Newsletter: April 6
Laundry Sign-Up I Late Drop-Off/Early Pick-Up Form
Hello CG Families!
Today is the 50th anniversary of Common Ground filing with the State Corporation Commission! So today kicks off a YEAR of celebrating Common Ground’s 50th year. The timing of the start of this celebration couldn’t be better. Two years ago, we weren’t sure Common Ground would survive the closure due to the pandemic. It was the generous donations from families, the willingness of families to pre-pay tuition, not knowing when or how they would get it back, the aggressive pursuit of COVID relief funding, the generosity of our landlord to provide an 8.9% rent discount for our first year back in operation, and hours on the phone with every vendor we work with to negotiate plans to keep us afloat that got us to where we are today.
While we have made it through, a big part of our celebration will be fundraising for the future. Common Ground is doing better than most, but we are not exempt from the struggles of the entire child care industry. Our costs outweigh our tuition revenue because we choose to prioritize our teachers. Currently the childcare industry is funded by what the market can support - the amount that families can “afford” (and I use that term loosely) to pay. It’s an unsustainable model. In order to provide quality care and education, the child care industry needs a substantial investment from the federal level. We devote time, in partnership with the National Association of the Education of Young Children and our local affiliate, to advocate for that necessary funding. But until that happens, we will work hard to secure grant funding, ask for donations, and host fundraisers to support our non-profit mission.
We are so grateful to have you as a part of our community and ask that you help support our efforts by:
supporting legislators that support funding for early childhood education
participate in our fundraisers and share them with your network
find out if your company has a donation matching program and schedule a time to speak with Liz on how to leverage that program!
refer donors to us
volunteer your time and skills to help support our fundraising efforts!
donations can be made year round through our PayPal Giving Fund page
Thank you for being a member of the Common Ground Community and helping us celebrate the past 50 years and prepare for the next 50 plus years!
COVID, Flu, and Allergy Season… what to do!
Until today, we hadn’t had a COVID case connected to the center since the Omicron Surge at the beginning of the year. However we are seeing a rise in confirmed cases of INFLUENZA (Flu) and flu negative Influenza Like Illness (ILI).
The health department defines Influenza Like Illness (ILI) as:
a fever >100.4 AND cough or sore throat
As you can see, that overlaps the symptoms of COVID in young children which are:
fever >100.4
chills
cough, shortness of breath
fatigue
muscle aches
headache
loss of taste or smell
sore throat
nasal congestion or rhinorrhea (runny nose)
vomiting or diarrhea
skin rashes
We have to report outbreaks of all respiratory illnesses, including FLU or ILI to the health department if they exceed 10% of our school or 20% in a “grade” (we use our teams as a determination for that). Due to that requirement, we ask that you report any and all illnesses and test results immediately through our absence report form and use the notes section to describe any additional testing or pending physicians visits. You can also use it in the same day to update us after appointments and when you receive test results.
We understand that there is a delicate balance between your need for care and being health protective for the sake of our community. If you ever have a question, please reach out to our office staff so that we can help guide you in your decision making process. Our goal is to keep kids in care and keep everyone healthy! When we communicate and cooperate, we are able to achieve that goal!
We know that kids also have allergies and that a lot of allergy symptoms mimic those of COVID. For children over the age of 2, we have proctored rapid tests available. If you are ever in doubt, we are happy to run a rapid test for you or send one home for you to complete with the proctor on your own time. Just as a note, seasonal allergies generally do not develop in children under the age of 2. The average onset is between 3 and 5 years of age. For more information: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/seasonal-allergies.html
Thank you for helping to keep our community safe!
CHIPS, DIPS, AND PARTNERSHIPS: Chipotle Fundraiser!
RSVP to our Facebook Event and let your friends and family know so they can join the fun! Here is our Flyer
Our next Family Fundraiser Night is at CHIPOTLE NEXT MONDAY April 11th from 4-8PM!
It is at the Sunset Hills location: 12152 Sunset Hills Road, Reston VA 20190.
Stop by the store or order Online. Pickup Orders Count! Order through the Chipotle App or on their website.
Use this Coupon Code: KG3Y7KQ
Note: ubereats, doordash, and other delivery sites like that DO NOT COUNT
We get 33% of the sales, so share with everyone you can!
Can’t do this fundraiser? That’s okay! We have Family Fundraiser Nights each month! Check out our calendar and find your new local favorite dinner place! How can you help make these succeed? Share our Facebook Events and Flyers with all your local friends and family! Who doesn’t like a ready-made, delicious family dinner?
Nando’s Peri Peri: May TBD I On the Border: June 2nd
Earth Day is April 22nd
A lot of our classrooms have done Creative Curriculum Units, like Trees and Recycling, about protecting their planet. They have learned poems about The Litter Monster and read books on all the wonderful things trees do to keep our planet healthy and safe. Even in the Busy Bees’ Space Unit, they cover that Earth is our little blue dot in the vast expanse of the universe, and the only known one to hold life!
In celebration of Earth Day, rather than focusing everything on the one day, we have provided a month’s worth of activities, songs, and experiments to awaken curiosity and excitement for the subject from a bunch of different avenues!