News to Use - January 25, 2021

Upcoming Important Dates:

Mid-Winter School Vacation                                                                  February 15-19

No School, Professional Development Day                                         March 15

Brrr! Winter is here! But we are still trying to get outside for recess as much as possible, as it really is an important opportunity for students to move during the day. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately to be able to spend at least 25 minutes outside each day.

SCHOOL PICTURES ARE HERE!

School pictures were delivered to the school and were distributed to students to bring home.  

If you are interested in re-takes or your child was absent on the original picture day, please send me an email to s.williams@hwschools.net by next Monday, February 1, 2021 so I can proceed with scheduling a make-up date/time.

HW HEALTH OFFICE UPDATES:

January 2021

COVID-19 VS COLD VS FLU VS ALLERGIES

Source: Boston Children's Hospital

This image demonstrates that COVID-19 has a lot of common symptoms with other illnesses. A person may have one or more mild symptoms or be asymptomatic. For any symptoms the recommendation is to seek a COVID-19 test.

COVID-19 VACCINATION

We are currently in Phase One of Massachusett's COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Recently several of our HW school nurses volunteered as vaccinators for first responders and also received the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is a 2 part series with the second vaccine occurring in a few weeks. We are excited and hopeful to be part of the vaccination process, and look forward to moving through the phases. School staff will be vaccinated in Phase Two.

TRAVEL ORDER FAQ

Does the travel order allow me to travel to another state for a day trip for a leisure activity such as skiing or shopping? Do I only need to comply if I stay overnight?

No. The travel order requirements still applies for day trips and leisure activities.

Travel for short, same-day trips are only exempt "for purposes that the Commissioner has designated as Critical Life Activities." This is "limited to short, same-day trips across the border and back for the following purposes: grocery shopping, visits to pharmacies, attending appointments with licensed health care providers including medical, dental, or mental health, visiting persons receiving treatment in hospitals or residing in congregate care settings, attendance at day care or children’s camps, attending religious services and funerals or memorial services, or attending to the care needs of family members."

COVID-19 HAMILTON & WENHAM TESTING

The towns of Hamilton and Wenham are providing testing to town residents and school employees on Wednesdays and Saturdays in January at the MRMS. Refer to the Hamilton or Wenham town websites for the latest information. Both towns are providing tests only to those who have COVID-19 symptoms and/or those who have been in close contact with a COVID positive person. For residents that would like to be tested for travel purposes or for peace of mind, Beauport is offering $85 PCR testing on site as well. Participants are asked to preregister by 4 pm on the previous day.

INFLUENZA

Announced on January 15, 2021: "The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is removing the requirement for flu vaccination for attendance in childcare/preschool, primary, secondary and postsecondary education. Preliminary data show that this has been a mild flu season to date, presumably as people have received their seasonal flu vaccine and have been adhering to mask-wearing and social distancing due to COVID-19. Given the intensive Commonwealth-wide efforts regarding COVID-19 vaccination, DPH wants to alleviate the burden to obtain flu vaccination and focus on continuing our COVID -19 vaccination efforts. DPH continues to strongly recommend that everyone age six months and older receive their seasonal flu vaccine each year."

For more school health and COVID information please visit our HW nurses' website. 

COUNSELOR'S CORNER

In order to achieve greater social emotional well-being and maintain healthy relationships, we need the ability to express all emotions and to regulate both pleasant and unpleasant feelings.  But children may not have the vocabulary or the tools to appropriately relay how they are feeling.  In an effort to expand our emotional literacy while building community, we have implemented Mood Monday and Feelings Friday at Cutler.  Maybe your child has mentioned it? These are days where we each make a point to ask a friend, “How are you feeling?”  We are working hard to expand our emotion vocabulary!  This is so important because recognizing and accurately labeling our emotions is an essential step in effectively managing them.  If you would like to continue and even expand upon this at home, Diane Alber’s Little Spot of Emotion book series is a wonderful way to do that.  I highly recommend these!

And as parents or guardians, we are co-creators of our children’s emotional systems so when we strengthen our own emotional skills, we strengthen those of our children. This is not an easy task anytime, much less during a pandemic! Here is a terrific yet brief article explaining how we might take steps to foster our children’s emotional competence from the Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Marc Brackett, Ph.D. To explore this topic further, check out his book, Permission to Feel.  I highly recommend that too!

Have questions or just need to chat? I am offering office hours for parents or students on Thursdays from 10-10:30 through Zoom.  To ensure privacy, I will have the waiting room feature enabled and will be sure to message anyone waiting.  I am looking forward to seeing you!  Ms. Creilson’s Zoom Link

And as always, feel free to call or email with any concerns or questions you might have.

Warmly,

Ann Creilson

Cutler School Adjustment Counselor

a.creilson@hwschools.net

978-468-8475

THE COMMUNITY HOUSE: AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

THE KIDS COMMUNITY @ 284

The Kids Community @ 284, sponsored by The Community House, offers safe and fun childcare options for students from kindergarten through 5th grade. Students will be engaged in a fun, hands-on learning environment where activities in the arts, science, technology, and recreation are offered. Programs offered throughout the year include baking, martial arts, lego club, crafts, sewing, knitting, music and theater arts.

For more information and registration, please visit the following link; The Community House.

EARLY CHILDHOOD PARTNERS CFCE “WIND-DOWN WEDNESDAYS” PARENT WORKSHOPS ON ZOOM Please join Early Childhood Partners CFCE for a series of FREE drop-in parent workshops to connect local families during these unprecedented times. Each week we will focus on self-care strategies, share parenting challenges & opportunities and discuss ways to better support our children. These workshops will be facilitated by Maryellen Collamore, MSW, LICSW, a local child & family clinician who specializes in parenting and childhood mental health. JAN 27 @ 7:30PM: PARENT/PARTNER COMMUNICATION  FEBRUARY 3 @ 7:30PM: SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT  FEB 10 @ 7:30PM: SELF-CARE FOR BUSY PARENTS Please register at www.EarlyChildhoodPartners.com to receive the ZOOM link. Feel free to join us for one or all of the workshops

Early Childhood Partners CFCE offers FREE storytimes, playgroups, workshops, community events, advocacy, connections, and support for families and children aged 0-8. To learn more and to register, please go to our website www.EarlyChildhoodPartners.com or call 978-468-5489.

Funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care awarded to Hamilton-Wenham RSD. All educational and non-academic programs, activities and employment opportunities at Hamilton-Wenham RSD are offered without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, age and/or disability, and any other class or characteristic protected by law.