Week of December 14, 2020

Friday Fliers:

Family Care Connection Project

We wish you a wonderful and relaxing holiday break with your loved ones! The IHE Staff will see you on January 5th! 

Register for our FREE early learning series: Supporting Young Children and Families in a Pandemic        Let's shine a light on the important work of early learning providers during an extraordinary time in our world. We will discuss how to identify red flags, build resilience, and seek support despite the limitations this pandemic has created. Concrete resources and activities will be provided during these interactive virtual trainings.   January 12, 2021, 6-7:30 Young Children and Families in a Pandemic-What do we know and what can we do? Living in a Pandemic has impacted every person in our local community and abroad. How has limited social contact, mask wearing, and separation impacted young children and families? We will explore concerns to look for and unexpected benefits of experiencing the pandemic. Learn how providers can help themselves while supporting the littlest learners.   February 9, 2021, 6-7:30 Social Emotional Development-Looking for Red Flags and Supporting Growth What is social-emotional development and why is it important? How can we support children returning to early childhood programs in the midst of a pandemic? This workshop will help providers recognize social emotional concerns in young children, create activities to help this growth, and consider community support resources. This interactive training is designed to give you practical information you can use.   March 9, 2021, 6-7:30 Building Resilience in Young Children Resilience describes the handling of stress, trauma, and adversity. We all experience varying levels of challenges in our lives and the way we bounce back from them demonstrates how resilient we can be. We will explore why resilience is important, activities that promote resilience, and how caregivers can build their own capacity for resilience during difficult times.   Click here to register for our event Click here learn more about this early learning series

  

Upcoming Events: 

Dec 18-Jan 4: NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

Dec 19: Elementary Progress Reports Open for Parents to Review

Week of December 7, 2020

 Friday Fliers:

Kindergarten Registration

Stone Canyon Cliff Notes

Candy Cane Parade:

We are so excited to see our kids! Please join us for a car parade on Thursday, December 17th from 12:00-12:30pm so that we can send our kids off to the winter break with some sweet treats (candy canes). IHE staff will line the drop off lane and administration will pass out candy canes to our kiddos. After our parade, students will engage in asynchronous lessons for the remainder of the day so that our teachers can finalize their Elementary Progress Reports. Due to the district furlough day on December 18th, our teachers do not have this day to complete these as they normally would (per the district calendar). We hope that you can join us for this great event!

Return to In-Person Learning:

As you may have heard, we will be returning to in-person school on January 5th. As we will need to continue to follow Tri-County Health guidelines and protocols, which includes quarantines for exposed students and staff, please begin to make plans for care in the event that your child needs to quarantine.

We are very excited to welcome our students back into the building!

Apple Awards:

The district has an award called the Apple Awards, where parents nominate teachers, classified staff or administrators who are doing an amazing job. This year, teachers are working even harder and reinventing the wheel. You can nominate any teacher in any school or eLearning teacher. I wanted to share the link with you, in case you wanted to nominate your child(s) teacher or special teacher.  Let's fill the screen with IHE teachers. Here is the link. Let me know if you have any questions or need help. 

https://www.foundationdcs.org/nominations

El distrito tiene un premio llamado Apple Awards, donde los padres nominan a los maestros que están haciendo un trabajo increíble. Este año los profesores están trabajando aún más duro y reinventando la rueda. Puede nominar a cualquier maestro de cualquier escuela o maestro de eLearning. Quería compartir el enlace con usted, en caso de que quisiera nominar al maestro (s) de su hijo o al maestro especial. Cambiemos eso y llenemos la pantalla con profesores de IHE. Aquí está el link. Avíseme si tiene alguna pregunta o necesita ayuda.

Original Works Orders:

You might be wondering when you'll be receiving your Original Works orders and I did a little poking around to try and get some answers.  Here is what I found.

Orders should ship within 7 - 14 days of placing the order. But OW is working at 50% capacity due to COVID regulations.

Customer Service can check on your ship date for you if you're wondering where your order is in the process.  You can email CS@originalworks.com and give them their Order Confirmation # or you can call Customer Service at 1-800-421-0020 Ext. 3 and get help over the phone. 

The hours are 8am-4:30pm Eastern time.

Holiday Store:

The date to have your students purchase gifts for their family members has been extended until December 18, 2020. All orders are guaranteed for delivery by December 22nd. Place your order today! Please see your email for more information. 

Gifts for Staff:

Several families have reached out asking how to get gifts to their teachers. If you are would like to get a gift to your child's teacher, you can drop them off at the office between November 30th and December 11th between 7:30am and 4:00pm.   

Upcoming Events: 

Dec 17: Last Day of School for Students

Dec 18: Last Day for Holiday Store

Dec 18-Jan 4: NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

Dec 19: Elementary Progress Reports Open for Parents to Review

Week of November 30, 2020

Friday Fliers:

Kindergarten Registration

Apple Awards:

The district has an award called the Apple Awards, where parents nominate teachers, classified staff or administrators who are doing an amazing job. This year, teachers are working even harder and reinventing the wheel. You can nominate any teacher in any school or eLearning teacher. I wanted to share the link with you, in case you wanted to nominate your child(s) teacher or special teacher.  Let's fill the screen with IHE teachers. Here is the link. Let me know if you have any questions or need help. 

https://www.foundationdcs.org/nominations

El distrito tiene un premio llamado Apple Awards, donde los padres nominan a los maestros que están haciendo un trabajo increíble. Este año los profesores están trabajando aún más duro y reinventando la rueda. Puede nominar a cualquier maestro de cualquier escuela o maestro de eLearning. Quería compartir el enlace con usted, en caso de que quisiera nominar al maestro (s) de su hijo o al maestro especial. Cambiemos eso y llenemos la pantalla con profesores de IHE. Aquí está el link. Avíseme si tiene alguna pregunta o necesita ayuda.

