It was another busy week at Boone Meadow, and now begins fall break. We truly hope your family is able to enjoy some special time together as we have these days away from school.

In addition, please check out the items below at your convenience, have a wonderful fall break, and we will see students return on Monday, October 18th!

• Family/Student Conferences - We look forward to our upcoming fall conferences on October 26th and 27th. This is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the home-school partnership through conversation with and about your child. During this time, teachers, students and families will engage in dialogue about individual strengths and needs. Conferences will be offered both in person and online, depending on family preference. Please note that at this time, masks are required within ZCS facilities for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status. We hope to have everyone’s active participation in this opportunity to celebrate your child's successes and make plans for collaborative support for your child’s continued growth.
• Dining for Dollars - Our next Dining for Dollars is Wednesday, on October 20th, at Bub's Burgers. Please note that a portion of the profit from food ordered on this day will go towards BME. Please make sure they know you are a Boone Meadow family when ordering!
  
• Blood Drive @ Boone Meadow. A bloodmobile will be in the BME parking lot on Wednesday, 10/20 from 3:30-7:30. Sign up for a time HERE
• Body Safety Lessons begin the week after Fall Break. Opt-out information & other important details are located below.
• Fall Parties - At BME, most classrooms will be having Fall Parties on Friday, October 29th! Our parties will be running without volunteers again this year per district, and will be managed by our classroom teachers. If you want to help, be on the look-out for information from your child's teacher.
  

Here's to a wonderful Fall Break! Enjoy -

Mr. Hundley

Last Saturday, Boone Meadow held it's first BioBlitz! It was a tremendous success!

22 Boone Meadow families gathered with Mrs. Benson and her husband, Dr. David Benson from the Nina Mason Pulliam Ecolab at Marian University, to identify living things on the BME Campus for 3 hours! Our observant crew recorded 268 different observations of 136 unique species:

· 100 plants

· 16 insects

· 8 fungi

· 6 birds

· 3 arachnids

· 2 mammals

· 1 “other animal” (earthworm)

It’s not too late to join the fun! Get the iNaturalist app, make an account, join our Boone Meadow Bioblitz project, and add your own observations. What might you discover? You can keep up with our project HERE!

Kara Benson, BME STEM Coach

One topic within the larger umbrella of Safety Education is that of Body Safety. A few examples of Body Safety topics include wearing seat belts and helmets, looking both ways to cross the street, keeping hands to self, eating healthy foods, and following school procedures such as walking in the hallways. Body Safety education also encompasses the prevention of childhood abuse.

ZCS has partnered with the Indiana Center for Prevention of Youth Abuse and Suicide (ICPYAS) to assist us in providing the instruction of strategies for abuse prevention. This instruction will be provided virtually to all students at Boone Meadow Elementary on October 18th or 19th. ICPYAS is a non-profit organization that employs certified instructors who deliver research-based lessons to students in developmentally appropriate ways as a means to give children strategies to keep their bodies safe. All students in grades K-12 receive the instruction on an annual basis, in accordance with state legislation SEA 355.

To learn more about these presentations, be sure to visit https://www.indianaprevention.org/parentresources and click on the “Child Lures Video”, which provides information regarding the content of this program. The website also contains links to additional resources. In addition, all Kindergarten families, as well as families new to Boone Meadow will receive a supplemental guide during the week of October 18th.

Parents have the opportunity to opt out of this program, if desired. Click Here for the Parent Opt-Out Form. (We will have additional copies available for you should you need a hard copy - simply call the front office or notify your child's classroom teacher with a request for the paper version.) Please note, this opt-out form should only be completed and returned if you desire for your student NOT to receive this body safety education.

Questions regarding this program should be directed to our school counselor, Kristi Sloan at ksloan@zcs.k12.in.us

As always, we value your partnership in the education of your child, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve your family in such meaningful ways.

Sincerely,

Mr. Tom Hundley, Principal

Mrs. Lauren Kersey, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Kristi Sloan, School Counselor

In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a sharp decrease in blood donation, which has led to a critically low blood supply. This means our communities are facing a potential crisis and blood donations are needed URGENTLY. Donate at this upcoming drive to help our Junior Life-Savers earn a class party!!

Boone Meadow Elementary School
Wednesday, 10/20/2021 (03:30 pm - 07:30 pm)
Bloodmobile in the Parking Lot

**INVITE A FRIEND to donate with you! Now through October 31st, Versiti is offering all NEW/FIRST TIME blood donors a $25 e-gift card as a warm welcome to our life-saving mission. Help us grow our donor footprint by encouraging someone new to our mission to join you and telling them about this limited-time offer! Maybe they will even share their gift with you! ;-)

*Donors must have a valid email on file to receive their e-gift card.
**Qualified recipients will receive an email 7 business days after their donation with a link to redeem their e-gift card.

Eligibility
• Photo ID & FACE MASK is required
• Eat and Hydrate before donating
• DO NOT SELF DEFER! Questions about medications, travel, tattoos, COVID-19 vaccine etc.? Contact Kashiun kmpierce@versiti.org

On behalf of all the patients and their families… Thank you!

October 11-15 - Fall Break

October 20 - Dine for Dollars - Bub's Burgers

October 26 - Regular school day w/ Family/student conferences (PM)

October 27 - E-Day & Family/Student Conferences

November 3 - Dine for Dollars @ Marco's Pizza

November 7 - Daylight Savings Time ends

November 11 - Veterans Day

November 24-26 - Thanksgiving Break (no school)

December 6-17 - NWEA testing window

December 17 - End of Quarter 2/Semester 1

December 20-31 - Winter Break (no school)

January 17 - MLK Jr. Day (no school)

January 18 - Teacher professional development day (no school for students)

February 14 - Valentine's Day

February 21-25 - Presidents' Day/February Break (no school)

March 15 - End of Quarter 3

April 1-8 - Spring Break (no school)

May 25 - Last day of school

May 26- June 3 - Make up days (if needed)

May 30 - Memorial Day (no school)

Q: How does the new Executive Order from Gov. Holcombe (8/31) impact school contact tracing?

A: IF individuals are wearing masks with fidelity in the classroom & on the bus, people who are contact traced will not need to quarantine unless they are exhibiting symptoms. We will still need to notify and document the contact tracing, but if no symptoms exist and the individuals were properly wearing masks, they would not need to quarantine.

Lunchtime is when contact tracing/quarantine does apply and the 6' rule will apply as well. Quarantined individuals can still return on day 8 if they receive a negative test (rapid in lab or PCR) on day 5, 6, or 7 after exposure - or stay out for the full 14 days.

Q: What about symptoms? What symptoms must we watch and keep our child from school?

A: Every morning, families should take note of if their child is showing symptoms of illness. We know this can be complicated, frustrating, and inconvenient as we strive to keep our learning environments as healthy as possible. Fevers, sore throats, new onset of intense headache, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, coughing or shortness of breath, or new loss of taste or smell are the common symptoms and students will be required (per health department mandates) to quarantine for ten days from the start of symptoms. Student may return to school/activities sooner with a physician document stating they may return OR a negative PCR CoVID test. (This is regardless of vaccination status)

Q: If one child is home with symptoms, must my other children stay home as well?

A: Siblings of ill students will need to be picked up if at school. Siblings will need to follow quarantine guidelines.

More information regarding COVID protocols is located here on the ZCS website.

ZCS C-19 Protocol