The Selkirk ASB would like to recognize and thank Merkle Standard for their $10,000 donation!
Public Service Announcement: Northeast TriCounty Health District is holding a free vaccine clinic at the elementary school in Metaline Falls on Friday, March 18 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. No appointment needed. Vaccines are available for ages 5 and up.
Beginning Saturday, March 12, 2022, face masks will no longer be required inside of any public school district building in Washington. However, students or individuals wishing to continue wearing masks for added protection while indoors after March 12 may do so at their own choice. While we know that the mask requirement will be removed on the 12th, the Department of Health has not yet released updated guidance on any continued requirements. We believe testing for students and staff exhibiting COVID-like symptoms may be one area that school districts will be required to retain. We will keep you posted as we receive more information. However, for now we are definitely celebrating that we will be seeing our students’ smiling faces on Monday, March 14!
Public Service Announcement: Northeast TriCounty Health District is sponsoring one more vaccine clinic at Selkirk Elementary on Friday, March 18 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. No appointment needed. Vaccines are available for ages 5-up.
Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and in honor of that as well as St. Patrick's Day, March is a celebration of "Try Something Green" during Selkirk Elementary breakfast and lunch! Almost all of our students tried "green eggs" with their ham at breakfast today and many students have tried something green at lunch! Our wonderful secretary, Mrs. O, created a celebration board where students' names shine after trying "green" food! It has only been a few days and already our bulletin board is full! In addition to trying something green, be sure to also read something fun today! Check out the photos of our bulletin board and lunch line of green choices! Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Northeast TriCounty Health District will be hosting a vaccine clinic on February 25 at the Selkirk Elementary School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vaccines and booster shots will be available to community members age 5 and up. Sign Up for Vaccinations using this link: https://prepmod.doh.wa.gov/appointment/en/client/registration?clinic_id=13774
Jameson Davis is representing Selkirk in Tacoma at the State Wrestling Mat Classic XXXIII this weekend! Jameson is in the 126 weight bracket for 1B/2B schools and Selkirk’s only competitor at the state level this year. GO RANGER! Follow his progress on the WIAA website: https://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1645217886965&pageName=%2Fpredefinedtournaments%2FTournamentHub.jsp&twSessionId=nqojacqyhb
This afternoon Governor Inslee and Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chris Reykdal, announced that the mask requirement for schools will end on March 21, 2022 which is when hospitalization rates will be at a manageable level. Please see Reykdal's Frequently Asked Questions document (https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1869794/Talking_Points_-_Lifting_the_Statewide_Mask_Requirement_for_Schools_February_2022.pdf ) We would like to thank our staff, parents, and students for working together to keep our schools open for in-person learning over the past two years, even at a time when many districts in the state were in remote learning mode! The Selkirk community is an amazing place to live and raise our families. Thank you for continuing to help get us to the finish line in a positive and caring way.
SCHOOL COVID UPDATE 1-26-2022: As you probably realize, positive COVID cases in our community are on the rise, but the silver lining is that even though the virus seems to be all around us, it is not transferring in the classroom at school. NETCHD indicates that Pend Oreille County’s rate per 100,000 is now 2,112 which is almost double the county record high of 1,100 from September 2021.
The sheer number of positive cases is making it difficult for schools to keep up with contact tracing and test supplies are becoming more limited. As school transfer from classroom and school bus exposure is extremely rare, we are going to pause on contract tracing for school-day exposure. That pause is not a license to lighten up on COVID protocols, but it does recognize that with the current practices implemented, schools are relatively safe places. The pause is to help us concentrate our energy and limited test supplies where the highest risk transfer is. For the next few weeks, our focus will be on testing students in high-risk athletics (basketball and wrestling), testing symptomatic individuals, and identifying any high risk outside-of-school exposure. For that reason, if your child tests positive, we may ask if there are other students outside of school who could be considered close contacts.
We will move to a generalized mass notification system to parents' cell phone numbers when someone in the general classroom tests positive rather than sending letters home as we are experiencing students each day who test positive. We will still contact parents directly for permission prior to testing any child who is a close contact from a higher-risk (outside of school or athletics) situation. Test-to-Stay is still an option but we will focus test supplies on students who are at higher risk as close contacts rather than testing every close contact.
When you see that general notification on your phone, please watch your child for symptoms and contact the school to arrange testing if you notice any signs of illness. Please note, however, that close contacts from exposure to someone in the home who has tested positive will be required to quarantine for 5 days and then test negative prior to returning to school. All students who stay home ill will be required to test prior to returning to school or quarantine for 10 days.
We anticipate that the testing shortages may only last a couple of weeks and by mid-February we hope to see a significant reduction in cases in our area. From wearing masks at school to watching for signs of illness in your children, thanks for all you do to keep our schools open! Go Rangers!
