E-Newsletter December 4, 2020

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Psalms 23

All School Information

MCS In-Person Learning Update and Protocol Requirements

In case you might have missed an important and recent update from Mrs. Harrison, please click here to view.

Nurses Corner

COVID-19 GUIDELINES EXPLAINED:

1. When do I need to keep my child home from school?

a) When you child is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19:

Fever or Chills
Cough
Shortness of Breath or difficulty Breathing
Muscle or Body Aches
Headache

New loss of taste or smell
Sore Throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea

b) When a member of your household has suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

c) When you child has been exposed to a person who has COVID-19 or has tested positive for COVID-19 within 48 hours of exposure.

2. What does it mean that my child's cohort/class is quarantined?

a) It means your child has been exposed to a classmate or staff member with COVID-19.

b) During this time of quarantine, your child should stay home and not go to other schools, activities, childcares, or other gatherings with other people. Instructions about how to quarantine are available here.

c) If your child develops symptoms consistent with COVID-19:

Call you physician for medical care and to have your child tested.

Continue to keep your child home and quarantined.

d) Your doctor may recommend or you may choose to have your child tested for COVID-19 a week after they were exposed to the person with COVID even if your child does not have symptoms. A negative test result does not mean that your child will not develop symptoms or become sick after the test. A negative test result means that your child did not have COVID-19 detected at the time of testing. A negative test does not decrease the length of quarantine at this time.

3. Does the school require a specific test for COVID-19?

a. The school accepts both antigen and PCR testing. Both are approved by the FDA and CDC. Physicians often have strong opinions on which one is superior. Sometimes this is based on when the test is performed. Both tests can be done in a rapid form and this is approved as well. Often, the type of test is dictated by what insurance will cover.

b. We have received some concern based on Concordia University's recent high number of false positives. They participated in what is known as batch or pooled testing which combines individual's swabs. If it is negative, they know all are negative. If positive they go back to find out who is positive. This is cheaper, but often leads to contamination. This type of testing is linked to false positives.

c. The rapid antigen and PCR tests are 98-99% accurate with positive results when not done in batch testing. Negative test results from rapid tests are far more common. Some studies estimate that up to 25% of these tests can be false negatives depending who administers the test and when the tests are taken. For this reason, many physicians will ask for a repeat test if COVID is suspected and the rapid test is false. We always recommend following your Physician's advice.

4. Where can I find MCS's COVID operating guidelines?

a. Click here.

From the Admissions Office

New Student applications for the 2021-2022 school year are now open! MCS gives priority to our current families in the admissions process. If you have a new sibling ready for MCS next year, apply early!

Please contact Ashlee Cowell at [email protected] with questions.

Come and join us in prayer over our school, staff, teachers, and fellow MCS families. Parents in Prayer is foundational to the beloved community of MCS. It is an honor to join together to pray over the school and love those we are placed to specifically pray for. PiP is committed to being a protected space where needs can be confidentially covered in prayer. God's word says, "Wherever two or more gather in my name, there I am with them" Matthew 18:20. We invite staff and parents to submit any prayer request as it would be a gift to lift all needs to God. If you would like to submit a prayer request or be included in the communication for Parents in Prayer please contact Dana Fiori and Chris Blue at: [email protected]

Parents in Prayer Meets Every

Time: 8:15AM-9:30AM

Location: Via Zoom

Fresh Brothers Fundraiser on Wednesday, December 16th!

Lost and Found

Lost and Found items will be donated to Wear and Share on Dec. 18th. Please have your student check the Lost and Found and/or ask their teacher or an aide for assistance in finding their items. We would love nothing more than to have everything returned to their proper homes.

Here is a link to some labels that work great in helping identify your child's belongings. Please include first name, last name and class when labeling. Click here.

Wear & Share

AmazonSmile is an easy way to support our school! AmazonSmile works just like Amazon.com, except that for every eligible item you buy, MCS receives a portion of that purchase. Amazon Smile donates back 0.5% back to MCS on eligible purchases. This may seem like a small amount but it adds up quickly. All you need is an Amazon.com account. Sign into your Amazon account at AmazonSmile: You shop. Amazon gives., select Mariners Christian School, as your designated recipient, and start shopping!

AmazonSmile customers can now support Mariners Christian School in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations every time you shop using your app!

Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings'
Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process
You can search for Mariners Christian School

FREE DRESS DAY, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11TH

Thank you to all the families and students who supported the Annual Fund by returning the Annual Fund Response Cards before Thanksgiving. All of the students who returned the response cards earned a free dress day which will be held next Friday, December 11th. Free dress guidelines apply.

Half Day and Christmas Break

Celebrating Staff Birthdays!

DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS

12/8 Leilen Shelton

12/10 Christian Lucas

12/10 Christopher Lucas

12/12 Gisela Roufs
12/14 Peter Dogterom

12/16 Soojin Suh

12/26 Erin Reilly

12/28 Sady Amend

12/30 Crystal Willis

1/1 Robin Walker

1/2 Sue Celek

1/3 Keven Kroehler

Elementary School E-Newsletter

"...for His name's sake" Psalm 23:3

E-Newsletter: 12.04.20

Elementary School

Elementary School Report Cards

Elementary school students have completed the first semester of the year! Parents can access their student's report card online through the parent portal of Report Card Maker. Once report cards are released, parents will receive a log in notification from Mrs. Drevlow on Friday, December 11th.

Elementary Chapel

Exemplar Lions Awards

Our MCS students have been working hard to "walk like Lions!" During our chapel on Monday, we were able to spotlight (literally - with the help of our amazing tech Zoom crew!) several students that have been consistently displaying the "O for Ownership" in our Lions' Pact. One student per grade, and one student each from our specialists and playground aides were honored in front of their peers for adding to our school community with their leadership examples. Way to go, Lions!

Christmas Toy Collection

This year elementary students will have the opportunity to bless families and kids in underprivileged neighborhoods, as we again partner with Project Giving Light in a 1-day Christmas Toy Collection on Monday, 12/14! As the Christmas season approaches, we know that this year of 2020 has brought new challenges to families like never before. The kids supported by Project Giving Light kids do not typically receive Christmas gifts outside of what PGL provides for them. Our hope is to stock Project Giving Light with gifts to bless families during this Christmas season, and show these kids that they are both seen and loved. In an effort to be the hands and feet of Jesus to struggling families in underprivileged neighborhoods, we have attached a list of favorite gift ideas for 2 specific age ranges (as seen on the attachment). Girls may purchase girl gifts and boys purchase boy gifts. $10-$20 gift cards to Amazon or Target are appropriate for all age ranges.

Collection bins will be placed in the elementary hallways, the front lobby, and outside the front lobby for easy drop off opportunities. If you would like to send your child with their unwrapped gift to school on Monday, 12/14, their teacher will direct them where to place their gift donation.

Thank you in advance as you prayerfully consider purchasing a gift for a child this Christmas season!

Please Note - If you have a middle school student as well, their 1-day Toy Collection is this Monday, 12/7. Please see the article in the middle school section for more details.

Middle School E-Newsletter

"...for His name's sake" Psalm 23:3

E-Newsletter: 12.04.20

Middle School

Wrap N Pray Chapel/Share2Wear

Our upcoming Middle School Chapel this Monday, 12/7 is our annual Wrap N Pray Chapel! This Chapel coincides with our December Share2Wear, and is one of the students' favorite Chapels throughout the year! Students will both "share" AND "wear" on Monday!

All students will participate, including those who are quarantining at home and our remote learners.

For our Share2Wear this month we will again partner with Project Giving Light through a Christmas Toy Collection. These Project Giving Light kids do not typically receive Christmas gifts outside of what PGL provides for them. The "share" item is a toy for a PGL student. Girls will purchase girl gifts and boys will purchase boy gifts. Please see the attached list for gift ideas within your child's grade level category. 6th grade, please purchase for 5-8 year olds, and 7th/8th grades please purchase for 9-15 year olds. $10-$20 gift cards to Amazon or Target are appropriate for all age ranges.

All MCS students will have their gift with them when Chapel begins, whether the student is in person or online. During Chapel, in person students will wrap their presents together in Homeroom, and online students will wrap their present from home, while Zooming with their Homerooms. If your student will be online Monday morning, please make sure they have wrapping paper, scissors, and tape along with their toy. Once the wrapping is finished, Homerooms will take time to pray over the PGL students who will receive these gifts.

All students who "share" a toy to wrap (and we're hoping for 100%!), will get to "wear" Tacky Christmas Attire!!! We want to be festive while we're wrapping, so their Tacky Christmas attire can include things like Tacky Christmas sweaters, Santa hats, elf ears, reindeer antlers, red and green colored clothing, Christmas themed pajama bottoms, etc. No onesies allowed, and all school dress code guidelines apply. Details will be on Schoology for the students to refer back to.

6th and 7th grade families, please feel free to send in any extra wrapping paper that you don't plan on using, and we will happily use it to wrap our gifts!

Those students who are online may bring their gift to campus with them once their quarantine period is over, or the next time their parent is back on campus.

This is an amazing opportunity for our students to bless a child who likely otherwise would not receive a gift. Please remind your middle schooler/s that Monday is BOTH the "share" AND "wear" day.

Free Dress for 7P/6L

On Thursday, 12/10, Ms. Phan's Homeroom and Mrs. Liu's Homeroom will celebrate their victories in the November Pie Eating Homeroom Competition with a FREE DRESS DAY!!! Mr. Jones' class will also have a designated free dress day when 8th grade returns to campus.

High School Information

For more information about Mater Dei and their deadline to submit application items for Early-Admission on Friday, December 11, click on the Mater Dei Logo above or click here to see their flyer.