PCCS : Eriksson's Frog Pond Report ~ 1/23/22

Press release from Plymouth-Canton Community Schools:

01/23/2022 2:00 PM

Frog Pond Report ~ Sunday, January 23, 2022

I hope that you are enjoying this cold and snowy weekend. Speaking of the snow, I understand the the forecast for tomorrow’s weather calls for 1-3 additional inches of snow. As long as the wind chill climbs to at least 15 degrees, it will be a great day for students to play at recess. Please remember to send students to school with boots and snow pants, in addition to their winter coat, hats, and gloves so they can get off the blacktop and play in the snow. Thank you to those who donated their gently used snow gear before the break. If any student is in need of any of these clothing items, please check in with the office.

I have also once again linked the district protocol for inclement weather to this week’s Frog Pond Report.

Inclement Weather:

We want to make sure you are aware of our inclement weather protocol and how it affects the potential for school closings (Direct URL: https://www.pccsk12.com/i-want-to/find-out-about-a-school-closing).

Our process remains the same as previous school years in that, if schools are closed due to inclement weather, it means there will be no instruction or programming for the day for all students. This includes both in-person and Virtual Academy students. All schools will be closed, and all remote learning will be canceled for the day as well.

District families and staff will be advised via robocall as well as our other communication platforms (mass email, official district website, P-CCS Mobile App notification, etc.), and local television and print local media also will be informed.

Bus Routes ~ Rotating Suspensions:

This week, our district transitions to round #2 of our rotating bus route suspensions. Starting Monday, Route 64 Bus 75G RED BUS resumes, and Route 5 Bus 61 PURPLE BUS, and Route 29 Bus 93P BLUE BUS begin their 2-week pause. I have included the entire Eriksson rotating bus route suspension schedule for your reference to this week’s FPR.

Round 1: 1-10-22 through 1-21-22

Route 64 Bus 75G RED BUS - High School, Pioneer, and Eriksson

Round 2: 1-24-22 through 2-4-22

Route 5 Bus 61 PURPLE BUS - High School, Liberty and Eriksson
Route 29 Bus 93P BLUE BUS – High School, West and Eriksson

Round 3: 2-7-22 through 2-18-22

None

Round 4: 2-21-22 through 3-4-22

Route 19 Bus 78 GREEN BUS – High School, Liberty and Eriksson

Round 5: 3-7-22 through 3-18-22

None

Given the impact that pausing two buses will have on our parking lot, perhaps this week is the perfect time for our kindergarten and first grade students to begin being dropped off and picked up in the back loop.

Benefits:

Minimizes the need for parents to wait for any of the limited number of parking spaces in the front to open in order to park and walk your child to their classroom door.
Eliminates the need for parents to get out of their car during arrival and dismissal.

Allows for all kindergarten and first grade students to wait for the start of school inside the school instead of outside in the cold.

Builds student independence

Minimal Challenges:

Increases the number of cars in the back loop.
Slight delays caused by parents new to the process getting the hang of the new routine.

Process for Kindergarten and 1st Grade Students using the Back Loop during ARRIVAL:

Follow the traffic to the back of the school, around the parked cars, and along the orange coned area.
Pull up as far forward in the loop as possible.
Adults will be present to help students exit their car.

Student finds the adult wearing the bright yellow vest in front of door #25.

The adult with the yellow vest will direct kindergarten and first grade students to door #25.

The adult at door #25 will direct students to an adult in the library (center of the hallway)

The adult in the library will direct students to their classroom door, where they sit and wait to enter. (Kindergarten and 1st grade students are already familiar with how to get to their classroom from the library, but we have an adult placed their just in case.

Process for Kindergarten and 1st Grade Students using the Back Loop during DISMISSAL:

Parent should come prepared with a 8 ½ X 11 paper with their child’s name and teacher’s name printed on it so the supervising adult can see it.
Follow the traffic to the back of the school, around the parked cars, and along the orange coned area.
Pull up as far forward in the loop as possible.
Adults will make a connection with each parent by looking at their sign, or asking which student you are here to pick up.
The adult will call for your child using their walkie talkie.

Adults will be present to help students move from their classroom to the pick-up loop.

Adults will help your child get into your car. (At first, parents may want to exit your car and help children see you. This will be helpful as young children learn a new process.. You may help to get them into the car.

Once you children are in the car, follow the traffic off school property.

