Providence Hall Junior High
12/13-12/17
Thinking About Transitions
Can you believe we are down to the LAST week before winter break? I don't know about you, but I feel like December has come and gone like a toddler that just scored a cookie from the dessert tray before dinner is even on the table.
This past week in the Summers household has been filled with the equally exciting and hard experiences of having our only daughter move out on her own to begin writing the exciting, and expensive, adulting chapter of her life.
Our daughter Norine has always been her own little human. She is an opinionated, beautiful, confident, mouthy, tender, messy, artistic genius. She is a collector of strange for her age items, including vinyl records, old typewriters, rocks of every size, shape, and color, and most recently a plethora of all different types of plants.
As a young parent in the constant hurricane of raising little humans, I remember rolling my eyes at my mom when she told me to "treasure these moments because they will be gone before you know it." I know that on far more than one occasion I thought there would never be a day where I wasn't buying, smelling, or changing a diaper. With three boys, one lone girl, and nine different foster children, our house has never been clean, quiet, or boring.
Fast forward twenty years later, and her father and I are loading up boxes filled with hoodies, colorfully painted canvases, hair ties, and mounds of mismatched socks that lost their mate long, long ago. We have snuck in rolls of toilet paper and bottles of dishwasher soap alongside boxes of macaroni and cheese, and Grandma Sycamores bread because we know that her first adult shopping trip is going to be equally shocking and painful.
As we shut the door to her apartment for the night there was a palatable feeling of change. We were one step closer to a quiet empty nest versus a noisy full house.
Getting her ready to move out got me thinking about all of our Patriot parents that are going through the transition of having middle school students for the first time. I remember that pit in my stomach when we transitioned from walking our kids into their classroom to dropping off our pre-teens for the first day of middle school. Then there was the impossible task of trying to manage seven different teachers, in seven different subjects, all of which I felt highly unqualified to be of any assistance with. Cell phones took the place of crayons, and social media refused to move out of the house despite multiple eviction attempts.
As we head into this new year, I hope we can all take a moment to pause in whatever transitional moments we are in, despite how chaotic it may feel, and just take an opportunity to enjoy the crazy messiness of the ride.
I hope your Winter break is filled with rest, joy, and far too much of your favorite holiday treats!
As Always Patriots...
You Are LOVED!
Mrs. Summers
Mrs. Turley
Mr. Hawkins
Thanks To Our Amazing Patriots...Three Entire Families Will Be Getting Christmas This Year!!!
Patriots Are AMAZING!!!
There is ONLY one item still needed on the tree...
If you have taken an ornament to purchase a gift, please bring the gifts with the ornament back to the front office no later than 12/15/21 so we can get the gifts all wrapped and delivered by Friday.
We only have ONE item left on the tree which is a boy's bike.
If you would be willing to get the bike, please reach out to Edith Cutrer at ecutrer@providencehall.com for sizing details.
It has been magical watching how excited everyone has been to pitch in and help!
We love you Patriots!!!
A HUGE Thank You To Everyone That Helped With The Winter Wonderland Dance
We had so many beautifully dressed Patriots come out and enjoy an evening full of music, pizza, and really long dance trains!
A HUGE Thank you to Ms. McConnell and all of the Stucrew for the hours and hours of work and love that they put into making the dance a fun night for all.
Thank you to all of our Patriot parents for being brave enough to volunteer for the scary event that is otherwise known as a Junior High dance.
Have You Added the PHJH App To Your Phone Yet???
We are super excited to see if a Providence Hall mobile app would be something our community could benefit from. If this is something you like and you think is worth investing in, please speak up or forever hold your peace!
Here is a link to a short feedback survey. If you have a moment and would be willing to give your input, please click https://forms.gle/jUU2f3ZT17nAkQs26
I have also sent out the survey link through the app for anyone that has downloaded it.
We will be trying this through the month of December and need to get your input before making any final decisions.
Please click the link below to view this week's menu
Please Download and Print The Audition Packet Linked Below
COVID Booster Shot Information
Educators and community members,
BOOSTERS
COVID-19 BOOSTER appointments are available now! Please feel free to share with anyone you know. Follow the scheduling link below to find where Community Nursing Services is offering opportunities within SLCO.
Following a formal recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)/CDC and in line with direction from the Utah Department of Health, Community Nursing Services (CNS) Immunization Program began offering COVID-19 BOOSTER doses to eligible individuals 10/22/2021.
