LCIS Friday Afternoon Shout Out
Hello LCIS Families,
February is here and with it many fun events are planned. Read below to learn about what’s coming up.
LCIS is participating in the SCRIPPS National Spelling Bee again this year! On February 8th at 8am in the LCIS Gym our classroom spelling bee winners will compete to see who will become our school spelling bee champion. If your child is competing, they will have a packet filled with practice words.We hope that you will join us for this fun academic competition!
⛏️ Our 4th graders will visit the National Mining Museum and Hall of Fame on Thursday, February 9th. If you have a 4th grader, please watch for the informational letter that should have come home in Thursday folders last week.
💟Valentine’s Day is coming! This year the holiday will fall on a Tuesday. As such, our Valentine’s Day celebration will take the form of a lesson during Crew about gratitude and friendship at the start of the day. If you would like to send Valentine cards, please have your child write their own name in the “from” part, and leave the “to” name blank. Cards need to be pre-written, as we will be sharing these during crew. For confidentiality reasons, we are not able to send out a class list. There is no expectation that students bring Valentine cards – it is an option for your family. We will have a nice time appreciating one another’s friendship regardless.
🎵🎵 Also on Valentine’s Day our students will participate in a Friendship Concert that will take place at 2:30pm in the LCIS Gym. Each grade level will perform one song that will connect to our February Habit of the Month: Compassion. You are welcome to join us for this performance. If you’re not able to attend, but would like to watch the performance you can join the event via Zoom using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83693865447?pwd=YTYxS3hmcFhBOG1iMkYxN2doeXl1UT09
⛷️ This year the 5th graders will participate in the 10th Mountain Ski Down at Ski Cooper on Friday, February 24th. All 5th graders will have the opportunity to learn to ski and join the Serpentine- the group ski down from the top of the mountain. If you have a 5th grader, please make sure that you read the information packet, sign their permission forms and send them back to school as soon as possible.
🖼️ We have started planning for the 2022-2023 Yearbook! We will again have a yearbook front & back cover contest! Please submit your full color drawing on an 8 ½ X 11 piece of paper to the front office no later than February 24th. Please include your full name and your grade level on the back of your drawing.
Our January Community Meeting took place on Wednesday, February 1st and it was led by our 6th grade students. Their presentation focused on the Greek Gods and included a sculpture of Mt. Vesuvius. Students are learning about Ancient Greece in both English Language Arts and Social Studies. They did a great job and showed excellent leadership during the assembly!
Please see the note below for important information regarding the SNAP program.
Lake County Stakeholders:
Please forward and share through your organizations and networks.
Colorado Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households have been getting an extra amount of benefits every month because of the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. These extra benefits are called “Emergency Allotments or Max Allotments” and most households have been getting them in addition to their regular SNAP benefits. These Emergency Allotments were authorized by Congress, but they are temporary, and will be ending at the end February 2023, because of the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. We fully understand that this Federal policy decision to reduce SNAP benefits will hit some Lake County households particularly hard.
How is Lake County Government Responding?
Lake County government will be providing ARPA funds to provide financial assistance to all SNAP households in Lake County. The following days are designated for SNAP head of households to come to the Lake County Department of Human Services (annex building) offices to receive this financial assistance on Wednesday, March 1 from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Friday, March 10 from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM.
All SNAP household members can call the Lake County Department of Human Services if they have questions, by dialing 719-486-2088.
This information will be available in the coming weeks on the County Website, flyers posted around the community, within the Herald Democrat, and through direct mailing. Please share this information with your clients. If you have questions, please email Janeen McGee at Janeen.McGee@state.co.us or Tim Bergman at tbergman@co.lake.co.us
What is SNAP?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps low-income households in Colorado purchase food. It provides a monthly benefit that helps families and individuals buy the food they need for good health. SNAP is part of a federal nutrition program to help low-income households purchase food.
