The Hiawatha Buzz!

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Dear Hiawatha Community,

We are excited for our Community Dinner on January 24th. Please take this quick survey so we know about how many people will be attending. Here is the link.

With the wintry weather, I just want to remind folks to not leave their cars in the drop off lane during pick up and arrival times. Please stay with your car. Also, please do not block the crosswalk from the sidewalk to our parking lot. We will have an orange cone there to remind folks. We appreciate your attention to this and helping to keep everyone safe.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Katherine

* January 14, 2025 - PTO Meeting from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

* January 20, 2025 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School - please plan accordingly

* January 24, 2025 - Annual Community Dinner from 5:30 - 7:00 PM

During the winter months, please send your student to school with a hat, a pair of gloves or mittens, a coat, snow pants, and boots. Students go outside for recess unless the ‘feels like’ temperature is below zero degrees.

Also, please pack extra shoes for your student to wear inside the school building. Wearing wet snow boots is not only uncomfortable but makes for wet floors, which can lead to injury.

If you need assistance with obtaining winter gear, please contact me or Mrs. Grykien (kgrykien@ewsd.org).

Thank you,

Reyna Maher, RN

rmaher@ewsd.org

857-7740

Hello Hiawatha Families,

We are seeing a marked increase in illness in our school community. There continues to be some Strep + cases, a few GI illnesses, and several community members with fevers and headaches.

Given the uptick in illnesses, I wanted to take the time to remind families when to keep your student home from school. Please keep your student home from school for:

• Vomiting (the previous 24 hours)

• Diarrhea (the previous 24 hours)

• Fever of 100.4 degrees F or higher (the previous 24 hours)

• Unexplained rashes

• Illnesses or fatigue that interfere with learning

Students should remain out of school until they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication (acetaminophen or ibuprofen), without vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours, and they are feeling well enough to engage in learning activities.

EWSD is following the Vermont Department of Health’s guidance for COVID.

If your student has tested positive for COVID, they can go back to their normal activities after at least one day (24 hours) if: their symptoms are getting better overall
and they have not had a fever for at least 24 hours (and are not using fever-reducing medicines).

After returning to normal activities, you can take extra prevention steps for the next 5 days. These steps are recommendations, not requirements:

• Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands often with soap and water or use hand sanitizer, cover your coughs and sneezes, and clean and disinfect surfaces as much as possible.

• Keep physical distance with other people as much as possible.

• Improve air quality. Take additional steps for cleaner air such as bringing in fresh outside air, using an air filter, or gathering outdoors.

• Wear a mask. Look for a well-fitting, high-quality mask, or a disposable mask under a cloth mask. Masks are a good protection measure for all respiratory viruses.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Nurse Reyna

rmaher@ewsd.org

802-857-7740

Hello Hiawatha Community!

We are looking forward to having Georgina join us, working with me as a therapy dog team. We anticipate starting the week of January 20th. To start, Georgina will be joining us one day per week. I am looking for folks in the community who are interested in and able to support Georgina in getting some exercise before school starts. Are there any Hiawatha families with playful dogs that would be interested in joining me and Georgina at the Essex Junction Dog Park some mornings at 6:30?

If you are interested, please email me. If I have multiple responses, I will work to create a schedule. Also, if you have any questions or concerns about the therapy dog work at Hiawatha, please email me.

Thank you!

Alice Weston aweston@ewsd.org

Please join us on Tuesday, January 14th at 6 PM for our PTO MEETING. Showing up is an easy, low pressure way to contribute. This month we will be:

-Voting on our budget for the teacher wishlists, and deciding what we can provide to them

-Coming up with a theme for the Spring Dance and starting the planning process

-Checking in with Classroom Representatives about important topics

Mark your calendar, the Community DInner is Friday January 24th. Stop by for a delicious, FREE meal served by our Hiawatha teachers and staff.

Please click this link to see the hot lunch menu, be sure to select the correct month you need and select lunch in the drop down in the top of the page. The menu can also be found on our website :-)

Heavenly Pantry Update

Please note: Visits to the pantry are now limited to one per household per calendar month.

The Heavenly Food Pantry, located at the First Congregational Church on Main Street in Essex

Junction, will be open to families residing in Essex, Essex Junction and Westford Monday,

January 13, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Beginning at 5:30, persons arriving will be given a number and asked to wait in the sanctuary for their number to be called. They will then be registered and guided to the pantry for food. A volunteer will greet and escort them around the pantry, allowing them to make selections of their choosing. After food is gathered, it will be weighed (information for pantry use only) and another volunteer will bring the food to their vehicle.

Shopping carts will be made available for those within walking distance of the pantry.

As usual, there are no income requirements to visit the food pantry and a variety of food is

available to everyone; however, additional food is provided by the USDA to eligible households

who fall below federally mandated guidelines.

Those not able to attend the pantry may call the Church office at 878-5745 between 9:00 a.m.

and noon today and Monday to leave contact information (name, address, phone number) so

arrangements for delivery can be made. A follow up call to complete registration will take

place on Monday.

Families are currently able to visit the pantry once each calendar month. The pantry is open on

the 2nd Monday of the month from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and the 4th Thursday of the month from

3:00-6:00 p.m. (except for November and December when it is the 3rd Thursday).

The next food pantry distribution will be Thursday, January 23.

Email: hiawathaoffice@ewsd.org