December 2, 2021

Dear O.H. Anderson Students and Families,

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Break with family and friends. We had a fun time with our school-wide tradition of Turkey Bingo. Ask your kids about the fun time we have together.  

With the holidays there have been questions about Free COVID-19 Testing Kits for Mahtomedi Students. Rapid tests are available for free for all K-12 and Passages students at Mahtomedi Public Schools. To request a free test kit, please contact Marcia Senkler marcia.senkler@isd832.net 

We can provide a free test if your child is.......
Symptomatic: If a student is staying home with symptoms or is sent home with symptoms, parents/guardians will have the option of receiving an at-home test kit (the kit will be sent home with the student OR if the student is at home, a parent/guardian may come to pick a test kit up).

Household Positive: If a student is a close household contact (positive COVID-19 case in student’s household), parents/guardians will have the option of receiving an at-home test kit for the student (the parent/guardian will need to pick up the test kit).

When students are in quarantine due to COVID, we have outlined how we will support students both academically and socially emotionally. Here is the process OHA will use to support your child throughout the quarantine:

 Please click here for more information.

Also, please note that students may bring home Chromebooks to continue learning at home.  Just let teachers know you want them and they will send them home. If chargers are needed, please make sure they go back and forth with your child in backpacks each day as we do not have extra Chromebooks or chargers.

Take care of yourself, your family, and each other. 

Ms. Prather, Principal

susan.prather@isd832.net
 

The third and fourth-grade students at O.H. Anderson will be taking the CogAT test during the testing window of November 29th-December 17th. The third-grade students will be testing the week of November 29th and the fourth-grade students will be testing the week of December 6th. Make-up tests will be the week of December 13th. 

The CogAT test consists of 3 battery tests or sections: Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal. The students will complete one section of the test a day. Since the test is timed, it takes 30 minutes to complete all 3 subtests. 

The CogAT test will be used as one piece of data for Gifted and Talented identification, along with another data point to help inform instruction in the classroom. If you would not like your child to participate in the CogAT test, please complete the following Opt-Out form. The results will be shared with families at a later date.

We need your help!!! We have an opening as a Lunchroom/Recess Paraprofessional. The hours are 10:55-1:25. It’s a great time to connect and have fun with our amazing kids. For more information, please click here or contact susan.prather@isd832.net

• Help students have fun and stay safe during lunch and recess which is the highlight of the day. 

• You get to work with a great team of teachers and staff at OHA!

• Get fresh air and play with our students.

• Short shift so you can still run your errands.

• You get paid to have fun!

• The kids are awesome!

Our school district will use e-Learning days during the 2021-22 school year during emergency weather closings. We intend to use e-Learning days immediately with our first emergency weather closing. Building and program-specific e-Learning Day plans can be found below.

• Wildwood Elementary e-Learning Days Plan

• O.H. Anderson e-Learning Days Plan

About e-Learning Days

• e-Learning Days allow our students to work from home, avoiding potentially dangerous commutes, and allow them to work in a safe, warm environment when the weather is unforgiving.

• e-Learning Days are intended to counter the loss of curriculum momentum resulting from school cancellations due to Minnesota’s winter weather.

• e-Learning Days cannot replace the face-to-face time students have with their teachers, but it can provide better continuity when school is interrupted.

• e-Learning Days can also negate the need for makeup school days during breaks or in June, helping families more effectively plan summer activities.

Announcing and Facilitating e-Learning Days (ELD)

• Families of students will receive notification of the impending ELD, along with our typical announcements regarding inclement weather days.

• Teachers will communicate learning activities for the students in the courses that would have met that day.

• Teachers will be online and accessible by phone during regular school hours to provide support for student learning.

• Accommodations will be made for students with special needs and for students who do not have access to the internet.

When students are in quarantine due to COVID, we have outlined how we will support students both academically and socially emotionally. Please click here for more information.

Also, please make sure you return Chromebooks and power cords as we do not have extras at school.

Please make sure you send your child to school each day dressed for the weather as we will have outside recess unless the temperature is below zero. Here are the guidelines for dressing for the weather we use at OHA. No shorts, please. 

At OHA, we continue our work to support students' social and emotional learning and to focus on bully prevention.  I wanted to highlight some new Second Step family resources which are available on our website. 

When you visit our website, click on Students and Parents and select Second Step Parent Resources.  You will need to use your student's district e-mail to view these materials.

Each of the resource pages supports what your child is learning and working on in the classroom through Second Step.  To foster conversations at home, you will find information for each grade level on topics such as empathy, listening with attention, being assertive, being compassionate, and managing emotions and strong feelings.

In addition, there are also resources around bullying prevention, which has been the focus of the October lessons.  Second Step defines bullying in this student-friendly way:  "Bullying is when someone keeps being mean to someone else on purpose"  The person it's happening to hasn't been able to make it stop. It is unfair and one-sided."  The resources also reinforce Recognize, Report, and Refuse, as well as the Power of the Bystander and Bystander Responsibility.

Again, all of these resources reinforce the direct teaching staff are doing with their students through Second Step in the classroom.  If you have any questions about these lessons or the family resources, please feel free to contact OHA Counselor, Pam McCabe at pamela.mccabe@isd832.net or at #651-407-2430.  Second Step

The new catalog will be online and open for registration on Deccember 13th - CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE to register for  Zephyer Gymnastics

Children ages 5 years and older are now eligible to get vaccinated.

The following information has been provided by the Minnesota Department of Health and Department of Education and is available at mn.gov/vaxforkids/ 

Click here for more information

Our School Year Plan Health & Safety Protocols are outlined and posted on our School Year Plan website at www.mahtomedi.k12.mn.us/schoolyearplan under the 2021-22 Health & Safety Protocols Overview tab. Our COVID-19 Dashboard is available at www.mahtomedi.k12.mn.us/dashboard 

Vaccination Clinics continue to be open and free to the public and according to the CDC, vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington County Public Health & Environment is currently holding COVID-19 vaccine clinics for individuals 12 years and older. Pfizer clinics are open to anyone 12 years and older. Click here for a list of upcoming walk-in clinics held in Washington County.

2021-22 Back to School Information & Events Guide.

Mahtomedi  School Year Plan Health & Safety Protocols 

Mahtomedi COVID-19 Dashboard  

Transportation Department at trans@isd832.net or 651-407-2431