Hello Browns School Families,
The next question you might ask is, “What happens in January?” I wish I had the answer. Will the holidays increase the number of cases once again? I do not know. The uncertainty of the future is something that I think about on a daily basis. It may be that we have to continue Distance Learning the month of January just to monitor the situation. I would like to return to in-person learning in 2021. What a wonderful way that would be to celebrate the New Year! However, this will all be predicated on our community doing what we need to do to bring the positive test numbers down. Please join me in wearing a mask and practicing the safety tenets established by the medical community!
I will be assessing the situation over the winter break. As I gain information pertinent to school re-opening, I will share this with families via an email, text message, voice message, or on our new APP, or new website. Please ensure that all of your contact information is current in order to receive important information.
I wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday!!! I miss the daily activity of a live campus more than I can say. My strength and optimism lies in the knowledge that we will get through this. I can’t say exactly when, but I know that it will happen!
Stronger Together,
Mike Scully
Open this link for a short video about our new APP.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MP86Nelsi9kzxuuHLZzEgbYE9mqjqVHK/view?usp=sharing
Don't forget to visit our online Book Fair at: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/brownselementaryschool1
The online Scholastic Book Fair has been extended through , December 25th!
PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY TO IMMEDIATELY MITIGATE COVID-19 RISKS IN
YUBA COUNTY AND SUTTER COUNTY
December 4, 2020
To all Yuba-Sutter Residents:
The current COVID-19 situation is dire in Yuba-Sutter. We have the highest rate of COVID-19
test positivity in the State. The State¶s aYerage is 6.4% - Yuba is 16.2% and Sutter is 20.1% -
(Sutter being the highest of all 58 counties). This means that for every person who gets tested for
COVID-19, nearly one in five tests positive for COVID-19. Our situation is much worse when
compared with several neighboring counties such as Butte (4.6% test positivity), Colusa (13.7%
test positivity), and Sacramento (9.4% test positivity).
The Yuba-Sutter region has only one hospital, Adventist-Rideout, and it is heavily impacted by
the recent surge in cases, leading to a near tripling of hospitalizations in the past few weeks.
Their IntensiYe Care Unit (³ICU´) is full because of the surge in COVID-19 patients needing
ICU level care. There are not enough ICU nurses to expand for more ICU beds. Hospital nurses
are highly specialized. An Emergenc\ Department (³ED´) or ICU nurse cannot be trained
overnight, or even in a matter of months. This current surge in hospitalizations is a statewide and
nationwide issue and resources are minimal for hospitals asking for assistance.
We all need to help each other and I desperately call for your assistance. The ways to mitigate
the risk of more residents becoming infected and to prevent overwhelming our local hospital is
for everyone to immediately limit your in-person interactions with people outside of your
household over the next 3 weeks. I understand this is a heavy lift but we are asking this for not
only our friends and relatives, but our nurses and doctors, and other hospital staff - some of
whom are already near their breaking point.
Starting on Monday, December 7, 2020 and for the next 3 weeks, I am strongly advising
Yuba County and Sutter County residents to immediately:
1. Limit activities outside of your household and outside of your home. Strive to limit
outings outside of your home to ONCE per week for vital activities (groceries, medicines,
care of elderly or dependent relatives) and do not allow others outside of your household
into your home.
Given how pervasive COVID-19 community transmission is occurring and that the majority of
COVID-19 transmission is due to asymptomatic transmission, it is vitally necessary for all
residents to limit their movements outside of their homes and to not allow those outside their
household into their homes.
2. Revert schools to distance learning for ALL grades
Even with the reversion to distance learning for grades 7th-12th two weeks prior, we continue to
see cases identified in the schools that remain open for in-person schooling. It is usually in
teachers or staff, however, the disruption to in-person learning extends to the students since the
students of that positive teacher must immediately quarantine for 14-days. We are noticing
discrepancies even within schools, where one class may remain open whereas another class has
to close due to a positive case. This has resulted in added stress to students, staff, and the parents
of students due to their inability to rely upon a consistent schedule.
Until we can drastically reduce the rates of community transmission, this cycle of intermittent
classroom quarantine will continue.
3. No in-person dining - regardless of outdoor or indoor
When eating and drinking, we cannot have on our facemask. We know masks work to protect
yourself and persons within close proximity. Residents have not been dining only with their
own household members ± propagating chains of transmission through what is essentially minigatherings. Currently, these risks are too great in the midst of pervasive COVID-19 transmission.
