A New School Year
A new school year is just around the corner. We want to welcome Amanda Shultz back to Win-E-Mac, teaching music. We are working hard to adjust our re-opening plan for the 2020-21 school year. With COVID-19 numbers adjusted weekly, our number one concern is the safety of our students and staff. The Leadership Team, administration, teachers, and nursing staff have been meeting weekly to revise and update our opening plans. The School Board will meet this week for a retreat to review status and discuss their ideas for reopening. Next week, we hope to have a completed plan to be approved at the August School Board meeting.
Open House
The Open House will be different this year, and the day or days are being discussed to include smaller groups of parents meeting with teachers on Wednesday, September 2nd, with more days set up for parent technology instruction. More information will be available later. We want to make this an educational time to brief parents on technology and relationships with the class and with their students in case our district moves to a Virtual Learning Model.
We will be using new technology this year called an “Owl” with those students who choose home learning options. If you know how an owl turns its head and how they react to noise, this is how each student and the teacher will communicate with students outside of class. They will hear and see the rest of the class during instruction time. The students at home can also interact with the teacher and others in the class. We will demonstrate this during the Open House. Other schools have a separate High School and Elementary, so the social distancing and curriculum times can be adjusted easily. We have all students in one building.
Health & Safety
The Governor has made all MN schools follow the mandate of masks. We have invested in a variety of options of masks for students to protect each other and staff. Children will maintain safety but will have breaks throughout the day. Polk County Health will be involved with all schools in the county with guidance and making recommendations to the schools depending on the case numbers and virus spread. They will not give anyone private data protecting individuals who have tested positive within the county.
The Minnesota Dept. of Education has listed options for all schools to follow, depending on the number of cases in the county. Below is the table school districts will use, guided by the County Health Department:
In order to determine the base learning model, school districts will be advised of the bi-weekly case rate (over 14 days) by county of residence. This data is the number of cases by county of residence in Minnesota over 14 days per 10,000 people by date of specimen collection (when a person was tested). While any increase in case incidence represents a greater potential risk, schools may consider a bi-weekly case rate of 10 or more cases per 10,000 to be an elevated risk of disease transmission within the local community, especially when the level of cases per week is sustained or increasing over time.
Learning Model Parameters
Number of cases per 10,000 over 14 days, by county of residence
Learning Model set by MDE
0-9 In-person learning for all students
10-19 In-person learning for elementary students; hybrid learning for secondary students
20-29 Hybrid learning for all students
30-49 Hybrid learning for elementary students; distance learning for secondary students
50+ Distance learning for all students
We know the best model is with all students in school. The Hybrid Model could include days in school and days out of school with distance learning with an “Owl”, so the students in school and home students can participate in the class through Zoom or Google Meet. In a Hybrid model, we must adhere to six feet distancing thus dividing the class in half, with students in class half time and at home half time. The student may be face-to-face 2-3 days. The behaviors of the community will determine the process model of our school, so we ask everyone to be protective and be safe.
Fitness Room Renewal
If you had a membership to the School Fitness Center this past year, the fee you paid is only good until August 31, 2020. You will need to renew the membership fee of $20 by that date or your card will be deactivated until payment is made. If you did not purchase a membership last year and would like one this year, please come to the District Office to fill out a membership application and fee. An access card will be issued at that time. Do not access the rest of the school after hours or an alarm will activate. The school has video cameras at entrances and hallways of the school to show access. Please call 218-563-2900 with any questions.
Important: Immunizations
Before a student can attend a Minnesota school, a child must have their immunizations up to date before the first day of school. These students include the Pre-school age 4, Kindergarten, and Seventh graders. If you are in question, please call the school for information. The immunizations help every child in school to prevent illness and disease.
Patriot Pride Boosters
The Patriot Booster Club has been created to support students in academics and activities. This group wants to invite parents and community members to get involved. The club will fundraise, provide volunteers for academics and activities in school, sell Patriot clothing, and sponsor some events during the school year. They have established meeting times and would like your participation. Make plans to attend.
Free and Reduced Forms
I know you read and hear this announcement time and time again, but I cannot stress enough how important these forms are to the school district to access funding for our school. Our school lost $30,000 in compensatory funding last year and will lose this year again because our eligibility percent has dropped. If you are the parent of a child and know you may meet the eligibility requirements of the program, please fill them out and return them to the school or see the
Superintendent.
The forms are confidential, and it does not mean you need to take advantage of what the form has to offer, but we still ask you to fill it out. It does affect our compensatory funding for our school, free or reduced meal money for kids, 0% interest on QZAB loans, reduced phone and internet bills for our school, Title 1 funding, Federal funding, computer, technology, and equipment grants, and learning materials. At the beginning of the year or anytime during this year, we ask parents or custodial parents to fill out the free and reduced request forms. This year the application is especially important for free meals.