As the Community Information Sharing System (CISS) is implemented, participating organizations receive training.
On Thursday, September 24, 13 participants from seven faith organization took part in a CISS confidentiality and ethics, and new user training at Bethel Lutheran Church.
1. I’m a vegetarian so I don’t need to worry about catching swine flu.
Myth. Consuming pork does not spread the H1N1 virus. Like seasonal flu, swine flu is spread person to person via respiratory droplets to mucous membranes (eyes, nose and mouth).
2. I should take antiviral medicine now to protect me from swine flu.
Myth. You should only take an antiviral if your health care provider advises you to do so. Individuals should not buy medicines to prevent or fight this new influenza without a prescription.
3. I’m sneezing and coughing so I must have swine flu.
Myth. Coughing and sneezing alone are not generally associated with the swine flu. Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of other flu strains including: Fever. Cough. Sore Throat. Body Aches. Headaches. Chills.
Fatigue. Diarrhea. Vomiting.
4. Swine flu is a combination of many viruses.
Fact. The recent outbreak of H1N1, commonly referred to as swine flu, involves a new influenza strain that is a genetic combination of swine, avian and human influenza viruses.
5. You can spread swine flu to others even if you feel great.
Fact. If you do have swine flu, you can give it to others about 24 hours before you develop symptoms.
6. Pregnant women are more at risk with swine flu.
Fact. H1N1 has disproportionately affected young healthy persons. Most troubling is that contracting the H1N1 virus while pregnant can cause severe and life-threatening disease. Data suggests pregnancy may put women at greater risk of developing complications from thepandemic H1N1 flu. The CDC and the WHO urge public health providers treating pregnant women with flu-like symptoms to immediately begin appropriate antiviral therapy.
7. I get the flu shot, so I don’t need the swine flu vaccine too.
Myth. The regular flu shot does not offer protection from H1N1.
8. Hand sanitizers don’t kill the new H1N1 virus.
Myth. Hand sanitizers have been shown to be effective at killing the swine flu virus. When soap and water are not available, using hand sanitizers will help prevent the spread of the virus.
9. Health officials suggest basic hygiene measures to prevent the spread of H1N1.
Fact. Everyday actions can be taken to stay healthy:
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
•Wash your hands often with soap and water. Alcohol based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Stay home and limit contact with others if you get sick.
• Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
10.Swine flu has spread to all parts of the world.
Fact. Since emerging last spring, H1N1 has spread to 168 countries and has led to at least 1,154 deaths.
More information about H1N1 and additional crisis materials from the Minnesota Department of Health can be found here or Olmsted County Public Health Services here.
Resources:
World Health Organization
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Department of Homeland Security
Mayo Clinic
On Friday, September 11, United Way joined 70 or so Stewartville area seniors for lunch at the Stewartville Civic Center to officially launch re-organized and expanded senior services.
Partnering with Semcac and the newly formed Stewartville Senior Citizens Advisory Council, seniors are receiving nutritious meals through a locally-based senior center. Serving the Stewartville area, the center also provides outreach to rural seniors in Olmsted County.
Friday’s regular congregate dining was followed by a special Harvest Dance with music by the Polka Dots.
This year was a phenomenal year for the Running Start for School initiative.
With the help of over 250 volunteers and over 100 community partners, we distributed school supplies to 2,240 students in Olmsted County! That’s a 12% increase over last year and a 95% success rate this year (total number of students registered: 2,361/ total number of students that picked up their supplies: 2,240).
We distributed school supplies during six days in July and August at three locations throughout Olmsted County.
Longfellow students received their school supplies on July 23 or 28, Byron students received their school supplies on August 19 (new distribution location this year) and all other Olmsted County students received their school supplies on August 26, 27 and 28 at the United Way building.
We helped 867 families get the school supplies their children need to be successful in school this year.
Thanks to all United Way staff and volunteers that helped to make this year’s Running Start for School initiative a great success. A special thanks to our Running Start for School Intern, Nathan Watson, for the remarkable dedication, creativity, and excellence that he brought to his position and United Way this summer
Peggy Mannino (r) with Running Start Coordinator Nathan Watson
Home Federal will be campaigning to collect school supplies from employees and willing patrons through August 21. Donations will be passed on to Running Start for School; a program that provides free school supplies for students of need in Olmsted County.
