease in student cases within the district. This mask optional policy only applies to the high school level at the current time, as the Johnson County mandate currently requires masking at elementary and middle schools in the district. High school masking will be optional for staff and students as long as the individual building percentage of combined isolations and quarantines remains less than 4 percent of enrollment or the individual building absenteeism rate remains less than 7 percent.
Masking would become mandatory for at least two weeks in a high school building if either the percentage of isolations/quarantines or building absenteeism goes higher than the percentages outlined.
Optional masking at a high school may be resumed once those levels maintain below the designated levels for two weeks. Once the county mandate has been lifted, masking optional protocols will be used for all levels.
We appreciate your support as we work through these mitigation changes.
High School Optional/Mandatory Mask Gating Criteria starting Nov. 29, 2021
- Building % isolations and quarantines less that 4% AND building absenteeism less than 7% = optional masking
- Building % isolations and quarantines 4% or higher OR building absenteeism 7% or higher = universal masking until both measures maintain below gating levels for two weeks.
Pre-K through Grade 8:
- County mask mandate. *When/if lifted, consistent gating criteria will be used across the district
4. COVID-19 VACCINE FOR STUDENTS – AGES 5-11 (AND BEYOND)
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has received emergency use approval for children ages 5-11. Locally the vaccine will be available through healthcare providers (pediatricians), pharmacies, and the health department. Therefore, we encourage families to seek the vaccination from their HCP or one of the other sources and have no plans, at this time, to provide the vaccine at school or through district-sponsored events. If a family has difficulty accessing the vaccine, e.g., due to lack of transportation, please contact the school for support. For families who do NOT want the vaccine, no action is required.
This is not a required vaccine and we will not request parents submit records. If parents claim vaccination status in the event of an exposure, documentation of full vaccination status (two weeks past the second correctly spaced dose) will be required to avoid quarantine protocols being applied. Parents who wish to provide documentation should provide the school nurse a copy of the vaccination record (paper, email, photo).
Fully vaccinated staff and students will not need to test or quarantine unless symptoms develop.
COVID REPORTING & DISTRICT FAQ:
If a fully vaccinated employee is exposed to COVID-19 and they are symptom free, the employee does NOT have to quarantine or complete a staff report.
If a fully vaccinated employee develops symptoms within the 14-day incubation period after an exposure to COVID-19, or is experiencing ONE of the PRIMARY symptoms or TWO or the SECONDARY symptoms (regardless of exposure), the employee should:
- Notify their supervisor
- Stay home
- Complete the Staff Report Form
- A Supervisor Referral Form should be sent to the HR department.
Click the link below to access the link below to access the staff reporting form:
https://www.olatheschools.org/domain/3145
All COVID updates regarding mitigation measures will be shared on the district website on the Return to School 2021 page.
See link below:
CALENDAR FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK
Monday, November 8th- E Day
*Sean in district meeting 1:00 - 2:30
Tuesday, November 9th- A Day
*SIT Day
**9:00 Hammeke
**11:00 Schreffler
**11:30 Hager
**12:45 Palmer
**2:30 Griffing
**3:00 Daniels
Wednesday, November 10th- B Day
*Picture Retake Day
*PLC Day
**9:30 5th
**10:00 3rd
**11:30 4th
**1:00 2nd
**1:30 K
**2:30 1st
Thursday, November 11th- C Day
*8:30 3rd - 5th Grade Veterans Assembly
*9:00 K-2nd Grade Veterans Assembly
Friday, November 12th- D Day