Lower School Newsletter - December 2, 2020

NEW AND UPDATED INFORMATION

 

A Reminder from the COVID Response Team Regarding Case Notifications

As noted in our Campus Reopening Plan, the School notifies all employees, all parents and all students in grades 7-12 when an on-campus learner or employee tests positive for COVID-19. This is because of the potential for direct exposure within the community. Notifications will not be sent for virtual learners who test positive for COVID-19 unless we determine through our interview and contact tracing processes that exposure to another Flint Hill student or employee has occurred off campus.

If you have any questions, please email huskyhelp@flinthill.org.

 

Below are some helpful websites for parents, during this week of virtual learning, from Lower School Counselor Emily Sorbi.

Mindfulness:

Mind Yeti®: This website has fifteen mindfulness program sessions for anyone to use; no experience or credit card necessary. It can be used by teachers in their classrooms or for families to listen to alongside their children.

Free Mindfulness Guides: Here is a great guide to the top-five free mindfulness apps and resources. I personally recommend Calm, as it can help students (and adults) who are struggling with sleep, task avoidance and staying focused.

Social/Emotional:

The Imagine Neighborhood: These were designed with the notion of helping students and adults practice their social and emotional skills. Each episode tells a story that's funny, easy to follow and a bit goofy while tackling the big feelings that come along with living through a pandemic … or just life!

Organization:

Planning and Organization for Kids: I know that we can all get carried away through the YouTube rabbit hole. Here is a helpful link for parents to set up their child's YouTube account so that it is safe and useful for them.

How Students Develop Online Learning Skills: Here are some tips and strategies for helping students stay disciplined, participate in learning, be patient, help teachers, get organized, ask for help, work efficiently, and help those in class with you. Parents and students can gain helpful information from this research.

 

The Giving Tree

To mitigate risk, our options for community service programming are limited right now. In next week’s newsletter, we will provide a list of specific community service partners for families to consider supporting, as we did for The Week of Thankful Giving.

Gifts to Faculty and Staff

As we approach the Winter Break, I wanted to remind you of the School’s recommendations concerning gifts to faculty and staff. Flint Hill encourages simplicity in the giving of gifts. Please note that holiday gift giving is not an expectation, and individual families should decide what is best for them, keeping in mind that a sincere, heartfelt “thank you” often carries the greatest meaning. The School discourages the collection of money from parents to provide teachers or coaches with gifts, and for safety reasons, this year students may not bring gifts from home to distribute at school.

 

Hour of Code

The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. The 2020 Computer Science Education Week will be December 7-13 (Huskies celebrate coding and computer science year-round :))! Computer science helps students to improve in core areas like math, logic and even reading comprehension. At its core, computer science is the study of how to use logical thinking to identify, simplify and solve complex problems. Additionally, knowledge of computational thinking is becoming an important skill for success in our digital world and is a component of 21st-century literacy.

As part of our week-long engagement, our Lower School students will have opportunities to demonstrate and build on their coding abilities. In September, our Lower School Huskies very quickly learned how to navigate block coding using the Tynker Jr. and Tynker apps. Students successfully completed block code coursework by learning to use commands, loops, sequences, algorithms, and most recently, repeating conditional statements. During the Hour of Code, students will put their skills into play by solving coding puzzles, debugging messy codes, and using codes to maneuver their character through obstacles. The Hour of Code will be a great experience for our students!

 

Dressing for Cold Weather and Preparing for Cancellations

In cold weather, a hat, gloves and a winter-weight coat are required attire to go outside. Barring a medical condition, all children will participate in outdoor recesses. If wind chill conditions cause temperatures to feel 20 degrees or less, students will remain inside for recess. Children who do not have the required outerwear will not be allowed to go outside. It would be appreciated if parents could ensure that their child/children have the appropriate clothing for break and recess.

Flint Hill’s Inclement Weather Policy provides details on how we make decisions and notify the community about delays and school closures.

 

School Store Winter Preview

Holiday shopping made easy! Click here to view the School Store Winter Preview.
To receive your items in time for the holidays, please place your order no later than noon on Thursday, December 17.
Please contact Adrienne Robinson with any questions regarding sizing and returns/exchanges.

 

Articles

Most Effective Ways to Help Kids Who Are Too Hard on Themselves
8 Children’s Books to Celebrate Native Heritage

 

UPDATES AND REMINDERS FROM THE LAST NEWSLETTER

 

Virtual Headmaster’s Parent Discussion Series

Each year, Headmaster John Thomas offers sessions for parents in each division, sharing his insights as a parent, veteran educator, and former school counselor. These sessions will allow us to discuss how to raise children in today’s world. The early years in a school like ours are exciting, eventful, transformative and scary, and challenging at times. And add to that mix the COVID experience of having to wear masks and staying physically distant. At Flint Hill, we are fortunate to have faculty and staff who take their role as educators very seriously. I look forward to talking with you and engaging in healthy and positive conversations. Lower School parents can join John at the following times:

Grades 1-2 — Thursday, December 3, 8:30 a.m. Here is the link to the meet.

Grades 3-4 — Tuesday, December 8, 11 a.m. Here is the link to the meet.

Grades 5-6 — Wednesday, December 16, 10:30 a.m. Here is the link to the meet.

 

 

 

The second meeting of the virtual Kaleidoscope Book Club is scheduled for Monday, December 7, 9-9:45 a.m. We will discuss “All We Ever Wanted” by Emily Giffin. We look forward to building and deepening relationships through this shared learning opportunity. All parents are welcome to attend regardless of your familiarity with the book selection. Please submit your name and email address, in this form, to RSVP for the first meeting and/or be added to our email list. Please contact All-School Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Miles Henderson if you have any questions.

 

Reminder: Masks for Parents and Guardians During Morning and Afternoon Carpool

As a reminder, to mitigate risk and potential exposure for the Lower School faculty and staff who open car doors during carpool, parents/guardians are required to wear masks during morning and afternoon carpool.

Driving Spirit Award Nominations Due December 11

Send your nominations to Ana Yarbrough.

The Driving Spirit Award recognizes current Flint Hill teachers and staff who have demonstrated ethical leadership, diligent intellectual scholarship and a commitment to teaching, coaching and mentoring students. Recipients are recognized for their contributions to the “Driving Spirit,” which makes our School the special and unique place we all value — a place that honors excellence while emphasizing the importance of our core values: respect and value all equally, lead and support with compassion, act with integrity, imagine what’s possible and blaze the trail. These teachers and staff members lead by example through their dedication and ability to energize and inspire Flint Hill’s community to new heights of learning and leadership, both inside and outside the classroom.

Please think about the great current teachers and staff members in the Flint Hill community whom you believe fit this description. Emails and letters should be sent to Ana Yarbrough by Friday, December 11.