The first two weeks of school flew by in the blink of an eye! It has been such a treat to see students eagerly entering the school building, learning new routines and procedures, and spending quality time socializing with staff and classmates throughout the school day. I am proud of the safe return that we've had at Suder Montessori and I am happy to report that we have not encountered any positive Covid cases. We will continue diligently working to keep all of our students safe, in school, and learning.
Parents, I want to take a moment to say thank you for your continued partnership. I understand that there are so many new policies, procedures, and protocols for you and your families to learn this school year. I know that there are changes and updates that continue to be shared with families. We truly appreciate your flexibility in this regard. If there is ever anything that you need, the best way to get in contact with me is via email. I can always be reached at bbada@cps.edu.
Note: The Suder Family Newsletter will be sent every two weeks.
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September 14: Fire/Evacuation Drill
September 15: Suder Peace Garden Harvest, 5pm
September 16: Friends of Suder Informational, 5:30pm
September 21: National IT Professional Day
September 21: Title I Parent Advisory Council (PAC) Meeting, 5pm
September 21: Advisory Local School Council Meeting, 5:30pm
September 22: First Day of Fall
September 23: Friends of Suder General Meeting, 5:30pm
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Attendance Reporting Reminders
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Communication that qualifies for excused absence status must:
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Meet one of the valid causes for absence (see below). AND
- Make a direct phone call/voicemail to the school that communicates the following:
- date of the absence,
- the reason for absence,
- the absent student’s name, and
- the name of the person calling and their relationship to the student. Call MUST be made by the parent/guardian.
If your child will be out for an extended amount of time, email the teacher, teacher assistant (SECA, if applicable) and main office at scmccaster-b@cps.edu and jchanquin@cps.edu.
SUDER MONTESSORI ABSENCE REPORTING LINE
773-534-7685, extension 20112
We understand that on occasion a student may have to miss school. CPS and the Illinois State Board of Education requires that absences by students are indicated as EXCUSED OR UNEXCUSED. The categorization of absences are below:
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Self-Screening Health Questions for Parents
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To keep our students and staff safe and healthy, families should run through the list of questions below before leaving home each day. It is important if your child is experiencing any of the following symptoms, they stay at home in the morning.
For Non-Vaccinated or Partially Vaccinated Individuals
Has the individual experienced any of the following symptoms in the past 24 hours?
- Fever (100.4°F or higher)
- Headache
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Vomiting or nausea
- Diarrhea
- New loss of sense of taste or smell
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Congestion or runny nose
Has your child been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days (i.e., within six feet for 15 minutes)?
Is your child waiting on the results of a COVID-19 test?
- Please Note: This does NOT include the routine COVID-19 testing happening in CPS schools.
Has your child traveled to any state marked orange on the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) Travel Advisory map in the past 10 days?
- Please answer “No” if your child received a negative COVID-19 test within three days of arriving in Chicago or upon return.
Has your child traveled internationally to a moderate, high, or very high-risk location in the past 10 days?
- Please answer “No” if your child has already stayed home for 7 days and your child has received a negative COVID-19 test 3-5 days after returning.
Has your child tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days?
- If yes, please report their results by visiting cps.edu/covidresults or call (773) 553-KIDS (5437).
If you answered YES to any of these questions, please keep your child home.
For Fully-Vaccinated Individuals
Full vaccination means two weeks after you have received the second shot of the
Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after you have received one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Has your child experienced any of the following symptoms in the past 24 hours?
- Fever (100.4°F or higher)
- Headache
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Vomiting or nausea
- Diarrhea
- New loss of sense of taste or smell
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Congestion or runny nose
Is your child waiting on the results of a COVID-19 test?
- Please Note: This DOES NOT include COVID-19 screening testing happening in CPS schools.
Has your child tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days?
- If yes, please report their results by visiting cps.edu/covidresults or call (773) 553-KIDS (5437).
If you answered YES to any of these questions, please keep your child home.
If a child experiences these symptoms at school, they will be sent to the Care Room. At that point, the care room nurse will contact you and ask that you pick up your child ASAP. They will remain in the care room until you arrive. You will then be given further directions on what are the next steps you will need to take before you child can return to school.
Parents and guardians will be required to submit a quarterly attestation form in which they agree to perform daily health screening of their student before sending them to school. The attestation will ask parents and guardians to:
- Agree to screen their child for possible symptoms or COVID-19 exposure at home each day prior to school
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Confirm that they will not send their child to school if they answer “yes” to any of the CPS health screening questions
- Inform their child’s school if their child will be absent from in-person class because they are sick or have been exposed to a confirmed COVID case.
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The CPS Health Screener Attestation Forms were due back by September 3, 2021 for the first Quarter. If you have not submitted the form, do so immediately.
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Vaccination status does not impact those experiencing COVID-like symptoms. Those experiencing COVID-like symptoms must stay home and get tested regardless of vaccination status.
