Twin Oaks Elementary
Family Newsletter
January 10, 2022
Dear Twin Oaks Families,
Illness and Absent Students: Thank you to our families who are calling or emailing the school when your child is going to be absent. It is important that we have confirmation of all absences. At this time, we have quite a few students absent due to illnesses and COVID exposure. If your child is sick please do not send them to school.
Sometimes it is difficult to determine if a child is sick with illness or because of COVID. Below is information from our nurse, Jen Barwood, that could be helpful.
- Non-primary COVID symptoms include: headache; sore throat; nasal congestion/runny nose; muscle/body aches; fatigue; nausea/vomiting; diarrhea.
- Primary COVID-19 symptoms include: fever 100.4 or higher; chills; new cough; loss of taste or smell; shortness of breath and/or difficulty breathing.
- Per the OHA/ODE guidelines, primary COVID symptoms require "exclusion" from school. Students being excluded may return after 5 days or a negative COVID test administered at least 3-5 days after symptoms started and symptoms are gone or significantly diminished.
- Students who have a fever, diarrhea or vomiting must stay home. Students need to be fever-free without fever-reducing medications for 24 hours.
- If your child has been exposed to COVID or has tested positive please call or email us as soon as possible.
School Fundraisers: TOSA has organized two fundraisers for our school in January. These events are opportunities to purchase food at local restaurants and earn money for the school. Fisherman's Market is hosting our fundraiser on Wednesday, January 12th and will donate 20% of the total purchase to Twin Oaks Elementary.
Papa's Pizza is hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday, January 25th and will donate 50% of the food purchased. I have included copies of the flyers for both fundraisers in this newsletter. We will also send home a paper copy in the Friday Folders.
Mustang School Store: We are very excited to announce that we are opening a school store at Twin Oaks Elementary. Students can shop at the Mustang School Store with cash and Mustang Bucks. Teachers and staff will be providing these special Mustang Bucks to students who are demonstrating that they are safe, respectful and responsible students. Receiving a Mustang Buck is a recognition that we see them working hard and engaged in their learning.
Twin Oaks School Choice Information Meeting: Our school will be hosting two School Choice Information Meetings this month. The meetings are open to all families interested in learning more about Twin Oaks Elementary. Both meetings will be via Zoom. We are unable to host visitors in our schools at this time. Please share this information with family, friends and neighbors. The dates for these meetings are Tuesday, January 18th, 1:00-1:45pm and Wednesday, January 19th, 6:00-6:45pm. Zoom Link
TOSA Meeting: Our next TOSA Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 11th, 7:00-8:00pm. We hope you will join us! The meeting is via Zoom. Zoom Link
Lost & Found: Our Lost & Found closet is very full. We have many jackets, sweaters and sweatshirts that have been left at school and need to be claimed. Please encourage your child to check the Lost and Found for clothing you may be missing.
Wishing you health and happiness!
Ms. Denisa Taylor
Information for Families Participating in OHA/UO K-12 Surveillance Testing Program
To relieve some of the workload of testing on the schools, we have provided families with all the necessary materials to collect samples at home until Spring Break. If you have any questions or need additional supplies, please email C19studentsupport@uoregon.edu
If you would like to opt out of the program, please email us and return unused test kits to your student's school. The students' vaccination status will not affect their ability to test. Keep in mind that no vaccine provides 100% protection against COVID-19. Some variants (like Omicron) are more contagious and may still infect people who have been vaccinated or already had COVID-19. Infection in vaccinated individuals typically results in mild or no symptoms, but they can still spread the virus. Please be careful at family gatherings; the elderly and immunocompromised are vulnerable to more severe disease. Please remember that testing is optional and there is no requirement to submit a test every week. If your child is vaccinated, you could remain in the program and choose to test periodically or only if your child has symptoms (or has been exposed).
It is essential to submit the samples correctly labeled, or the lab will not be able to process them. The test tubes need to have the small label with the first name, last name, and DOB (make sure that it does not cover the tube's bar code!). If you have lost your tube labels, please email us, and we will send you more. In the meantime, you can write the name and DOB on the test tube with a sharpie and place a clear piece of tape over the writing. The tubes must be placed in the (included) biohazard bags, which must be sealed and labeled with the barcode sticker on the exterior of the bag. If a test tube is not labeled correctly, it will be automatically rejected by the lab.
Please do not place the alcohol wipe provided in the kit into the biohazard bag with the collected sample. This wipe can be disposed of into a trashcan after its use. If the alcohol wipe is included with the sample, it can cause the barcode label on the test tube to wear off causing a delay in the resulting time.
The samples are only viable for 72 hours after collection (including processing time). If you missed collection day one week, please don't send that sample the following week. Don't send more than one sample per week (or both may be discarded as a precaution).
If your student misses their regularly scheduled testing day due to an absence, appointment, etc., please reach out to our team. We are able to make some accommodations for extraneous circumstances.
Regarding testing before international travel, our standard turnaround time for the K-12 Testing Program is 2-4 days; we cannot guarantee that the results will be ready in time since most countries require proof of a negative test within 72 hours.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us at c19studentsupport@uoregon.edu. Our team is here to help, and we wish you a healthy and happy Winter Term!
Thank you!
OHA/UO K-12 Testing Program Team
University of Oregon
Fisherman's Market Fundraiser - Wednesday, January 12th
Papa's Pizza Fundraiser - Tuesday, January 25th
Katy C.
Rylee H.
Eliana G.
Jake B.
Sam W.
Lylah A.
Twin Oaks Community Service Projects
Mrs. Black and Mrs. Bailey's classrooms Service Learning Project - Food for Lane County
Food for Lane County Weekly Mobile Pantry Calendar
Winter Weather: Snow Day Information
When winter weather arrives, schools may be closed or delayed or buses may use snow routes. These decisions are made by the school district early in the morning and are the same for every 4J school.
Snow day notifications: Our school district communicates any decision to change school or bus schedules as quickly as possible in several ways, all well before 6:30 a.m.
How to find out if there is a change:
- Text message from the district (if you are not currently receiving occasional text messages with important information from 4J, learn how)
- Check the district website, www.4j.lane.edu
- Follow 4J on social media: Facebook, Twitter @4Jweather & @4Jschools
- Tune in to local radio and television news stations
No news = No change. If schools and buses are on their regular schedule, there will NOT be an announcement.
For more information, please see www.4j.lane.edu/weather.
Eugene 4J School District 2021-2022 School Calendar
Twin Oaks Elementary
Email: taylor_d@4j.lane.edu
Website: https://twinoaks.4j.lane.edu/
Location: Twin Oaks Elementary School, Bailey Hill Road, Eugene, OR, USA
Phone: 541-790-3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twin-Oaks-Elementary-School-1499929086950086/?__tn__=%2Cdk%2CP-R&eid=ARBHEneZiqN3IuV5NilraL7oeoGvoUKGCUCgCcnHsPONUjRQ5vP-XNTBtMxZJwjF9PjqVF1PLT1ZcPJK