Veneta Elementary School


Lisa Leatham, Principal

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Countryside Pizza Fundraiser Monday 3/7!

Published March 6, 2022

 

 

 

May be an image of pizza and text that says 'Countryside Countr Pizza & Grill 88278 Territorial Road Veneta, OR 97487 541-935-5551 PIZZA FUNDRAISER VENETA ELEMENTARY PALS Monday, March 7th 7th ALL DAY LONG Our Goal: Assemblies, Soccer Goals, Field trips. Pizza, Salads, Sandwiches, And More. Bring This Flyer In Dine In or Out. and Help Support Our Students. 50% of All Sales Comes Back To Our Kids'

Extra flyers are in the office. Come grab one and get some pizza for dinner on Monday!

A huge THANK YOU to Countryside Pizza for your generosity and to PALS for making this happen!

Masking in FRSD moving to strongly advised but NOT required on March 19th

Published February 27, 2022

Good afternoon Fern Ridge families,

This past Thursday, the Oregon Department of Health and the Oregon Department of Education shared updates to the spread of COVID-19 in our state and a new timeline for removing the statewide indoor mask mandate.

Beginning March 19, the universal mask requirement for all public indoor spaces, including K-12 schools will be lifted.

From the onset of the pandemic, FRSD schools have relied upon the guidance and expertise of our state health authority and state partner agencies as the experts in response to this health crisis. This continues today, with the newest announcement.

Beginning March 19, FRSD schools will welcome and strongly advise face coverings, but will no longer require them in district schools and facilities. Our district leaders are working to support a welcoming environment in all of our school locations so that we normalize mask wearing for those students, families, and situations where desired or required (such as following a confirmed exposure to COVID-19, in a health room when ill, or transportation–if this Federal requirement is extended).

There are still many details and processes left to be determined to implement this change, in large part due to updates expected early next week regarding requirements that schools will need to follow around quarantining and contact tracing. We also are working on updating our visitor and volunteer protocols to be more in-line with the current health conditions (stay tuned). We will share additional details as they are finalized as we approach this date. For today, we are focused on three important items:

  1. Masks and other health protocols are still required until March 19.
  2. Students and families wishing to make a change to their educational model – ex: from online instruction to in-person, or vice versa will need to follow the existing transfer/enrollment processes and will be accommodated when possible, at the natural transition points, or as space allows.  The earlier you communicate any possible change, the better.
  3. It is encouraging to hear that the Oregon Health Authority remains confident in the declining impact of COVID-19 on our day-to-day activities.

Throughout the past two years, we have all become accustomed to perpetual changes.  This change in protocol is another example of this, and we know that it is likely to surface a multitude of emotions. Please know that our school staff continues to be available to support the needs of your student.

Respectfully,

Gary Carpenter, Superintendent FRSD 28J

COVID Update

Published January 6, 2022

As much of Oregon is seeing, and specifically Lane County, we are experiencing a large spike in cases of COVID-19 among staff and students today.  Fortunately, all of our staff have been vaccinated, and symptoms for everyone to this point have been relatively mild, and we expect them back in school soon.  Since the beginning of the year, our primary concern has been to maintain in-person instruction.  We have been able to do that through the creativity, teamwork and dedication of our staff, as well as by following all of the layered mitigation safety protocols.  To date, we have not had to alter our calendar due to a lack of staff, or as a result a COVID outbreak.  While daily in-person instruction throughout the year is our goal, all school districts in Lane County are preparing for the possibility of needing to close for short periods of time.

On Monday, ODE released a School health Advisory for Continuity of Instruction.  One of the things it addresses is that the expected spike in cases, thus resulting in requirements to isolate (for those ill) or quarantine (for those that are close contacts) and the impacts on workforce stability in a wide range of sectors, including schools.  We expect further updates from ODE on Friday regarding new requirements and guidance in the areas of quarantine, isolation, test to return, up-to-date vaccination status, safety protocols, athletics, testing programs and more.

The next month is critical. By mid to late January the modeling currently shows that we could be through this surge, and cases will drop off dramatically. We need the help of families and community members in order to maintain in-person instruction:

  • Keep your child home if they have symptoms.
  • Vaccination remains the best protection against serious illness and reduces spread of the disease.
  • Limit gatherings.
  • Follow safety protocols including masking, hand-washing, distancing, etc…

We will try to keep the community apprised of any changes.  Below we will briefly address multiple topics I would like our students and families to prepare for.

