Newsletter: June 29

Dear Parents,

We have a mild laundry emergency! Our Busy Bees and Dancing Monkeys classes need volunteers for laundry! Please message your class in brightwheel if you are willing to take the laundry this week. Please remember that ANY Common Ground Family can take classroom laundry from any classroom. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0f4faca723abff2-laundry

Thank you so much for helping us out!

COVID Vaccines are approved for children 6 months and up!

We are working with the county to get an on-site vaccination clinic set up in the coming weeks, but we know that a lot of people have already taken their littles to get their first shots! Please keep us up to date by uploading your child’s COVID Vaccine records here: https://www.dropbox.com/request/pVSv7FfZlbNSCgTUmAog

We will not require the COVID vaccine for children until schools require it. If you are hesitant to get your child vaccinated, we have several parents who have volunteered to share their decision process in choosing to vaccinate their own children. We believe that vaccines are a crucial tool in mitigating the spread of COVID.

Check In/Check Out

It is VERY IMPORTANT for our records that you check your kids in and out correctly through Brightwheel. Each parent/person that drops your child(ren) off and picks them up must have their own Brightwheel account and must utilize the Check In/Check Out feature so that we have accurate records.

Stations are located:

in the driveway
at the gate by the blacktop
at the corner of the playground fence by the picket fence
at the front door

If you do not have your cell phone with you, you can Check In/Check Out using your 4 digit PIN with one of our staff members.

If you need help, please as a staff member and we can assist you. Thank you for helping keep our records accurate.

Food Policy

When we reopened after the pandemic we were fairly lenient with allowing children of all ages to bring outside food in. However, now that we are back into more normal operations and are participating in the USDA food program, we need to move back to following our food policy.

Common Ground provides breakfast, lunch, and snacks (one to two based on age) for all children who eat table food, over the age of 12 months
Children over the age of two with a documented food allergies, sensitivities, intolerances, or other restrictions may bring outside food provided:
- we have a form filled out with instructions on what Common Ground food can be served, what will be brought, and when
- the meal does not contain peanuts, tree nuts, OR any allergy ingredients present in the classroom your child attends. That includes, but is not limited to:
  - eggs
  - sesame
  - shellfish
  - fish
Children under the age of 2 may bring in outside food without any forms or documentation, providing:
- the meal does not contain peanuts, tree nuts, OR any allergy ingredients present in the classroom your child attends. That includes, but is not limited to:
  - eggs
  - sesame
  - shellfish
  - fish
Food brought for birthdays or treats must include the ingredient lists if they are homemade or must be school safe if store-bought. Please note they must be free of peanuts and tree nuts.

If you have any questions about this policy, please reach out to us.

This week’s theme in Summer Camp is ANIMAL JAM!

We are so excited that summer is well underway here at Common Ground Childcare. Part of that is sharing our outdoor space (and sometimes our indoor space!) with some truly spectacular animals! We teach compassion and love for all neighbors here at common Ground… whether it’s a gorgeous white-tailed deer (amazing what you see out our back windows!), a fox with her pups, or a wolf-spider with hundreds of babies on her back (scooping that one into a cup to get to safety was a little harrowing…) we do our best to share our space!

Read more here to see some photos of some other visitors who came to see us!

SUMMER NIGHT CELEBRATIONS!

Whether you’re having a party outside with a fire and s’mores or a movie night inside with popcorn and milk duds, what amazing Summer Shindig is complete without…..

PIZZA PIZZA!

That’s right! From July 5th to August 4th we will be hosting a LITTLE CAESAR’S PIZZA FUNDRAISER!

It’s super duper easy. Little Caesar’s has created these amazing kits with all the fixins you need to create a pizza night for your family! They have mini pizzas, regular sized pizzas, breadsticks, and so much more!

Kids can help you create your perfect pizza! They can spread the sauce, sprinkle the cheese, add the ingredients. Did you know that kids are more likely to try foods they help prepare? You can reward them with a scrumptious cookie they also baked themselves!

These are frozen! They keep for any occasion. Movie nights! Birthdays! Rainy days when you don’t feel like cooking. Rough days when you want to see a smile. Have a perfect memory stored away for when you need it most.
Anyone can buy them and support us! When our link is live, all you have to do is share it on your social media, with your office, with your fam! Anyone who buys a mouth-watering pizza, breadsticks, cheese bread, or cookie kit with our link earns us money!

This fundraiser is completely online and runs 24/7! The Pizza Kits get delivered right to your door, so it’s simple, easy, perfect.

Other Important Information:

CLOSED ON JULY 4th:

Please remember that we are CLOSED on July 4th for the federal holiday. If you plan to take any vacations this summer, please use our absence report form to let us know: https://www.commongroundchildcare.org/absence

COVID UPDATE:

We have seen an increase in COVID cases connected to our center, but have luckily still not experienced any spread within the center. We are treating each situation uniquely with the goals of both protecting our community AND keeping healthy children in care. This may deviate from the official guidance provided by the CDC and the Health Department, but after a few test cases in our CAMP, we are confident in our layered mitigation strategies and our interpretation of the intention of the guidance, in line with our community goals.

Please continue to report ALL COVID cases, even if they happen while on vacation, to our office so that we can best guide you on your specific circumstances.

Virginia has also extended the length of protection from a recent infection from 90 days to 6 months. Common Ground will follow that practice as well. Please keep in mind that now that vaccines are available for everyone ages 6 months and up, vaccines remain our best defense against infection and serious illness. Vaccines are recommended even with a recent infection and there is no waiting period once symptoms have resolved from an infection before you can get vaccinated.

TEACHER BONUS PLEDGES

Teachers have received their bonuses and pledges that haven’t been billed/invoices will go out in the next week. We were able to give a very generous bonus to each full time teacher as an appreciation of their efforts during the last school year, with parent donations making up 12% of the total! We were able to make up the difference through non-tuition grant revenue and other fundraiser that we have had throughout the year.

Our next bonus drive will take place in the fall, but as a non-profit we are able to accept donations at any time! If you company has a matching program, we can work with you to help take advantage of that match, so please reach out if you are interested in that program.

THANK YOU!

We have received SO MANY referrals from YOU, our happy parents! You remain the BEST marketing and advertising for our center and we appreciate all of your kind words. Please keep it up! We currently have openings in our preschool, kindergarten, and school aged programs for the fall. Your participation is what makes the Common Ground Community so special.

We are so appreciative to have each and every family here!