Country Meadows Families,
Well, that was a very quick three-day week! We loved welcoming students back after the long weekend, and they didn't skip a beat getting right back into their routines. Just like this school week, we will keep this week's message short and sweet! Have a wonderful weekend!
Kindly,
Meghan Bird - Principal
NEW *Upcoming Calendar Reminders*
This is a friendly reminder that there will be no school on Thursday, September 16th.
NEW *Fall Parent/Educator Conferences*
Fall Parent/Educator Conferences are right around the corner! The conferences will take place on
- Thursday, October 7th from 5 PM to 8:30 PM and
- Friday, October 8th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM
These conferences will be 15 minutes in length. We will continue using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign up for conferences, and a sign up link will be shared via email on Monday, September 20th at 6:00 PM. Parents and guardians will be able to schedule an in-person or a remote conference with the classroom teacher, specials teachers, and any related service providers seen by your child.
NEW *PTO Update*
Please take a moment to read the PTO blog this week!
Upcoming events:
- September 13-24: Spirit Wear Sale
- September 17: Special Lunch Day (Papa John's Pizza)
- September 24: PTO General Meeting 9am (Room Parents and Committee Chairs are highly encouraged to attend)
REPEATING *Contact Tracing Clarification*
Contact tracing is completed when a confirmed COVID-19 case is reported. If a student is identified as a close contact, families will be notified. Contact tracing in District 96 is based on the current IDPH definitions of close contact which are included at the bottom of the D96 Quarantine Decision Making Matrix that has previously been shared with families.
- In classrooms, hallways, etc., close contacts are defined as being closer than than 3 feet with inconsistent masking of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period.
- In the lunchroom, close contacts are defined as being closer than than 6 feet with inconsistent masking of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes over a 24 hour period.
- In general, individuals who are solely exposed to a confirmed case while outdoors will not be considered close contacts.
As part of the contact tracing protocol we check with the classroom teachers, specials teachers, and related services staff to ensure that no student was unmasked, for more than 15 minutes cumulatively, within a given setting. If this is the case, additional close contacts would be identified and notified (i.e. snack, water, etc.). Please note that this may mean a student who sits 3 feet away from a confirmed positive case in the classroom setting (consistently masked) IS NOT identified as a close contact, while a child who sits within 6 feet of a confirmed positive case at a lunch table (inconsistently masked) IS identified as a close contact.
District 96 does not define what a close contact is, rather follows the IDPH definition. Likewise District 96 does not alter contact tracing or notification protocols, rather strictly follows those provided by the IDPH.
REPEATING *O’Hare PCR Results*
If you do not receive your child’s PCR results over the weekend, we apologize for the inconvenience.
Please feel free to contact O’Hare Labs by sending an email to [email protected]. This email is monitored frequently each day and is the preferred method of contact. Please be sure to include your child’s First Name, Last Name, DOB, and test date in the email.
If preferred, you can also call the Call Center at (800) 604-0197 Monday-Saturday between the hours of 10am-5pm.
REPEATING *NWEA MAP Reports*
While the bulk of MAP testing has been completed, the remainder of the window will be used for make-up testing. MAP reports will be sent to families on Friday, September 17th.
REPEATING *Covid Metrics*
To stay up-to-date this school year on local metrics, please visit the COVID DASHBOARD for District 96. Our priority remains to keep our students safe and follow guidance from the CDC. If your student is identified as a "close contact", you will be notified individually through the contact tracing process.
REPEATING *Yearbook Cover Contest*
Is your child interested in submitting a drawing to be featured on the Country Meadows yearbook this year? Click here for more information about our contest!
All submissions are due to the front office no later than Friday, September 17th!