Weekly Update: Decemeber 10, 2021
Weekly Update: December 10, 2021
Dear Grinnell-Newburg Board of Education, Staff, Families, and Friends:
Happy Friday! Today I will be sending a voice reach out to all families regarding the new mask policies approved by the Board this past week. The Board has revised the mask requirements for all students and staff who attend our schools:
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If the positivity rate for Grinnell is below 10%, then Masks will be optional during the school day until further notice.
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If the positivity rate for Grinnell is at 10% or higher, then masks will be required, and I will send a voice-reach message out to families over the weekend prior to implementation. It will be in place Monday-Friday, and then I will reevaluate for the next week.
Currently, the Grinnell positivity rate for 14 days is 6.3%. The 7-day positivity rate is 7.9%. Therefore, beginning on Monday, December 13, 2021, masks are optional for the week. I will be sending out a voice reach to all families this afternoon. As long as the percentage stays below 10%, weekly masks will be optional for as long as that is the case.
I receive the data from the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH weekly. We will be utilizing the 7-day percentage guideline for Grinnell, not the County, to determine on a week-by-week basis. IDPH will be modifying the spreadsheet that I send out in the update to show the 7-day data. This matches the state report. All exemptions will still be in place. Nothing else will change except if masks are optional or required. Only if the percentage is at 10% or higher will masks be required and I will notify you if that happens. We will stay consistent and evaluate weekly.
The Board also voted that Mask will remain optional at all times for evening activities beginning on Monday, December 13, 2021. If the percentage increases, then the Board may revisit spectator rules.
Athletic Conference Change:
The Grinnell Tigers were accepted into the WAMAC conference beginning the Fall of the 2023 school year. This 12 team conference will be split into an East and West division. We will still play non-conference games against some teams such as Pella, Pella Christian, and Osky. I want to thank our Activities Director, Chris Coffman, and all of our coaches for assisting to navigate this change. This conference is a right fit for our athletes as the Little Hawkeye conference High School numbers are so much larger, that it is becoming difficult to field more than one or two teams per sport. We will ask the Board to officially accept the WAMAC conference schedule at the January meeting.
Wellness Committee:
The Grinnell-Newburg CSD Wellness committee is interested in discussing wellness topics with parents, students, community members, and school personnel. We will be planning a Wellness meeting after we return from the holiday break. Some of the Wellness topics include school food and nutrition choices, food allergy or dietary restriction concerns, and options for physical activities (outside of the school day). We are looking forward to parent, student, school personnel, and community member involvement in the review and/or development of Wellness policies and ideas for the school district. The accompanying survey has 4 questions and we would welcome any feedback from you on these very important topics.
https://docs.google.com/forms/
Middle School Band and Choir!
Music to Enjoy once again from the stage: The middle school band and choirs held their winter concerts this past week. It was amazing to see our students perform on the stage once again! Take a look at some of the photos from these performances.
Tiger Paws: State Dance Competition
Have you seen the virtual backpack? It can be found here!
Activities Calendar: Please follow this link to see activities for next week.
I hope that you enjoy your weekend! Go Tigers!
Sincerely,
Janet