News from the Nest — October 8, 2021

Posted October 8, 2021

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Vol. 6, No. 7

REMINDER: Illness Policy + When Sick Kids May Return to School

To help our families better understand this year’s rules about when to keep sick kids home and when they can safely return to school, we’ve created this flowchart (it’s also posted on the COVID policies page on our website). Remember, the best way to prevent the spread of COVID is to wear a mask, practice good handwashing and keep sick students home!

If your student stays home sick or is sent home because they become sick at school, we’ll use our flowchart to help you understand when your child may come back. We’d also like to remind families that all DPS students receive FREE healthcare through our Denver Health School-Based Health Centers. You can get more info or schedule an appointment by calling (303) 602-8958.

All people in Denver, including children, can also receive FREE PCR COVID testing through COVIDCheckColorado. There’s even a testing site behind South High School (located at All-City Stadium), which is just a few minutes away from McKinley! 

For more information or questions, please call our school nurse, Ms. Jennifer Iltis, at (720) 424-5606 or Jennifer_Itlis@dpsk12.org. 

Emergency Rental Assistance Program 

The State of Colorado is supporting renters who have been unable to pay rent due to financial hardship caused by COVID-19. The Colorado Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) can help cover rent as far back as April 2020. Help can include past due, current, and two additional months of rent up to a maximum of 15 months of assistance. For more information, check out the ERAP website.

In Other News…

  • Save-the-dates: 
    • Our October PTA meeting is at 7:30am on Tuesday, October 19 on our playground — we’ll have more free coffee!

    • Our first Collaborative School Committee (CSC) meeting of the year is online at 5:00pm on Tuesday, October 19. We’ll share more information about our CSC meeting agenda next week!

    • We’re bringing back our annual McKinley Fishing Day at Wash Park on Saturday, October 23! More info will be coming home soon.

    • We’re celebrating Halloween on Friday, October 29 from 7:30am to 9:00am! More info will be coming home soon.

  • Mark your calendars: we have NO SCHOOL on Friday, October 15 or Monday, October 18!

Upcoming Events

Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.

  • Tues., 10/12 — Kindergarten Field Trip to Four Mile Historic Park
  • Tues., 10/12 to Thurs., 10/14 — Parent/Teacher Conferences; contact your child’s teacher for information!
  • Fri., 10/15 — NO SCHOOL: DPS Non-Student Contact Day
  • Mon., 10/18 — NO SCHOOL: DPS Teacher Planning Day
  • Tues., 10/19 — IN-PERSON October PTA meeting, 7:30am on our playground
  • Tues., 10/19 — Restaurant Night at Sexy Pizza
  • Tues., 10/19 — VIRTUAL October CSC meeting, 5:00pm online
  • Sat., 10/23 — McKinley Fishing Day, 11:00am at Wash Park (more info coming soon!)