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January  15, 2021

Greetings USD320 Families:

 

Thank you for your continued support of our students, staff, and school community. We are reaching out today with a few important updates and to let you know about our school district’s role with the distribution of information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.  

 

We will start with our COVID numbers.  We saw some increases last week as we came out of the long Christmas break and that was to be expected.  However, we are already trending down in terms of positive cases and quarantine numbers. 

 

Gating Criteria
	Previous	Current
Percent Positive	17.62%	10.34%
Incidence Rate	432	336
Trend	Decreasing	Decreasing
Hospital Capacity	22%	20%
Local Hospital Capacity	SVHC 7%, AVCHM 10%	SVHC 11%, AVCHM 0%
Hospitalizations-Pottawatomie County	6	5
Deaths-Pottawatomie County	4	6
Positive Active- USD320	15	5
Staff	7	0
Students	8	5
Number Quarantined-USD 320	70	62

 

Thanks for working with us and your children to do what we can to keep these numbers at a minimum.

 

Our next topic is the vaccination process.  There are still many components of this we just do not know yet, but we are constantly communicating with our health department to be as prepared as possible for when the vaccine becomes available to our school employees and others in our community.  If you have questions about the vaccine itself, please contact your family’s health care or medical provider at your convenience.  The process of actually signing up to receive the vaccine has started, and I encourage all 18 years and older to consider signing up.  This will provide the county with data they need to continue planning.  Information on how to sign up if you are Pottawatomie County resident is below.  Other counties also have similar sign-up sites.

 

Pottawatomie County COVID Vaccine Sign-Up:  The Sign-Up site is up and running!  Please visit https://pottcounty.govbuilt.com/vaccinesignup to add your name to the list.  Pottawatomie County is accepting contact information from those who wish to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available. Those who sign up will be notified when the COVID-19 vaccine is available for their select population group.  If you do not have access to a computer, or have issues accessing the site, you may call 785-457-1432; leave a message with your contact information and someone will call you back to get the information to add you to the list.  As previously stated, we do not currently have a timeline for when we will move from one phase to the next.  Once we have additional information, we will send that information out.

For questions related to these updates, or other information related to Pottawatomie County local government, please e-mail pio@pottcounty.org.  For information directly related to COVID, quarantine requirements, etc., please e-mail covid@pottcounty.org, or contact the Pottawatomie County Health Department at 785-457-3719.

 

USD 320 will continue to work with our County Health Department and/or local health care providers to keep you updated as much as possible using email and coordinated messaging as we receive information about the following:
 

·       Who is eligible for the vaccine?

·       When can family members schedule themselves to receive the vaccine?

·       Where will vaccines be given?

 

Health care workers, essential workers, and high-risk patients will be eligible for the vaccine first because there are a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines that are available initially. Then, other adults will be eligible as more doses of the vaccine become available. Children will be eligible for the vaccine eventually. However, early clinical trials did not include children, so the vaccine will be made available to children later when it is shown to be safe and effective.

Additionally, you may access and review the information that is currently available through the following websites:
 

·       Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

·       Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE)

 

As vaccinations occur and after they are complete, we will continue to use risk mitigation strategies and practices during the school day such as having students and staff wear masks, continuing to practice social distancing of at least 6 feet, and continuing to frequently wash hands.

Thank you for your time in reviewing this information. 

Stay healthy and mask up, Wamego.

Tim Winter

Supt.

 

 

January  7, 2021

Dear USD 320 Families,

Happy New Year and welcome back to school.  

We are excited to have all our students back onsite and working with them.  We do have our COVID challenges, however.  It is extremely important that all of us practice our 4 W’s and insist this with our students as well.  Below I have shared some information that we review each week in our COVID guidance team.   Our positive numbers and quarantine numbers are going up in both our students and staff.  