Home Federal’s decision to support Running Start for School was inspired by Peggy Maninno who has been collecting school supplies throughout the year. “Its hard to not get school supplies when the deals are so good and it helps so much” says Peggy. She has collected an array of over 50 backpacks and multiple cases of notebooks. Peggy arrived to the Casual for Cause kick-off carrying a box full of crayons, markers and glue sticks.
Peggy’s husband and Home Federal vice-president for corporate affairs, Al Maninno couldn’t be happier to start the collection of school supplies; but that’s not all they’re collecting. Casual for Cause also raises funds by having employees donate money to wear jeans to work, which is then donated to local causes.
Amidst the employees dressed in “Live United” t-shirts were smiles and excitement for collecting school supplies, but much more prevalent was the understanding of why they’re collecting. The number of students in need is growing larger every year. This year, there are over 6,000 students eligible for free school supplies in Olmsted County alone. United Way’s Running Start for School uses partnerships with local business like Home Federal Bank to provide for students. Running Start is planning on distributing 2,500 backpacks, over 13,000 notebooks and about 25,000 pencils to students this year.
Peggy joined by other Home Federal Employees
On August 7th & 8th, volunteers will be in The Salvation Army parking lot next to Kmart, 201 9th St. SE, collecting school supplies at the annual Running Start for School Fill-the-Truck event.
You can drop off donations Friday 12pm-6pm and Saturday 10am-4pm.
If you are done collecting, feel free to drop off your school supplies at the event. Alex from Y105 KYBA will broadcast live announcements. Bring your collection and get your group mentioned on the radio!
Thirteen Emerging Leaders in Giving (ELIG) worked in the clean room at Channel One Food Bank & Food Shelf on Monday, July 20th from 6-8 p.m. The volunteers labeled 2 pallets of canned peas, carrots and beets that will be distributed to local food shelves. They also sorted donated food items that will be made available to clients at the Channel One Food Shelf.
Afterwards the volunteers headed to Whistle Binkies on the Lake for some libations, food and networking.
This was a great opportunity to learn about the hunger needs in our community, meet other young professionals, and feel good by giving time to a worthy cause.
ELIG is a growing network of dynamic, young professionals who support philanthropy, foster connections and are active in the community.
Giving time, talents, and/or resources, ELIG are individuals from a variety of backgrounds who all want to make a positive difference in our community. Here’s more about ELIG.
Debbie Hoffman (far right) with Dolly Parton
Debbie Hoffman, who volunteers with United Way of Olmsted County as the Coordinator for the Imagination Library, attended Homecomin’ ’09 June 9 -12 in Pidgeon Falls, Tennessee. This annual conference of Imagination Library partners from around the country (and the world) 
provides information and training; and, receives input ffrom local programs.
Since the June 2006 launch of the Imagination Library partnership in Olmsted County, over 120,000 books have been delivered to local children. Over 5,500 children are currently enrolled. More than 1,600 Olmsted County children have graduated from the Imagination Library.
In 2007, Debbie received the United Way of Olmsted County President’s Award for her volunteer services in many areas, including the Imagination Library and was recognized as one of “10 Who Make a Difference.”
The Minnesota Department of Education recently released the results of the 2008-09 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, or MCA-IIs.
During the 2005-06 school year, Minnesota shifted its accountability tests from the MCA to the MCA-II. School year 2008-09 was the fourth year that approximately 9,300 District students took the MCA-II tests in reading and the MCA-II/MTELL tests in math. Listed below is the percentage of District students who are meeting or exceeding state standards, as compared with state results.
