BULLDOG BRIEF
PERSONALIZED. INNOVATIVE. GLOBAL.
Winter Break is from December 22 through January 3
Mrs. Ferguson's Class Recognized by the Iowa STEM Council
This year, it's been much harder to see Scale-Ups in action. So we're especially happy that Tracy Ferguson, 2nd grade teacher at Van Meter Elementary, shared her school's Pint-Size Science Reveal Party. This is a tradition for many Pint Size awardees and a fun glimpse into classroom life.
"We are so excited here at Van Meter," said Ferguson. "It was like Christmas opening our Pint Size Science Program this morning!"
She noted her students are excited to explore all the contents. "The possibilities are endless with all of these supplies! Thank you so much for supporting Van Meter Elementary and our STEM program! We are so appreciative of everything."
We're sending gratitude right back to Ferguson and her students for capturing the moment. We're also grateful for all the hard-working teachers seeking innovative ways to inspire students' curiosity. And to the Science Center of Iowa for creating the Pint Size Science professional development, curriculum and materials that make learning fun.
REMINDER- NO JH or Youth Sports Through December 10 and Limited Fans for Home Events
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.
Active COVID-19 Cases through December 5
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!
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