Dublin City Schools

On Thursday May 9^th, Glacier Ridge will be hosting award-winning author/illustrator, Kathryn Otoshi! She will be presenting her character building books, ZERO (self-esteem);

ONE (anti-bullying); TWO (friendship) and BEAUTIFUL HANDS which encourages community building. 

Students will be bringing home book orders this week. All order forms will be due by Wednesday, April 24^th.   Each autographed book will cost $15.00.  Checks made payable to KO Kids Books.

At Glacier Ridge, we are so fortunate to be adjacent to the Glacier Ridge Metro Park.  Because of the close proximity, we take our students to explore the grounds and learn from the naturalists at least twice a year.   It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to experience nature and have hands-on learning throughout the year.

Unfortunately, ticks are also part of the nature experience.  With the warmer weather, tick season is upon us.  It is not uncommon for students and staff to find ticks on their bodies after a visit to the Metro Park. Teachers and students regularly inspect their bodies following a trip.   In addition, there have been some instances for the ticks to make their way over to the school grounds as well. 

According to Sarah Hunter, the naturalist at the Metro Park, the most common tick at Glacier Ridge is the American Dog Tick. This species of tick do NOT spreads Lyme disease, but in rare cases can spread Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and tularemia.  Here is link to a good website about the American Dog Tick: 

http://www.tickencounter.org/tick_identification/dog_tick

Sarah Hunter also recommends conducting a tick check before coming indoors (which teachers often do) and even showering once kids get home to rinse off hidden ticks.  A tick does not immediately bite once it is on your body. It can sometimes hitch hike for a couple of hours before it begins to attach. Students that do find ticks embedded on them are removed by the clinic and families are notified.  

See the attached information regarding tick information.  You can also visit the Glacier Ridge Metro Parks for more information.  http://www.metroparks.net/parks-and-trails/glacier-ridge/or the Ohio State University website: u.osu.edu/tickhttp://www.metroparks.net/parks-and-trails/glacier-ridge/

Thanks,

Pete Kurty, Ed.D

Principal

In order to promote student achievement, Dublin City Schools, in accordance with Section 3321.4 of the Ohio Revised Code, expects that students be in attendance on a regular basis. The State of Ohio modified the absence policy in 2016 for all school districts. House Bill 410 states that attendance will be recorded in hours and absenteeism will be defined as “excessive absence” or “habitual truancy”.

Excessive absence:

• 38 or more hours (6.6 days) in one calendar month with or without legitimate excuse
• 65 or more hours (just over 11 days) in one school year with or without legitimate excuse

Habitual truancy:

• 30 or more consecutive hours (just over 5 days) without legitimate excuse
• 42 or more hours (just over 7 days) in a school month without legitimate excuse
• 72 or more hours (just over 12 days) in one school year with legitimate excuse

If you would like more information regarding HB 410, you can visit the Ohio Department of Education at http://www.education.ohio.gov/ and search House Bill 410.

In the event that a student is excessively absent or habitually truant, House Bill 410 states that the school notify the families of the absences.  It is always helpful to notify the school if you plan for your child to be absent for an extended period of time. You can do so by obtaining a pre-arranged absence form from the office or on our school website.  However, not all pre-arranged absences are approved and all absence hours are accumulated, regardless of the reason.  If you have further questions, you may call the school office at 614-733-0012.     

Dublin, Ohio, April 5th, 2019 — Last week, Glacier Ridge Elementary received a $500 Grief-Sensitive Grant from the New York Life Foundation, which will help the school to develop a bereavement support plan and encourage ongoing staff development.

Over the several years, the New York Life Foundation, in partnership with National Center of School Crisis and Bereavement, has been working with the leading K-12 education professional organizations to form the Coalition to Support Grieving Students to develop a set of materials and a website, www.grievingstudents.org, to help teachers, counselors, and other people in the school community to provide comfort and guidance to bereaved students. 

The Coalition found through a survey that just seven percent of schoolteachers feel adequately prepared to help grieving students when they return to the classroom, even though 70 percent of them have a grieving student in their classroom at any given time.   And studies show that a child’s unresolved grief can have a social and emotional impact on him or her, leading to behavioral issues and poor performance in school.