Gating Criteria
	Previous	Current
Percent Positive	15.32%	17.62%
Incidence Rate	372	432
Hospital Capacity	22%	22%
Local Hospital Capacity	SVHC 10%, AVCHM 60%	SVHC 7%, AVCHM 10%
Hospitalizations-Pottawatomie County	6	6
Deaths-Pottawatomie County	3	4
Positive Active- USD320	3	15
Staff	3	7
Students	1	9
Number Quarantined-USD 320	30	70

We will do everything we can to keep our students in school, but we need your help.  Please do your part by keeping your students at home if they have any symptoms, and insist they wear masks, social distance, and wash hands in and out of school.  We also have the sneeze guards available in our schools for their use when possible in classrooms and at lunch.   

It has been a while since we have discussed close contacts and quarantine protocol.  Below is the information the county released in December regarding quarantines and close contacts.  Please review this information.  These are the guidelines we are still using at this time.  

 

Pottawatomie County adopts KDHE/CDC quarantine guidance

December 10, 2020

Pottawatomie County Health Department will adopt CDC guidance published December 2, 2020 and opt into the state’s guidance of shortened quarantine as identified on the KDHE website December 8, 2020.  The new guidance changes the quarantine for close contacts to end after day 10 if the person has no symptoms for Covid-19 during that time. 

CDC had recommended a quarantine period of 14 days for close contact exposed to a positive or probable Covid-19 case. Based on new CDC guidance; KDHE, medical professionals, other Kansas county health officers are implementing the option of a shortened quarantine to 10 days as an acceptable alternative to the present 14-day quarantine.

This acceptable alternative begins Monday, December 14, 2020, in Pottawatomie County.

Quarantine can end after Day 10 without testing if no symptoms appear.

Individuals are responsible for monitoring their own temperature twice per day, and monitoring for Covid-19 symptoms daily.  Quarantine is defined as staying home away from others, including family members; and only leaving your homestead for medical care and drive-thru pharmacy needs.  Stay home, wear a mask and wash your hands!

Close Contact of a positive person is defined as:

•          Anyone who was within 6 feet of the person for 10 consecutive minutes or more; or
•          Anyone who is living with or stayed overnight for at least one night in a house with the person; or
•          Direct contact with the infectious secretions of the person (for example – coughed or sneezed on; kissed; contact with a dirty tissue; shared a drinking glass, food, towels or other personal items).

These close contact individuals can have a shortened 10 Day Quarantine starting Monday.

Steps to follow:  

• After known exposure, monitor yourself for symptoms daily and participate in Public Health monitoring for 10 full days.

• If you have no symptoms during the 10 days, you may be released from the quarantine without a test on Day 11.

PCHD and KDHE still recommend all exposed people self-monitor for fourteen (14) days from exposure and contact a healthcare provider if symptoms develop. Disease can still develop through day 14 after being exposed.  Certain circumstances may still warrant the 14-day quarantine.  Employers may still require employees to quarantine for 14 days, however, may not allow less than 10 days. 

Persons Not Eligible for Shortened Quarantine:

•          Residents of long-term care and assisted living facilities
•          Offender populations in Department of Corrections prisons

This alternate residual post-quarantine transmission risk is estimated to be about 1% with an upper limit of about 10% for the change to 14 days. (Options to Reduce Quarantine for Contacts of Persons with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Using Symptom Monitoring and Diagnostic Testing | CDC)

Remember: Stay Home if you have symptoms and isolate away from your family.

Symptoms of Covid-19 include but are not limited to fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, headache, new loss of test or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Contact Pottawatomie County Health Department for questions -785-457-3719 or covid@pottcounty.org.

 

 

Thanks for all your support, and remember, we are in this together working to meet our students’ needs: One Wamego.  If you have any questions, please let us know by reaching out to the appropriate teacher, principal, Mr. Meitler, or myself.    

Stay healthy and mask up, Wamego.

