JPTA Community,

I hope everyone is enjoying the break from the heat and the beginning of fall.

I’m incredibly relieved that we continue to have very few COVID cases at school. In fact, we’ve not had to quarantine any classes since our return from break. Most important, we have not had anyone get significantly sick as a result of COVID-19. A true blessing! The support and open communication with you all regarding exposures has been absolute key to this success!

PCR Testing Program

To uphold our commitment to fight COVID-19 and keep our kids in school, I’ve opted into a PCR testing program. I’m quite excited about this as it’ll put more power in the school such that we can do PCR tests at school, along with the Binax Antigen test. Both are effective to different degrees and having the ability to administer either one is great. The downside of this PCR test is that we have to do them in groups and we are unable to do a single test. I expected us to have this ability many months ago, but here we are. PLEASE CONSIDER OPTING INTO THIS SCREENING. You should receive a separate email with information.

Extended Learning Program

We are hoping to begin our Extended Learning Program next Monday for families who need after-school supervision. We’ll start with this supervision and expand our program in the near future. After the daily student supervision is settled, we will expand our program to eventually include enrichment, tutoring and small group instruction to assist students who need more support. The enrichment will include health and wellness programming (Social Emotional Learning-SEL), STEM, STEAM, cooking classes, sewing and many more activities that our Co-Coordinators, Melissa Loman and Deedee Cuellar, will support!

There will be a fee associated to student supervision, but tutoring, small group instruction and most enrichment will be no-fee programs. Activities that require materials may have a supply fee, but we hope to keep it at a minimum. The after-school hours supervision will also be available on a sliding scale and associated to students free-reduced lunch status. We need to charge enough to help pay for the supervision, but really hope to ensure that the programs are accessible to all!

Ms. Risner’s Note:

I have had the good fortune to join the students upon their return from fall break. My focus has been classroom observations. The students and teachers returned ready to work and learn. I am pleased to see their energy level and enthusiasm. They are making good academic progress. Fifth graders have their new teacher, Ms. Montoya, and they are pleased that she is not going anywhere. The only missing component is the families! Hopefully we will soon come to a point in the pandemic where families can be as involved with the school as they have always been.

Easy Way to Support JPTA

One of our new to JPTA parents, Vanessa Medina, has done huge legwork to create a way to earn money for the school and help connect families outside of school. It’s very easy; go eat!!

1) Dine and Share night at Chipotle - Wednesday, October 13 - 5pm - 9pm

Let Chipotle make dinner and help JPTA earn $ from the profits. All you have to do to participate is:

Order in person for dine in or take out you must show them the school flyer attached - save to your phone for quick access.

or

Order online and enter a unique code EFWH2VZ (Delivery orders will not count toward the fundraiser)

Funds raised will go into the PAC fund to be used for various JPTA events for students, classroom books or supplies, and teacher/staff appreciation efforts.

We will pass out printed flyers to go home with students as well.

*******Please share these dates and flyers with friends and family in Las Cruces.

***We cannot pass out flyers or advertise at or near the restaurant.

Wednesday - October 13th - Chipotle

1. • 10/13/2021

   • 5:00pm-9:00pm

   • 525 S Telshor Blvd Ste A, Las Cruces, NM 88011-4685

   • In person pick up - you must show the flyer below. Save the flyer image to your phone or bring paper flyer with you.

   • Online - to get credit you must enter the code in the “enter a promo code” section in the app: EFWH2VZ

   • ***Delivery orders will not count towards this fundraiser.

• A huge thank you to Vanessa Medina, JPTA 5th grade parent for setting up these fundraisers! We hope to have more throughout the year, if you are interested in helping with setting up these opportunities please let me know and I will connect you and Vanessa.

2) Join us for our monthly Parent Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday, October 13th at 7:00pm on ZOOM.

