CAN WATER BOTTLES MAKE US SICK? — An Important Message from the West Linn-Wilsonville School District Nursing Team
Our bodies are comprised of 60 percent water, so it is no surprise that consuming enough is important to our wellbeing. There is a river of legitimate articles from every “ologist” one can imagine. From dermatologists to neurologists, ophthalmologists, urologists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, and others, they are figuratively flooding us with legitimate reasons to drink more water.
While we know water is important, and that we’re likely to drink more water if we keep it handy, do we also pay attention to the actual cleaning of this vessel? It turns out, we often don’t.
As school nurses, we notice water bottles everywhere and appreciate that parents are helping their kids stay hydrated. But we also know there are competing forces at play, as germs are everywhere too. While most germs are not harmful and healthy bodies usually manage to stay well despite ourselves, drinking day after day from the same water bottle may short-circuit our healthy choices. Water bottles can quickly become a breeding ground for bacteria, especially if there are grooved areas. Anything that goes everywhere and is exposed to warm temperatures is bound to carry germs.
But with a little knowledge and a couple of minutes every day, that reusable bottle will be ready when you are! If it’s dishwasher safe, you know exactly what to do. But if it’s not, go ahead and soap up, scrub, rinse (inside and out), then let air dry daily. Each step is important.
It is in everyone’s best interest to keep our schools and students as healthy as possible. So please, scrub those bottles out every evening and return them to the classroom clean and fresh the following morning.
For more information and resources:
https://www.treadmillreviews.ca/water-bottle-germs-revealed/
https://www.wideopeneats.com/often-clean-water-bottle/
August 10, 2018
Dear Wood Community,
Welcome to the 2018-2019 School Year.
We welcome families, new and returning to our Wood Community. We are proud of the successes from last school year and we look to continue to build upon these as we begin our year together. We are proud of our students as leaders and learners. They demonstrated that they are value academics and held the growth mindset of learners. Our students embodied the belief that we are a community of learners that must find ways to show our respect and care for each other. We will continue to focus on “Bettering the Learning of Ourselves and Others”. We will look for ways to grow as learners, community members and individuals.
Each new school year, we have the opportunity to welcome several new staff members. We look for ways to fill positions that add experience, both worldly and personally that connect to our school vision. Our new staff members have a passion for teaching and a strong commitment to our school and our students. Please find the introductions included with this letter.
We will be adding a weekly Advisory Class for all students this year. This time is dedicated to building school community, fostering academic skills through organization, goal setting and advocacy. Themes for these lessons will focus on organization, compassion, respect, perseverance, and goal setting. Look for additional information about advisory lessons in our weekly parent message. We encourage you to discuss this learning and themes with your middle school student.
We are excited to offer several new courses this year. We have expanded our Dual Language courses and will be offering Spanish Social Studies and Spanish Language Arts for sixth grade students who have mastered Spanish at grade level. We have brought back Percussion for seventh and eighth grade students. Finally we are pleased to offer a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) related arts course. This new opportunity will be a fun and engaging way for student to approach science, technology and engineering through the use of inquiry, and design. Unfortunately there were some other courses, like guitar, that due to several factors, including space, staffing and materials we are unable to offer this year. We will continue to look for ways to expand course offerings to match student interests.
We will release student schedules through Family Link by the end of the day on August 23. We have worked hard to create student schedules based on the forecasting process. Creating a master schedule and student schedules is an intricate process. We will not be making schedule changes unless there is an error in the schedules.
Bus Schedules, lunch menus, etc can be found on the district website.
We will be sending a large packet of information home on the first day of school. Included in those materials you will find information about PTSA activities and fundraisers that you won’t want to miss.Follow our dedicated PTSA on facebook: WoodMiddleSchoolPTSA This is a great way to stay connected and up to date.
We look forward to working with your students this year.
Thank you,
Kelly Schmidt,
Principal
