South Conejos School District

Good Evening High School Families, We received an update from public health on our high school: All 9th through 12th grade students and high school teachers who were present in the building this week are asked to quarantine until school resumes tentatively on the 19th. Family members of quarantined student(s) or staff should wear a mask around the quarantined person. During this time practice hand washing and sanitation of all high touch/shared surfaces with a disinfectant. This includes sanitizing eating/drinking utensils. Family members of those who are quarantined can continue to go to work and school, but should continue to monitor their student for symptoms. If your student starts to show symptoms, monitor yourself and your family for symptoms closely and quarantine until the student tests negative or the isolation period ends. If your students test positive please consult with your doctor and public health on next steps. For more information on quarantine procedures or information on COVID-19 testing, please visit our website or Facebook page. Quarantine Procedures: *Avoid public places for until school resumes on the 19th. *Do not travel by airplane, ship, long-distance bus, or train. *Remain home during isolation. *Do not go to school, grocery stores or other public places. *If you do not have respiratory symptoms, you may engage in limited outdoor activities (e.g. take a walk) as long as you maintain a minimum six foot distance from any other individual and use a mask . *Monitor your health for fever, cough, or shortness of breath for 14 days after the last day you were in close contact with the sick person. *If you develop fever or other symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, chills, body aches, sore throat, headache, diarrhea, runny nose, nausea/vomiting, loss of taste/smell, etc) call the Respiratory clinic at 719-589-3000x9 or VWHS Convenient Care at 589-2562 and speak with clinic staff. *Prior to seeking ANY medical attention in an office, clinic, or hospital, you must call and inform them that you are under quarantine for potential exposure to COVID-19.

Dear Trojan Community, After a semester of school, we have our first confirmed COVID-19 exposure at our high school. Following public health guidelines and consultation, we will be going to remote learning for all students in grades 9th through 12th grade for next week. We are asking students to be picked up today at noon. If your student drove to school, they are dismissed at noon. Students please take home all your books and laptops. Contact tracing will be completed with the assistance of public health. Starting on Monday the 11th, students will be expected to Zoom in for all their classes from 8:00-4:00. This will be the same schedule as remote learning we had prior to break. We will tentatively resume in-person learning for the high school on January 19th following the quarantine period. Grades Preschool through 8th will continue with in-person learning. 3rd grade parents, students will be resuming in-person learning on Monday after the possible exposure was confirmed to be negative. Again, we ask all families if your student begins showing signs of COVID-19 or is not feeling well, to please keep them at home. If yourself or a close family member starts showing symptoms, we also ask your student to stay at home until there is a negative test result or at least 24 hours symptom free. Please know that every decision we make is under guidance of public health and always in the best interest of our students, staff, and community. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Staff and families if you traveled over the holidays, please notify our front office at 719.376.7001.

Good Evening Trojan Families, At this point in time, we plan to return to school for in-person learning for K-12 on January 4th following the same safety protocols as before. Conejos County’s current two-week positivity rate has dropped to 6%. If we receive new guidance from either public health or CDE we will keep our school community updated. We will still offer remote learning for the families who wish to continue learning from home. Students who chose the remote learning pathway will need to continue this for the full quarter and can only switch to in-person on March 22nd. We want to wish everyone a safe, restful, and happy Winter Break. We look forward to seeing everyone in the new year!

The South Conejos School Board of Education will be conducting a Special Board Meeting on the 22nd day of December, 2020 at 2 PM. This meeting will be conducted in person, and open to the public via videoconferencing and teleconferencing through Zoom. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82085701803

Family life all over the world has dramatically changed over the past several months as we all have faced the COVID-19 pandemic. As families are the most important proximal influence on the health and well-being of children and youth, the stress of changing family structures and interactions has the potential of profoundly influencing the behavioral choices that youth make, specifically, as to whether to use substances or engage in risky behaviors. Parents are struggling to work from home while caring for and homeschooling children; and many are facing job loss or job insecurity or food insecurity. At the same time, children and youth face their own struggles as they are missing out being in school with their peers and experiencing those transitions or “rites of passage” that are very important to their social and emotional development. Family-based prevention interventions have demonstrated effectiveness with a strong level of evidence to address substance use in the family by providing and building parenting skills to raise and nurture children so that they are resilient and display prosocial behavior. But, in the midst of the pandemic and with these new added stresses, how can these programs reach parents with COVID-19 protective approaches—e.g., through virtual platforms? What can prevention professionals do to reach out to parents, acknowledge and address these new circumstances, and provide these very necessary parenting skills? What new skills and practices can help them face the challenges wrought by the global pandemic? Please join us for this Prevention Talk, where Douglas Coatsworth, PhD (Betsey R. Bush Endowed Professor in Behavioral Health and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee), Cathy Hockaday, PhD (Human Sciences Specialist/SFP 10-14 Program Manager) and Wadih Maalouf, PhD (Program Manager at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna - UNODC) will discuss how current research and practice in family prevention interventions can address the challenges that families are experiencing all over the world in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Register here: https://www.apsintl.org/event-details/prevention-talk-3-providing-family-based-prevention-during-covid-19-challenges-and-opportunities-for-prevention

The South Conejos School Board of Education will be conducting a Regular Board Meeting on the 8th day of December, 2020 at 6 PM. This meeting will be conducted entirely via videoconferencing and teleconferencing through zoom. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82085701803