Tim Winter

Supt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 18, 2020

 

Dear USD 320 Families,

Happy Friday!  I hope you are all healthy and ready for the holidays and a much-deserved break.  We did it! We made it through a semester of school.  Thank you for all your patience, persistence, encouragement, and everything else it took to get to this point.  It was not a perfect semester, but it was pretty fantastic in so many ways.

Here is some important information as we begin the holiday break. 

USD 320 Food Service is offering FREE meals for all children ages 1-18 over Christmas Break!  Meals will be distributed from the District Kitchen on Monday, December 21^st and Monday, December 28^th.   For those who ordered these in advance, this is just a friendly reminder.

Let’s continue to practice responsible COVID measures.  Our numbers are very low right now as total quarantines is 30 and just 2 active positive cases.  Let’s make it a goal to have a wonderful break with families, but do so in a responsible COVID safe manner.

• Colder weather, more time inside, and the onset of cold and flu season are upon us. The CDC has provided recommendations for winter holidays, which include continuing to practice social distancing (at least 6 feet), frequent handwashing, avoiding large gatherings, and wearing a mask.
• If you or your family members do not feel well at any time over the break, we have included this graphic that shares which symptoms are most commonly associated with the cold, the flu, and COVID-19.
• Please continue to communicate with us if you or your child have been exposed to a positive contact or become positive. 
• If anyone you know is interested in serving as a substitute teacher in our school during the spring semester, please review and/or share the information provided in this link to review the qualifying criteria provided by the Kansas State Department of Education. If you have any questions, please let us know.

Wamego Schools has a new strategic plan.  The plan was approved by the BOE this past Monday.  The plan is available on our website and I have attached it below. 

Strategic Plan.pdf 

When we return to school on Tuesday, January 5 we plan to be onsite for all student PreK – Grade 12, with the exception of those families who chose remote learning.  We encourage all to continue with our 4W’s: Wellness First, Wear Your Mask, Wash Your Hands, Watch Your Distance.  We also will emphasize the use of sneeze guards when and wherever possible.  

As we continue to work through the COVID challenges, we are utilizing a revised tool to help us make decisions regarding the onsite, hybrid, or remote learning.  Our goal is to keep students in school safely as much as we possibly can.  The first semester demonstrated that school is a safe place for our students.  We had very little spread in our buildings due to mask wearing and the other preventative measures.  Gatherings are where the spread of COVID is most likely to occur, not schools- see the article in this link.

https://beckershealthcare-news.com/portal/wts/ucmcnkmg3xaq3BDe2Tka%5E-yv08czg2Vv2E82T3m

The decision-making gating tool will be posted on our website with weekly changes to COVID data in 2021. 

If you have not seen some of the highlights from December in USD 320 here is a link to these classroom and school activities.  https://youtu.be/PVq6xwLr5X4  Thanks Mr. Meitler for doing this each month.  

I want to end this letter by saying thanks for a great semester.  With the help of Jana Lindley, we put together the many accomplishments we have to celebrate and be proud of.  Our students and staff have worked very hard and in spite of a pandemic, schoolwork and school activities continued.  Please check out these celebrations and accomplishments in this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pUL77R7efDOFC0rGa8gM0-tD0q3nxvTnh0zCQs2_6XA/edit?usp=sharing

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and bring on 2021.  

Stay healthy and mask up, Wamego.

Tim Winter

Supt.

 

December 4, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

We hope this message finds you well.  It has been a good week since returning from Thanksgiving break.  In terms of COVID, we are cautiously optimistic regarding our numbers locally in our schools.  As of Thursday morning, we had just 3 positive active COVID cases and 42 total quarantines students and staff.  This is certainly cause for celebration and a refreshing outlook.  However, we must absolutely keep doing what got us to this point by practicing our 4 W’s: 

• Wellness first 
• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands
• Watch your distance 

Due to the low numbers, we are cautiously monitoring this on a daily basis and considering a return to a full onsite setting at WHS.  Our guidance team, which is made up of our administration, school nurses, BOE representatives, local health officials, and county health officials will be meeting on Tuesday morning to examine the numbers and make a decision regarding the return to the onsite setting on Wednesday, December 9.  Due to this potential change, there may be some possible schedule changes at the HS for Monday and Tuesday.  Mr. Katt will communicate those changes today.  

