Happy Friday O’Dea Core Knowledge Elementary families!  It has been a lovely week at school with our students settling into fall and making leaf pile…after leaf pile as our backyard trees have started shedding for the season.  It is one of the best parts of this job…that we get to relive our childhoods and the excitement for the little things.

This email has a few important updates and attachments so please be sure to check it out:

• It is immunization/documentation season!  Please be sure that your child’s vaccination records are up to date and/or that you have signed the necessary waivers for exclusions.  Our health tech (Sara Daveline) has been reaching out to families who have missing information so please be sure to call her back.  If your child does not have all the appropriate documentation, they may not attend school as of November 1^st until their paperwork is completed.   Sara’s direct line is:  970.488.4456…thank you for your support with this.

• As we enter into our fall/winter season I also thought it would be helpful to include the district guidelines for wellness and when to keep your child at home.  We are still working hard to keep our school community safe and healthy and we will need everyone’s support along the way!  If your student is having any illness symptoms, see the attached: https://www.psdschools.org/your-district/covidsafety

• We are very excited to host our 2^nd annual Book Fair and Burritos and Baked Goods (Donuts) event this November!  It was a huge success last year and a great opportunity for our families to come together before school…check out some books…eat some breakfast…and spend time together…please check out the flyer here and be sure to add it to your family calendars!  Fall Book Fair Flyer.pdf 

• Next week the district will be hosting our surprise lockdown drill event.  We will be communicating with students that it is our drill week, so they are not worried.  The district also sent out a communication to families yesterday and it included information about our drills that I am reattaching here in case you are interested.  PSD Guidelines and Resources - Trauma Informed Drills.pdf 

• Monday, October 24^th is our “Practice Take Home Tech Day” so your child will be bringing home their technology to practice logging in and accessing their learning if school is cancelled.  I am attaching a letter from our district office which explains the thinking behind it.  I have had a few students ask me, “Why are you cancelling snow days Ms. Corso?” and I have been clear with the students that the first person on our neighborhood sledding hill each snow day…is me…and that this was not a site based decision…yet will support the district in all of its initiatives.  Elementary Devices.docx 

• Our Halloween Parade is coming up quickly and will be hosted in the afternoon (2:30ish) on Monday, October 31^st.  Parents are welcome to join us and we will have areas marked where our families can watch the parade and enjoy this time with their children.  Please feel free to join us if you can! Please also remember that we are encouraging students to not wear costumes that include bloody...gory...or otherwise inappropriate for elementary aged students.  No weapons may be included in the costume.   Thank you for your support! 

Whew.  It is such a busy and lovely time of year.  I always feel to lucky to be able to be a part of it.  I hope that we all take a moment this weekend to build a giant leaf pile…and to get a running start before we leap.  It is still pretty darn magical.

As always...please reach out with any questions...we are here to help! 

Much love and happy leaping!

Laurie