Garretson Blue Dragon Tales

COVID Update

As we transition from the first to second quarter, I continue to be thankful for our students and staff, who have been willing to make adjustments to our life in the schoolhouse to increase our safety level. As far as our COVID planning, our school remains at “level 2,” which means that we will use a variety of mitigation strategies to reduce the spread of the virus. We will continue to monitor infection levels in our school and our community and will make adjustments to the plan as necessary. Keep in mind that those changes could be implemented k-12, or they could be implemented in a small group, a classroom, a grade span or a particular school.

As of November 2 (9AM), we currently only have one active COVID-19 case in our students and staff. We do have two other students awaiting test results. We continue to use face coverings, physical barriers and appropriate physical distancing in our efforts to keep our students and staff safe.

Free School Lunch Extended

Last month, we notified everyone that the Garretson School District applied for, and was approved for a waiver to the USDA rules for school lunch. The waiver allows us to provide a Federally reimbursable meal to all children ages 0-18 in the district without charge. Originally, that program was set to expire at the end of 2020. We have been notified that the waiver has been extended through the end of the school year, allowing us to continue to provide free meals to all students. Students will still need to have money in their account if they would like to purchase a la carte items or additional entrees.

K-12 Connect Program Announced

Because of COVID-19, all schools in the state may need to move to a distance learning format at some point in the year. If that were the case, families who do not have internet access would find this transition difficult. In response, the State of SD has started a new program that will provide eligible families with internet access for the remainder of the school year. Additional information about the program, including eligibility requirements can be found at k12connect.sd.gov. For families that may not meet the guidelines for this program, but still need assistance paying for internet services, the FCC also has a program called the lifeline program. Information for this program can be found here: https://www.fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers

On the first Wednesday of the month, Palisade Oil donates 10¢ per gallon of fuel bought from all of their pumps.

October's donation of $373.74 was given to Garretson PTO .

It’s hard to believe we’ve already reached the month of November, but here we are! We’re off to the start of our 2nd Quarter with the busy months of November and December coming up.

It’s obviously been a busy – and different – year at GHS and GMS. I wanted to take some time in this newsletter to just update you with how we are handling traditional learning and E-Learning and opportunities and expectations for our students as we navigate the difficulties of Covid-19, quarantining and virtual school. There are also a couple answers to questions regarding close contacts, quarantine periods and other aspects we have dealt with so far this school year.

First, we’ve had a lot of luck with our students that elected to E-Learn exclusively so far this school year. Technology has worked well, students have attended class diligently and educators have worked hard to help these students have the best possible experience possible via virtual learning. This experience is proving to be quite helpful when we have students that need to miss school for a variety of reasons, most notably when students must quarantine due to being a close contact of someone that tests positive for Covid-19.

Below are just a few of our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that we have had so far this school year.

Q: So when I’m gone from school as a close contact, am I counted absent?

A: Well, it depends. All of our students have been enrolled in each teacher’s online Google Classroom©. Our teachers are placing their content on this platform for students to access whether they are in school or not in school. Teachers have also all placed a ZOOM © link in their Google Classroom© where students can log in and be “in class” virtually. Teachers note that the students are not physically in class by marking them ABSENT but also not that they attended via ZOOM©. These students are not marked as absent in attendance.

This option was designed specifically for our current circumstances, but students that are gone for non-Covid reasons can also utilize this so they don’t miss instruction and can more easily stay up-to-date on their classwork.

Q: If I ride the bus and I can’t attend ICU, how do I get help from my teachers or work on my ICU assignments?

A: This has mainly been an issue with our GMS students, but some GHS students run into this as well. Remember, ICU is a time to finish missing work, possibly re-do work, and get extra help.

First, you don’t have to be on the ICU list to use ICU time. If you don’t understand something, go to ICU. If you want to make sure you’re doing something correctly, go to ICU. If you are going to be gone and want to make sure you understand everything, go to ICU.