Selkirk COVID Update 1/24/22: Over the weekend and today, we recorded about 30 new cases of COVID in students, staff, and parents. That is a record for our community in one weekend. Of those positive tests, three were parents, two staff members, and the remainder students in grades K-12. Parents are doing an excellent job of keeping their children home when they are sick and requesting testing. We are happy to offer testing to parents of students as well. Only three of the students who tested positive actually attended classes today. Two were slightly symptomatic and one was a close contact with no symptoms at this time. However, out of 13 children attending a social gathering over the weekend, 5 have now tested positive for COVID so we encourage parents to evaluate risks of social activities over the next two weeks when this surge is expected to peak. While we have not had any transfer in the classroom setting to students identified as close contacts, we have seen transfer through athletics. For that reason, we paused wrestling last week and now high school basketball this week. Thank you for everything you are doing to help us get through the next few weeks including masking up when you are on school campuses! While we are confident we can manage the storm clouds, we are definitely looking forward to sunnier days both in outlook and weather!
Tune in to Selkirk's YouTube channel at 10:00 this morning to watch our talented music students honor Martin Luther King. The assembly will be streamed live at this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8fAH_sgiLQjbeIXM-hd_5w
As we are in the midst of an increase in positive COVID cases in our three communities, we thought we’d share another link to access free home tests: COVIDtests.gov is in a beta phase right now which means you can register for free tests today ahead of the official launch tomorrow.
Monday, January 17, 2022 COVID Update: A number of families have reported COVID positive test results over the weekend. No school transfer has been noted at this time. All students testing positive will be out for five days and then will need to produce a negative test to return on Day 6. All close contacts (except those in the immediate household) can participate in the Test-to-Stay program which allows them to stay in school with two negative tests required in a 5-7 day period. Those not participating in testing, will be out for 10 days. School officials have contacted close contacts over the weekend so if you have not received a call, your student was not considered a close contact. We are headed into what is predicted to be the peak of Omicron so please help us keep schools open by reminding your students to wash their hands and wear their masks at school and on the buses. Thank you!
While over the past 34 years we have NEVER implemented a Late Start day at Selkirk Schools, we do have procedure outlined for that option and with preparation in mind, we are sharing that information here. In addition to a phone call, email, or text, the delay would be advertised on television news channels. However, we DO NOT anticipate using this anytime soon....Selkirk staff and north county plow crew are committed to getting students to school each day! This is an informational message only.
Community Vaccine Clinic. Just a reminder that Northeast TriCounty Health District will host a free COVID vaccination clinic in our community this Friday, December 10 from 10:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. As there is no school that day, the clinic will be held at Selkirk Elementary School. Please enter through the main doors and expect to exit through the side of the building. All those entering the building will be required to wear masks. All three vaccines will be available as boosters, initial, or second doses for people ages 12 and older. Call 509-684-2262 to schedule an appointment.
Selkirk School District is accepting applications for a paraeducator. Please contact the district office for more information (509) 446-2951.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Thanks to Northeast TriCounty Health District there will be a free COVID vaccination clinic in our community on Friday, December 10 from 10:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. As there is no school that day, the clinic will be held at Selkirk Elementary School. Please enter through the main doors and expect to exit through the side of the building. All those entering the building will be required to wear masks. All three vaccines will be available as boosters, initial, or second doses for people ages 12 and older. Call 509-684-2262 to schedule an appointment.
Selkirk Elementary phones are working again!
Tonight kicks off the Selkirk High school 2021-2022 basketball season and we are very excited to be able to open up the bleachers to everyone in the community! Please note that all spectators must wear face masks.
This year players are not required to be masked while competing because they are either vaccinated or undergo testing two times per week. We are excited to be able to play in front of our fans, but in order to continue doing so we will need you, just like the athletes, to meet certain requirements.
While in the building the primary requirements are that spectators are masked and maintain a 3 foot physical distance from those who are not in your ‘normal’ group of contacts. That’s it, pretty simple. The players, referees, coaches, and managers have been asked to do the heavy lifting. They must be vaccinated or undergo testing multiple times per week.
You will find the spectator mask requirement at all gyms in our league. The league has discussed possible scenarios and DOH consequences if these requirements are not met. None of which anyone wants to visit.
One last thing, while actively eating your mask can be down. With that in mind the concession stands will be open. This year only, large bags of popcorn are available for $20....just kidding!
Go Rangers!
Selkirk Holiday Concert - Grades K-5: Wednesday, December 15 @ 7:00 p.m. at the Selkirk High School gymnasium. Masks required for all audience members.
