New School Nurse
Estabrook is welcoming a new part time nurse, Cristina DiGiovanni, R.N. as she joins our school! Ms. DiGiovanni will assist Ms. Asselin with school nursing responsibilities and to ensure that both nurses get communications, you can feel free to email them at: est-nurse@lexingtonma.org

Student COVID-19 At Home Antigen Testing UPDATE

Principals received updated information this morning about At Home Antigen Testing for students. My apologies for any confusion. Previously, I asked that you call or email the nurses at Estabrook. The district has provided this form for families to use to report a POSITIVE students at home antigen test. You only need to report positive tests. It is preferable that you report the positive test by 9:00 AM on Tuesday mornings, so the nurses will check the form after that 9:00 AM deadline. This is only to report POSITIVE at home tests via the LPS At Home Testing Program; if your child tests positive at any other time during the week, please call the school nurses.

If you have not already opted in, this is the form to use to opt in to the at home antigen test program.

Smart Watches and Cell Phones

We would like to remind families of our school policy around smart watches and cell phones for students. Some families may wish for their child to have a cell phone or a smart watch for communication purposes. Our school policy is that any device with texting, calling or internet capability needs to be powered off during the school day. Any student with a cell phone or smart watch will be directed to keep the device powered off and store it in their locker or backpack. Please be sure to review the student Technology Contracts (Grades 2-3 Tech Contract; Grade 4-5 Tech contract) and ensure that your child understands the school's expectations for devices if they are brought to school.

Absence Form
If your child will be absent for any reason, please complete the Estabrook Absence Form in addition to contacting the school nurse or office. If your child will be absent for a number of days in a row, it’s only necessary to complete the form once. It’s very important that we receive this information for our records. Thanks for your cooperation.

Please Pull Forward!
For families who are dropping off or picking up by car, please be sure to pull as far forward as possible when driving in the traffic loop. Families should follow the directions of any staff assigned to traffic; these staff are wearing yellow vests and wave cars forward. It is important that the first car in each cycle pull all the way forward and stop just before the crosswalk; this will greatly improve our efficiency as we will be able to have many more students get into or out of cars simultaneously. Please pull all the way forward and your child will meet you at the car. Stopping suddenly in the middle of the traffic loop creates a safety hazard. Thank you for your attention to this; more information about the Driving Guidelines at Estabrook can be found here.

Parking Restrictions - Arrival and Dismissal

In recent weeks, we have observed many families entering our parking lot during Arrival drop off. Parents are not permitted to enter the parking lot or park their vehicle in our staff parking lot at Arrival or Dismissal. All parents must use the traffic loop to pick up or drop off students, unless there is a scheduled appointment with a staff member or there is a documented health or medical reason. Please take note that any parent who is observed to be entering our parking lot without an approved reason will be asked to exit the parking lot and re-enter the traffic loop to drop off their child.

Attention Inventors, Tinkerers and All-Around Creative Kids!

The Estabrook Maker Space Club is back! For those new to Estabrook, Maker Space is an open-ended creative space where kids get to make all kinds of creations, tinker with tools and recycled objects and even deconstruct old electronics to learn how they work. There is no structured lesson or project plan - they simply have access to a wide range of materials and then they're free to create!

The series will consist of 4 sessions on the following days:

Friday, March 18, 8:00-8:45 AM

Friday, March 25, 8:00-8:45 AM

April 1, 8:00-8:45 AM

April 8, 8:00-8:45 AM

Where: Mr. Taggart’s Class – Room 305

For safety and supervision reasons, participation will be limited to 12 students and is open to all grades. If past interest is any indication, it is quite possible that more than 12 students will sign up. If you are interested in having your child participate in this free activity AND are able to get them to school for 8AM each of the 4 Fridays in the series, Please sign up here before 8PM on February 17.

On February 18, 12 names will be randomly drawn from those who are interested. The families of all whose names are drawn will receive an email on February 18 confirming their selection. Your child is NOT confirmed until you receive a confirmation email from Mr. Taggart. If you participated in the first series, please DO NOT sign up again so that more students will have the opportunity to participate.

We still eagerly welcome donations for the Maker Space! If you have any materials to donate, we would greatly appreciate it. It could be old arts and crafts supplies, office supplies from a business that is closing, clean items from recycling bins, just about anything safe! Here is a PARTIAL list of some things we have received in the past. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Taggart.