Blog

One Month Left of 2020!

We’ve almost made it through 2020! There seem to be some signs that 2021 is bound to be better, and yet please continue to wear masks and take all precautions for your own safety and the safety of others.

Here at Everett, students are still doing a great job at being safe. We are encouraging students with incentives such as extra golden tickets if they are “caught” wearing their masks correctly!

Social Media – I Now Have Set Limits

Recently, I watched “Social Dilemma” on Netflix. It was alarming in many ways, and I now have limits on my phone for how much I consume daily. However, a protective feature for me and others my age is that we grew up without social media, and thus don’t have the same understanding of just how much of a role in can play in one’s life. I was SHOCKED to see the statistics about children and mental health in the documentary. Compared to the first decade of the 2000s, the rates for depression and anxiety have gone up over 150% in girls aged 10-14. While we might think about “teenagers” as those in middle and high school (and there are concerns there too), to see the role social media has played in younger children scared me! Please be sure you are setting limits for yourself as a good mental health step as well as a model for students. In addition, it helps to explain to students how detrimental social media can be and put limits in place.

Last Official Day of Summer!

It was crazy to see on the news this morning that today is the last official day of summer! It feels like summer ended months ago! I’m so proud of how our students have handled the move back to school. I rarely have to remind students to wear masks, and even though it seems like there is a new way of doing things every other day, students have shown amazing flexibility.

Thank you also to the families for helping students with the transitions. So many times, we’ve had to remember that nothing about this year is ideal, but we are doing the best we can.

As a reminder, conferences are coming up. Please be sure to check with your student’s teacher about when the conference is scheduled. These will all be virtual this year (again, not ideal, but it’s the best we can do for now).

Three Weeks In!

We have now completed three weeks of the 2020-2021 school year! I think exhausted is a great word to describe how everyone is feeling. Not only are we adjusting to the new school year, but also having to constantly adjust to make sure we’re all staying safe. New routines and procedures can take up a lot of our energy!

Please remember one change is students are not to arrive before 8:05. There is no adult supervision before that time, and thus we ask students not be dropped off. Also, students tend to not be great at physically distancing themselves from others, and for everyone’s safety it helps if we have as few students as possible waiting outside the doors.

I had predicted masks would be a big challenge this year, but I am thrilled to say I was wrong. Yes, occasionally a student is playing with his or her mask, or it slips under the nose and a reminder is needed. However, when given a reminder, students have been awesome about making the changes needed.

We will continue to work hard on making this the best, and safest, school year possible! Thank you so much for all your help and support!

The 1st Full Day!

We are excited to enter our first full week of school, and welcome our remote learners! Last week went very well at Everett. I only had to remind students about masks a couple of times, and they did a great job adapting to all of our changes with arrival, recess, lunch, and dismissal. Please remember a big change is students are not to be on campus until 8:05 as they will enter the building at 8:08. All students will be offered a breakfast as they enter school to eat in their classrooms. As there is no supervision prior to 8:05, and we work to keep the students physically distanced, please make sure students are not arriving early.

Thank you for all the wonderful support as we embark on this crazy year!

We’re Back!

The teachers are back today, and boy are we excited to see the students. It has been nice to catch up with each other as well as we plan for the school year. I know there is a lot of information coming about the school year. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our office, your student’s teacher, or me if you have any questions! We’ll see you the 12th!

Let’s Call It!

The year is FINALLY over! What a crazy, sad, weird school year this was, and I’m relieved that it’s over. Throughout all my meetings over the past few weeks the focus has really been on moving forward. Next year, next August, whenever we’re able to see the kids. That’s where our focus is. I think we’re all ready to move on and focus on when we really get to interact with students again!

I’m excited to be returning to Everett again next year as the school counselor. I’ve started revamping the website to get ready for next year too!

A Year to Remember!

This is definitely a year to remember! Looking back at my last post, I had no inkling it would be the last post for the “school-based learning” and that from then on, we’d be doing remote learning. While this is all new, and unnerving, we educators have been so impressed with our students’ and families’ flexibility, dedication, and creativity. As a parent myself, I know it is hard to keep up on all the emails, Google Classroom posts, etc. However, know that you are doing a great job! Please have extra patience with yourself and your student.

The school counselors have created a website that we hope will be helpful. You can find it HERE.

Feel free to reach out to me via email or call Everett with any questions or concerns. Rest assured, we are still hard at work, just working from a different location!

A BIG THANK YOU!

We wanted to send out a BIG THANK YOU to Hy-Vee. Our school social worker, Schyler, and I wanted to give the staff a little treat on the last day of conference week AND third quarter. We reached out to businesses and Hy-Vee responded with a gift card helping to make this day possible. Thank you so much to Hy-Vee for helping make this day special!

We want to thank Hy-Vee for the gift card!

Covid-19

I know LPS sent out emails about how our school district is preparing for an outbreak of Covid-19. I also know how difficult it is to listen to the radio or watch TV without something, usually something sensational, being said about the virus. I have had lots of conversations with students, individually, in small groups, and in the classroom, about the virus. Please keep those conversations going at home. When students are hearing something at school, from their friends, or on TV, but it isn’t referenced by their trusted adults, it causes them to worry even more. They often think, “It must be REALLY bad if my parent/guardian won’t even talk about it.”

Talk with your student about how we can help ourselves be healthy. Washing hands for 30 seconds is recommended. Practice that. See and feel how long 30 seconds actually is (I know I was in for a shock when I timed myself). Practice coughing into your sleeve. Work on getting lots of sleep (yes, even during spring break it’s a good idea to go to bed a bit early), drink lots of water, and try to make healthy eating choices.