Weekly Update: January 7, 2022
Weekly Update: January 7, 2022
Dear Grinnell-Newburg Board of Education, Staff, Families, and Friends:
Happy New Year 2022! Welcome back to school! We were very excited to welcome our students back to school this week. I hope that all enjoyed their break!
This past week the Board of Education passed the OSHAPolicy 403.7 Updated JS as required, to begin on Monday, January 10, 2022. This policy will be suspended if the supreme court orders a pause on the policy later today. The requirement under the mandate is for this policy to be approved prior to January 10. This has created many challenges for the district to navigate to prepare the implementation for this policy. We are working through procedures, protocols, and requirements. I have shared the OSHA Mandate Procedures & FAQ's with our staff to help them navigate the rules depending upon if they are vaccinated or not. This document is listed as a draft as new guidance continues to be communicated to me.
COVID update: Masks are back on for next week. The 7 day positivity rate for Grinnell is 10.8%. The chart can be found here. Please be sure that you select the January tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to review the data. I will be sending out a voice reach this weekend to remind families that masks will be implemented for the week of January 10, 2022.
Curriculum Committee:
This past week the high school presented to the curriculum committee a proposal for a new adoption of math resources, curriculum plans, and a new science data course that will be piloted this fall. The math team will present to the Board at a future meeting to share the plan with the full board. Congratulations to our high school math teachers for their excellent work on this project.
Just a reminder about some important upcoming dates:
No school January 17th: MLK Day
January 26th and March 2nd the district will have a two hour early out for students.
Makerspace at GMS
3-D Printing with a purpose:
Our students have access to many great tools for learning in the district. This includes access to 3-D printers. These printers have been in every building for demonstrations and student-designed projects. They are also used for very practical applications that support the district in unique ways.
Here are some recent projects:
On the left is an Apple TV ceiling mount. An Apple TV box will allow any teacher or student to wirelessly project their iPad or laptop screen to a classroom projector or TV. In most classrooms, these were set on top of the projector. This design easily clips onto the rails of the suspended ceiling in the classroom, providing better connectivity and cutting the clutter on the projectors. They have been installed in all middle school classrooms and will soon be installed in other buildings. The printer materials cost for each is about $1. A less durable version sells on Amazon for about $10.
In the middle is an important key that our custodial staff use. It unlocks the toilet paper dispensers in the bathrooms. The original keys have been known to either break or disappear easily, and are not something that can be found easily at the local hardware store. These are quick and durable replacements.
On the right is an iPad stand. Our student iPad cases have integrated stands that hold the iPads nicely in a landscape, or wide, orientation. There are some applications, such as the Osmo applications used in grades K-2, that only work in a portrait, or tall, orientation. These 3D printed stands are mounted on scrap wood which was cut out in the high school wood shop with the CNC router.
Above is a replacement knob for a hot plate in the high school science lab, a perfect fit for the original, which disappeared many years ago. This was designed by 9th grade student Ian Hammond.
The 3D printers run most days for different types of projects. One of them, a PRUSA purchased in 2019, has had more than 8 miles of filament run through it. A roll of filament is relatively inexpensive, costing just over $20, and includes about 1000 feet of material.
The 2021-2022 Grinnell Wrestling team has put up some great team and individual performances so far this season. Overall, 7 out of 11 varsity wrestlers have winning records; as a team, winning 60% of varsity matches. Despite winning significantly more individual matches than we’ve lost, the Tigers’ lack of numbers has not allowed for as much team success. The Tigers are 7-14 in duals so far this season.
The virtual Backpack can be found here: Virtual BackPack Link
To access the Activities Calendar, click here.