March 31, 2021

Dear Skykomish Families,

On March 15, 2021 Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION 21-05 Children and Youth Mental Health Crisis prohibiting all public K-12 schools in Washington from failing to provide opportunities in both remote instruction and on-campus, in-person instruction.

Under the proclamation, schools will be allowed to stagger the reintroduction of students to campus. Schools will be expected to provide an in-person learning option that equates to at least 30% of instructional time by two key deadlines:

• April 5: All students in kindergarten through fifth or sixth grade (depending on the school district) must be offered a hybrid option.

• April 19: All remaining K-12 students must be offered a hybrid option.

In addition, schools must offer students at least two days per week of on-campus, in-person instruction.

As schools open, they must adhere to physical distancing, masking and environmental cleaning requirements set out by the state Department of Health (DOH) and worker safety requirements issued by the state Department of Labor and Industries.

The proclamation also orders the state Health Care Authority and DOH to immediately begin work on recommendations on how to support the behavioral health needs of our children and youth over the next six to 12 months, and to address and triage the full spectrum of rising pediatric behavioral health needs.

Our Board of Directors will be approving an addendum to our reopening plan. This addendum replaces the Skykomish School District Board of Directors March 10, 2021 addendum.

The new addendum will include the following changes:

· April 12th students (4-7) return for in-person instruction (instead of April 5th as per the Governor’s proclamation since Spring Break is April 5-9).

o In-person learning Monday through Thursday, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

o Friday will continue with remote learning

o Weekly COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing for all employees all students with employee and parental consent or opt out.

· April 19th students (8-12) return for in-person instruction.

o In-person learning Monday through Thursday, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

o Friday will continue with remote learning

o Weekly COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing for all employees all students with employee and parental consent or opt out.

• PK will remain remote for the remainder of the school year.

Sincerely,

Thomas Jay

Superintendent

To Sneeze or Not to Sneeze? That Is the Question

By Lynne Kelly, RN

Tis the season! Along with our beautiful signs of Spring in the Pacific Northwest come the aggravating symptoms of seasonal allergies. Many of us have a hyper-response to our various pollens from our many trees and grasses. The question is, how can we tell the difference between an upper respiratory infection (viral or bacterial, such as a sinus infection) and seasonal allergies or even early signs of COVID19? When is it OK to come to school and when is it not? Are you infectious?

Two key differences between seasonal allergies and signs of COVID19 are easy to remember. Loss of taste and smell is well understood to be COVID-related, and a fever is now known to be one of the first signs. As anybody with allergies knows, sneezing and itchy eyes, nose and throat are absolutely part of the joys of Spring.

Differentiating between a cold and allergies is not always that easy. That is where your school nurse comes in. It matters because a cold is contagious and seasonal allergies are not. Especially during a pandemic, we really want children who don’t feel well to stay home. I am available for phone or email consultations beginning at 6am and I hope you won’t hesitate to call if you are unsure about sending your child to school. (I have a puppy who will wake me up before you ever could!)

A visit to the doctor is warranted if your child’s allergies are adversely affecting their routine activities. Allergy relief medications might help them feel better and be more ready to learn. You might want to consider asking your provider for guidance on when it is best to stay indoors to reduce aggravating symptoms; we will accommodate you at school for any doctor’s advice.

Here are some tips to help your allergic child be more comfortable by reducing the amount of pollen that comes into your house:

• Allergy sufferers should avoid vacuums that empty into a bin – better to use a bagged model with HEPA filter.

• Keep pets off of the bed and even out of bedroom – they carry in a great deal of pollen on their fur coats

• Wash bed linens in water hotter than 120 degrees. Fresh pillowcases every night during the height of pollen season or during any type of illness is always recommended.

• Shower at night before bed rather than in the morning to rid your body of pollen collected on your clothes and skin and hair throughout the day.

• Air purifiers! They work! Just make sure you buy the right purifier for the amount of space in which you expect it to be used.

• Stay well-hydrated – drinking enough water helps absolutely everything.

• Finally, a reason to be happy about face masks: sunglasses and masks both really help to reduce the amount of pollen that enters your body.