Ward Elementary's Peek at the Week
November 13, 2022
Greetings Ward families!
I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I want to thank you for the patience that you demonstrated on Friday as all of HCPS entered a shelter in place due to a tornado warning. Our students did a wonderful job and implemented the shelter in place procedures just as we have instructed them to do during our school wide drills! Our teachers and staff did an amazing job helping to keep our students calm and making them feel safe. Thanks again to everyone for the part you played in ensuring the safety of our students and staff!
Here are your Ward updates for the upcoming week. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Dr. Chatman, Proud Principal
Help Needed at Ward!
Interventionist-We are looking for interventionists to help us provide remediation/intervention to our students during the school day. The job is daily but the hours vary. The pay is $28.08 an hour. Search job number IRC166334.
This position requires a college degree. The job postings can be found on the HCPS website. Feel free to also contact Dr. Chatman at 804-795-7030 if you have questions about the position or how to apply.
Ward Spotlight
Canned Good Collection and House Competition!
This week we are collecting canned goods for Henrico Christmas Mother! Each house will be awarded points at the end of the week based on who collected the most! Please don’t bring in any glass or expired foods. The first place house will win 40 points, second place will win 30 points, third place will win 20 points and fourth place will receive 10 points! The last day to bring in canned goods in Friday November 18th!
College Week at Ward
Happy College Week! This week we are celebrating one path you can choose to take after graduating from high school! Throughout the week we’ll do daily trivia for prizes, morning meeting activities and a wall decorating contest for classes! Students are encouraged to wear college shirts this week to represent their favorite colleges and universities. We are looking forward to celebrating this week with our students!
Autumn House Fest
To celebrate the end of the first quarter, the Ohu Owls will be hosting our first ever Autumn House Fest on Tuesday, November 22nd from 11:30 - 2:00! We need parents to make this event a success. There will be carnival games, tattoos, crafts and more! If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out and return the ORANGE HANDOUT that was sent home in your student’s Thursday Folder. Volunteers that are selected will be notified by November 18th.
CLICK HERE to fill out the volunteer application if you have not already done so!
Any questions, feel free to reach out to Ms. Knight at nhknight@henrico.k12.va.us
Here's What's Happening This Week at Ward!
November 17th
- SFEC Meeting-5:15
- STEAM Night at Ward-5:30
- Report cards available in Parent Porter for Quarter 1
County Flu Information
Dear Parent/Caregiver and Staff:
Influenza activity in Virginia is affecting our community. In multiple schools in Henrico County, children have become sick with influenza (the “flu”) and/or influenza-like illnesses.
Influenza is a virus that can live in a person’s respiratory tract. Thus, flu and other virus-like illnesses are usually spread via direct contact with an infected person who is sneezing and coughing, or from contact with hands or objects/surfaces contaminated with nose and throat secretions from an infected person.
We recommend the following infection control measures to prevent the spread of these illnesses in the school population:
- Encourage good hygienic practices, rest and nutrition.
- Wash hands with soap and water often, especially when exposed to someone who is sick.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when coughing or sneezing. or use your inner arm (elbow crease), but do not use your hands.
- Dispose of facial tissues that contain nasal secretions after each use. Wash hands afterwards.
- Avoid touching the eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Routinely clean commonly touched surfaces, toys, and other shared objects as recommended.
- Stay home if ill.
- Individuals should stay home from school, work and errands when sick and avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Students or staff experiencing fevers should remain home until they are fever-free for a full 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medication.
- Encourage vaccination.
- The single best way to protect against flu is to get vaccinated each year.
- Influenza vaccination is usually 70-90% effective in preventing the flu in healthy persons.
- Receiving flu vaccine later in the season can still provide important protection since flu viruses can circulate as late as May.
- Most individuals will be protected against influenza within 2 weeks after vaccination.
- Antiviral medications:
- These may also be used to prevent or treat the flu - talk to your healthcare provider for more information.
- Enhance influenza awareness:
- Please see the enclosed fact sheet on influenza and norovirus.
In addition to influenza:
- gastrointestinal illnesses that cause vomiting and diarrhea are also circulating in the community. The most common cause of gastrointestinal illness in the school setting is norovirus, which causes illness that usually lasts one to three days. Norovirus can be spread by consuming contaminated food or liquids, touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching one’s mouth, or having direct contact with another person who is infected and then touching one’s mouth.
- other respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Adenovirus are currently on the rise in the community. Respiratory illnesses are easily transmissible through mucus and droplet secretions.
We recommend the following infection control measures to prevent the spread of norovirus in the school population:
- Wash hands frequently with soap and water, especially after using the restroom.
- Routinely clean commonly touched surfaces, toys, and other shared objects with household chlorine bleach-based cleaners.
- Children and staff who are experiencing illness symptoms should be kept home and excluded from school and/or other group activities for 24 hours after the illness ends or fever breaks without the use of medication to avoid spreading the illness to others.
Henrico County Public Schools continues to work closely with the Richmond-Henrico Health Department and Virginia Department of Education as we monitor and implement recommendations from the Virginia Health Department and Centers for Disease Control to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. If you have any questions, please contact the Henrico Health Department at 804-501-5216 or School Health Services at 804-226-5470.
Lost and Found
Please make sure you write your child’s name in his/her coat, lunchbox, etc. We had a large number of unclaimed items that belong to our students in the lost and found during the first nine weeks. Remind your child to check lost and found whenever they have misplaced items.
Gifted News
On Wednesday, November 9th, the referral window for Gifted Identification opens for students in grades K-5. Gifted identification referrals will be accepted by Ward’s Gifted Identification Coordinator, Mrs. Cynthia Jefferson, and Gifted Resource Teacher, Tricia Pavlik, through Monday, November 21st at 4:00 PM. If you wish to refer your child, please complete our school’s Gifted Referral Google Form. Access to the form will open on the 9th and close on the 21st at 4 PM. For additional questions, please contact Cynthia Jefferson (cejefferson@henrico.k12.va.us) or Tricia Pavlik (tapavlik@henrico.k12.va.us).
Fieldtrips
Click the image above to access our 2022-2023 semester calendar.
Connect with us on our website, Facebook, or Twitter! Links are below.
Tiffany Chatman, Ed. D., Principal
Website: https://ward.henricoschools.us/
Location: 3400 Darbytown Road Henrico, VA 23231
Phone: 804-795-7030
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WardElementarySchool/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARDnX1xwMHYSpVcVzP65uObO0L9lAAuh-KR5ytmSFCglm73MbXouQUOhRdCHVQvjJHuPXB2kvocJhdiY&hc_ref=ARSqTQxPXo7IUGOfoB2A1_ILMbso7nCimwDtYWFPvQbIDn1Uwy5CZTdSqelR3BN_VLE&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARBKYc2-FgUzMpBVsl0d5sF56TND-d2ZNisA05PzgRDy0u7N5BkXX7b7BvmoEpbKhbkFtt0zoZO-cfT3NBUqVXJTc5KZ0Fs8zhCBLIrMHcV9gcxlo04WXT-hGhhrkY8zh7NMCbx-PXuoaMEtkK2mEw2qGzoX10OawfHl1HCjpNlY5IYqcxv-exn1mlCRvLc7Cqiq_0R3lsAZkBy3CDhnRvtbxU1CocGUESDuLQTgTl6GIr_jewYk_AGqJ4JD7dAAQRL4MQKOhNFxl5QucwUYmawjYHdteh3v_vLwNO2BGx2DiI9GbTyFnLQOTdAGUahDgu7Na66jdaTg9ouC4WIpGEL9Y_xh
Twitter: @Ward_Colts