Dear Parents,
The peak of the cold and flu season is upon us. To prevent widespread flu in our school, we recommend that your child stay home from school if experiencing flu or cold symptoms. To decide whether or not to send your child to school, please consider the following guidelines:

Consider keeping your child at home for an extra day of rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

• Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough
• Mild sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)
• Headache
• Stomach ache

Definitely keep your child at home for treatment and observation if he or she has any of these symptoms:

• Fever (greater than 100 degrees and your child may return to school only after his or her temperature has been consistently below 100 degrees, by mouth, for a minimum of 24 hours)
• Vomiting (even once)
• Diarrhea
• Chills
• General malaise or feelings of fatigue, discomfort, weakness or muscle aches
• Frequent congested (wet) or croupy cough

To help prevent the flu and other colds, teach your children good hygiene habits:

• Wash hands frequently
• Do not touch eyes, nose or mouth
• Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, use a paper tissue, throw it away and then wash hands
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Colds are the most contagious during the first 48 hours. A child who has a fever should remain at home until "fever free" for a minimum of 24 hours. Often when a child awakens with vague complaints (the way colds and flu begin), it is wise to observe your child at home for an hour or two before deciding whether or not to bring them to school. Your child should be physically able to participate in all school activities upon their return to school. Keeping a sick child at home will minimize the spread of infections and viruses in the classroom.

As a school, we have our custodians disinfect surfaces, door knobs, and other high touch areas on a daily basis. We are also ensuring that there is soap and hand sanitizer in all dispensers and encouraging our staff to remind students about the importance of hand washing. Please also take the time to click on the links below for flu guides for parents from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• The Flu: A Guide for Parents
• Talking to Children About Flu

Thank you in advance for helping make this year at school as healthy as possible.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Crenshaw

Parents should make sure you have a clear plan for your students on Nov. 7. This will be an Independent Learning Day for students. Students will be given asynchronous assignments for the independent learning day. All teachers will communicate the expectations for the Independent Learning Day to parents in advance and provide the appropriate resources for students to work from home.

On Nov. 8 , Vanderlyn students and staff will be celebrating National STEM/STEAM Day. All grades will be fully immersed in a STEM/PBL project or showcase. STEM Day will be an opportunity for igniting young minds with the magic of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics, while shaping innovators of tomorrow's world. Other skills attained through STEM education include problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, decision making, leadership, entrepreneurship, acceptance of failure and more. By nurturing curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, STEM education equips students with the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive and technologically-driven world.

This past weekend, the DCSD held the Annual Employee of the Year Celebration at the World Congress Center. In attendance was Ms. Sumi, our 2023 EOTY winner, her husband, Dr. Jayaraman, Mr. Nichols and Mrs. Pansini. Our Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Weatherly was unable to attend. We are so proud of our EOTY and TOTY!

Grades 1, 2, 4, and 5 will begin testing on Wednesday November 8th through November 10th.

Grades K, 3 will begin testing on Wednesday November 13th-November 15th.

Please contact our testing coordinator, Griffin Nichols, if you have any questions. 678-874-9002 or griffin_nichols@dekalbschoolsga.org

Thank you to our wonderful PTO volunteers for a "spook-tacular" Halloween staff luncheon! The faculty and staff had a great time and appreciate all the ways that you show us how much you care!

Check out our Halloween Viking... featuring the Kayhan's: Dr. Cem, Gabe and Sarp!

We need parent volunteers to help unload students out of the cars during morning carpool. If you are interested in volunteering for carpool, please arrive by 7:30 to either the Dunwoody High School side or in the bus circle. A staff member will position you where help is needed. When temperatures fall below 42 degrees, we will not allow student patrols to be outside in morning carpool. This will result in longer wait times and potential carpool delays. Please consider giving us 15 minutes of your time! It will make a HUGE difference!

The Georgia Parent Survey was developed to measure parent perceptions of school climate at your child’s school. Your opinion is very important to us. Your survey responses are confidential and will be combined with the survey responses of other parents at your child’s school to identify areas in need of improvement. It should only take ten or fifteen minutes to complete the survey. Thank you for your time and participation.

Survey results will contribute to our school's 2024-2025 School Climate Score.

Georgia Parent Survey (Click Here)

SAFETY AND SECURITY

School Safety is our top priority. Our staff will review and refine our procedures to ensure we are ready if an emergency arises.

Every precaution will be taken to ensure the safety of our students and staff during school hours. One safety measure practiced are safety drills (fire, tornado, intruder), which are conducted throughout the school year. Fire drills are held once every month. Tornado drills are held twice a semester. Intruder (Lockdown) drills are held three times a semester. These important drills to keep our students and staff safe in the event of an emergency. The administrative team and all staff members will be in position to aid in a safe, quick evacuation. Routes for emergency exits are posted in each room of the building. Our number one priority continues to be the safety and security of our students and staff.

