Weekly Update: December 16th 2022
Weekly Update: December 16th, 2022
Dear Grinnell-Newburg Board of Education, Staff, Family, and Friends:
I hope this weekly update finds you and your family well. We have been monitoring the illnesses across the school district. We have had schools report absences as high as 10% earlier in the week. We have seen a decline in most schools representing roughly a 5-7% range of absences. Many of these illnesses include a variety of symptoms and are not consistent with one virus over another. Our nurses have been in contact with public health and sharing our absences and illnesses. Public health in conversation with the school superintendent is necessary if a school closure occurs. We are not experiencing conditions or percentages at this time that are consistent with the closing of a school.
We have been encouraging families to keep students home from school if they are sick. Also, washing hands frequently has been strongly recommended. Our custodians have been doing extra cleaning as well. Stay Healthy, Tigers!
Winter Break Information:
The winter break schedule is as follows:
Students will be dismissed at 1:00 on December 21. Winter break for students will be December 22-January 2. Students will resume classes on January 3, 2023. Staff will return on January 2 for professional development day.
Offices: The school building offices are closed during winter break and will re-open on January 2. The district office will be open on December 22 from 7:30-4:00. The District office will be closed on December 23, 26, and December 30th. On the remaining days, December 27, 28, and 29, the office will be open from 7:30-4:00 PM.
GMS Performs at Grinnell Mutual:
Many who attended the event enjoyed a spectacular performance by the GMS honor choir and Jazz Band. Thank you, Sharaeah Sharp and Adam Van Arkel, for sharing our talented students with our wonder Grinnell Mutual Partner. Thank you, Grinnell Mutual, for hosting our students and supporting our middle school through sponsorships and donations. We are grateful to you!
GMS Play Rescheduled:
Due to illness, the GMS winter play will be rescheduled to another date in January.
Author Visit: Sarah Allen
Author Sarah Allen, whose books include What Stars are Made Of, Iowa Teen Award Winner, Breathing Underwater, and the upcoming The Nightmare House visited with Davis and GMS students Dec. 8th to discuss her writing process, how publishing works, and to encourage students to remember that everyone has a story to tell.
GHS Booster Club
The Booster Club is in need of Concession Stand volunteers. Your help this winter season is greatly appreciated. By donating a couple of hours of your time, you're helping support all of our athletes!
https://www.signupgenius.com/
Build a Better Grinnell Survey:
Please, take some time to complete the Build a Better Grinnell 2030 Visioning Project community survey.
BABG is a research and community-driven assessment of Grinnell’s strengths, visions and needs. It is a non-partisan effort to gather input and information from Grinnell residents, those who work in Grinnell, or depend on it for key resources. The project is funded by a USDA Rural Placemaking Grant award and overseen by a 20+ person steering committee.
What are we asking - take the survey!
The community visions survey is a series of questions to help Grinnell put the pieces together! It asks about your thoughts and experiences of Grinnell, especially as they relate to visions, strengths, and needs. It is a series of questions for anyone who lives, works in and/or uses resources in Grinnell. You can take this survey yourself, or get a group of people together to discuss it. The questions can be answered digitally, or in print - paper copies and drop boxes are available at Saints Rest and Drake Library - or may be printed off from the website.
The data collected from this survey will be used first to create a broad-based listing of all identified community needs, strengths, and visions, which will then be brought back to the public for prioritization, and later used to inform the creation of action planning groups on the topics prioritized.
It is crucial that people take the survey and have their voices heard in this process. We want to hear from everyone and to avoid leaving any voices or opinions out because your individual input counts!
Get involved, and learn more
BABG puts out a regular update newsletter, if you would like to subscribe to the listserv, please visit the website to sign up. If you would like to learn more about the project or get involved, please email Project Coordinator Bel Kugel at bel@buildabettergrinnell.org
Get your students connected!
Check out the Virtual Backpack here for new activities and opportunities for students.
Get your students connected!
Check out the Virtual Backpack here for new activities and opportunities for students.
Public Display: Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year. 23-24 Calendar DRAFT (1).pdf
Please see the attached calendar for the 2023-24 school year. The Board of Directors reviewed the draft calendar at their regular meeting this past week. It will be voted on at January 11, 2023, meeting. Please email any comments regarding the calendar to gabbie.hanks@grinnell-k12.org
Notice for Public Hearings:
On January 11, 2023, the Grinnell-Newburg School Board will host two required paper notification public hearings and one public hearing for public comment, as identified below.
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The Board will listen to public comments regarding the deed restriction on the 11th/11th avenue property. The city will be present to share the plan for the development and request that the school board lift the restriction in order for Hubble to obtain financing. The deed restriction will be replaced with an agreement pending board approval and public comment.
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The second hearing that requires notice is the Instructional Levy. This levy is approved by the board every five years. This levy supports our curriculum materials and classroom instruction. This is a routine procedure that districts complete either annually or every five years.
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The third hearing does not require public notification, however, it does require the opportunity for public comment. The policy, 605.6 Student Use of the Internet and Electronic Communications, must be reviewed annually for the purpose of the erate grant application. This is a routine event.
Grinnell Activities Calendar can be found here.
Girls and Boys basketball take on Pella Christian this evening at home! Go Tigers!
Have a wonderful weekend! Stay warm temperatures will drop as the arctic air travels across the plains.
Sincerely,
Janet