BULLDOG BRIEF
PERSONALIZED. INNOVATIVE. GLOBAL.
Winter Break is from December 22 through January 3
Facility Usage for Youth Sports After Winter Break
For youth basketball teams wanting to use the gym, please be sure to follow the process included here. If you have questions, email Rick Roberts at rick.roberts@vmbulldogs.com, or deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com
We have created a doodle that identifies all of the available times for using the gym from January 4 to February 28. Each basketball team will get to schedule two practices per week. If times are still available on January 4, you will have the opportunity to find other practice times for the week. Each team will be notified when they can request more practice times. ALL PRACTICE TIMES ARE FLEXIBLE. We may need to adjust the practice schedules of our school teams so youth team practice might have to be canceled. To have the opportunity to use the gym, you will need to follow each step outlined below.
The process for getting gym time is as follows:
- Complete this survey with your team's grade and 2 coaches' names if you haven't already.
- The available dates will be sent out to all who have contacted us.
- Complete the Doodle for no more than two practice times per week for each non-school team.
- The schedule will be shared by Thursday, December 30 to all coaches.
- Review the mitigation strategies closely and complete the verification form that all strategies will be followed.
The mitigation strategies that all outside entities will follow if they expect to continue to use the school facilities include:
- Do not enter the building prior to the scheduled practice time
- Exit the building immediately after the scheduled practice time
- All players must have clean court shoes that they change into upon entering the building
- Only two coaches are allowed to enter the gym.
- Non-coach parents need to wait outside the building and should not wait in the gym for the end of practice.
- Each team must provide their own basketballs.
- Each player should have their own water bottle.
- Hand sanitizer should be applied before entering the gym and after leaving the gym
- Make sure the gym is clean after practice and that all equipment, shoes, water bottles, clothes, etc. are picked up.
- Masks should be worn by players until in the facility and as often as possible during practices.
- Masks should be worn by coaches at all times.
- Have fun!
Thanks for following all of the guidelines established. Teams are also encouraged to take accurate attendance, consider wearing masks during practice (we are wearing them in HS practices) when appropriate, having players stay home when sick, and washing/sanitizing hands regularly.
If for some reason the expectations are not followed, gym usage may be revoked. It is critical that we all do our part to ensure the safety of our kids, parents, and all involved.
There are other options for youth sports. Contact the Van Meter Rec Department or other private youth sports entities to see what options are available.
Our goals are for our kids to be able to attend school on-site and for our student-athletes to be able to play sports with little interruption. To do this, we will need to continue to be proactive in our strategies to limit exposure to COVID-19. We ask that our patrons continue to follow the guidelines established by the CDC, IDPH, and the VMCSD to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
Thanks for all of your help as we navigate the pandemic. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us.
GO DAWGS!
Active COVID-19 Cases through December 18
Please do your part to continue to keep your distance from others. It is imperative we all do what we can for us to continue to go to school on-site full-time.
A few kids have been sent home with symptoms as well. Those students are allowed to return if they:
- receive a negative test result,
- see symptoms improve,
- and get a different diagnosis from a doctor.
Please do your part to keep us informed if you think your child has been exposed to COVID-19 outside of the school setting. Parents have been doing an awesome job of keeping kids home when they are sick. Keep it up!
Be sure to inform the district if anyone in your household contracts COVID-19. Students should not be at school if they have been exposed to a member of the household who has tested positive for COVID-19 or if they are sick. Remember that masks should be worn at school anytime students/staff cannot socially distance themselves from others. Masks will be worn more time than they are not.
We need to continue to encourage students to keep their distance, wear masks when they can't, wash their hands, and stay home when sick. We know it isn't ideal, but we all need to do our part to keep pushing through this pandemic.
We will continue to need your help in trying to keep the spread of COVID-19 limited. If in doubt, error on the side of keeping them home until we can help navigate the next steps with the Dallas County Health Department. Thanks!