In other COVID news the, Wamego City Commission approved a mask ordinance at their meeting Tuesday evening.  The full details are available in the following link.  https://www.wamego.org/news/ordinance-no-1739-mask-requirement

Please practice mask wearing when you are out in a public facility and when you are not able to social distance while outdoors. 

The CDC and KDHE just announced some new recommendations involving shorter quarantine times for close contacts.  Each county will make the decision on whether they will follow the recommendation or not. Therefore, we are still following a 14-day quarantine time frame until further notice.  However,  Pottawatomie County provided the following press release:

Pottawatomie County

Health Department

NEWS RELEASE                                                                      Contact: Liz Parthemer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      Pottawatomie County Health Officer

Date    Friday, December 4, 2020                                           lparthemer@pottcounty.org

 

Pottawatomie County continues 14-day quarantine

December 4, 2020

Pottawatomie County will continue with the 14-day quarantine until the current situation changes.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment recently issued guidance similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, allowing counties to opt into the shortened quarantine period of either 10 days, or 7 days with testing; or opt to continue with the 14 days.

“KDHE continues to recommend the 14-day quarantine and monitoring after being exposed to COVID-19,” Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary, said. “The incubation for this disease is still 14 days. The guidance is being changed at a federal level to encourage more people to get tested and encourage better compliance with quarantines.”

The CDC has stated that with the reduction to a 10-day quarantine, there is a 1 to 10% risk of post-quarantine transmission.  With a reduction to 7 days, there is a 5 to 12% risk of post-quarantine transmission.  Even with a reduced quarantine length, people will still be expected to wear masks and monitor for symptoms.

Pottawatomie County is currently working closely with other entities across the Wildcat region to reach agreement on an acceptable quarantine period. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Pottawatomie County Health Department at 785-457-3719 or by e-mailing covid@pottcounty.org. 

 

KSHSAA events are taking place in our schools.  I reported in our last update, however, that no spectators are allowed.  Therefore, we will be livestreaming as many events and activities as we possibly can wherever they may occur, home or away.  The links will be in the respective school announcements and we also have a one stop location on our website for all livestreamed events.  In the lower right corner in the “Quicklinks” section you will see the “Livestream Events” tab where the links to all events, not just athletics, will be posted.  

Stay Healthy, Wamego!

Tim Winter

Supt.

 

November 29, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

We hope this message finds you well and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  As we prepare to return to school tomorrow, please monitor your student’s health.  If there are any signs of COVID like symptoms, please remember Wellness First before allowing them to attend school.  Below is a link to Cold, Flu, and COVID symptoms.  We want to continue to take precautions and practice the 4W’s as we begin the final three weeks of the first semester prior to Christmas Break.  

Cold, Flu, and COVID Symptoms-  https://drive.google.com/file/d/16LFxkDhBZ8GOjYYQ8UmtcKnCabtH9YkK/view?usp=sharing

Central, West, and WMS will begin class tomorrow on their regular onsite schedule while the HS will remain in the hybrid model at this time.  We will continue to monitor the COVID numbers in the area and work with our local health official on future learning environment decisions.  The most important thing we can continue to do, is practice the 4 W’s.

• Wellness first 
• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands
• Watch your distance 

I hope you all are taking part in the Mask Challenge with the City of Wamego, the Wamego Health Center, and USD 320.  We need to work together to keep our health care workers safe and working, while also maintaining a healthy school environment for our students.  It is very simple, just wear a mask when you are in a public building or facility, or outdoors when you are not able to maintain social distance.  

