Good evening, Horicon families.

This is your one-call now for the week of October 25th.

Thank you to everyone who purchased Horicon clothes from the Fancloth Fundraiser. We had a board member contribute a generous donation to ensure that every student received at least one item from the fundraiser. We wear our Horicon Gear on Fridays to show school spirit, so please remind your children to wear their gear at the end of the week! Every student who sold at least one item from fan cloth will participate in an Icecream social on Friday the 29th at 11:30 am.

Last week was the Great California Shakeout where students learned about earthquake safety and participate in a statewide earthquake drill. If you do not have an emergency bag already in your home, you can find a sample on our school Facebook page as well as here: https://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/printable-emergency-checklist/

This is a great opportunity to create one and talk with your child about earthquake emergency plans for your home and area.

Have a great week Horicon Hornets! 

New COVID School Cases Dashboard (Draft)

A draft version of the new COVID Schools Cases Dashboard is now available, which provides an illustration of the current numbers and trends of COVID-19 cases in Sonoma County.

Estimados Padres/Tutores y Comunidad,

Si algo nos enseñado la pandemia, es la importancia de las relaciones: amigos, familia, vecinos y
nuestra comunidad escolar, nos hemos unido como nunca antes. Fuimos recordados acerca de la
importancia de nuestras escuelas como lugar de aprendizaje y apoyo para nuestros estudiantes y
familias. Nuestros planteles no estarían abiertos en este momento de no ser por su apoyo.

La pandemia ha hecho que el trabajo de administrar las escuelas sea mucho más complicado. De
muchas formas, ahora debemos funcionar como departamento de salud — algo que a las escuelas
nunca antes se les había pedido — mientras seguimos con nuestros esfuerzos para conectar a los
estudiantes con los recursos que necesitan para el aprendizaje y el crecimiento.

Entendemos que las familias y los estudiantes deben tener fuertes emociones y preguntas acerca de
las medidas de seguridad contra el COVID-19, incluyendo los requisitos de vacunación y pruebas. Sin
embargo, mantener a los niños en casa sin ir a la escuela en protesta a un requisito de vacunación
contra el COVID-19 anunciado por el Gobernador Gavin Newsom, según lo sugieren las publicaciones
en algunas redes sociales, solo conllevaría a la pérdida de más tiempo de aprendizaje para nuestros
estudiantes. Nuestro financiamiento escolar no se vería afectado por esas ausencias. Pero nuestros
niños sí. Venir a la escuela tiene un enorme impacto sobre el éxito académico del estudiante,
empezando en kindergarten y continuando hasta la preparatoria.

Nuestros distritos no tienen control alguno sobre el decreto propuesto, el cual trataría a la vacuna
contra el COVID-19 de manera similar a las 10 vacunas en el listado del estado que ya se exigen bajo la
ley de California para los estudiantes que asisten las escuelas K-12. El distrito local únicamente
determinaría el semestre en el que sería implementado. El decreto no se aplicaría hasta que las
vacunas contra el COVID-19 reciban plena autorización por la Administración de Alimentos y
Medicamentos (aproximadamente el año entrante). Estarían disponibles las exenciones por razones
médicas y por creencias personales, salvo que la legislatura del estado vote para que esta vacuna sea

5340 Skylane Boulevard
Santa Rosa, CA 95403-8246
(707) 524-2600 | scoe.org

Steven D. Herrington | Superintendente de Escuelas del Condado de Sonoma

Consejo Educativo | Gina Cuclis, Herman G. Hernandez, Peter Kostas, Andrew Leonard, Lisa Wittke Schaffner
agregada al listado de las 10 vacunas actuales para las que no se permiten excepciones.

Desde brindarles comidas regularmente, espacios seguros, apoyo emocional y de salud mental,
adultos de confianza y la interacción positiva con sus compañeros, la importancia de asegurar las
rutinas y la interacción positiva con el horario escolar no puede ser sobreestimada. Nuestros
estudiantes han perdido tanto tiempo desde el 2017 (tres incendios desastres nacionales, una
inundación desastre federal, apagones masivos de condado, evacuaciones comunitarias masivas, y
cierres escolares debido a la calidad del aire) hasta la pandemia de hoy día. La gente podrá estar en
desacuerdo con los métodos que a las escuelas se les exige seguir, pero espero que todos podamos
estar de acuerdo en que mantener nuestras escuelas a salvo y abiertas es lo mejor para nuestros
estudiantes.

Juntos vamos a asegurarnos que su niño tenga lo que necesite para prosperar y tener éxito en la
escuela este año.
Atentamente,

Steven D. Herrington, Ph.D.
Superintendente de Escuelas del Condado de Sonoma

Dr. Herrington's message to parents/guardians and community about Gov. Newsom's vaccine mandate

10/15/2021 -

Dear Parents/Guardians and Community,

If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s the importance of relationships; friends, family, neighbors, and our school community have come together like never before. We were reminded of the importance of our schools as a place of learning and support for our students and families. Our campuses wouldn't be open now without your support. The pandemic has made the work of running schools much more complicated. In many ways, we must now function as a health department — something schools have never been asked to do before — while also continuing our efforts to connect students with the resources they need for learning and growth.

We understand that families and students may have strong emotions and questions about COVID-19 safety measures, including vaccine and testing requirements. However, keeping children home from school to protest a COVID-19 vaccine requirement announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom, as posts on some social media outlets are suggesting, would only result in more lost learning time for our students. Our school funding will not be impacted by these absences. But our children will be. Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school.