Back to the bus part. Let your teacher know that you can’t attend ICU and they will work with you. They will find a time toward the end of class during your study hall or some other time to help you out. Just communicate what the conflict is and we’ll make sure we help you out.

GMS has also instituted ICU time into our Wednesday early out time to work with students that can’t attend the normal ICU time during the week. Hopefully, we can help out all our students by working with flexible schedules to and finding a time to work with them all.

Finally, teachers usually have some free time in the morning. Busses usually arrive around 8am, that gives students anywhere from 15-25 minutes to find teachers and ask questions.

Q: How many days do I need to be in quarantine if I am identified as a close contact?

A: Using recommendations of the Center For Disease Control (CDC) and South Dakota Department of Health (SDDOH) the quarantine period is 14-days from the last exposure to the person with Covid-19.

Q: Why do some who test positive for Covid-19 return to school before those that may have been a close contact to that person?

A: Using recommendations of the CDC and SDDOH, those that test positive for Covid-19 must isolate for 10 days from symptom onset and no fever without fever-reducing medications and other symptoms are improving.

This often means that a sibling, for example, that tests positive for Covid-19 may return to school before their sibling that is a close contact and may never test positive for Covid-19. We also use communication from the SD Department of Health to determine return dates for students that are identified as close contacts.

Q: What information will we get from the school in regards to close contacts or students that test positive for Covid-19?

A: The school, according to SDDOH guidance, will only identify students that have had consecutive or cumulative 15 minutes of time in close proximity (6 feet or less) to a student or staff member that test positive for Covid-19.

The school has and will continue to notify parents of students that may have been in close proximity to students or staff members that test positive for Covid-19 either in the classroom while student are consistently masked. The school is also notifying parents of students are not masked but are in close proximity for less than the consecutive or combined 15 minute period when we are able to determine this has occurred.

Areas of concern we’ve identified that have led to others being identified as a close contact are:

• Transportation or during school activities and students not being consistently masked up

• Proximity to next to a positive contact while sitting in the bleachers before or on the bench during activities

• There have also been close contacts identified when students spend time with one another outside of school.

The bottom line is: Mask Up to avoid being a close contact.

As we begin the second quarter of our school year, we prepare to celebrate American Education Week, the week of November 16th – 20th. This special week presents everyone with an opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every student receives a quality education. Public education and the educators who provide it, have never faced challenges like the ones 2020 has burdened them with. Taking the time to recognize a teacher with a note, phone call or email, thank a bus driver for their safe deliveries, or lunch personnel for their efforts in providing nutritious meals won’t go unappreciated, especially this year. Everyone’s role in the school has been altered because of the pandemic and the modeling of safe practices and the importance of a positive attitude are enabling our students to be in the building, successfully learning from their teachers and with their peers.

While a note or word of thanks and/or encouragement will go a long way, the greatest gift of thanks comes in the form of student support and encouragement from home! As educators, we thank all of you for the efforts you’ve made to help your child adjust to the challenges of learning through this crisis. Like most things, a positive will come from this negative, and hopefully in the world of education, it will be a greater appreciation for the roles we ALL play in educating our youth and shaping our future. Public Education is something to celebrate and we, at Garretson Elementary, are proud to be a part of it!

Please be reminded of the adjustments we’ve made to our concert schedule. The PreK-5th grade Elementary Concert that was scheduled for Tuesday, December 8th has been canceled. Third – Fifth Graders will have a concert on Friday, December 4th, at 2:00. Students will be limited to four guests and masks will be required of all those in attendance. Check out the link below for a copy of the letter that was sent out at the end of October.

Concert Letter

My name is Jeena Lentz and I'm the new second grade teacher and junior high volleyball coach. I grew up in Pipestone, Minnesota. I graduated college from Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. I've taught in Minnesota for most of my career. I started in Ponemah, Minnesota on the Red Lake Reservation teaching third grade and then moved to teaching second grade at a charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota. I moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to be closer to my family and it has been great. I'm really enjoying working in a small community again similar to the one I grew up in. My favorite ways to spend my time are playing volleyball, reading, walking my puppy, and being with my family.