PFIZER and Moderna
Both PFIZER and Moderna COVID-19 booster doses are recommended for people at highest risk for severe COVID-19 including:
· people who are 65 or older, and
· people 18 and older who live in a long-term care facility, and
· people 18 and older with underlying medical conditions that put them at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19, and
· people 18 and older who live or work in a setting that puts them at a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19, such as healthcare workers and teachers.
Note that recommendation applies to individuals who received either the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 or Moderna vaccine for their primary series at least 6 months prior.
“Data reviewed by the FDA and ACIP showed booster doses can prevent further hospitalizations and death for those individuals who are at highest risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Data shows that the vaccines continue to provide very good protection against severe COVID-19 illness in the general population. Most Utahans do not need a booster at this time, but a booster can help add another layer of protection to those people at the highest risk of severe COVID-19,” said Dr. Leisha Nolen, UDOH state epidemiologist.
Note the underlying conditions below. As with initial roll out, individuals will need to self attest to eligibility for such conditions.
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic lung diseases
- Neurological conditions, such as dementia
- Diabetes
- Down syndrome
- Heart conditions
- HIV infection
- Liver disease
- Mental Health conditions such as depression
- Overweight
- Pregnancy and recently pregnant
- Sickle cell disease or thalassemia
- Smoking, current or former
- Solid-organ or blood stem cell transplant
- Stroke or cerebrovascular disease
- Substance use disorders
- Weakened immune system
Johnson and Johnson
For the nearly 15 million people who got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, booster shots are also recommended for those who are 18 and older and who were vaccinated two or more months ago.
Options
There are now booster recommendations for all three available COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some people may have a preference for the vaccine type that they originally received and others, may prefer to get a different booster. CDC’s recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots without preference.
Though CNS will not be providing individual on-site BOOSTER clinics within schools similar to the initial roll out, we would like you to be aware of some CNS locations in SLCO where appointments are now available for those eligible. Note that BOOSTER doses are readily available throughout the state at varied locations including pharmacies, health departments, providers offices, etc.
Please share the following scheduling link as you feel appropriate (minus my own email and signature line as I will be unable to respond).
COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling link:
5-11 year olds
CNS will begin administering Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine by appointment to individuals age 5-11 years old beginning Tuesday, November 9th at the following two locations:
· WVC Immunization Clinic
o Tuesday 12:00-4:30
o Thursday 12:00-4:30
· Meadow Peak at Summit Vista
o Tuesday 1:00-6:00
o Thursday 1:00-6:00
o Saturday 9:00-2:00
Appointments are REQUIRED due to the limited amount of vaccine available.
To schedule an appointment for children 5-11 years old, please visit www.cns-cares.org/COVID19 and select the PEDIATRIC COVID-19 VACCINE APPOINTMENT (age 5-11) Pfizer option. Should appointments be filled, please check back weekly as additional opportunities will be opened as vaccine inventory increases.
Note that this represents just one of the many available locations for 5-11 year old COVID-19 vaccinations. Individuals are encouraged to check with their provider, pharmacy, local health department and community partner each week for open appointments.
CNS will not be providing on-site COVID-19 clinics at individual schools at this time.
A Loving Reminder From Our Speech and Language Pathologist Mrs. Collingridge
Paper Crane Wishes
We had a goal of making 1,000 cranes between all of the grades, and we completely knocked that goal out of the ballpark.
We ended up making a total of 6,100 cranes!!!
When we hit the 1,000 mark, we got to make ONE wish for the school, but since we hit 6,100 cranes, we need your help with all of the wishes we get to make.
Would you please complete this form with the wishes you would like to make:
https://forms.gle/6Zxu1JH9YxEBhPTX9
Wishes that get chosen will get a prize and be announced on video announcements next week.
I am so proud of you!
Mrs. Whittmer
PTO Newsletter #ourfavoritepeople
If you have ever been curious about how you can help here at PHJH, we are about to introduce you to the people who work all the magic behind the scenes!!!
Please click on the link to see all of the amazing things our PTO does to support our school. There are so many ways to help even if you can't be at the school in person.
Thank you, PTO for putting this together, and for being the heart of Providence Hall!
Partnering with CTEC Business and Marketing Students
We are excited to inform you that the students picked Providence Hall as one of the organizations it will work with this year!
This is a great opportunity for us as a community to support students with hands-on learning and experience and get some free marketing help from a student's point of view.
To start the project, students have asked that we have the PH community complete this survey so they can see what you love and what you would like to see improved here at PHJH.
Please help these kids out by completing the form below.