BULLDOG BRIEF
PERSONALIZED. INNOVATIVE. GLOBAL.
No School on Monday, February 15, 2021
Snow Days
COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies
As many of you know, Governor Reynolds has relaxed some of the restrictions she had established to help in dealing with COVID-19. Her most recent proclamation doesn't change any strategy we are using at the school. There has never been a mask mandate in schools from any of her proclamations. It has always been a local decision. As such, we will continue to implement the strategies that have allowed us to be in school every day this year with the exception of a few snow days. Students and staff will be expected to continue to wear masks when they can't physically distance themselves from others or when they are moving in the hallways, we will continue to encourage students/staff to wash their hands regularly, and we will encourage everyone to maintain social distance as much as possible. Those strategies have helped us maintain a relatively low number of students/staff contracting COVID-19 or having to quarantine because of close contact. As determined by the IDPH if someone is in close contact with another person who has COVID-19, but both are wearing masks, they will not have to quarantine unless they start showing symptoms. Masks help keep others safe and students/staff in the school. Like you, we want our students and staff to be able to attend school safely. As more and more people get the vaccination, our policies may change.
We are allowing more fans to home events. The only restrictions are that you should sit with those in your household, maintain social distance from others, and everyone is expected to wear a mask unless actively eating or drinking. Thanks for your help in keeping our seasons going.
We have been asked a few questions about spring activities and events. We will continue to monitor the situation and make decisions shortly after we return from spring break in regards to spring sports, prom, and graduation. Thanks for your patience as we continue to do all we can to keep students in school every day.
We hope everyone has a great weekend!
Active COVID-19 Cases through February 12
We are working with Sumpter Pharmacy and Dallas County Health to try and get our staff vaccinated as quickly as possible. We are confident we can get all of our staff vaccinated who want to be by the end of the month. We only have about 40 people on staff who want vaccinations left to get vaccinated. We would like to thank Leslie and Nan at Sumpter Pharmacy in Adel for helping get our staff vaccinated as quickly as possible. This will help greatly in our efforts to keep kids in school and everyone in our community safe.
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!
21-22 School Calendar
- First Day of School 8/23/21
- End of 1st Semester 12/23/21
- Start of 2nd Semester 1/4/22
- Spring Break 3/14/22 to 3/18/22
- The Last Day of School is scheduled for 5/18/22
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