Kindergarten and 1st grade parents wishing to continue to walk their children to and pick them up from their outside door may continue to follow the same procedure they have been.

Helpful Hint:

Let your child’s teacher know if you plan to use the back loop. Your communication will remind the teacher to help your child learn the new process, and make sure the teacher is listening for your child’s name when called.

The following is our

Schedule of Events for the Week of January 24, 2022.

Tuesday, January 25 ~ Our next Eriksson Student Credit Union. All students who save will be entered into our annual USA HOCKEY raffle. All students will receive a USA Hockey pencil, one raffle winner will get a USA Hockey drawstring bag filled with USA Hockey swag, and one raffle winner will get four free tickets to any home USA Hockey game!

I am excited to share that the second and final opportunity to sign up for this year's P-CCS Device Take-Home Program is here.

To sign up, families must complete forms in the Mistar ParentPortal and pay the liability in RevTrak. The deadline for payments and User Agreements will be this Thursday, January 27th. The insurance premium is prorated due to the second semester. Once in the ParentPortal, go to MY INFORMATION or BACK TO SCHOOL to complete all the Technology forms and pay insurance or deposit (please choose only one). Any payment received or User Agreements entered into MiStar Parent Portal after January 27th, will need to wait until Make Up day. Make Up day will be Monday, February 7th .

Summary of Schedule:

1/27/22 ~ Deadline to complete forms in the Mistar ParentPortal and pay the liability in RevTrak

1/31/22 ~ Devices available to students beginning 1/31/22*

2/7/22 ~ Make-up deadline for those who missed the 1/27 deadline to complete forms in the Mistar ParentPortal and pay the liability in RevTrak

* (NOTE) Given the timeline of deployment, students may not be able to start bringing devices home until after the NWEA Assessment Window. which begins on Monday, January 31. During each testing window, students need to leave their devices at school to insure that their devices are present and charged on testing days. If you have any questions about your child's testing schedule, please reach out to your child's teacher.*

SCHOOL NEWS:

I have included the 2022 Family Letter 5th Grade Math Assessment. This letter gives information on how the winter NWEA assessment is used to help with math placement as 5th graders move on to middle school next year.

Lunch Menu:

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PTO Spirit Stick Sale:

Our PTO has launched a Spirit Sticks online sale. Spirit Sticks are small embroidered patches that the kids can add to their Eriksson Frogs keychain that they received from their teacher in years past or at the beginning of the year if they are new to Eriksson. (If you have moved into Eriksson in the last 2 years and have a 3rd, 4th or 5th grader please contact the PTO and we will get you a keychain). Most kids then attach the keychain to their backpacks to show which patches they have.

Please use this ORDER FORM to let us know how many of each option that you would like to order.

Payment can be made with Venmo (@Eriksson-PTO), a check made out to Eriksson PTO, or cash in a sealed envelope handed in to your child's teacher labeled with their name and teachers name along with "Attn: PTO Sprit Stick Payment" on the envelope.

SAMPLE:

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DISTRICT NEWS:

P-CCS Vaccination Clinic

P-CCS, in conjunction with the Wayne County Health Department, will offer a vaccination clinic for the community on Monday, January 24 from 3:30 to 7 p.m. at Canton High School. This clinic will include the newly approved booster doses for those 12-15 years old, as well as first or second doses for those 5 years and older and boosters for those 16 years and older.

For those who received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the vaccination clinic on January 5 (including those 5-11 years old), you may receive your second dose at this clinic. If you received your first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the January 5th clinic, you will be eligible to receive your second dose on January 24.

Booster doses for those ages 11-15 years also will be included in this vaccination clinic. A parent signature is required for anyone under 18 to receive the vaccine. All students are encouraged to have a parent or guardian present. Here is the link to the pre-registration form https://forms.gle/h3k7tEgjwCyBXKZ99

This week, P-CCS began implementing the updated COVID-19 quarantine and isolation guidelines from the CDC and Wayne County Health Department. Here are the highlights:

Isolation Process for Positive Cases:

Student and staff members who test positive for COVID-19 and/or display symptoms suggestive of COVID, regardless of vaccination status, must:

Monitor for symptoms for days 0-10; AND
Isolate at home for days 0-5 (day “0” is the day symptoms begin or day test was taken for those without symptoms); AND

If symptoms have improved or no new symptoms developed, 24-hours fever-free without fever-reducing medication, you may return to school, while wearing a well-fitted mask, for days 6-10.