Thank you for your continued support to our community and SNAP households,
Sarah Mudge
Sarah Mudge (she/her)
Lake County Commissioner
HOWL:
Our HOWL for February is Compassion. Our target for compassion is:
* I care for and help others, my community, and the world around me.
Dear parents/guardians of students attending Colorado kindergarten – 12 th grade schools for the 2023-24 school year:
We know you’re thinking of all the things you need to do to make sure your student is ready for school. Getting vaccinated is an important part of their school readiness and keeps children from catching and spreading diseases that can make them sick and potentially disrupt in-person learning.
Required and recommended vaccines:
● Colorado law requires students who attend a public, private, or parochial Kindergarten – 12th grade school to be vaccinated against many of the diseases vaccines can prevent unless a Certificate of Exemption is filed. For more information, visit cdphe.colorado.gov/schoolrequiredvaccines. Your student must be vaccinated against:
o Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP, Tdap).
o Hepatitis B (HepB). o Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).
o Polio (IPV). o Varicella (chickenpox).
● Colorado follows recommendations set by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Prior to starting Kindergarten, students must receive their final doses of DTaP, IPV, MMR, and varicella. Prior to starting sixth grade, students must receive one dose of Tdap vaccine, even if the student is younger than 11 years. You can view recommended vaccine schedules at: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/easy-to-read/child-easyread.html (birth through 6 years) or www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/easy-to-read/adolescent-easyread.html (7 to 18 years).
● CDC also recommends vaccines for COVID-19, hepatitis A (HepA), human papillomavirus (HPV), influenza (flu), and meningococcal disease (MenACWY and MenB), but these are not required for school entry in Colorado.
Exclusion from school
● Your student may be excluded from school if your school does not have an up-to-date Certificate of Immunization, Certificate of Exemption, or an in-process plan on file for your student.
● If someone gets sick with a vaccine-preventable disease or there is an outbreak at your student’s school and your student has not received the vaccine for that disease, they may be excluded from school activities. That could mean lost learning time for them and lost work and wages for you. For example, if your student has not received a MMR vaccine, they may be excluded from school for 21 days after someone gets sick with measles.
Have questions?
Talk with a health care provider or your local public health agency (LPHA) about which vaccines your student needs or if you have questions. You can find a vaccine provider at cdphe.colorado.gov/immunizations/get-vaccinated. You can read about the safety and importance of vaccines at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/FAQs.html, childvaccineco.org, ImmunizeForGood.com, and cdphe.colorado.gov/immunization-education. Staying up to date on routine immunizations is important for adults, as well as children. We encourage parents and guardians to find out what vaccines might be due. It’s never too late for families to get back on track! Learn more about vaccines for adults at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/index.html.
Paying for vaccinations If you need help finding free or low-cost vaccines and providers who give them, go to COVax4Kids.org, contact your local public health agency (find LPHA contact information at cdphe.colorado.gov/find-your-local-public-health-agency), or call the Mile High Family Health Line at 303-692-2229 or 1-800-688-7777 to ask about Medicaid contact information and health clinics located in your area.
Vaccination records
● Share your student’s updated Certificate of Immunization with their school every time they receive a vaccine.
● Need to find your student’s vaccine record? It may be available from the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS). Visit COVaxRecords.org for more information, including directions for how to use the CIIS Public Portal to view and print your student’s vaccine record.
Exemptions
● If your student cannot get vaccines because of medical reasons, you must submit a Certificate of Medical Exemption to your school, signed by a physician (MD, DO), advanced practice nurse (APN), or delegated physician assistant (PA). You only need to submit this certificate once, unless your student’s school or information changes. You can get the form at cdphe.colorado.gov/vaccine-exemptions.
● If you choose not to have your student vaccinated according to Colorado’s school vaccine requirements for reasons that are nonmedical, you must submit a Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption to your school. Nonmedical exemptions must be submitted annually at every new school year (July 1 through June 30). There are two ways to file a nonmedical exemption.
