In Santa Rosa City Schools we value your input, feedback, opinion, and love hearing your comments. Last year we participated in the Youth Truth Survey and we will participate again this year. Youth Truth is a national nonprofit that harnesses student and stakeholder (that's you!) perceptions. This helps educators (that's us!) accelerate improvements at Steele Lane but also in Santa Rosa City Schools.

I am writing to ask for ~15 minutes of your time to complete an online survey that will help us improve our school. SRCS has asked YouthTruth – a nonprofit organization that supports hundreds of schools and districts across the county – to conduct an anonymous survey on our behalf.

Please take the survey before it closes at midnight on 1/29/2021 by clicking this link: http://www.ytsurvey.org/santarosafamily21

Please note:

· The survey needs to be completed in one sitting.

· We ask that one member of each household fill out the survey.

· If you have more than one child who attends the same school, you may respond to the survey multiple times - one time per child.

Every week, you will be getting some strategies that students have learned in their Social-Emotional Learning classes. This week, I will be going over one of the 12 Toolbox Tools, and that tool is the Breathing tool. Here is how the tool works:

Take a slow, deep breath. With one hand on your stomach and the other hand over your heart, breathe in slowly through your nose, and focus on the air coming into your lungs. With the in-breaths, count slowly 1… 2… 3… Notice how your stomach expands like a balloon. Then let out the breath through your mouth, counting 1… 2… 3… Do this three times.

Suggestions for families:

· During transition times with your child, take a moment to use the Breathing tool together. This will help them handle transitions more smoothly.

· During times of conflict and frustration, remind each other to use your Breathing tool, then use it. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to resolve conflicts when everyone has calmed down.

· There are many breathing techniques, so use one that will help you to feel calm. Here is a video with different breathing strategies: Breathing Exercises

When learned well, the Breathing tool can become a lifetime strategy for dealing calmly with life’s challenges.

As we welcome families/students to campus for our various material distribution, we'd like to remind you of a few health and safety protocols.

1. Please stay home if you or your student:

• exhibit COVID-19 symptoms (i.e. fever of 100.4°F or higher, cough, shortness of breath, new loss of taste or smell, etc.)
• tested positive for COVID-19, and are within the 10-day isolation period
• have had close contact (longer than 15 minutes) with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days
• live or cohabitate with a person who exhibits COVID-19 symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19
• traveled outside of the state (specifically to high-risk areas) within the past 14 days

2. While on campus, please respect social distancing of 6 feet and wear a mask at all times. We recommend sanitizing your hands prior to and after the event.