Topic: JPTA PAC Meeting October

Time: Oct 13, 2021 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6994788273?pwd=Y1J6NW1qREdUaVJBUXFnV0JsZW1Sdz09

Meeting ID: 699 478 8273

Passcode: JPTA

Happy Friday JPTA Community,

This year’s theme will be The Year of The Phoenix. While the Phoenix has various meanings and happens to be our school mascot, our focus surrounds cycles of life and renewal.

As we began to emerge from strict isolation from the pandemic and return to school, so many of us have been affected and to various degrees. Loss of loved ones, long periods without seeing family members and lost interactions with peers; so much of this time has been vailed by fear and uncertainty.

As we stepped out of summer, it felt like we were emerging from the pandemic. It truly felt like we were nearing the end of a painful period in our lives and across the world. I believe that we were, indeed, but the uptick in cases and the new variant has begun a new wave. This change has been extremely hard for me as I wanted to shed my mask and be able to see the faces of my friends, peers, and students. I thought we were done! This unexpected change, in many ways, felt harder than the initial lockdown that we experienced well over a year ago.

My point, which I am belaboring, is that we must adapt and face the new challenges head-on. The more we can make the necessary changes to be safe and work toward creating our own happiness and systems of support, the healthier we are. I like the idea of trying to give the Coronavirus as little negative attention as possible. In the moments that we accomplish this, it feels liberating and empowering. This is adaptation and grit; It’s a life skill, that if learned well, can transform our lives, and nearly ensure success. It’s respecting the aspects of life that we can’t control and empowers us to navigate circumstances that we can control, or at least influence.

Believing that we can adapt and persevere is allowing ourselves to have a “growth mindset.” This is an aspect of psychology and education that has significantly impacted our work in education. We teach this to our students at school and it is also an area of focus and interest that caught my attention while doing my master’s program in 2007. Our life is full of cycles and rebirth; our mindset of how we navigate these changes is key to happiness and success.

Admittedly, COVID-19 has challenged my mindset and I’ve faced moments (particularly lately) where I’ve felt overwhelmed and defeated. It’s in my mind! The reality is that I’m part of a school community that has been incredibly gracious and trusting. Calling parents over the past two weeks to tell them their child has been directly exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and that they’ll need to stay home for a few days has felt challenging until I make the call. My calls have been met with grace and understanding every single time. I’m thankful!

We will continue to adapt. We’ll most likely have more classes that will need to quarantine and, if we are lucky, we’ll only have to shut down a class at a time and we’ll keep plugging forward to keep our kids in the classroom as much as is reasonably possible and safe. In the meantime, we will continue to make lemonade out of these lemons!

Student out of school for the day?

If your child is out of school for any reason, please email the teacher and copy the front office at info@jpaultayloracademy.org.

If your child is not feeling well?

Please keep them home! Because the symptoms of COVID are so broad, we are very likely to send home students who are not feeling well and will need either a doctor’s note explaining that the symptoms are not COVID related or a negative COVID-19 PCR test in order to return. If you do a COVID test, please share the results with us. If your child is COVID positive, please call the school ASAP or email me (eric.ahner@jpaultayloracademy.org) if it’s a weekend. We will immediately enact a quarantine for any close contacts. Please remember that anyone could get sick including those who are vaccinated; we need to extend our grace, understanding and support to anyone who is gets COVID-19. No shame!

Are you ready to quarantine?

We now have had two classes enter quarantine and, hence, remote learning. The first occasion was over the weekend and yesterday’s case was toward the end of the academic day. Things to consider in case your child must quarantine:

• Are you easily accessible by phone? If we send students home from school, it will happen quickly. Do we have your current contact info at school? If you can’t answer the phone at work, does the school have emergency contacts? If you need to update your contacts, you can do so on the Tyler Parent Portal (where you completed registration) or email April and Alejandra at info@jpaultayloracademy.org

• They will need a computer or tablet. We’ve put kids into the virtual environment the very next day and will do everything possible to transition immediately to maintain as much academic continuity as possible. If you don’t have a device, you will have an opportunity to request a device for home.