Are you concerned about the health and well-being of the young people in your life? Being a trusted adult about important health topics such as vaping can foster strong relationships that prevent unhealthy habits. To build your skills in having trusted adult conversations about vaping, register for the free virtual workshop, “Start the Conversation: How to Talk with Young People about Vaping, JUULs, and Other Electronic Nicotine Products.” Workshops Offered in English: January 20, 2021, 5:30-7pm | Register: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z January 27, 2021, 5:30-7pm | Register: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z Workshops Offered in Spanish: February 3, 2021, 5:30-7pm | Register: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z February 10, 2021, 5:30-7pm | Register: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z Workshops are hosted virtually – more information will be sent after you register. Workshops are offered in either English or Spanish. For more information, contact Cheryl Miler: cherylm@rmc.org or click here: https://bit.ly/3pUft5M ¿Le preocupa al salud y bienestar de los jóvenes en su vida? Ser un adulto de confianza sobre temas como vaporear puede fomentar vínculos fuertes para prevenir hábitos perjudiciales para la salud. Para desarrollar sus habilidades de ser adulto de confianza, inscríbase en uno de los talleres virtuales para Comenzar la conversación: cómo hablar con los jóvenes sobre vaporear, los cigarrillos JUUL y otros dispositivos electrónicos de nicotina. Talleres en español: 3 de febrero de 2021: 5:30 a 7 p. m. | Para registrarse: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z 10 de febrero de 2021: 5:30 a 7 p. m. | Para registrarse: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z Talleres en inglés: 20 de enero de 2021: 5:30 a 7 p. m. | Para registrarse: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z 27 de enero de 2021: 5:30 a 7 p. m. | Para registrarse: https://bit.ly/35rxS1z Los talleres se dictan en modalidad virtual. Una vez que se registre, recibirá más información. Los talleres se imparten en inglés o en español. Para más informanción, contactarse con Cheryl Miller: cherylm@rmc.org or hacer clic aquí: https://bit.ly/373H0JC.

South Conejos School District is currently accepting applications for a secondary history teacher for the 2021 Spring Semester. Candidate must possess a teaching license or qualify for one. Please submit a district application, resume, cover letter, transcripts at https://www.southconejos.com/page/how-to-apply. Deadline is 12/04/2020. South Conejos School District is currently accepting applications for an elementary literacy coach for the 2021 Spring Semester. Candidate must possess a teaching license or qualify for one, have a master's degree in education, and possess knowledge of the science of reading. Please submit a district application, resume, cover letter, transcripts at https://www.southconejos.com/page/how-to-apply. Deadline is 12/04/2020.

We ask families who would like meal pick-up to fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6PcJ_Zl6O7odime3Ve9GA2trl_aM0Muhcdo5G5CHCO3MAXw/viewform. Or go to our website under Remote Learning to find the meal request form. Meal pick-up will be Mondays from 2:00 to 2:30.

Luminaria Lighting

Good Morning Trojans, Based on the reported cases of COVID 19 in our county and to ensure that every student, staff member, and all of our families remain safe, district administration has recommended and the board approved remote learning for the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Winter Break. Therefore from November 30th to December 17th, we will be transitioning fully to remote learning for grades K-12. Preschool will remain with the option for in-person learning at this time. Your child will be sent home with a guide tomorrow on November 19th on how to login to Canvas, Zoom tips, a class schedule, meal pick-up, and contact information. They will also be sent home with any books, laptops, and materials for the three weeks we are remote. Beginning tomorrow, go to https://www.southconejos.com/page/reopening-covid-19-update for more information. As always, we are grateful to have this community as the Home of the Trojans.

The South Conejos School Board of Education will be conducting a Regular Board Meeting on the 17th day of November, 2020 at 6 PM. This meeting will be conducted in person, and open to the public via videoconferencing and teleconferencing through zoom. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82085701803

Good Evening Trojans, K-12 in-person learning will resume this Monday, November 16th. While we have not had any positive cases in the district, we do want to continue to encourage families to quarantine and notify the district if there are any positive cases within the household. We want to thank all the families who have notified the district and taken safety precautions. If we do have a positive case, we will notify the school community and take the necessary steps to ensure everyone's wellbeing as outlined by our Public Health Department. I want to wish everyone a relaxing weekend and remember, mask up!

Adams State University Free Community-Wide Covid-19 Testing

Elementary families please make sure to send your students back to school with their laptops and chargers in the morning!

Good Morning Trojans, Elementary students will resume in-person classes tomorrow, November 10th. Middle school and high school students will continue remote learning for the remainder of this week and return to in-person learning on November 16th. Though we have not had any positive cases in our district, we have had several staff members quarantining out of caution and this has made it difficult for staffing our secondary. We appreciate all of our families as we navigate the best ways to continue learning this year while keeping everyone safe & healthy.

For families needing to know how to login to Canvas - please visit www.southconejos.com and see the directions for Canvas Access under the NEWS tab. Elementary teachers will post Zooming schedules by 9:00 am. Middle school & high school students will be starting class by 8:19 am and zoom links posted prior to class. Middle school & high school students will not have the following Zoom classes: CREW, PE, Achieve3000, or electives.

Good Afternoon Trojan Families, Due to a possible exposure of COVID-19 to a staff member, we will be going to remote learning for November 5th and November 9th. Students will be sent home with their laptops and books. Students will receive instructions from their teachers on Canvas or through their school email on how/when to Zoom in. Open gym & weight lifting are cancelled for the time being. We ask that any staff members or students who are showing symptoms to notify the school district. We will know more information by Monday and will keep all families updated on further closures or return to school. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we all do our part to keep our community safe.

HALLOWEEN TRUNK OR TREAT