Autumn has arrived in Seattle and with it rainy and cold weather. Please be sure your student is dressed appropriately for whatever the forecast is. Additionally, several students have arrived at school feeling poorly and running high temperatures. We have been advised by the Center for Disease Control to stress the following practices with school families:
1. Keep children home if they are sick until at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.
2. Cover coughs and sneezes.
3. Clean hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub and especially after coughing or sneezing.
4. Keep sick household members in a separate room in the house as much as possible.
5. Monitor the health of the sick child and any other household members by checking for fever and other symptoms of flu.
Another autumn tradition is the ending of the first academic quarter of the school year. Unfortunately, per your contract, we cannot release your child's report card if you have a balance owing. Please take care of this so that everyone gets a report card on the same day.
Finally, some of you may have employers who provide a Dependent Care benefit. This allows the employer to without a certain amount of your earnings before calculating taxes, and then the employer reimburses you for the amount withheld. I found this to be a help when my children were in Pre-K, Kindergarten and ESS.
Thanks for all you do to make St. Paul School such a haven of love, support and learning.
Kristine A. Brynildsen-Smith, Ed. D.
Interim Principal