• Consider doing a PCR test. Your child will be in quarantine for 10 days past the last date of exposure. Doing a PCR test helps us, and you track potential other close contacts, and the PCR test should be done 5 to 9 days after the last exposure. Testing too soon may result in a false negative test.

• Do you have a plan for home? This last-minute change plays havoc on families where parents would normally be at work. If you can make a plan for this event in advance, it’ll reduce your stress if this has to occur.

JPTA Community,

Considering yesterday’s Governor’s announcements, I’m working to adapt and increase our school’s attention to COVID Safe Practices. I feel like the warning signs were largely predictable in watching infection rates over the past couple of weeks. Now, our county is in the orange with red to the west and east of us. Thankfully, we are well aligned to the new expectations.

Our goal as a school is to safely keep our doors open for in-person learning. If we can’t do this safely or there is a mandate pushing us out of the building, we will return to virtual learning. I can’t express enough my desire to stay in person. To assist this, we:

• • • will continue to use the cafeteria, but only one cohort will use the space at a time. During a lunch period where we have three groups eating at a time, one group is in the cafeteria, one just outside the cafeteria and one under the awnings;

• • • are working to increase our emphasis on cohorts, masks over noses and stricter social distancing. These are the areas that have been most challenging, particularly for our youngest and oldest students (who are far more socially driven);

• • • will continue to allow PE to remove masks when outside and only when the teacher designates such time. Ms. Sells will only allow this when the activity has been deemed safe (distancing), when the temperatures are hot and only with parent permission.

After reviewing LCPS’s practices surrounding daily wellness screens, I believe the district did a great job of creating comprehensive expectations. As such, and to add consistency for the many families with kids in JPTA and district schools, we will push out the same expectation.

LCPS Notification:

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As we begin our new school year, we need your help and cooperation during this worldwide health emergency. Our goal is to successfully begin a new school year, while keeping students, staff and families healthy and safe by mitigating the spread of COVID-19. We are asking parents/guardians to conduct a daily wellness screen of the children prior to sending them to school, in order to achieve this goal. Please ensure your child does not have any of the following symptoms associated with COVID-19 or other infectious illnesses before sending them to school each day. If they do, please keep your child home and consult your Healthcare Provider immediately.

• Fever (greater than 100.4 F or chills)

• Cough

• Shortness of Breath or difficulty breathing

• Fatigue

• Muscle or body aches

• Headache

• New loss of taste or smell

• Sore throat

• Congestion or runny nose

• Nausea/Vomiting

• Diarrhea

In addition, please do not send your child to school if they have been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 10 days or are themselves awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test or received a positive test result before their 10-day quarantine has ended.

The school will advise you when your student is allowed to return to school. If your student presents with any of the above listed symptoms while at school, parent/guardian will be notified and expected to pick-up student within 30 minutes of the <school> contacting the parent/guardian.

If your child is sick at home or at school with non-respiratory COVID-like symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fatigue) without fever, ONE of the following options must be done prior to returning to school:

1. Provide the school with a signed note from a healthcare provider stating an alternative non-COVID diagnosis.

2. Have your child COVID (PCR) tested and present a negative result to your school. A RAPID negative test will not be accepted.

3. Quarantine at home for 10 days

If your child is sick at home or at school with COVID-like respiratory symptoms and your HCP provides an alternative respiratory diagnosis, COVID is still not ruled out and your child must:

1. Be COVID (PCR) tested and present a negative result to your school nurse. (A RAPID negative test will not be accepted) OR

2. Quarantine for 10 days

NOTE: In addition to the above, anytime your child is sent home with fever, they must be fever-free for 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medications, with other symptoms improving AND:

1. have a signed healthcare provider note stating alternative diagnosis before being allowed to return to school OR

2. be COVID (PCR) tested and present a negative result to your school nurse. A RAPID negative test will not be accepted.