WCHD Close Contact at School -- Mask to Stay:

In accordance with the WCHD Guidance, if a COVID exposure occurs in the school setting, school personnel will no longer complete individual close contact tracing. Students and staff exposed at school will not be required to quarantine, but must wear a well-fitted mask while in school and at school-related events. This includes in-school contacts, including classrooms, buses, lunch and most extra-curricular activities. School personnel will continue to utilize contact tracing measures in high-risk areas, as identified by the WCHD, where masking and distancing may be less achievable.

When there is a COVID exposure in the school setting, P-CCS will continue sending a general notification letter to each school community instructing individuals that they should closely monitor for COVID symptoms for 10 days.

P-CCS will continue managing daily positive and probable COVID cases for both staff and students, and report all school associated cases to our transparency report located on the official district website found at www.pccsk12.com.

Quarantine Process for Close Contacts Identified Outside of School:

If a COVID-19 exposure occurred away from school, those students and staff who are unvaccinated and have not tested positive for COVID within the past 90 days, may have the options below:

Home quarantine for days 1-5, monitor for symptoms, test on day five, provide proof of negative test, return to school on day six, and “Mask to Stay” for days 6-10

OR

Home quarantine for days 1-10

Vaccinated staff and students, or those who have had a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the last 90 days (with proof), are exempt from close contact quarantine, as long as they are asymptomatic. For all Students and Staff Currently on a 10-day Isolation with Positive Test:

Isolate at home for a minimum of five full days (day zero is day symptoms began or day test was taken).
Return on day six if asymptomatic, if symptoms have significantly improved, or if fever free for 24 hours without medication.

If symptoms have not improved by day six, quarantine for a total of 10 days.

*All students and staff currently quarantined as a result of being a close contact to a positive case, and are asymptomatic, are eligible to return according to the updated quarantine guidelines.

Please see this convenient visual (PDF) for a representation of these new guidelines for P-CCS.

MI Backpack Home Test Program:

MI Backpack Home Test Program is a voluntary program offered by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for Michigan K-12 students and staff who want an extra layer of protection against COVID-19. Every person enrolled in the program will receive one at-home COVID-19 test "kit," which includes two at-home tests. MDHHS will provide the kits and educational materials, and P-CCS will distribute the kits to students and staff who choose to enroll. There is no obligation to participate.

The first wave of distribution of these test kits for P-CCS will occur the week of January 24. If you would like a test kit (2 tests total), please complete this google form to reserve your kit. If there is more than one P-CCS student in your household, you may pick up multiple kits but you must fill out the google form multiple times (once for each person).

COVID-19 At-Home Test Distribution: For Parents of Students

Test kits will be available for pick up during the COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Monday, January 24. Please come to Canton High School between the hours of 3:30 and 7 p,m. Turn left as you enter the main building doors by the flagpole. The google form must be filled out before you can pick up a kit. An additional pick up date for parents of students will be scheduled the week of January 31.

Note: At home tests are for personal use only and are not classified as diagnostic. A negative test result cannot end quarantine or isolation sooner than as directed by the CDC, MDHHS, or WCHD. P-CCS only accept provider administered (medical provider or licensed test site) viral negative test result (PCR or antigen) as diagnostic.

LPT in 3 Podcast

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools produces a weekly podcast with all the important district information for students, staff and families. You can view the latest LPT in 3 podcast on the district’s official YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOBLPrc4Mv26ZjcwupviqChIK0p7xEWp-

As always, I thank you for your attention to this message and remember, Learning and Leading, it’s the Eriksson Way!

Sincerely,

Kevin M. Learned, Principal

kevin.learned@pccsk12.com

(734) 981-6995

P-CCS COVID-19 Toolbox

I hope that you are enjoying this cold and snowy weekend. Speaking of the snow, I understand the the forecast for tomorrow’s weather calls for 1-3 additional inches of snow. As long as the wind chill climbs to at least 15 degrees, it will be a great day for students to play at recess. Please remember to send students to school with boots and snow pants, in addition to their winter coat, hats, and gloves so they can get off the blacktop and play in the snow. Thank you to those who donated their gently used snow gear before the break. If any student is in need of any of these clothing items, please check in with the office.