Weekly Update: February 4, 2022
Weekly Update: February 4, 2022
Dear Grinnell-Newburg Board of Education, Staff, Families, and Friends:
Happy Friday! This week we have a lot of news to share with you. Many celebrations can be found in this weekly update as well as a story written by Doug Cameron about his former colleague and friend, Jerry Hagen, who recently passed away. Jerry was a long-time principal, scorekeeper, Tiger Fan, and friend to many in our community. He will be dearly missed.
Reminder - No school Monday, February 7 for staff professional development.
We have learned that as of February 15, 2022, Governor Reynolds signed the final extension of the state’s Public Health Disaster Emergency Proclamation, announcing it will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.
The expiration of Iowa’s Public Health Disaster Emergency Proclamation will result in operational changes related to the COVID-19 response. The most noticeable change will be how data is reported publicly. The state’s two COVID-19 websites, coronavirus.iowa.gov and vaccinateiowa.gov, will be decommissioned on February 16, 2022, but information will remain accessible online through other state and federal resources. The Grinnell-Newburg School District will continue to monitor our attendance as required, for any infectious disease(s) and continue to follow the 10% rule for absences.
Below is a link to a snapshot of the spreadsheet from the Poweshiek Department of Public Health. I apologize for this spreadsheet not being fully available at this time. There is a technical issue with our inability to share the spreadsheet to view through excel that IDPH is attempting to resolve. Hopefully, next week it will be available as in the past. The 7-day positivity rate is 11.3%. Current COVID numbers
CDC updated their COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs. The updated guidance is available at:
https://www.cdc.gov/
Above & Beyond Recognition Aaron Backlin & Danielle McDonough:
At our last board meeting, Aaron and Danielle were recognized for going above and beyond for assisting our 8th-grade students through lessons and programming as we have not been able to secure a Spanish Sub. These two stepped in during challenging times to help the Grinnell Middle School. We are in the process of transitioning to a long-term substitute for the program!
Calendar 2022-2023
Please be sure to review next year’s calendar draft approved by the school board for public display. You will have the opportunity to provide feedback via calendarfeedback@grinnell-k12.
The gist of this calendar is as follows: The calendar is similar to this year’s calendar. A few items to pay attention to that may have changed:
-The first day of school is August 23 and it will be an early release day.
-There will be an early release day on December 21, 2022, the day before winter break begins.
-Spring Break is scheduled at the same time as Iowa Valley as many of our students are enrolled in coursework there.
-The Board will consider adding early dismissal days at a later date to accommodate staff in the event of sub shortages.
-The Board will ask the administrators/staff to review the Spring parent-teacher conference schedule for the 23-24 school year calendar so that we can accommodate the needs of our elementary staff and students with more time before conference dates. The recommendation would be to explore the possibility of whether we can separate K-4 or possibly K-8 conferences from high school and still keep transportation intact. Next year all conferences will remain on the same day as indicated on the calendar.
Hooray for GHS writers and artists!
Five GHS students have received recognition and awards for their work in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition.
Claire Baechtel received two Gold Keys for "The Corn Taught Me" (poetry) and "Ribcage and Cornstalks; Coyote and Dog Songs" (writing portfolio) and three Honorable Mentions for "Caesura" (poetry), "Simultaneous" (poetry), and "The Prairie Burn" (poetry). Gold Key works advance to the national adjudication in New York. National Medalists will be announced on Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Emily Cooper received a Silver Key for her short story, "Crows."
Kailyn Corey received a Silver Key for "Disquiet" (Photography) and an Honorable Mention for "Disturbance" (Photography).
Molly Turley received an Honorable Mention for "With Gold in Her Eyes" (Drawing & Illustration).
Taylor Vanderleest received an Honorable Mention for her novel "A Crash of Sea and Storm."
Congratulations!
Taylor Vanderleest, Molly Turley, Kailyn Corey, Emily Cooper, Claire Baechtel
100th Day of School! Our Kindergarten students celebrated their 100th day of school this week! They wore their shirts and decorated hats proudly!
Congratulations to our Tiger Girls Basketball Coach Edsen!
200th Win Celebration and Ivey Schmidt 1,000 game point scored at the game last Friday Night!.
The virtual Backpack can be found here: Virtual BackPack Link.
Just one of the events posted on the backpack: Daddy/Daughter Dance to be held February 12, 2022
To access the Activities Calendar, click here.
Summer LINK Program Help!
Attention High School Students and community members! Link is looking for summer workers! Take a look at Summer Link Help
In Memory: The Grinnell Tiger Family lost a legend this past week. I asked Doug Cameron to share a few highlights of the former Grinnell-Newburg Principal and scorekeeper. He will be dearly missed. Thank you, Jerry, for being a leader, scorekeeper, and friend to so many. You can read more about how Jerry opened the door to our beloved Doug Cameron 51 years ago, retired Grinnell-Newburg principal.
Have a wonderful weekend! Go Tigers!
Sincerely,
Janet