Welcome Note

Greetings Imagine Andrews Families,

Happy holidays! This is a wonderful time of year, but also very busy so it can be stressful. As the adults scurry around preparing for the excitement of the holidays, children can also feel the stress and anxiety brought on by this busyness. Please continue to support your child in his/her school success by ensuring a bedtime is maintained at a reasonable hour. Adequate sleep supports learning, brain development, concentration, and mood and so directly affects children’s success at school!

Although we’ve had a relatively warm fall and early winter, I fear that the snow and ice are just around the corner. Be sure that you are aware of the protocol for delays, early dismissals and school closing that are due to inclement weather. Remember that Imagine Andrews follows Prince George’s County Public Schools’(PGCPS) calendar for closings, delayed openings, or early dismissal of schools. In cases where there is a need to close schools, delay openings, or for early dismissal as a result of inclement weather, information can be found on local news stations and the on the PGCPS website. Class Dojo will be used as an additional layer of communication.

Inclement weather sometimes means more illnesses at school. As a reminder, any medication that you send to school must be brought by an adult to the school nurse, Nurse Vogsberger. If the medication is prescription medication, it must be accompanied by the physician’s written orders on how it is to be dispensed. Nurse Vogsberger cannot dis- pense any medication that is not accompanied with a doctor’s orders. Even cough drops must be sent to the school nurse and can only be administered to a child by the nurse. Thank you for your cooperation in helping us ensure the safety of our scholars!

Health experts are urging parents to keep their children home when they’re sick, no matter what their illness may be. With all scholars returning to in-person learning next month along with COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) circulating in many communities, experts say it’s more important than ever for parents to keep their children home if they are not well. In other words, just because your child tests negative for COVID-19, it doesn’t necessarily mean they should be in a classroom with other children. Even with a negative COVID-19 test, the CDC recommends that children with flu-like symptoms who don’t have a fever should still be kept home to minimize the risk of transmitting an infection.

If a child has a fever, they should stay home for at least 24 hours after the fever has lifted without the use of fever-reducing medications. Children who have a weakened immune system may need to stay at home for longer.

As winter break draws near, please remember that school is in session through Wednesday, December 23. That last day is a 3 hour early dismissal. K-5 scholars will be dismissed at 11:40 a.m. and 6-8 scholars will be dismissed at 12:10 p.m.   attendance will be taken and monitored. We continue to work as a school community to ensure that every student meets the minimum requirement of attending school 94% of the time or better. Schools will reopen on Monday, January 3.

I wish you a safe, restful holiday season and a very happy new year!