These expectations are certainly more stringent. Because we are working to keep in-person learning and prevent spread, this increased attention by parents will help us achieve our goal of not going remote.

The Little Black Car – Mr. Ahner’s Story

Last Saturday after working in the garden with La Samilla and many families who showed up to help, I decided to reward myself with breakfast from Dunkin Donuts. A perfect excuse! I entered the south side of the Albertson’s parking lot on North Main and had to navigate two large lines of cars that were waiting to place orders at McDonald’s. I quickly and deftly navigated over to Dunkin Donuts where there was also a line.

Seeing a car parked on the right-hand side, I proceed my navigating by going around the car and landing my large truck at the back of the line. I then realized that the car that I went around was patiently waiting to get into the same line and was trying to not block traffic; they were not parked. Admittedly and somewhat ashamed, I usually have choice words for people who do this and this time I was that person. I was horrified that I wheeled around that car and plugged my giant truck right in their way!

I rolled down my window and waived them around. As the little black car pulled around, the driver rolled down the window and I had an opportunity to apologize and express my embarrassment to the other driver. She responded, but I could not really hear her through the two windows. She pulled back into her rightful place in line.

After placing my order, I pulled up to the window where my order was awaiting. Much to my surprise, the driver of the little black car had purchased my breakfast. I suppose I could have felt more embarrassed and ashamed by my actions, but I did not. Instead, I felt grateful and incredibly aware of how many wonderful people there are in this world. I too often focus on the negative and forget the number of incredible and kind people and their magnitude of positive impact.

The part that really struck me is the following. We are in a place in our society that I feel there is more division than I have ever experienced. Different viewpoints about politics, COVID-19, education, and the myriad of issues that make me ponder division and its impact in our country and world. These issues vanish in front of my very own eyes. That moment of error, humility, forgiveness, and kindness had a profound impact on my thinking; sharing this with you is proof. I know that I will continue to error. I will, however, try to pay more attention and work to be more forgiving when I’m frustrated with others who simply might be self-consumed in his or her own thoughts. The driver of the little black car should know that her actions reshaped my thinking at a time when I needed this boost more than I realized.

JPTA Community,

Happy Friday! A few quick updates…

La Samilla, the entity that oversees our garden project, will be at the school tomorrow (Aug 14, 2021) from 7:30 to 10am. I’ll be there at the beginning to get things up and going. If you come, feel free to bring your child. See attachment for more info.

Our half-day Wednesday was a great day. I hope that the day went smoothly for you all. Our theme for the day was, "Healthy Staff, Happy Students." We started with a lunch that was provided by donors through our PAC committee. Thanks PAC!

Staff participated in Professional Development (PD) surrounding social emotional learning (SEL), wellness activities to promote healthy staff and mental health as it relates to children in our school. These PD days are very valuable to us in upholding our own belief of being life-long-learning. Thanks for supporting us!

Best and have a wonderful weekend,

Eric

JPTA Community,

Week five, here we come. And, to all those returning to LCPS today, have a great day returning to school!

½ Day of School Wednesday – August 11^th, 2021

A reminder that this Wednesday is the first ½ day for our students where our staff have professional development in the afternoon. Here is the pickup schedule for Wednesday. The morning drop-off is unchanged.

Release Times

Kinder – 2^nd Grade - 11:50 – 12:00

3^rd – 5^th Grade - 12:00 – 12:10

Middle School - 12:10 – 12:20

We will serve lunch before dismissal on Wednesday!

Strep Throat

As an FYI, please know that we have had a handful of Strep Throat cases in our elementary grades. If your child is complaining of a soar throat, please have them checked out as Strep is quite contagious. I guess masks don’t protect against Strep.

J. Paul Taylor’s Birthday

Our wonderful namesake will be celebrating his 101^st birthday on August 24^th, 2021. We will be celebrating with our students and staff outside to honor Mr. Taylor and celebrate his birthday. Due to COVID Safe Practices, we will unfortunately not be extending an opportunity for visitors on that day. Happy Birthday, Mr. Taylor!

