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Farrell B. Howell ECE-8 School

Welcome Letter 21-22

07/18/22, 4:48 PM

Good Afternoon Howell Families!

 

On behalf of the entire Howell school team, I am so excited to welcome you to the 2021-2022 school year! We recognize that in order to be successful, our students will need significant support from both our school team, as well as their family at home. The strong partnership between us both will make a great difference in your child’s academic success and growth as a leader!

 

On Monday, August 23rd our school doors will open at 7:45 AM and students will be directed to their classrooms by our faculty and staff. At this time, parents and families are not permitted into the school building and can not go further than the entrance doors.

 

We ask that you support your child’s learning everyday of the year by ensuring that they:

 

  • Get enough sleep every night.

    • Children 3 to 5 years of age should sleep 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

    • Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep 9 to 12 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

    • Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

    • Learn more about good sleep habits here. (Versión en español)

  • Arrive at school on time every morning.

    • Our school entrances will open at 7:45 AM and students should be in class no later than 8:00 AM. Students arriving after 8:00 AM will be considered tardy and will need to check in through the main office.

    • Students are dismissed at 3:00 PM, check with your student’s teacher about where your student will be released.

  • Eat a healthy breakfast.

    • Students should either eat breakfast at home or simply enjoy one of the free breakfasts provided by our food services team when they arrive at school.

 

I also wanted to take a moment to also cover our school’s current health and safety guidelines to ensure all of our families are prepared and working together to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

 

  • First and foremost, I wanted to let you know that quarantines for close contacts in the school setting may still occur but they will be less common due to the mandatory masking, students getting vaccinated, and families keeping their students home when they are sick. We must all work together to get through the pandemic and protect our children and ourselves.

 

  • For the protection of everyone, all students and staff are required to wear a mask over their nose & mouth during the regular school day. (We are awaiting guidelines from the district regarding the very rare instances where a student is unable to wear a mask due to medical reasons or other disabilities. More information to come.)

    • Masks for students and staff are not required while outdoors.

  • Families will NOT have to complete an online daily screening form at this time, but must check their student daily and keep sick students at home. Please make sure to call the Attendance Line at 720-424-2770 anytime students will not be at school so we can follow-up with you accordingly. You can learn more about when to keep students at home here. (Versión en español)

  • All students and families can access free COVID-19 testing through COVIDcheck Colorado here: https://my.primary.health/l/cdphe 

  • For the safety of everyone, we must continue our no visitor policy from last year. At this time, no visitors (including families) will be permitted inside the school building except in emergency situations. Some community volunteers who have completed the DPS FACE application process and are fully-vaccinated will be permitted to support in our school.

  • Students will eat their breakfast in the classroom, and teachers will ensure it’s as short as possible to minimize maskless time among students. Our students will eat lunch outdoors as much as possible (weather permitting) to limit their potential exposure to other students during lunch.

  • Our school nurse highly recommends that all students and family members age 12 and older get the COVID-19 vaccine. It helps prevent students and families from getting sick with COVID-19 from the highly contagious delta variant. As well, students who have the protection of the vaccine are less likely to quarantine if cases happen at school.

  • Our school nurse, Nurse Richard, will continue to work diligently with our school teams to monitor illnesses and ensure  all of our health and safety guidelines are being followed. 

 

I ask that you please review all of our schoolwide expectations on our website (https://howell.dpsk12.org/) and especially our school’s uniform and dress codes here.

 

Make sure to check out our awesome new Welcome Packet online, which includes letters from many of our school support members. You an access it all here: https://bitly.com/fbhwelcome 

 

Lastly, just a couple reminders:

 

  • We will notify all of our families about Back to School night once it’s rescheduled. Unfortunately we had to cancel last night to the inclement weather.

  • Families of ECE (Pre-K) Students: Remember there is ECE orientation on Monday, August 23rd at 8:15 AM just outside of your classroom.

 

I look forward to seeing all of our student leaders back in-person next week and encourage you to reach out to your student’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns.



Sincerely,

 

Rachel Massey

Principal, Farrell B. Howell ECE-8 School

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