Elsie Rogers Express
September 9, 2020
Hello Elsie Rogers' Families,
As I shared with you last week, The PHM School Board approved a plan to bring our elementary students back to school for in-person learning! We are thrilled to be able to see our K-3 Roadrunners next week, and our 4-5 students the following week! You can find that communication HERE.
The Elsie Rogers Return to Learn Plan is attached below so that you can review how the teachers and staff at Elsie Rogers will welcome back students in a safe environment. (Please note that the building will still remain closed to visitors and to the public until a time TBD.)
NEW DETAILED INFORMATION is shown in a graphic below giving you additional information on our Virtual Learning experience for students choosing to remain virtual.
Additionally, there are PHM produced videos highlighting our transportation & safety protocols, cafeteria safety precautions, and custodial cleaning protocols.
Once you have reviewed that plan, it is imperative that you complete the questionnaire (survey) for EACH child that attends Elsie Rogers. Important things to note::
- If you have already completed this questionnaire, you do NOT need to do it again.
- If you have not completed it, please do so ASAP.
- If you you wish to change your response, please EMAIL us directly to indicate that change. Email: Maureen Donat at mdonat@phm.k12.in.us or Collen Lane at clane@phm.k12.in.us
- We would greatly appreciate you completing this questionnaire before Friday, September 11th.
- In this questionnaire, you will indicate your desired choice for instruction: VIRTUAL or FACE-TO-FACE.
Please remember that on Thursday & Friday, September 10th & 11th, students' virtual learning will be more in an eLearning format with only 1 brief check-in with students each morning at 8:45am. The rest of the day will be recorded lessons with activities and/or assignments. This is to allow our teachers time to prepare their rooms for students on Monday.
Additional information in this Elsie Rogers Express Pertaining to Return to Learn:
- PHM Kids Club site if you need to register your child for before and/or after-school child care.
- There is a link to PHM InfoFinder i site that will provide you with information regarding your child's pick-up and drop-off information should you opt to utilize the PHM transportation busing service.
If you have any clarifying questions, please feel free to contact me or the school office.
Sincerely,
Christy Campbell
Elsie Rogers Return to Learn Plan
Survey Deadline is Friday, September 14, 2020
Back to School Checklist
PRIORITY::
Check with your child EACH morning for signs of illness. - See graphic below
- If a child has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, they should NOT come to school. Email elsierogersattendance@phm.k12.in.us
- If your child has a sore throat, a cough, diarrhea, severe headache, vomiting, or body aches, consider calling their doctor immediately.
- If your child has had close contact to a COVID-19 case, they should NOT go to school. Please contact the school to inform us of a known exposure.
- Students must wear a mask on the bus and into the school Day 1. (NOTE: Elsie Rogers masks and lanyards will also be distributed to students once they are at school.)
- Materials that went home in the totes should return WITH your child.
- Backpacks are fine for students to use.
- Totes AND Chromebooks (with chargers) should also return with students.
- Refillable water bottles may be brought to school. (NOTE: Make sure their name & grade level is prominently displayed. Water bottles will be thrown away if they are left behind with no name.)
- Please consider using a brown disposable lunch bag as well as disposable drink (like a field trip lunch) for your child's lunch IF you are packing. This will help the staff tremendously with time management as we will not be using classroom lunch totes for safety reasons.
Students Wearing Masks
Census Information for Indiana Families
I have been asked to draw your attention to a very important event that will impact our school, community, and country for the next decade,
and is taking place right now nationwide: the United States’ census.
Please click on this link to read important information regarding the census and how your participation can help you, your family and our community.
Social Emotional Update From Dr. Sears
1. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, “Social and Emotional Learning is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” Based on research especially regarding neurodevelopment and cultural responsiveness, the Indiana Department of Education holds that there are seven core competencies (Insight, Regulation, Connection, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Sensory-Motor Integration, & Mindset), which can be broken down into subtopics. These core competencies need to be intentionally taught to students to help them be successful both now and in the future. For the month of September, the SEL lessons will cover the SEL core competencies of insight, regulation, critical thinking and mindset. More specifically, the lessons will cover the subtopics of the following:
- Flexible Thinking, which is learning to think about things and circumstances in a new, positive way. For more information, please see P-H-M's SEL resource with info on cognitive flexibility at this link.
- Identifying Personal Strengths
- Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals (Setting personal goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, & Timely) ~ For younger students, we are working on "I Can" statements so the students know they CAN and are capable of learning and growing.
- Developing a Growth Mindset, which is based off the work of cognitive psychology and Dr. Carol Dweck's research. A Growth Mindset means that people believe their talents can be developed through hard work, accepting constructive feedback, understanding that one can learn and grow from a mistake or failure, and embracing the power of the word "Yet" believing their time and efforts will help them to work toward achieving a goal.
2. September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Please check out this newsletter for more information, including resources. Suicide Prevention Newsletter for Parents/Guardians linked here.
3. Indiana law requires that all schools provide age appropriate and research based instruction on child abuse and child sexual abuse to students in kindergarten through grade 12. Penn-Harris-Madison has partnered with the Youth Service Bureau to provide this instruction and will be utilizing information from the “Protect Yourself Rules” curriculum. To learn more about the program, an optional parent information virtual meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. Details regarding this meeting are as follows:
Topic: Elementary Abuse Prevention Parent/Guardian Optional Informational Meeting
Time: Sep 15, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join the meeting via Zoom
https://zoom.us/j/2339814155?pwd=SXlVY3lUNWRhSDA0N0FLekdJMWFIUT09
Meeting ID: 233 981 4155
Passcode: 146550
Jennifer Sears, Ph.D.
Director of Social-Emotional Learning & Mental Health
Psychologist
Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation
Christy Campbell, principal
Email: ccampbell@phm.k12.in.us
Website: https://elsierogers.phmschools.org/
Location: 56219 Currant Road, Mishawaka, IN, USA
Phone: 574-259-5231
Twitter: @ElsieRogersES