1. File the Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption WITH the signature from an immunizing provider in Colorado who is a physician (MD, DO), advanced practice nurse (APN), delegated physician’s assistant (PA), registered nurse (RN), or pharmacist licensed in Colorado; OR
2. File the Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption, which you will be able to access upon completion of the state’s online immunization education module.
● Downloadable certificates and a link to the online education module are available at cdphe.colorado.gov/vaccine-exemptions.
How’s your school doing on vaccinations?
Some parents/ guardians/caregivers, especially those with students who have weakened immune systems, may want to know which schools have the highest immunization rates. Annually, schools must report immunization and exemption numbers (but not student names or birth dates) to the state health department. Schools do not control their specific immunization and exemption rates or establish the Vaccinated Children Standard described in §25-4-911, CRS. Schools must include their MMR immunization and exemption rates from the most recently completed school year in this letter. Schools may choose to also include immunization and exemption rates for other school-required vaccines. Additional immunization and exemption rates can be found at COVaxRates.org.
| School name | 2021-2022 MMR immunization rate REQUIRED IN LETTER | MMR exemption rate REQUIRED IN LETTER |
| Schools may also include the rates for the school-required vaccines shown below in this annual letter to parents/guardians | ||
Vaccinated Children Standard 95% immunization rate for all school-required vaccines | 2021-2022 DTaP/Tdap immunization rate | 2021-2022 DTaP/Tdap exemption rate |
| 93.6% | 1.7% | |
| 2021-2022 HepB immunization rate | 2021-2022 IPV exemption rate | |
| 93.0% | 1.7% | |
| 2021-2022 Varicella immunization rate | 2021-2022 Varicella exemption rate | |
| 91.8% | 1.7% |
So many exciting events happen in our community every month – too many for us to list on this communication! Please click this link to access the Community Calendar for upcoming events.
Upcoming Events:
| February 8 | LCIS SCRIPPS Spelling Bee – LCIS Gym 8:05-9:00 |
| February 9 | 4th Grade to Mining Museum – Group 1 9-10:40 / Group 2 11:50-1:30 |
| February 10 | Youth Basketball – LCIS Gym – 6-9 pm |
| February 14 | Friendship Concert – LCIS Gym – 2:30 pm |
| February 15 | Fire Drill |
| February 17 | Youth Basketball – LCIS Gym – 6-9 pm |
| February 20 | Holiday – No School |
| February 24 | Kids at School! |
| February 24 | 10th Mountain Division Ski Down w/ 5th Grade – Ski Cooper – 9 am -3 pm |
| February 25 | Youth Basketball Tournament – LCIS Gym – 8am – 4 pm |
| February 27-March 2 | Dr. Seuss’s Birthday Spirit Week |
Looking Ahead:
| March 1 | Community Meeting 8:05-8:30 |
| March 2 | Panther Pride Day – Dr. Seuss’s Birthday! |
| March 8 & 9 | Parent Teacher Conferences |
| March 8 & 9 | ½ day school for students – students will be released at 11:30 am |
| March 15 | Fire Drill |
| March 20-24 | Spring Break |
| March 27 | School Resumes! |
| March 29 | Community Meeting 8:05-8:30 |
| April 4 | Attendance Celebration |
| April 12 | Fire Drill |
Athletics:
| January 28 | MS Girls’ BBall @ Eagle Valley MS – 7th / 8th tournament – leave time TBA |
| January 31 | MS Girls’ BBall @ Sta. Clare – leave time TBA |
| February 4 | MS Girls’ BBalll – 6th grade tournament – LCHS and LCIS gyms – 8 am |
| February 7 | MS Girls’ BBall @ Eagle Valley – leave time TBA |
| February 8 | MS Girls’ BBall vs Homestake Peak – LCIS Gym – 5:40 pm |
| February 11 | MS Girls’ BBall @ Summit – 7th / 8th Championship – leave time TBA |
Cheryl Talbot (she/hers)
Principal, Lake County Intermediate School
ctalbot@lakecountyschools.net
719-486-6830 office
719-293-0106 cell