Percentage of ELEMENTARY Students Meeting or Exceeding READING Standards
|
All Asian PI1 Hispanic Black White LEP2 SpEd3 FRP4 |
RPS District 78.26% 77.36%
54.44% 55.25% 84.67% 47.00% 47.81% 59.16% |
State 75.03% 64.50%
51.43% 49.48% 82.03% 39.68% 42.60% 57.73% |
1. Asian/Pacific Islander, 2.Limited English Proficient, 3. Special Education, 4. Free and Reduced Price Lunch
Percentage of ELEMENTARY Students Meeting or Exceeding MATH Standards
|
All Asian PI Hispanic Black White LEP SpEd FRP |
RPS District 76.01% 78.03%
53.41% 48.51% 82.56% 47.21% 46.45% 56.96% |
State 71.88% 66.04%
47.81% 43.86% 78.89% 41.02% 43.49% 53.85% |
Percentage of MIDDLE SCHOOL Students Meeting or Exceeding READING Standards
|
All Asian PI Hispanic Black White LEP SpEd FRP |
RPS District 74.05% 69.05%
44.00% 44.77% 81.30% 31.20% 33.88% 50.31% |
State 68.05% 56.80%
42.69% 40.93% 74.73% 23.87% 27.69% 47.47% |
Percentage of MIDDLE SCHOOL Students Meeting or Exceeding MATH Standards
|
All Asian PI Hispanic Black White LEP SpEd FRP |
RPS District 69.32% 72.08%
37.14% 35.37% 76.44% 34.12% 29.97% 44.25% |
State 60.44% 57.56%
32.80% 27.96% 67.38% 24.33% 21.87% 38.85% |
Percentage of HIGH SCHOOL Students Meeting or Exceeding READING Standards
|
All Asian PI Hispanic Black White LEP SpEd FRP |
RPS District 78.56% 73.81%
61.22% 35.77% 85.88% 25.42% 34.38% 52.03% |
State 74.16% 58.53%
47.08% 42.29% 81.08% 27.10% 31.43% 51.91% |
Percentage of HIGH SCHOOL Students Meeting or Exceeding MATH Standards
|
All Asian PI Hispanic Black White LEP SpEd FRP |
RPS District 54.99% 49.47%
25.71% 8.89% 61.57% 6.58% 14.71% 22.89% |
State 41.03% 35.06%
15.58% 10.09% 46.55% 10.09% 6.97% 19.47% |
Percentage of All Students Meeting or Exceeding READING Standards
|
All Asian PI Hispanic Black White LEP SpEd FRP |
RPS District 76.50% 73.27%
51.27% 48.21% 83.40% 38.47% 40.07% 54.70% |
State 71.92% 60.40%
47.34% 44.93% 78.74% 32.35% 34.90% 52.67% |
Percentage of All Students Meeting or Exceeding MATH Standards
|
All Asian PI Hispanic Black White LEP SpEd FRP |
RPS District 70.22% 72.03%
45.10% 38.74% 76.72% 38.93% 36.20% 48.57% |
State 62.32% 58.07%
38.25% 32.72% 68.81% 31.55% 29.91% 43.37% |
“I am proud of our students and staff for their continued focus on student success,” said Dr. Romain Dallemand, Superintendent. “At a district level, the proficiency rates for nearly all sub groups are rising for the second year in a row, and once again, our District scores exceed those of the state.”
The MCA-IIs are used to determine whether or not states are meeting target goals for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), as required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. NCLB also requires all students, including nine different subgroups, to be proficient in reading and math by the 2013-2014 school year.
During the month of July, Rochester Public Schools will review MCA-II data for accuracy, will review AYP preliminary results, and will prepare appropriate AYP appeals to submit to the state. As required by NCLB, schools must meet their target AYP goals in all subgroup populations. Schools that do not meet all their AYP goals are cited by the Minnesota Department of Education and placed on the state’s “Needs Improvement” list.
In August, Rochester Public Schools will report district and school AYP results as well as the Minnesota Department of Education Growth Data for MCA-II tests. MCA-II Science results will also be reported. In September, Rochester Public Schools will complete district specific analysis of school level results and will complete effectiveness studies related to interventions and supports.
Statement from Superintendent Romain Dallemand regarding MCA-II Results
I am very pleased that students’ proficiency on the District’s MCA-II assessments results increased again this year. This is important feedback to the District and an indication that we’re on the right track for raising proficiency for all students. At a District level, the proficiency rates for nearly all sub groups are rising for the second year in a row, and once again, our District scores exceed those of the state.
As part of the Five Year Plan, we will continue to monitor student achievement, will learn from successful instructional strategies employed in classrooms across the District, and will adjust instructional strategies where improvements and growth must be made.
Student success is a result of the dedication of many people. I am grateful to the teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, parents, and community for their hard work and continued focus on the proficiency of all our students. Most of all, I am pleased that our students’ efforts have resulted in continued growth.
MSNBC and Moody’s Economy have released an online Adversity Index that measures the economic health of 381 metro areas and all 50 states.
Each area is identified as being in recession, at risk, recovering or expanding. You can explore changes in the four components of the index: employment, housing starts, housing prices and industrial production, each shown as a percentage change from a year earlier. (The change in housing prices will be updated at the end of the quarter.)
To reach the index click here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29976394/
