The weekly eNews is our school community newsletter with information about O.H. Anderson Elementary School. All staff and families of O.H. Anderson Elementary School are subscribed to this newsletter.
Important Dates
March
March 5-Beach Bingo Day- Dress up in beachwear- sunglasses, shorts, t shirts to get ready for Spring.
March 8-12- Spring Break no school for students or staff
March 19- World Down Syndrome Day- Wear Mismatched socks.
April
April 2- No school for staff and students
April 9- Staff Development Day- no students
April 12-14 3rd- 5th Reading MCA/ MTAS
April 19-21- 3rd-5th Math MCA/ MTAS
April 26-28- 5th Science MCA/ MTS
April 22- Earth Day
Principal's Message
Dear O.H. Anderson Students and Families,
Our school has been working together to be RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, and giving everyone the RIGHT TO LEARN. We acknowledge and celebrate the kids doing the right thing by earning tickets in our ticket bowl challenge.
We have earned our all school reward for tomorrow by filling the bucket with tickets. Tomorrow we will have Beach Bingo. Students can wear beachwear to get ready for spring break- Sunglasses, shorts, and flip flops. Please no swimsuits. Also, please make sure to have clothes for recess- sweatpants, snow pants, boots, etc. We will show our school spirit by having fun together and winning fun beach prizes.
Remember Spring Break is next week March 8-12. There is no meal pick up on March 12. I want to wish you a relaxing spring break and it looks like the weather is getting ready for spring with 50’s in the forecast.
At OHA, we have the 50 degree F rule. If the temperature is 50 degrees F or higher, students have a choice to wear jackets. Please watch the weather forecast to make sure kids are dressed appropriately as we have recess daily.
After spring break we need your help with technology. Chromebooks will go home each night unless you let your teacher know you do not need it at home to complete specialist class assignments. Please make sure the chromebook, charger, and headphones come back and forth daily. Please make sure it is ready to use each day by being fully charged.
Please take care of yourselves, your family, and each other. #wecantakeithigher
Follow me on Twitter to check out what’s happening at OHA! @prathesm
Upcoming eNews Schedule
No building eNews on March 11, 2021
No district eNews on March 14, 2021
The building eNews will resume on March 18 and the district eNews will resume on March 21.
Spring Break News
Spring Break Information
Please note that Mahtomedi’s Spring Break is March 8-12, 2021 (No School).
When school is not in session, we ask that families, students, and staff continue to engage in social distancing, wear masks, and wash hands frequently.
If you plan to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, please review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travel Recommendations. Please note, the CDC recommends that you do not travel at this time. If you do choose to travel, you should wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet apart, avoid crowds, and wash your hands often. The CDC recommends that individuals get tested 3-5 days after travel and stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days after travel, even if the test comes back negative. Mahtomedi Public Schools recommendation: If you are not able to follow social distancing during travel (staying 6 feet away and wearing a mask), or if you feel you may have been exposed to COVID-19, please follow this quarantine guideline.
Our goal is to stay in-person for the remainder of the school year. Families can support our ability to have students in the in-person learning model by consistently practicing mitigation strategies outside of school: social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands, testing, and quarantining. For more information about testing, including at-home options and community locations, click here: COVID19 testing.
Our ability to keep our Zephyrs healthy and learning in-person depends on all of us!
We are currently planning the summer All Stars program. Typically we run it in July on T, W, Th mornings. Once plans are finalized, I will communicate more information. Look for more information to come for those individual students who meet criteria for this program.
Family Input Form for Student Placement in Mahtomedi Elementary Schools
Each spring, teachers and support staff meet and confer to develop class lists for the coming year, striving to create classes where optimum learning for all students can take place. It is our goal to have balanced classes across each grade level. Although teacher requests are not considered, if you have specific information about your child that should be taken into consideration, please complete this form. Note that this form is optional and must be completed each year. Additionally, information that comes in after the deadline will be more difficult to consider since the placement process will have already started.
We consider many factors as we try to balance our classes and accommodate individual needs such as emotional/social combinations, the balance of performance levels, special learning needs, teaching/learning styles, and behavioral factors.
Questions on Assignments Email or message your teacher
Questions on Student Supports Please contact Special Education Case Managers, English Language Teachers, SEL Specialist, Counselor, and Interventionists individually with questions.
