BULLDOG BRIEF
PERSONALIZED. INNOVATIVE. GLOBAL.
Bulldog Football Team at the Dome for 6th Year in a Row
Congratulations to Coach Trudo and the Bulldog Football Team on an impressive run to the Dome. This marks the 6th straight year and 7th time out of 8 years that the Bulldogs will finish their season as one of the top 4 teams in 1A Football.
The 2nd ranked 1A Van Meter football team will play in South Central Calhoun at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 14 at the UNI-Dome. Though it is an early start time, we hope you are able to attend or watch the game via IHSNN.
Ticket Information can be found here.
Tickets need to be purchased online and there will be no walk-in purchases at the gate. All spectators are expected to wear a mask and sit within their family pods. They did allow some movement of fans to different seats at the games on Thursday and Friday. We would encourage you to use extreme caution and to maintain distance from those outside of your household to help ensure we can keep our players and their families safe so we can continue to have a full squad.
Thanks for your help in allowing everyone to enjoy the game safely.
GO DAWGS!
Active COVID-19 Cases on November 13
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!
Dallas County has the most cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic started. We are seeing a significant uptick in cases throughout the state. With events like Halloween and upcoming holidays that increase the potential for exposure, it is imperative that we are all doing our part to keep others safe. Do not send your child to school if they are sick and 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. Remember that masks should be worn at school anytime students/staff cannot socially distance 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!
Thanksgiving Break
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
Mask/Quarantine Guidelines- If we want to keep others safe and our kids in school- Wear a Mask
Appropriate masks are described on the CDC website. To ensure all students are safe, students and staff need to wear the CDC approved masks. Most gaiters (those with less than two layers or a filter) and face shields do not meet the criteria established by the CDC.
The press release from the Dallas County Health Department is below.
The following changes will be immediately effective in Dallas County:
- If identified close contacts AND the confirmed case both consistently wore an appropriate facial covering during the time of exposure, the 14-day quarantine is no longer required.
- Close contacts are advised to continue wearing a mask and self-monitor for symptoms. Persons that are self-monitoring and develop symptoms should contact their healthcare provider or visit Test Iowa for testing and diagnosis. If a person becomes ill and does not get tested, they should remain home until 10 days after symptom onset.
- All household/residential and healthcare contacts will still be recommended to complete a 14-day quarantine. Guidance for residential/healthcare settings has not changed.
- Facial coverings should snuggly cover your nose, mouth, and chin. Face shields are not considered an appropriate facial covering under these guidelines. Guidance for appropriate facial coverings and facial covering usage can be found on the CDC website.
- All persons that are in isolation due to a confirmed COVID-19 infection will remain in isolation. Guidance for ill persons has not changed.
- All persons currently in quarantine may discontinue that quarantine if:
- They are not experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19;
- They wore an appropriate mask during the period of exposure; AND,
- The confirmed case to whom they were exposed wore an appropriate mask during the period of exposure.
Social distancing, frequent handwashing, and mask usage remain highly recommended mitigation strategies. This guidance does not replace the need for these practices.
The new quarantine guidelines are for community-based exposures and will primarily affect those exposed in the workplace, childcare, and school settings. Use the decision tree below to determine if quarantine is recommended.
Any questions regarding COVID-19 and the newly updated quarantine guidance can be directed to 515-993-3750. For ongoing updates and COVID-19 information, please visit www.coronavirus.iowa.gov and follow @DallasCoHealth on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
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