The Kansas State High School Activities Association Board of Directors took official action last Tuesday making the following decisions: 

• MS and HS will continue to practice 
• MS and HS competition may continue to take place until Dec. 22
• No practices December 23 through January 3
• No competitions December 23 through January 7
• Competition may resume January 8
• No fans at competitions between December 1 through January 28th 
• All must wear masks with the exception of the athletes directly competing

Let’s have a great last 3 weeks of school this semester and the final month of 2020. 

Stay Healthy Wamego!

Tim Winter

Supt.

 

Wamego Mask Challenge[1].pdf 

Masks.pdf 

4Ws OneWamego.jpg

 

November 20, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

We hope this message finds you well as we all find ways to celebrate successes, have fun in safe ways, and as we continue to navigate through any number of challenges this fall. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we wanted to take a moment to simply say “Thank You!” for everything you have done, are doing, and will continue to do to help our students and our school.

We also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge a few things that are just around the corner for all of us, which includes colder weather, more time inside, the onset of cold and flu season, and the upcoming holiday season. Combining these factors with the current trend of rising COVID-19 positive cases across Kansas and across the United States, we wanted to stress the importance of continuing to practice social distancing (at least 6 feet), frequent handwashing, and wearing a mask. Should you encounter any symptoms, we have included a graphic as an attachment that shares which symptoms are most commonly associated with the cold, the flu, and COVID-19.

We have also attached a document called “Tips for Celebrating Safely This Thanksgiving” that includes guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We hope you have a safe and fulfilling break, and we appreciate everything that you are doing to focus on the health and success of our students, staff, and community!

Thanksgiving Tips-  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kvqSRoMMDtoSThVB8eTCYbkwBrCC4ZtW/view?usp=sharing

Cold, Flu, and COVID Symptoms- https://drive.google.com/file/d/16LFxkDhBZ8GOjYYQ8UmtcKnCabtH9YkK/view?usp=sharing

Please also remember our 4W’s while you are on Thanksgiving Break. 

• Wellness first 
• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands
• Watch your distance 

Next week we will be in school for the first two days, and then Thanksgiving break will begin.  When we return to school November 30, our onsite status at Central, West, and WMS will remain the same. After careful consideration and consultation with the leadership team and our local health officials, we have decided the HS will remain on a hybrid schedule from November 30 until December 18 when Christmas break begins.  The first two weeks beginning Nov. 30 will be the same schedule we are currently following. The week of December 14 will also be finals week, and Mr. Katt will send out a specific schedule for that week.

Our COVID numbers among students have dramatically decreased, so let’s celebrate this and especially thank our students and parents who have taken some extra steps to remain COVID free.  Last week we had 179 students/staff on quarantine at one point.  This was the highest recorded number for USD 320 so far this year.  Approximately 2 weeks ago we had nearly 100 high school students on quarantine.   Yesterday we had 79 total quarantines and just 19 HS students on quarantine, both extremely significant decreases.  Thanks so much for your efforts to reduce our numbers.  Unfortunately, we are not able to relax yet.  Our county, area, and state are experiencing very high numbers of positive cases.  Positive test rates are very high, and hospitals are overrun with COVID patients.  For these reasons, please join our students by wearing masks at your workplace or when you are in public.  Please review the attached document and join our students and staff, our hospital staff, and our city in the WEAR YOUR MASK CHALLENGE.  

Wamego Mask Challenge[1].pdf 

Stay Healthy and Calm, Wamego!

Tim Winter, Supt.

Mask Challenge.png 

4 Ws.png 

 

November 5, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

A few years ago, I had a great deal of interaction with one of my wife’s grandparents.  He was a hard-working farmer who also liked to have a good time.  He passed down many great memories and lessons to our family and all of his children and grandchildren.  One phrase he often used in a critical time and even in the not so critical times was, “The most important thing is to NOT get too excited.”  He did this, of course, to encourage calm, rational thinking.  Wamego, we are experiencing COVID like we have never experienced before up to this point.  Our numbers are higher than they have ever been, and a very high number of our students are being tested.  However, the best way I know how to handle these issues and problem solve to meet our students’ needs is to stay calm and rational- “the most important thing is to not get too excited.”  