General questions about school call office at 651-407-2300 or email Ms. Prather at susan.prather@isd832.net
Quarantines: During in-person learning, students are seated three feet apart. It is important to note that quarantine guidelines have not changed. It is still a rule per the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that if you are within 6 feet of someone contagious with COVID-19 for 15 minutes or more over the course of a day (24 hours) you will need to quarantine. Therefore, if we have a student who is contagious at school, students who are within a 6-foot radius of that person in class will have to quarantine. Since our students are no longer seated 6 feet apart in the classroom, we will not allow shortened quarantine for students at school. Note that there may be situations where full classrooms will need to be quarantined (i.e. such as younger elementary classrooms where physical distancing rules are more challenging to follow).
Household Symptoms and Testing: If someone in your household has symptoms of COVID-19, is symptomatic and getting tested for COVID-19, or is symptomatic and awaiting test results, ALL household members must stay home until test results are known. If symptomatic and opting not to test, & for those that test positive for COVID-19, please reach out to your Building RN for specifics on how long the rest of the household should stay home. We need families to help us keep students in-person and taking this simple step will help to cut down on the number of students that will need to quarantine at school.
COVID-19 Reporting
We ask that families continue to report COVID-19 positive cases to our health office. By reporting positive COVID-19 cases, we are able to track accurate quarantine data and contact trace.
Please also let the health office know if your student is a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Activities & Athletics Quarantine Reminder- If your student is told that they are a close contact from a sports association or other activity outside of school, they also need to quarantine and not attend school.
If your child is in an activity or athletics quarantine, please contact your Building RN to discuss the length of quarantine. We do not receive quarantine information from associations and activities, we rely on families to inform the school of these quarantine situations.
Please know that there are shortened quarantine options available, but all of these situations must be approved by the Building RN or District Nurse. You may end up having a different length of quarantine in the activity your child participates in compared to school. Please see the MDH Decision Tree for further information regarding decision making for COVID-19 related absences.
Travel Guidance Clarification
If you are going to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, please review the CDC Travel Recommendations. The following is a recommendation from The Minnesota Department of Health: MDH highly discourages any unnecessary travel and recommends that people stay away from others (quarantine) for 14 days after they arrive in Minnesota back from an out of state trip if they are not able to social distance.
Mahtomedi Public Schools recommendation: If you are not able to follow social distancing during travel (staying 6 feet away and wearing a mask), or if you feel you may have been exposed to COVID-19 it is strongly recommended that you follow this quarantine guideline.
There may be a shortened quarantine option for your student, so please reach out to your school nurses for options. If you were able to socially distance during your travels, you may not need to quarantine upon return. If you have any questions please reach out to your school nurse.
Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector Information- The State of Minnesota has announced the launch of the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector, which is a tool that helps Minnesotans find out when, where, and how to get their COVID-19 vaccine. Click here for more information.
Blood Donors Needed!
The Mahtomedi High School National Honor Society is hosting a blood drive with
Memorial Blood Centers
on March 3 & 4. Donors will check-in at the Chautauqua Fine Arts Center and donate on the Bloodmobile. Follow the links below to sign-up for an appointment.
Each day, donors will be eligible to win gift cards from Grubhub, Amazon, and Noodles & Company.
Sign up for an appointment on March 3: https://bit.ly/3aMf7sv
Sign up for an appointment on March 4: https://bit.ly/3aMkNTx
Please click on the graphic for the link to Food Support.
March question of the month - " The hardest thing I have ever done is..."
Answer-"Working on literacy."
PTO Information
YEARBOOK PURCHASES- The link to purchase the Wildwood and O.H. Anderson yearbook is now open and will close on April 1st. They are $20. www.ybpay.lifetouch.com
yearbook ID code: 1366621
(It will say Wildwood Elementary, but is for both schools).
Yearbooks will be delivered to classes during the last week of school. We will have extra yearbooks for sale on a first come first serve basis during the last week of school for $25.If you have any questions please email Becky Peer at peerbecky@gmail.com.
The PTO is committed to supporting Wildwood and OHA Students and invites you to play an active part of their organization. Visit mahtomedipto.com for opportunities to get involved and to sign up for their directory.
Community Education
Celebrate
If you want to celebrate a teacher or staff member please fill out this Zephyr Celebration Form. I will deliver the kind wishes to them.