Being a physical education teacher for the past 17 years in the Garreton School District some things change but my philosophy has always been about students staying active. Play hard, Play fair, Have fun, this has been my motto for all students at all levels that I teach which ranges from Kindergarten through 12th grade. I chose this title of The 30 point puck because of the way I view physical education classes and students asking or telling me or their peers: Who is winning, What’s the score, Teams aren’t fair, etc.. I hear all of these when we get into playing any competitive activity. I hardly ever keep score for games but I know the students like to so when we play I try and encourage the motto of Play Hard, Play Fair, Have fun throughout class. In life, we all go through adversity and it seems to happen at unexpected times and we all have ways to deal with it. We may not understand it and may not agree with it but we have to try and accept it. The way we view these situations is our attitude which greatly affects the choices we make. Attitude plays a major role in our health and wellness. When we're faced with adverse situations we must try and view them positively and think in realistic terms. Determination, resiliency and persistence can push us to prevail through these difficult times. So what I have done when we play team games in class, I emphasize team play, good sportsmanship, positive attitude, respect your opponent, being humble. Sometimes these things aren’t enough to keep kids active so I add some adverse situations to the activity. You are never out of it! An activity, for upper elementary to High school age such as hockey is being played and 1 team does not have things going their way. I add incentives such as the next team to score wins, the next puck point value is 30, next team to defensively stop the other is the winner, the game up to this point is practice next 5 minutes count. Emphasizing play to the end, never give up, work hard, encourage your teammates. The action really picks up and they go hard to the end.

A lot has been going on in the tech world, most recently the troubleshooting of NFHS Network and our Pixellot camera systems. One thing to understand with these machines is there is very little troubleshooting the district can do if something isn’t working. A request needs to be put in to NFHS Support to help us with anything that doesn’t work, and they will remote in to fix it, or walk use through any steps to resolve the issues. We were happy to finally get our camera at the complex working for our last home football game of the season, so that unit will be in use for our home events at the complex moving forward. Another little tidbit of information is that there isn’t an audio aspect to the camera either. You might hear some muffled sound, or if you turn your television up to 50, you can make some noises out, but the camera is strictly a visual enhancer not for audio use. You can catch our home games on the local alliance channel or on the go on the NFHS Network App/Website. The school pays an annual fee to bring these games to you for free.

We have a new design coming to our Website! It will be fresh and new and have a few more gimmicks than before. I will do a YouTube video of how to navigate through some NEW areas of the website. So be on the lookout for the video posted on YouTube under Garretson Tech, on the Live Feed, or on Social Media platforms.

November Calendar

Participation in High School Athletics Has Long-Lasting Benefits

High school athletic programs have been studied for more than a century. Early studies focused on how athletics help create an identity and generated pride for participants and community members. These studies evolved to explain how participation brought about improvements in physical health, stress management and academics. Today there are numerous studies that focus on all types of participation benefits, but what sometimes goes unappreciated is the impact that high school athletics has on students after they graduate.

Participating in high school athletics has long-lasting benefits, especially when athletic leaders create an environment that challenges and rewards the growth mindset. When participants are supported in this way, they develop lifelong habits that last beyond high school.

Three of the most important participation takeaways that students continue to practice after graduation are: 1. Building Relationships Through Team; 2. Understanding Limitations and How to Push Past Them; 3. Foundations of Fitness

Last month I discussed Building Relationships Through Team

Part 2 ~ Understanding Limitations and How to Push Past Them

Being part of an athletic team also allows students to expand their understanding of themselves and others. At the beginning of the season, students may not clearly understand how their participation will affect themselves and their teammates.

In learning to understand their own personal limitations athletes discover how their own choices affect them and their teams. It is this experience that allows them to gain a better understanding of themselves, sacrifices they need to make to achieve a common goal or help they can offer to teammates, and what individual ways they can change and hold themselves accountable. The situations that athletes experience allows them to have a more realistic understanding of how they can set goals and what they can achieve as they move forward collegiately or in the real world.