Garden Project - August 14th, 2021 from 7:30am to 10:30am

This Saturday we are hosting a back-to-school garden workday. Join La Semilla Food Center to help get our school garden ready for a year of growing and learning. Please bring a face mask, water bottle, sun protection, and wear comfortable clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty. La Semilla did a great job sustaining the garden over the past year and this support demonstrate to them how much we appreciate the partnership. You are welcome to bring your child(ren) with you, but must be supervised by you while here.

Water Bottles

Please work to send two water bottles to school; one which is filled and a backup that can be kept at school. We are providing water bottles for nearly 10% of our populatoin each day and this is too much waisted of plastic. Please help us help the environment!

Connectivity

If you are having challenges with connectivity at home such as internet access or access to devices, please email me with your challenge as we may be in a position to assist you through a federal connectivity grant.

Families,

Unfortunately, there was not enough interest in our afterschool program, Enrich the Kids. We do not have another solution currently, so I encourage families who really need this type of support and service to consider another entity in town. I will be calling two families who use two separate day-care programs that pick up kids in our pickup line to ask their opinions of those programs in order to share out.

If we see another logical option, we’ll let you know. The requirements for running an after-school childcare program comes with new management and licensing requirements which are on top of the plethora associated to public education. It might be a tipping point for our little school! Regardless, I am trying to explore options.

Thank you for your understanding,

Eric

JPTA Community,

Yesterday, the PED finally released its next iteration of the COVID-19 Response Toolkit.

We have come incredibly far in our fight against COVID-19 and its affects. To recall this time last year, we were fully remote and uncertain when we would have kids back in the building. We have our kids back in the building and must celebrate our successes while holding tight to prevent us from slipping backwards toward a challenging time for many of us and academically consequential for too many students.

The desire to be unmasked is very high. Because of the increase with the Delta variant and the vulnerability to our youngest students, we must maintain prudence and error on the side of caution while carefully applying reasonable relaxations to existing rules.

Depending on what one may hear or read, there are significantly different opinions about what’s best. Regardless, it is my responsibility to manage JPTA’s COVID Safe Practices which I take very seriously. Your child’s wellbeing is the utmost importance to our staff and our Governance Council. And, your child’s wellbeing is contingent on being safe AND continuing to learn, two aspects that have felt at odds with one another over the past many months.

A very critical aspect of the new guidance allows for students and staff to be unmasked when outside. As such I am extending this relaxation of the mask rule for PE, mask brakes and walks AND ONLY when the following are met for any student wishing to be unmasked:

1) The supervising staff has given permission,

2) The student has parental permission, <<Click for 2 Question Survey Link>>

3) The student is a minimum of 3 feet from anyone else, and

4) The student is not in a group of more than 4 students congregating.

We will implement this beginning Thursday and any student without parental permission must remain masked until we have confirmation either way. Please call the school if you are to change your mind later!

In the event we are not able to conduct this activity safely or there is a change to circumstances (such as infection rates), we may tighten this rule up at any given moment. I will examine our ability to monitor students and keep them safe during other outside activities and will potentially expand this relaxation of the mask rule in the future.

Elementary School Mandate:

It will continue to be an expectation by the state and upheld by the school that all individuals inside an elementary school are masked. I was uncertain how much latitude a school would have for vaccinated individuals to be without masks. Because all elementary and most middle school students are unvaccinated, I consider this expectation appropriate and prudent. Further, if we expect our 5-year-old students to wear masks, I think we need to role model this expectation. After our youngest are vaccinated (speaking with hope), I believe we can further relax many of our rules.

Over the next few days, I will continue to examine the state’s toolkit as it relates to our school. Please stay posted for more information as to how it may affect our school. Thank you all very much for your partnership in helping to get our kids back to school and assisting us in keeping them safe.

Sincerely,

Eric