As the weather grows colder and traditional flu season approaches, please remember that it is essential that we do not send students to school if they are not feeling well. In addition to traditional signs of illness, we are asking you to watch for these symptoms of potential illness due to unique coronaviruses in circulation.

If your students are exhibiting any of the following symptoms, please keep them at home until 24-48 hours after the symptoms are gone:

• fever
• cough
• sore throat
• congestion or runny nose
• nausea or vomiting
• diarrhea
• fatigue
• muscle or body aches
• headache
• shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• new loss of taste or smell

If a student has TWO or more of these same symptoms, families should seek advice for further guidance from the health department, school, or primary doctor while staying at home.

Our amazing emotional support dog, Kiddo, is back in the classroom giving out free snuggles and love. The students have been so excited having Kiddo in class and serving up as much love to him as he gives. Don't worry if your child isn't that into dogs. Kiddo has learned to stay back from children that seem a little nervous of him until they invite him closer. We can't wait for Kiddo to be in all the classes!

For more info about Kiddo, you can read the Emotional Support Dog FAQ from FUEL!

Earlier this week, we received updated guidance from MDHHS with regards to our quarantining process with regards to close contacts of a COVID-19 positive case.

In the past, we have been advised by MDHHS and Oakland County Health Department to quarantine any close contacts (within 3 feet for 15 minutes, unvaccinated) of a COVID-19 positive case for 10 days.

However, this week, MDHHS revised their guidance.  We are no longer required to quarantine every close contact, provided that:

• masks were being worn by both parties
  • the COVID-19 positive individual
  • the individual close contact
• the close contact is asymptomatic
• the close contact agrees to be tested each day prior to entering the school building (7 days).

Close contacts who were eating lunch with masks removed will most likely not qualify for this new guidance, because masks were removed for a significant portion of the contact time (over 15 minutes.)

MDHHS is also supplying free rapid tests for us to use to conduct this testing, so it will be free of charge for all families.

While we are eager to comply with this new guidance in order to minimize the impact on students and families, it will take some time to initiate this protocol. Our plan is to create a central testing location at Ferndale High School which will offer daily rapid testing for any students deemed a close contact from 7:30 am–9:30 am each morning. We hope to begin offering this within the next week, provided we are able to secure enough tests to begin.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this new process.

Ferndale Elementary parents were invited to curriculum nights at Ferndale Lower and Upper Elementary Schools this week, and secondary curriculum nights will be hosted next week. Educators, parent groups, and community organizations were available for families to learn about curriculum and discover resources.

Upcoming Curriculum Nights

FMS Curriculum Night
Wed 9/22 | 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

FHS Curriculum Night/Senior Night
Thur 9/23 | Times TBD

Ferndale Schools is hiring for the following positions

• Lunch Monitors at Upper Elementary
• Lunch Monitors at Lower Elementary
• Bus Aides
• Para Educators

Contact Tammy Crossley at tamara.crossley@ferndaleschools.org or (248) 586-8662 for more details.

Improvements and secure vestibule construction have begun at FUEL. Check back weekly for progress reports and more images.

FUEL Construction Report - 6/17/2021

FUEL sent off 5th Graders to FMS in style this week, with a clap-out drive through event.

Congratulations on all of your hard work, Sixth Graders!

Upland Hills Farm came to Ferndale Lower, animals and all! The truckload included goats, sheep and a cow.

Students (and teachers) enjoyed learning about the animals and petting them. They even listened to them "talking". Thanks, Elementary PTA, for sponsoring this experience both for Roomies and Zoomies.

The FUEL 5th graders worked extremely hard to write their own nonfiction, how-to books.

What they once thought an impossible feat became a truly remarkable accomplishment! They each wrote 5 chapters which consisted of 14 paragraphs with headings and subheadings. In addition, they included a text structure, a table of contents, and a glossary.  At the end of the unit Mrs. Lepp's and Mr. Williamson's classes were able to share their hard work with teachers, staff and the 4th graders in book viewings  We are so proud of our talented authors!

FHS and Bloom Pediatrics will be hosting a 12+ vaccination clinic on Thursday, May 20th.

Register Here

The Pfizer vaccine will be provided, and will require a second dose on June 10th. Parents must Complete This Consent Form for all students, and bring it the day of the clinic or email to ferndalevaccine@bloompediatricsmi.com

There are 250 total vaccine doses available. Register now!

Thanks to a generous donation from Home Depot - #2731 in Madison Heights, FUEL was able to purchase two trees, a flowering Crabapple and a Cleveland Pear, which were planted on the grounds for future generations of students and families to enjoy. Planting the trees also helped FUEL to earn the Evergreen award (the highest award possible) through Michigan Green School.

Thank you to 4th Grade teacher Mr. Ian Grzesik for leading the Green Schools program and planting the new trees at FUEL.

Every year, we present the annual state of the district. To celebrate some of the innovations and adaptations we have developed during building closures, we are presenting the State of the District as a series of short videos, available for asynchronous viewing.

View the 2021 State of the District Mixtapes, which can be viewed altogether or clicked through in any order.

• Preschool at FECC
• Elementary (Lower & Upper)
• Secondary (FMS, FHS, TCEC, & UHS)
• Your District, Today & Tomorrow

The links are live at FerndaleSchools.org/2021.