Remote Learning:  If the district needs to shift to remote learning, we are prepared to do so.  We believe we can get Chromebooks issued in 24 hours to our K-8 students (H.S. students already have them), and only need to be “closed” for one day.  If the district needs to close for multiple days (more than 3)…it is most likely we will look at engaging in remote learning.  If the district needs to close for less than 3 days, it is most likely that we will NOT be engaging in remote learning, we will simply have no school days. In this case, there is a possibility the school year could be extended. The need to do this, if it arrives, will be last minute.  We would encourage families to have a plan in place.  It will be a last resort.

Athletics:  For now, there are no long term changes to athletics, however due to an outbreak today among both basketball teams, both of those programs are needing to “pause” for one week.  I do not want to pause athletics permanently, as we are committed to providing as normal an athletic experience for our student athletes as possible.  Practicing the safety protocols listed above will be critical going forward, and for basketball teams when they return.  We want to make clear to our students and parents, that while we value participation in athletics, there is a much higher risk of catching and spreading COVID for our student athletes.  The primary difference here is that attending school is compulsory, while participating in athletics is voluntary.  This allows the district (through state guidance) — to have different requirements for each.

Will students be required to be vaccinated and/or boosted?: I have looked into this extensively in the last few weeks, and while I certainly cannot say I am 100% sure of anything, I am comfortable making the two statements below:

  • I do not expect any changes to the vaccination requirements in this school year.
  • If this were ever to occur, just like all other required vaccinations for students, I would expect parents would have a clear and relatively simple path to “opt-out.”

Updates to Quarantine & Isolation:  The CDC made new recommendations early this week.  OHA officials are currently working with the CDC regarding what this means for schools.  As soon as we get an update, and have time to interpret it, we will share this information.

Thank you to all the families, students and staff that continue to be flexible, follow protocols, and work hard daily to ensure we can continue to maintain in-person instruction.  That remains the goal, every day.

Gary E. Carpenter, Jr.

Superintendent, FRSD

Health Update 12/15/21

Published December 15, 2021

Dear Families,

Recently, we learned that a person on campus has tested positive for COVID-19.  As members of the school community, we understand that this might raise concerns alongside a caring response.

At this time, we are conducting contact tracing (if they have been on campus during the infectious period) which includes but is not limited to: reviewing cohort logs, interviewing  staff, and checking cameras.

If contact tracing determines that your child is a close contact and needs to be quarantined, you will be personally contacted by school staff within 24-48 hours of the school being notified.

While it is our goal to keep students in school, please be vigilant in regards to watching for primary COVID symptoms. Primary symptoms include: fever of 100.4 or higher, cough, congestion, chills, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or loss of smell.

We will keep you updated with any new information as it comes out, while meeting the requirements to honor everyone’s right to privacy.

If you have any questions, please contact the school principal or Nurse Elliott, our district nurse, at selliott@fernridge.k12.or.us.

Seems like a good time for winter weather info :)

Published December 13, 2021

At the links below you can visit all the information regarding snow routes, and school closure information. These links can also be found on our Transportation page.

As a side note, if  we ever have a 2-hour delay on a Wednesday early release day-all schools would be released at their normal Mon/Tues or Thurs/Fri time.

Emergency School Closure and Weather Bus Routes 2021-2022

Cierre de la Escuela por Emergencia Información 2021-2022

Link to sign up for Flash Alert emergency/weather messages from FRSD:

http://www.flashalert.net/news.html?id=132

SANTA Giveaway is Tomorrow!

Published December 10, 2021

Santa Clause doll with soft focus background2021 S.A.N.T.A Toy Giveaway

Saturday, December 11th, 9 am to 3 pm in the Veneta Elementary Gym. Parents will have the chance to “shop” for free, new gifts for their children.

Participants are required to provide proof of residency in the Fern Ridge or Crow-Applegate-Lorane School Districts and proof of age for each child.

There is no income verification required.

Please Remember:  No infants or children are allowed inside the gym during the giveaway so please make other arrangements for childcare.

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Contact Veneta

Phone: (541) 935-8225

88131 Territorial Road
Veneta Oregon 97487

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