COVID REMINDERS

We would like to express a sincere THANK YOU  for your continued support in diligently communicating with Iron Horse Elementary regarding COVID updates. Whether you know someone who was positive, think you may have been exposed or are experiencing symptoms our Iron Horse community has been conscientious about reporting these situations to the nurse or the front office. We want to encourage you to continue to remain consistent in communicating, practicing safe hygiene and following social distance guidelines. We appreciate all of your efforts! 

WAY TO GO Iron Horse Elementary!!

CONTINUE TO REPORT EXPOSURE OR POSITIVE TESTS

Families should report exposure to the school if your student has spent time (6 feet of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes total) with someone who has tested positive for COVID. We only need to be notified if they have had DIRECT contact with a positive person. 

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of reported symptoms – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure COVID-19. Symptoms may include:

Fever or chills

Cough

New loss of taste or smell

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Fatigue

Muscle or body aches

Headache

Sore throat

Congestion or runny nose

Nausea or vomiting

Diarrhea

If you have further questions regarding health and safety you may click on the following link:

DCSD ROAD TO RETURN HEALTH AND SAFETY QUESTIONS.

STEM Center for Strength Information:

Happy Holidays and a joyful Wintertide  from all of us at STEM Center for Strength! Dating back to 900 BCE, "Wintertide" is an Old English expression meaning "Wintertime." Although the word itself changed over time, the meaning remains the same. Even as this 2020 year has brought about various change, the meaning of the holiday season and our mission remains the same; To serve our community with wellness programming and services to promote recovery and resilience in their healing journey. WAYS WE SERVE YOU Helping our community build resiliency is one of our core values. We provide multiple ways for you to access mental health support free of charge. In addition to individual and family counseling or therapeutic support groups, we also offer educational sessions that focus on resiliency, healing, and recovery. Visit our calendar here for upcoming events! Complete this form to access FREE services UPCOMING EVENTS: THRESHOLD OF WINTER Saturday, DECEMBER 5TH Now virtual! Due to the rising COVID cases, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure our programming supports our community in a safe and effective manner.  We have made a well-considered decision to move our outdoor workshops ONLINE!  How do we do that?  While a natural, outdoor venue would be ideal, the healing application of narrative therapy is not location dependent.  Our creative clinician, Jenny Robbins, has re-formatted Threshold of Winter to be available online in an effort to provide a safe and inviting space for healing through story and symbolism.   RESERVE YOUR SPOT HERE! We will host these workshops online, until further notice. BREATHE IN A NEW SEASON Wednesdays 12/2/2020 - 12/16/2020 As we Welcome the Wintertide, the holiday season can also arrive with increased anxiety and stress. Together, we will embrace the change of seasons with a more meditative and mindful approach. Learn and apply evidence-based practices to reduce trauma-related symptoms and build a foundation for recovery and stress reduction. RESERVE YOUR SPOT: Moving Forward - Adults >>> Next Steps - Youth >>> LEADERS OF THE PACK Thursdays 12.3.2020 - 12.17.2020 Mindfulness has been shown to reduce anxiety, depression, and symptoms of grief and trauma. These sessions will teach ways to cultivate mindful practices while embracing a new season of change. Group includes learning and practicing resiliency skills, trauma education and self-care while honoring a safe, confidential place to share. RESERVE YOUR SPOT HERE! STRONGER TOGETHER Thursday, DECEMBER 17TH @9am and 5pm Increase strides in your mental health healing journey with an hour of physical training. ALL AGES WELCOME! No experience necessary. Join The Phoenix instructors every third Thursday for a virtual fitness session! RESERVE YOUR SPOT: @9AM here >>> @5PM here >>> YOUTH MINDS MATTER NEW TRAINING FOR FREE *limited time and space! First Aiders participate in a 4-hour, Instructor-led videoconference. Youth Mental Health First Aid Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders in youth. This 4-hour training gives adults who work with youth the skills they need to reach out and provide initial support to children and adolescents (ages 12-18) who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them to the appropriate care. RESERVE YOUR SPOT HERE >> 64.1% of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment. – Mental Health America 1 in 5 teens and young adults lives with a mental health condition. – National Alliance for Mental Illness 5.13% of youth report having a substance use or alcohol problem. – Mental Health America We want to hear from YOU! Please take the survey below to provide feedback on your needs, programs, and experiences you hope to see at STEM Center for Strength going into 2021. SURVEY HERE* *ALL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ENTERED INTO A DRAWING FOR A $25 GIFT CARD! Stay connected with us on social media @Center4Strength!  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌

Gifts for Staff:

Several families have reached out asking how to get gifts to their teachers. If you are would like to get a gift to your child's teacher, you can drop them off at the office between November 30th and December 11th between 7:30am and 4:00pm.   

Upcoming Events: 

Dec 8: Texas Roadhouse Restaurant Night for IHE - Take Out Orders

Dec 8: SAC Meeting 3:45-4:45pm - Virtual Link on IHE's Website

Dec 9: Holiday Plant Pick Up - 3:30-5:30pm @ the front entry

Dec 9: PTO Meeting 3:45-4:45pm - Virtual Link on IHE's Website

Dec 11: Holiday Store Ends

Dec 17: Last Day of School for Students

Dec 18-Jan 4: NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

Dec 19: Elementary Progress Reports Open for Parents to Review