PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2009

AUGUST 20, 2009 - Principals' Biweekly Message

With the start of school and the continued presence of the H1N1 flu virus in North Carolina, it is very important that you remind teachers and your students and their families of the importance of frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home from school if they are sick. Specific guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is online at http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/schoolguidance.html and NCDPI has flu information (including fliers on handwashing and other hygiene issues) online at http://www.nchealthyschools.org/healthissues/pandemicflu/. We will continue to keep you informed about the latest information on these important health issues. You should have received the latest recommendations concerning school closings and other information via email on Aug. 7. This guidance was released by the federal Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas R. Frieden to help guide your activities in this area.

My best to each of you for a successful 2009-10 school year. Please be on the look out for information on a statewide principals' Webinar we are scheduling for September.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. School Closings Due to H1N1 Must be Reported
2. School Bus Safety Reminder
3. Future-Ready Core Educational Materials Available on the DPI Web Site
4. Exceptional Children Conference Scheduled for November
5. Childhood Obesity Prevention Grants Available
6. National Weather Service Hurricane and Flood Awareness and Safety Campaign

School Closings Due to H1N1 Must be Reported

Principals are reminded that school closings due to the H1N1 virus must be reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as outlined in the information sent to you on Aug. 7. A form for reporting school closings is included in the materials sent to you but also is available online at www.cdc.gov/FluSchoolDismissal. If you have any questions, please contact NCDPI School Support Services Division Director Ben Matthews at bmatthew@dpi.state.nc.us or 919.807.3500.

School Bus Safety Reminder

Wednesday's death of a Wake County first grader, hit while crossing the street after exiting her school bus, is a stark reminder of the need for vigilant training of students in school bus safety. Students need to be reminded that they have to watch for cars, even when the lights are flashing on their school bus. State Board of Education Policy TCS-H-006 requires that "(A) LEAs shall provide instruction in school bus safety to all children during the first five days of school and regularly thereafter during the school year. The LEAs shall include in the instruction basic skills and knowledge vital to safety in school bus transportation. (B) LEAs shall provide seating for all school bus passengers entitled to transportation according to the rated seating capacity for each specific bus. The LEA shall not allow the number of passengers being transported to exceed the official rated capacity for the type and model bus being used. All riders must be seated before a bus may leave a stop; over-crowding and standees are prohibited." If you have any questions regarding this policy or need additional information, please contact NCDPI Transportation Services Section Chief Derek Graham at dgraham@dpi.state.nc.us or 919.807.3570.

Future-Ready Core Educational Materials Available on the DPI Web Site

Superintendents are reminded that the NCDPI has developed a Web site to assist your district and high schools with preparation and implementation of the new course and credit requirements encompassed under the Future-Ready Core. The freshman class of 2009 10 is the first group of studeWeb site is located at www.ncpublicschools.org/gradrequirements and includes a number of links that address course and credit requirements, assessments and available resources.

Exceptional Children Conference Scheduled for November

The Public Schools of North Carolina's 59th Conference on Exceptional Children, "Growing our Own ... Harvesting Results," will be held Nov. 2-4 at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel/Koury Convention Center, Greensboro. For additional information, visit www.ncpublicschools.org/ec/conference.

Childhood Obesity Prevention Grants Available

UnitedHealthcare, in collaboration with Youth Services America (YSA), is offering UnitedHealth HEROES, a program that provides grants to educators, community organizations, and students in the health professions to implement youth-led, service-learning projects addressing childhood obesity. The program offers grants of up to $1,000. Successful applicants will design a service-learning project that addresses issues relating to childhood obesity. Projects likely to be funded will use public data on obesity to demonstrate the need for the project in a specific school or community, respect the physical and emotional characteristics of the issue, are replicable and/or can be scaled up and will produce measurable results. Project proposals in which youth work with teachers and other adults are encouraged. Applications for grants are available at http://www.YSA.org/awards under the "Awards and Grants" tab (select UnitedHealth HEROES). Applications must be submitted by midnight Oct. 22.

National Weather Service Hurricane and Flood Awareness and Safety Campaign

This September, the National Weather Service will implement a year-long public awareness campaign in recognition of the 10-year anniversary of North Carolina's historic flood that resulted from Hurricane Floyd. Resources available as a part of this effort to educate children and adults about the dangers of hurricanes and floods include the NOAA Weather Ranger Web site at www.srh.noaa.gov/alr/WeatherRanger/wrfinal/default.shtml. This Web site, developed by the Southeast River Forecast Center, offers information about flood safety for children, including PowerPoint presentations, videos, coloring books and posters. Educators may also access a sample Hurricane Awareness Lesson Plan at http://www.erh.noaa.gov/mhx/Floyd/Education.php#Preparedness. The lesson plan includes information about hurricane and flood preparedness, history, terminology and classroom activities. Please contact sarah.jamison@noaa.gov to obtain additional information and materials about flood and hurricane safety.

 

If you'd like to review past Principals' Biweekly Messages sent to the listserv group, just go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/principalsarchive/.