During the school day, we ensure the following safety measures are taken:

• All classroom doors remain closed and locked at all times.
• Exterior doors remain locked at all times and are not propped open for any reason.
• Exterior doors will not be opened for visitors.
• All visitors must come to the front of the school to receive assistance.
• All visitors must press the entry button outside the front door. The front office staff will assist all visitors from this point.
• If a visitor does not have an appointment with staff, is not checking out a student, or is not receiving assistance from the front office, they will not be allowed inside the school.
• Students are monitored by staff members in all areas of the building and on the playgrounds.
• Outside of traveling with their class to other parts of the building, students will travel in pairs when leaving their class independently to go to the restroom, clinic, or front office.
• Every classroom is equipped with a telephone, two-way radio, emergency call button, and emergency alert system. NEW THIS YEAR: Every staff member will have a crisis alert badge that they wear daily. In the event of an emergency, staff will press a button on this badge to alert administration and emergency personnel that they are in need of help.
• For afternoon dismissal, students are staggered by mode of transportation.

• Staff is strategically stationed all around our building and campus to ensure students arrive and depart safely from school.
• Our school resource officer makes periodic rounds throughout the school day and walks the campus to conduct safety checks.

In the event of an emergency, we will communicate with all parents via School Messenger. Please ensure you are connected and signed up for both on your mobile phone. It is important that parents read all text messages from the school thoroughly and follow next steps as outlined.

Safety will always remain our top priority. We appreciate your partnership and collaboration as we work together to maintain a safe learning environment for all students and staff.

Vanderlyn PTO Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vanderlynelementary/

Vanderlyn Viking Views: https://vanderlynpto.membershiptoolkit.com/newsletter/00190-20230714000617-093290000-2131713166

Vanderlyn Elementary Website: https://www.vanderlynes.dekalb.k12.ga.usvander

School-Home communication is very important. Please stay connected to the school by ensuring you have signed up for School Messenger. To receive timely emails and text messages from the school and district, please opt-in to school messenger!

Breakfast and lunch are served each day of school. Please review the flyer below for more information.

Information about meal applications and meal payments can be found at the link below.

Breakfast and lunch menus can always be found on this website: https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/school-nutrition/menus/

If your child needs to have medication administered at school, please download the form below and have your physician to complete it. On the first day of school, please place the form and medication in a ziploc bag clearly labeled with your child's first/last name. Inform the teacher that these items are in your child's bookbag and we will be sure the nurse receives them. You may also drop them off in the front office.

If you have questions, please contact our clinic assistant: Sumati Jayaraman at:

sumati_jayaraman@dekalbschoolsga.org

If you have any questions or concerns before the first day of school and/or throughout the school year, please do not hesitate to contact the school. Please follow our protocol on who to contact and in what order. Skipping a step will actually slow down the process of getting help for your child, as the person you contact will have to back-track and gather additional information. By starting with the person who spends the most time with your child – the teacher – you are most likely to get the information you need and reach a solution more quickly.

To best help you & your child and get to a solution/answer promptly, please reach out to school personnel in this order:

1. Teacher
2. Assistant Principal Griffin Nichols

3. Principal - Mrs. Tracey Crenshaw

Please review and save the list below so you are aware who to contact when questions arise.

• PTO Membership Toolkit - PTO Co-Presidents: Marcy Ames or Whitney Gaines: vanderlynelemPTO@gmail.com
• Family ID Hang tags (carpool or walkers) - Andrea Gillett: andrea_gillett@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Reporting your child's absence from school - Email your child's homeroom teacher AND our school registrar, Ms. Andrea Gillett: andrea_gillett@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Student illness, medicine requests, medical forms: Ms. Sumi: sumati_jayaraman@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Changes in transportation/dismissal - email your child's homeroom teacher AND our front office secretary, Andrea Gillett:andrea_gillett@dekalbschoolsga.org. This must be done by 12pm!
• Bus Transportation Concerns: Vernell Jackson at vernell_jackson@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Questions about school breakfast/lunch: Cafeteria Manager, Catalina Moreno-Ortega at catalina_moreno-ortega@dekalbschoolsga.org
• School library resources, Chrome Book Questions: Gail Pansini: gail_pansini@dekalbschoolsga.org
• General questions pertaining to your child's class - email your child's homeroom teacher
• Questions regarding gifted eligibility - Gifted Liaison, Julia Weiss: julia_weiss@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Questions pertaining to ASEPD (After School Extended Day Program) - Co-directors Julia Weiss or Audrey Brunson: julia_weiss@dekalbschoolsga.org and audrey_brunson@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Questions pertaining to class schedules, progress reports, grades, and report cards - Assistant Principal, Griffin Nichols: griffin_nichols@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Questions pertaining to districtwide assessments (MAP, CogAT, GA Milestones, ACCESS) - School Test Coordinator/Assistant Principal, Griffin Nichols: griffin_nichols@dekalbschoolsga.org.
• Questions regarding counseling, social, emotional/behavioral concerns, bullying: Counselors: Grades 3rd-5th Jessica Lee: Jessica_j_lee@dekalbschoolsga.org or Grades Pre-K-2nd: Dr. Candice Norris-Brown: candice_norris-brown@dekalbschoolsga.org
• Questions pertaining to schoolwide operations - email Principal Tracey Crenshaw: tracey_crenshaw@dekalbschoolsga.org