Newsletter: October 26
Dear Families,
We have a lot of news to cover this week!
First up, after searching high and low, we have finally found the perfect Playful Pandas teacher from within our own staff! Miss Patty will be taking on the lead teacher role in the Playful Pandas classroom. Miss HuiHui and Miss Gitti will be stepping back up to co-lead the Little Penguins, while Miss Samra will be moving over from the Pandas to the Penguins. Since the Bubble Buddies and Little Penguins have thrived being able to connect through the laundry area, we will even be completing a minor renovation to install a doorway between the Penguins and the Pandas classrooms. This will not only allow teachers to continue to function as a cohesive team, but will also facilitate smoother transitions for our kids when it comes time!
We are also happy to welcome Miss Saima back to the Common Ground staff! Prior the the pandemic, Miss Saima was one of our infant teachers, but now she is joining our twos program! She started last week, so you may have seen her on the playground in the afternoons.
Illnesses are on the rise
The New York Times just reported about a “Tripledemic” this winter with influenza already on the rise, high rates of RSV, and rising COVID cases. Common Ground has recently been hit with a wave of Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease that was very difficult to contain because it, atypically, didn’t present with a fever at the beginning of the infection. Children were just slightly out of sorts and a little more tired than usual, sometimes presenting with a low grade fever, but nothing that would necessarily exclude them from care. About 3 days later, the spotted rash would develop inside and around their mouths, with occasional spots on their hands, feet, and bottoms. We have also heard reports from the public schools in the area about rising influenza, a gastrointestinal bug, and a covid/flu negative, influenza like illness.
While we may all feel fatigued from the endemic pandemic and we can’t prevent all illnesses, we have the tools to help mitigate the spread of all illnesses within our center. Here’s how you can help:
Keep your child home if they are sick or if you think they are coming down with something. As we saw with Hand, Foot, and Mouth spreading through out several classrooms, sometimes children who aren’t quite themselves are coming down with something that can be spread. We know that this can be difficult and that you need care, but if we can prevent illnesses from spreading, it can keep more kids in care, more often.
Report illnesses and absences to us. This is especially important when they are diagnosed with something by a physician. We are required to give exposure notifications to classmates and track illness, so that we can report them to the Health Department if we experience an outbreak. Here’s the list of reportable illnesses.
Screen using rapid COVID tests. While we are seeing other diseases on the rise, COVID numbers are also increasing and the current variant (omicron and it’s sub variants) are still the most transmissible virus ever. The chances of spreading it once you catch it are incredibly high. We have plenty of rapid tests to supply, so please just ask for them. Screening your child and your family can help keep everyone in care.
Evaluate your own Risk/Benefit ratio. As we head into cold and flu season, with COVID still here, it makes sense to evaluate your family’s personal risk when deciding what to attend and what to miss out on. If you can’t risk having your children miss out on care due to work, you may want to skip indoor or crowded activities. However, participating in things has benefits, so that’s where evaluating your own ratio comes in.
Use mitigation tools. Masks, fresh air, social distance. These are all things that can help mitigate the spread of all illnesses.
I know it can seem like this is just “the new normal”, but these winter respiratory illnesses (flu and RSV) can be dangerous for children, especially those under the age of 3.
Thanksgiving Boxes
Every year, Common Ground collects Thanksgiving Boxes for Cornerstones. These boxes provide Thanksgiving meals for those in our community that are less fortunate. Please see our blog post about this project: https://www.commongroundchildcare.org/blog-1/2022/10/25/thanksgiving-boxes
Last year we were able to donate 21 boxes with a much smaller number of students, so let’s see if we can beat last year!
Or skip straight to the sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0f4faca723abff2-thanksgiving1
The Imagination Library is in Reston!
The RoSigle Foundation has brought Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Reston. They have a goal to get every eligible child in Reston (children ages 0-5) enrolled to receive a free book, once a month! This book comes addressed to the child, which is incredibly exciting! Reading to your child is the best thing that you can do to ensure future success! Leaders are readers!
Please sign your children up now: https://imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/?#selectedCountry=US
The Scholastic Book Fair Returns in time for HOLIDAY Shopping!
Speaking of books! Get ready! This year's Book Fair is going to be epic! We've turned up the volume with more fun, more choices and more excitement, so kids will arrive curious and leave bolder, prouder, and stronger than ever before. Here's what you need to know about our upcoming fair:
Every dollar you spend will benefit our school directly
We will have evening book fair showing hours on Monday and Friday!
Save these dates and view our school’s Fair site:
Fair Dates: November 28th to December 2nd
Book Fair Homepage: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/commongroundcdc
We can’t wait to see you and your child at the Fair!
November Saturday Hours
We had a blast on Saturday and it’s less than 3 weeks until our next Saturday at Common Ground! Sign up to attend here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0f4faca723abff2-november
And as a reminder, we are still at the beginning of our Teacher Bonus Fund drive! Make sure to make your pledge here: https://www.commongroundchildcare.org/teacher-bonus-fund
We thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter!
Yours, The CG Team
