Mahnomen School Community Members,
There has been no reduction in the amount of COVID-19 case counts in Mahnomen County. Please practice safe behaviors: mask-up, wash your hands, practice social distancing and avoid uncontrolled gatherings.
This week the school population has had additional positive cases in its population which resulted in multiple close contacts being determined. So far this case has been isolated and the close contacts notified and are in quarantine per the guidance from MDH. Per public health guidance first contacts are in quarantine for 14-days after exposure and can not test out of quarantine. This process may seem overbearing and excessive but the goal is error on safety amongst the school’s students and staff.
The data chart in the attached image has been expanded to desegregate data even further by including data specific to absences due close contact or testing. Thank you for being cautious at home and taking steps to slow the spread.
New MDH Video Shows How COVID-19 Spreads in Communities
How COVID-19 Spreads in Communities is a new video from the Minnesota Department of Health can help increase awareness of how the virus spreads.
https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDksInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMDEwMjkuMjk2MzI0ODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbS93YXRjaD92PTBqZEtkdUlwY19ZJmZlYXR1cmU9ZW1iX2xvZ28ifQ.LjvdLHpnbW3n4o31XSUUtdd3crpb2fPs_Ou70m-FKJ8/s/7886468/br/87638344326-l
If someone with COVID-19 goes to a wedding, funeral, or any other gathering, they can easily give the virus to others. This is especially true when people don’t wear masks and if they don’t stay at least 6 feet away from each other. What starts as one person with COVID-19 can quickly become dozens or more.
Take steps to protect your family, your friends, and people you may not even know. Stay away from large gatherings. Wear a mask. Stay at least 6 feet away from other people. Wash your hands. And stay home if you’re sick.
Sharing from the Waubun Booster's--Thunderbird clothing order up for the next two weeks and will be delivered in time for Christmas!
https://spectrum-apparel.com/WaubunBooster
Good morning from MHS! Activities and Announcements include:
-Football at Frazee JV @ 4, Varsity @ 6
-Elem Targeted Services for 3rd Grade
*Reminder: Volleyball at Climax-Fisher is cancelled today.
Dear Families/Students/Staff of Mahnomen Public Schools,
We were notified by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) of a lab confirmed case of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) in a member of the Mahnomen Public School community with exposure date(s) of 10/26, 10/27, 10/29, 10/30, 11/2/2020.
We have worked with the MDH to identify those who had close contact with the case, and have communicated with them individually. The risk of exposure for other individuals present in the building on that date is no greater than the risk of contracting the virus in the general community.
If you were not identified to have close contact with the positive case you should still monitor for symptoms of illness, but do not need to stay home unless symptoms develop. If symptoms develop, stay home and consult with your physician to determine if medical evaluation is needed.
We understand that this may create unease in our community. We have taken action to clean and sanitize the facility and are working closely with MDH to monitor the situation. We are asking all members of our community to minimize the spread of illness by taking the following actions:
• Protect yourself and others by wearing a face covering when it is hard to stay 6 feet away from people; washing your hands often with soap and water; covering your cough and sneeze; and avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands.
• If you are sick, stay home from child care and other activities.
• Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home. Keep enough food, regular prescription drugs, and other necessities on hand in case you need to stay home and are not able to go out easily.
• Frequently clean all commonly touched surfaces (e.g., telephones, doorknobs, countertops, etc.).
If symptoms develop, stay home and consult with your physician to determine if medical evaluation is needed. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, MDH recommends:
1. Stay at home for at least 10 days, and for 24 hours with no fever and improvement of other symptoms (Your fever should be gone for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine).
2. Use the CDC website on how to Care for yourself at Home with COVID-19.
3. If your household contacts were exposed to you while you had symptoms, they should try to stay home as much as possible for 14 days.
This is a challenging time and I know many of you may be feeling stress or anxiety. We will get through this together as a community, and will be stronger when we emerge.
Resources that you may find valuable are:
• MDH Coronavirus: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html
• MDH If You Are Sick: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/sick.html
• CDC Coronavirus: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Sincerely,
Ashley Braun, RN
Mahnomen Public School Nurse
(218)280-3085
Tracy Johnson, RN, MSN
Investigation and tracing
(218)280-3125
Reminder to students and families that there is no school scheduled on Monday, November 9th. Also on Friday, Nov. 13th there will be no school for elementary students. Virtual parent-teacher conferences will be held Tuesday & Thursday evening Nov. 10th & 12th and during the day Friday the 13th. Thank you.
Substitutes are needed! Mahnomen Schools is looking for both teacher and paraprofessional short call substitutes. Short call substitute teaching license does requires a 4-year degree. If you are interested in being a substitute please call the school at 218-935-2211 or go to the school's website and complete an on-line application.
Happy Monday from MHS! Activities and announcements for today include:
-Varsity VB vs. Crookston (Mah)
-STEAM for 3rd-6th Grade with Mrs. Swiers
*Junior girls basketball starts Wednesday, Nov. 4th. Practice will be in Mahnomen. They will practice Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
*High School Homework club for in-person students will start next Wednesday, Nov. 4 in Mr. Thomas room from 3:20-5:30.
Mahnomen School Community Members,
COVID-19 case counts in Mahnomen County continue to remain high. However, this week the case rates associated within the school population of students and staff remains low. Congratulations to our staff, students and their families for following the safety protocols. Those efforts seem to be effective even with the high county numbers around us.
The data chart below indicates that on October 29th the school had no active COVID cases and a total of 6 students and staff were out that day due to COVID related issues. Those 6-issues were due to exposures outside of school. Since the start of the school year we have had a total of 15-staff and 113-students miss school due to a COVID related issue such as: a positive case, a close contact and/or waiting on test results. This can change rapidly so please continue to be on guard.