Our districts have no control over the proposed mandate, which would treat the COVID-19 vaccine similarly to the 10 vaccines on the state list already required by California law for students attending K-12 schools. The local district would only set the semester in which it’s implemented. The mandate would not apply until COVID-19 vaccines are given full authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (approximately next year). Exemptions for both medical reasons and personal belief would be available, unless the state legislature votes to add this vaccination to the no exemption list for the 10 current vaccines.

From providing regular meals, safe spaces, emotional and mental health supports, trusted adults, and positive interaction with their peers, the importance of ensuring routines and consistency with school time can't be overstated. Our students have lost so much learning time starting in 2017 (three national disaster fires, a federal disaster flood, mass county power shutoffs, mass community evacuations, and school closures due to air quality) to today’s pandemic. People may disagree about the methods schools are required to follow, but I hope we can all agree that keeping our schools safe and open is what's best for our students.

Together, let's make sure your child has what they need to thrive and be successful in school this year.

Sincerely,

Steven D. Herrington, Ph.D.

County Superintendent of Schools

Horicon has participated in the Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan for Sonoma County Schools.

The following link directs you to the posted plan.

https://www.scoe.org/pub/htdocs/hmp.html

Good Afternoon Horicon Families,

You will be receiving an email from Primary Health. This is our Covid data tracking system that the CDC has appointed for schools to use.  It will track all our Covid testing results.  

We must have consent on file for your student to be tested. If you choose not to have your student tested here on site you have the option to pick up your student and take them to be tested providing us with proof of negative results or quarantining at home for a minimum of 10 days or until all symptoms have resolved. One of those two options will be the only way your student will be allowed to return to school.

If you opt to have either of these options please note that if your child becomes symptomatic at school you will be expected to pick up your child within 30 minutes that it is noted they have symptoms. Also be advised that symptoms will include simple running noses, sneezing and coughing among other more severe symptoms.  

You have the option to give consent for us to test in one of three forms:

1. By clicking on the link you will receive from the Primary Health email.

2. Digitally signing a consent and sending it via email.

3. Signing the consent that was sent home in the packet of forms to complete for your student and returning to school.  

If you have any questions regarding the testing itself or consent please contact the school directly or emailing Christina at cgonazlez@horiconsd.org

Thank you!

Hello, Friends and Families of our Horicon Hornets.

Below are the new guidelines as outlined by the County office of education in conjunction with our County Health Officer:

School Districts can choose to be more restrictive, but not less restrictive, than the state requirements.

The CDPH guidelines make clear that schools can safely return to full-time, in-person learning if certain safety measures are in place. These include: 

• All students will be required to wear masks at all times when indoors. Staff working directly with students will be required to wear masks indoors as well.

• Masks will be optional outdoors.

• Schools should offer alternative educational opportunities for students who are excluded from campus because they will not wear a face covering.

• There will be a continued emphasis on vaccination for all eligible students and staff. 

• If an unvaccinated student has been exposed to COVID-19 while both parties were wearing masks, the student can continue attending school in person if they: 

  • Are asymptomatic;  

  • Continue to appropriately mask, as required; 

  • Undergo at least twice weekly testing during the 10-day observation period; and 

  • Continue to quarantine for all extracurricular activities at school, including PE, and activities within the community setting

Updated Wildfire Smoke/Air Quality Guidance

Important changes include: 

• Recommendations for canceling all outdoor activities are now more restrictive, based on the understanding that all children are considered a "sensitive group." 

• There is updated masking information to reflect COVID-19 and new data around N-95 masks for children. There may be additional updates later in the year. 

• Heightened focus on the importance of good air filtration when school is in session and air quality is poor.

• The recommended air quality monitoring website for wildfire smoke is now fire.airnow.gov. 

Click on 'Read More' Below For Guide

Board Response to Community/Respuesta de La Junta a la Comunidad 5/10/21

To the parents, community members, staff, and all stakeholders of Horicon, 

The board is focusing on the future of Horicon in a post-COVID world. This year has been one without precedence in our lifetimes. As we look towards the future, we will be evaluating a number of issues that will enable us to grow and succeed in our roles at Horicon. We hear you. We want to ensure the right people are in place to take us into the future. The board will be focusing on the issues raised by parents and staff. We appreciate your patience as we work with the staff and the community on providing more visibility (website revamp) and improving services and procedures (review process, acquiring and retaining best-in-class teachers, staff support, housing solutions for staff, etc). Our students and the community are our number one priority. 

As a governance team, we want to assure everyone that we are working towards this goal. Thank you!

A los padres, miembros de la comunidad, personal y todas las partes interesadas de Horicon,

La junta se centra en el futuro de Horicon en un mundo post-covid. Este año ha sido uno sin precedentes en nuestras vidas. Mientras miramos hacia el futuro, evaluaremos una serie de cuestiones que nos permitirán crecer y tener éxito en nuestros roles en Horicon. Te oímos. Queremos asegurarnos de que haya personas adecuadas para llevarnos al futuro. La junta se centrará en los problemas planteados por los padres y el personal. Agradecemos su paciencia mientras trabajamos con el personal y la comunidad para brindar más visibilidad (renovación del sitio web) y mejorar los servicios y procedimientos (proceso de revisión, adquisición y retención de los mejores maestros de su clase, apoyo del personal, soluciones de vivienda para el personal, etc.) . Nuestros estudiantes y la comunidad son nuestra prioridad número uno.

Como equipo de gobernancia, queremos asegurarles a todos que estamos trabajando para lograr este objetivo. ¡Gracias!

Here is the Reopening COVID Safety Plan (Click on PDF file for details)

Here is the COVID Security Reopening Plan (Click on the PDF for more information) 

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