New Quarantine Guidelines- Please Read
The CDC recently recommended new quarantine guidelines that the school district will now be following. Quarantine is when someone who has had close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 individual must stay away from others. The IDPH considers a close contact being within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19 for more than 15 consecutive minutes. More information about quarantine can be found at this link, but the new guidelines will be as follows:
- Quarantine can end after Day 10 without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring.
- Quarantine can end after Day 7 if the individual tests negative and if no symptoms were reported during daily monitoring. The specimen may be collected and tested within 48 hours before the time of planned quarantine discontinuation (e.g., in anticipation of testing delays), but quarantine cannot be discontinued earlier than after Day 7.
- If the individual tests positive, they will need to isolate for 10 days from when the test was taken.
The key factor in the shorter quarantines is that the individuals are not showing any symptoms. We will continue to work with the health departments to determine close contacts and the dates of quarantine.
If you have any questions about the quarantine length, contact your county health department, your building principal, or Katie in the Nurse's Office.
All Home Events in the North Gym are Livestreamed
We have partnered with NFHS to provide live streams of all of our home events that take place at the football field and in the north gym. The service requires either an annual or a monthly subscription. There are no game-specific options, however, with your subscription, you can watch the games live or on-demand. ALL events that take place in the north gym or at the football field/track stadium can be viewed, including the postseason.
We are aware of the issues with the football streams. The north gym streams seem to work better. If you are not satisfied with the service, contact NFHS and they may reimburse your subscription. Because we are using their cameras and they are operated through the internet and not by people, we are not able to adjust them ourselves. All support needs to come from them. More information is linked below.
Annual subscription cost is $69.99/ year
Monthly subscription cost is $10.99/month
There are multiple ways to stream the games for your viewing.
Once you purchase a subscription, you will have access to any event that takes place in the north gym or at the football stadium. You will also have access to events of other schools that use the NFHS network when we are on the road. We will do our best to let you know what services are available at each venue, if any.
Update from Nurse Katie
I would like to thank you all for your diligence and cooperation in keeping your students home who are not feeling well, and having those with symptoms evaluated before returning to school. We recognize that this year is a challenging one for everyone, and we thank you for your assistance. With the weekend coming up, I wanted to send just a few reminders of things to keep in mind when school rolls back around on Monday.
1) Please check in with your child every morning BEFORE school. If they are not feeling well, please do not allow them to come to school. If they come to school and have two or more "low risk" symptoms (fever, headache, muscle/body aches, fatigue, sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea) or one "high risk" symptom (new cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell) of COVID as identified by the Iowa Department of Public Health, they will be sent home. They will then be required to have a medical evaluation and alternate diagnosis, in addition to improving/resolving symptoms for 24 hours, before returning to school. The guidance from the IDPH is very clear and leaves little room for judgment on the part of school staff as to when a student with symptoms must be sent home from school.
2) Please make sure your student has a face mask and water bottle every day for school. Our drinking fountains are only operational as bottle fillers, so if they do not have a water bottle they get very thirsty during the day.
3) If you are unsure of whether to send your student to school because they have mild symptoms, please keep them home and contact your pediatrician or family practitioner for guidance. Please do not contact the school as we cannot evaluate a student's symptoms over the telephone or by email. Our recommendation will be to keep them home and contact their doctor.
4). If you are being tested for COVID-19 because of symptoms, please consider keeping your students home from school until you receive your test results to minimize disruption for them and their classmates. Your child's principal will work with you to get them going on virtual learning so they can stay current with their classwork. If you or someone in your family receives a positive COVID result, please contact the school immediately.
We want to continue to have the option of full-time in-person learning, so we all need to do our part to keep our school as healthy as possible. Thank-you, in advance, for your understanding and cooperation. Have a great weekend!
Katie Hovda RN, BSN, MHA
VM School Nurse
Return to Learn FAQ and IDPH Guidelines
Athletic Website and Schedules
Contact Us
Email: firstname.lastname@vmbulldogs.com
Website: www.vmbulldogs.com
Location: 520 1st Avenue, Van Meter, IA, USA
Phone: (515) 996-2221
Facebook: https://facebook.com/VanMeterSchools/
Twitter: @vanmeterschools