Some key safety protocols that mitigate the spread that the school has in place include:
● Maintenance teams are working hard to clean and sanitize with extra steps.
● Following 50% occupancy rate in rooms to keep students in small groups and limiting interaction with other groups. Following 6-foot social distancing guidance.
● Food and nutrition services utilizing additional space to separate students.
● Students are doing an amazing job of keeping each other safe by masking, handwashing, sanitizing and following the additional safety protocols faithfully.
● Bus routes operating with every-other seat empty and sanitizing between routes.
● Families are doing home screenings, keeping their students home when necessary and supporting the efforts that are happening at school.
We will continue to work hard to do everything that we can to keep our staff and students safe and in school. The amount of time students spend in school is small in comparison to time spent out of school. Thank you families for following safety protocols at home amidst pandemic fatigue. We ask the entire community to limit their exposure and follow safety precautions.
Our goal is to keep our students in-person learning as much as possible while keeping staff and students safe. We will continue to watch the data closely and meet with our response team frequently. Let’s work together to slow the spread so we can keep our kids in school and protect the safety of our staff and students. Thank you for your efforts and please stay safe.
Happy Friday! Today is Halloween Costume day. Check out this Emoji crew—the Distance Learning Teachers from our Elementary!
Happy Homecoming & Happy Halloween!
Homecoming Coronation will being at 2:30 pm tomorrow afternoon! Here is the google stream link for those with Mahnomen accounts. For example, distant learners, classrooms, staff, etc. https://stream.meet.google.com/stream/67a872f0-9b42-4fab-ab4a-b496eda01622
For all other public guests, a Facebook live stream will be published on the Mahnomen Facebook Page!
Congratulations to the 2020 homecoming court!
High School Families, please see this important note from Mr. Hedstrom regarding conferences!
Good afternoon from MHS! Activities and Announcements for today include:
-White Earth Home Health are here offering flu vaccines from
12-3pm. Vaccine forms are in the office
-Elem STEAM for grades 3-6 with Mrs. Swiers until 5:30 pm
-Homecoming Dress Up Day
-JV Football game at East Grand Forks has been postponed
-JH Volleyball vs Ada-Borup/West(Mah)
-Varsity VB vs LPA (Wau): Each player will get to invite 2 people, parent/guardian/adult preferably. Please provide a cell phone number where guests can be reached. We ask that when the girl that invites them is done with her game, they leave please. Also, please don't show up until the girl that you invite is scheduled to play. Fans will sit on the East side bleachers. Only the people that are invited and on the list will be admitted in. Masks and social distancing will be required! Volleyball girls are to see your coach for more information.------KRJM will be providing coverage for the game on Radio (101.5 fm) and an online Livestream at yourliveevent.com
-There will be a meeting for anyone interested in joining the Mahnomen-Waubun Sparklers Dance team at 7pm via zoom meeting
Families and Community Members,
The decision to change learning models in school is not easy nor is it a simple process. It is not based upon a single, objective number or data point. So, there isn’t a “magic” number that will determine when a model change needs to be made.
Instead, schools must examine and analyze a number of “data points and questions” in making this important decision. Initially, the 14-day rolling average in each county was an important metric schools were directed to use to determine the learning models they should use to start the school year. However, these rolling averages should not be the only metric schools use to determine the need for a model change during the year. The following factors and questions on data points should also be considered to provide information on such a significant decision:
1. What are the positive cases for the District and surrounding area? What are the past, current and future trends indicating? Currently Mahnomen County is trending up in cases.
2. Are we having positive cases in school buildings or are we having first hand and second hand contacts? Each creates very different risk levels and impacts on attendance. Mahnomen Schools has had 2-positive cases to date.
3. Are the positive cases in the area identified in controlled case clusters and traced? Currently most of the cases in Mahnomen County have been identified in controlled clusters.
4. Does the school have the staff to deliver quality education and provide services to students to safely remain open to in-person learning models? To date there has not been significant impacts to school staff exposure.
5. If a school changes to a distance learning model how long is this projected to happen and what changes would need to occur to return to in-person learning? Our goal is to provide consistency for students and families versus changing back and forth between models.
6. What are the negative impacts to students and families by changing to more restrictive learning models? Academic, social emotional, mental health and childcare concerns arise with those changes.
Mahnomen School District has teamed up with our local health partners, County Public Health, White Earth Health, and White Earth Emergency Services, and we meet frequently to look at and desegregate this data. These partners are fantastic resources and we work as a team.
Despite the increasing numbers in our county, Mahnomen Schools will continue with our current 50% occupancy learning model for the next week. Each week we will review the data with our partners and consider the options. We will continue to follow our safety procedures for those attending in-person learning: 50% occupancy rate, 6-ft distancing, mask wearing, hand washing and disinfecting frequently.
Schools are still a safe place for students and employees. Thank you for your understanding.
Homecoming Update: Coronation will be at 2:30 on Oct. 29th and is open to parents of the court, along with the Junior and Senior Class. A video stream will be available to classrooms and community.
Shared with us from Norman-Mahnomen Public Health, information on quarantine vs. isolation related to COVID-19.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/COVID-19-Quarantine-vs-Isolation.pdf
Student flu vaccines that were scheduled for today have been cancelled. They are now scheduled for Monday October 26th from 12 noon to 3pm.
Distant learners that are interested in getting the flu vaccine please contact the health office at (218) 935-2211 ext. 111. Follow the link for forms!
http://mahnomenmn.apptegy.us/o/mahnomen-isd-432/browse/45447?fbclid=IwAR3oospUfUnnow1TdzRPkP_HkpxfWy-xLK8dg04SshP-F4xLdaLeiuxzE1U