The symptoms mentioned above are considered COVID-like and require exclusion if not attributed to a documented underlying condition. All students with COVID-like symptoms will be sent home and should isolate until they are tested. Students MUST remain home from school for at least 10 days AND improvement of symptoms OR until they receive negative test results or alternative diagnosis.
- If negative, they can return to school following a negative test and improvement of symptoms. They will be asked to produce the test result for review.
- If diagnosed with an alternative diagnosis, they must meet the criteria for returning to school for the illness with which they have been diagnosed.
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If positive, please report their results to the Office of Student Health and Wellness cps.edu/COVIDresults.
- If they do not test, they must stay home for 10 days from the onset of symptoms AND for 24 hours (without fever reducing medication) AND improvement of symptoms.
Students who report experiencing COVID-like symptoms at home, but have not been in the school building, should be tested or receive an alternative diagnosis to return to school. Students MUST remain home from school for at least 10 days AND improvement of symptoms OR until they receive negative test results or alternative diagnosis.
- If diagnosed with an alternative diagnosis, they must meet the criteria for returning to school for the illness with which they have been diagnosed.
- If they do not test, they must stay home for 10 days from the onset of symptoms AND for 24 hours (without fever reducing medication) AND improvement of symptoms
If they received a vaccine in the past 72 hours this may be a vaccine side effect and would not require testing to return to school. However, they must not have a fever for 24 hours before returning to school.
Students who are confirmed cases of COVID-19 must complete 10 calendar days of isolation from the date of first symptom onset and be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications and other symptoms have improved before returning to school.
Students returning to school after experiencing COVID-like symptoms but were diagnosed with a non-COVID illness must meet the criteria for returning to school for the illness with which they have been diagnosed.
- At a minimum, the individual must be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and have had no diarrhea or vomiting in the previous 24 hours. Other diseases have specific criteria for when a student can return to school.
- A doctor’s note documenting the alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test result should accompany a student or staff member returning to school with an alternative diagnosis after experiencing COVID-like symptoms.
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Consenting to School-Based COVID Testing
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As part of the district’s efforts to ensure the safety of our students, we are partnering with Thermo Fisher Scientific and Color Health to provide all students with COVID-19 testing beginning September 1, 2021 for the school year through the ReadyCheckGo™ testing program.
If you are interested in having your child participate in testing, please follow this link https://home.color.com/covid/sign-up/start?partner=tf-sud-610405-students and complete the registration process. A parent or guardian must register any minor under 18 years old, and you’ll give a one-time consent and HIPAA authorization to share your child’s results with the school and district.
Testing is optional for students, except for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated student athletes. Testing will take place during regular school hours and results will be available in 24 to 48 hours. Color Health will follow up with you directly if your child receives a positive result.
For more information on testing with Thermo Fisher and Color, including self-swab testing and receiving results, head to their Support FAQs or call 888-603-1028. You may also email the CPS COVID-19 Testing Team at covidtestingcps@cps.edu.
Families received information on how to register their students online for the district’s COVID-19 testing program. The online platform is the most efficient way for parents/guardians to give their consent, but we are also providing a paper version that you may complete and submit to Suder. We will continue scaling up our COVID-19 testing program in all schools, with the hope of having 100 percent participation by September 15, 2021.
Thank you for your participation to keep our school community safe and healthy and your continued partnership as we enforce new routines and procedures to keep our students safe.
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CPS Student Gmail Accounts & Google Classroom
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It is imperative that all families have access to the CPS Gmail student accounts as this is how students will have access to take-home work if a student is absent for school OR remote learning if a class is required to quarantine. If they have not already done so, teachers will provide families the login information for he CPS Gmail student accounts by Friday, September 17, 2021. If you do not receive the information by then, please reach out to your child's teacher.
All student work for at-home learning will be on Google Classroom. Please review the Google Classroom Parent Guide below if you have questions about Google Classroom or reach out to your child's teacher.
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Friends of Suder is the parent-led non-profit organization of Suder Magnet Montessori, which supports students, teachers, staff and the Suder community. Find out more about us at a Parent Informational Meeting September 16 at 5:30pm.
Can't make the meeting, but interested in being a member?
Fill out a brief membership form here.
THE RETURN OF MONDAY SUNSHINE!
The purpose of Monday Staff Sunshine is to show our appreciation to our wonderful staff. Every Monday we will provide a surprise in the teacher's lounge which will get their week off to a great start. Sunshine Ideas: A candy "bar," oatmeal/yogurt bar, croissants, bagels, donuts, popcorn, granola bars, fruit, ice tea, juice, coffee. Sunshine should be enough for about 40-50 people.
Although the summer growing season is winding down, the Suder Peace Garden will be having its first meeting September 15 from 5 to 5:45pm
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