4. Suspend all in-person county, city, and other governmental functions as determined by
the respective governing board
These actions are being advised to ensure the health and safety of employees and the public they
serve by minimizing to the maximum extent feasible all in person services. Too many
departments and their employees interact on a daily basis. The common goal among this and
other advisories is to mitigate risk of our residents being exposed to COVID-19 and preventing
further spread, sickness, and death.
Again, I implore each of you to follow this health advisory. Let¶s do this for our friends,
families, neighbors, and for our healthcare workers. We are all in this together ± please commit
to making a difference.
Respectfully,
Phuong Luu, MD, MHS, FACP
Bi-County Health Officer
Yuba County and Sutter County
December 4, 2020
To Our Browns School Families,
We have some updates for you regarding in-person learning at Browns School. We have received a recommendation from Dr. Luu, the Yuba and Sutter County Health Officer, that all schools proceed with distance learning. We will forward the official letter when we receive it from her office. We have been advised by the Sutter County Office of Education and our legal team to consider all recommendations as orders. Please look at the following list to see how it applies to you and your child/children:
Preschool through 8th Grade
• All students will begin distance learning starting Monday, December 7th.
• TK-8th grades will resume with the previous distance learning schedules.
• Preschool teacher will contact families directly with Information.
The safety of your child, and their opportunity to learn is our top priority. We will continue to provide the best instruction we can whether it is in person or online.
You and your family may have specific questions that have not been answered in this letter. Please feel free to contact us at any time.
Sincerely,
Mike Scully
Important Meal Pick Up Information: December meal pick ups will only be Wednesday the 2nd and Wednesday the 9th. If you have any questions contact Debbi at 530-633-2523 or debbib@sutter.k12.ca.us.
The Browns School Book Fair will be online this year. The Book Fair will run from Monday, November 30th - Friday, December 13th. Support our school and help your child discover new books, favorite characters, complete series, and more! Purchases will be mailed directly to your home.
Visit our Book Fair website at: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/brownselementaryschool1
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Corbridge.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Browns School.
Take Care and Be Safe.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Attached is a letter from legal counsel regarding remaining open.
November 17, 2020
Hello Bobcat Families,
The Sutter County Health department notified all school districts in our county with a letter yesterday. The letter informed us that grades 7th and 8th are mandated to go back to distance learning beginning November 23rd. Our 6th grade will also be distance learning to keep in step with our local schools and the information we received from the health department. The counts have increased by 7 to 10 times where we need to be to have full in person learning.
Grades TK through 5th could also be closed soon. We are staying in close touch with the health department who are watching the numbers closely. At the moment they are out of control. We will keep everyone informed concerning this fluid situation. We will try to continue in-person as long as it is safe for our children and staff.
We have been notified by a few of our families of COVID-19 cases in our area. We are not allowed by law to give out any information of those who have been infected. If any of your children have been in contact with an infected child or adult the local health department will be in touch with you immediately.
Once again our number one priority is the safety of everyone here at Browns School. We will do our best to make all these transitions as smooth as possible. We are also contracting with an outside vendor to help us with our distance learning to make it more accessible to our students to help them get the most out of their education during these highly unusual times.
If you have more questions please contact your teacher or the office to help you get the answers you need. We hope everyone has a safe Thanksgiving.
Take care,
Browns School
With Respect, Honor and Gratitude... We Thank you, Veterans. Today and every day. #VeteransDay
Good afternoon,
We are very excited to announce our new website and APP. They are both still under construction to get everything on there we want but it won't take long. We will soon have much more information to share about the APP and the website. Please download the APP and see how it looks on your phone.
Stay tuned,
Browns School
Good afternoon,
Our first few days of having students coming back on campus is going great. Thank everyone for helping us getting back to some kind of normality. This is our new platform for information. We hope you like it. We will be able to get out a lot more information in a timely manner.
Take care and be safe.
Good afternoon, I hope everyone is doing well. Starting this Wednesday 11/4 the date for our take home Breakfast/Lunch pick up will be every Wednesday 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.. Please call the School (530)633-2325 or email Mrs. Debbi @ debbib@sutter.k12.ca.us by 1 p.m. every Tuesday to preorder. If for some reason that time does not work for you do to work, etc. just will us know and we can make arrangements for a different time but it has to be between 8 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. At this time there is no charge for the lunch or breakfast program
Congratulations Class of 2020! https://youtu.be/zm95MMBBVHQ
Welcome to our new website!