Breakfast/Lunch Menus

Have you figured out what you want to be when you grow up? If you need little inspiration, enjoy #YouCanBeABCs https://youtu.be/U9TLZBZ3eo8 . Watch it, I promise that you won't regret it!

#YouCanBeABCs from Sam - 6 year old raps about careers A through Z

@RSamuelW3 shares a little inspiration about what kids can be when they grow up.

Daily, school counselors wear many hats while we tackle the numerous responsibilities within our role. One of our important duties is to ensure that our students stay on track and blossom into successful, well-adjusted young adults who are college and career ready. Helping students learn about themselves and their skills, strengths, abilities and interests is critical, and we must continue to help them realize their potential as they prepare to transition into their lives beyond high school. For many our seniors, it is time to start putting some of those ideas to action and start applying!

SDMyLife.com and my website both have valuable information to get your family started! Room 214 has printed resources for students to explore. Check them out!

SD COLLEGE APPLICATION WEEK is coming up NOVEMBER 2 TO 6, 2020.

During SD's College Application Week high school seniors are eligible for up to 3 free applications to SD post-secondary colleges and universities. Parents of students in all high school grades can find helpful information on SelectDakota.org.

Now you might be wondering, how am I going to pay for college? The first step is to apply for financial aid with FAFFAS (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

GHS FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION NIGHT: Join us virtually during conferences at 6:30 on November 9 and we will have a financial aid expert online to help.

Can't make it to the Financial Aid Information Night? All you need is 6 items and 22 minutes. Here are the basics of FAFSA.

SIX ITEMS AND 22 MINUTES: ALL YOU. NEED TO FILL OUT THE FAFSA!

• Filing the FAFSA isn’t as complicated or time-consuming as it seems – you only need about six documents and 22 minutes! So in the time it takes you to catch up on your Instagram feed, you can take the critical first step in getting the money you need to attend college!
  
• Here’s a checklist of everything you and your parent need to fill out, sign and submit the FAFSA:

• An FSA ID. Your FSA ID allows you to log in to your account, sign the FAFSA and make changes or add schools. You and your parent must create separate FSA IDs. Create this first!
  
• You and your parent’s Social Security or Alien Registration number. Here’s what to do if your parent doesn’t have a Social Security number.
  
• Driver’s license (if you have one)
  
• Your and your parent’s federal income tax returns and W-2s from 2019 (you can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import this data!)
  
• Bank statement
  
• If applicable, other records of money earned, and records of investments and untaxed income
  
• File your FAFSA now!
  
• Don’t worry if you can’t find these materials right away: you can start the FAFSA and come back as many times as you need to update information or add schools. The important thing is to get started!
  
• Want to know more? Use this worksheet to get a sneak preview of what the form looks like and the questions it asks, and check out the FAFSA YouTube channel for step-by-step instructions on creating an FSA ID and filling out the form.
  
• Your college’s financial aid office can help you with any questions you have at any time in the process, so don’t hesitate to contact them.

Administration

Mr. Guy Johnson, Superintendent, 605-594-3451, ext. 300

Mr. Chris Long, MS/HS Principal, 605-594-3451, ext. 302

Mrs. Teresa Hulscher, Elem. Principal, 605-594-3451, ext. 303

Mr. Jacob Schweitzer, Business Manager, 605-594-3451, ext. 301

Mr. Matt Schrank, Technology Administrator, 605-594-3451, ext. 174

School Board Members

Mr. Shannon Nordstrom, President

Mrs. Kari Flanagan, Vice President

Mrs. Rachel Hanisch

Mr. Tony Martens

Mrs. Ruth Sarar

Email: firstname.lastname@k12.sd.us
Website: www.garretson.k12.sd.us
Location: 505 2nd Street, Garretson, SD 57030
Phone: 605-594-3451
Facebook: facebook.com/GarretsonBlueDragons
Twitter: @GHSBlueDragons

If you know of anyone not receiving the monthly newsletter and would like to, have them drop me an email... norinda.sandbulte@k12.sd.us