Wamego High School COVID numbers are climbing at a pretty high rate.  We currently have 5 WHS students who have tested positive in a short span of time and nearly 100 quarantined students.  It is very important that we keep our students away from large gatherings right now and the coming weeks.  Please encourage and model this, and when you must be out, wear a mask and social distance.  These are the best things we can do to help keep our schools open.  

We just learned yesterday that the county has made an adjustment to their definition of a close contact.  The most significant change is: 10 minutes of consecutive time vs. 10 minutes of cumulative time is now the primary criteria for defining a “close contact”.  Below are the notes directly from our local health department regarding close contacts and other factors in determining close contacts.  

Contact Definition

• You are a “close contact” if any of the following situations happened while you spent time with the person with COVID-19, even if they didn’t have symptoms:
  • Were within 6 feet of the person for 10 consecutive minutes or more in a single day.
  • Had contact with the person’s respiratory secretions (for example, coughed or sneezed on; kissed; contact with a dirty tissue; shared a drinking glass, food, towels, or other personal items).
  • Live with the person or stayed overnight for at least one night in a house with the person.
• The chance of spreading the virus is greater the longer an infected person is close to someone and the closer they are to each other. It also matters if the infected person is coughing, sneezing, singing, shouting, or doing anything else that can put more virus into the air.  For these high-risk cases consider using the 10-minute cumulative definition.
• The final decision on what constitutes close contact is made at the discretion of public health.
• The determination of close contact should be made irrespective of whether the case or contact was wearing a face mask recommended for the general public.
• High risk may use cumulative minutes instead of consecutive.

WHS will resume classes tomorrow with one remote day, and then beginning on Monday they will begin the hybrid model.  I have attached Mr. Katt’s letter, which was sent to HS students and parents, so you all are aware of these details.  Central, West, and WMS will continue with business as usual and please join us in our efforts to keep it that way and get our HS students back on site after Thanksgiving.  

• Wellness first 
• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands
• Watch your distance 

Stay Healthy and Calm Wamego!

Tim Winter, Supt.

 

Dear USD320 Families,

Below is a letter from HS principal, Mr. Katt.  This letter was sent out to all HS students and families to communicate a move to a hybrid learning model.  I am sending this to all USD320 families so you are aware of this change in the district and to ensure we are taking every precaution possible to keep our students in school.  This decision was not taken lightly and it only applies to the HS as dictated by increasing COVID numbers specifically at WHS.  Our goal is this will be a move we make for the next 3 weeks, and following Thanksgiving Break, we will have all students back on site in the traditional learning model.  Transportation and food services will not change during this time for Pre-K to Grade 8.  Food service will provide meals to HS students to be picked up at the district kitchen the rest of this week from 11:30 to 12:30.  Further information for how meals will be distributed next week up to Thanksgiving will be shared by Thursday for HS students.   To reiterate, this change only applies to WHS at this time, and we are hopeful we can turn this around and get all students back on site after Thanksgiving.

Thank you for your support and please carefully read Mr. Katt's letter below.

Tim Winter, Supt.

 

Good afternoon, WHS families—

Due to an increase in positive Covid-19 cases, close-contact quarantines, and illnesses, Wamego High School will be moving to a Hybrid learning environment. 

Wednesday, November 4 and Thursday, November 5 will be preparation days for WHS staff to make this transition. Friday, November 6 will be an all-block, remote day, where students will be checking-in to each of their classes via Zoom. 

Beginning on Monday, November 9, students will be split into two groups and will attend school on-site twice per week and remotely three times per week. 

We will be tweaking the Hybrid schedule we developed in August. This Hybrid schedule will be sent out after the staff meets tomorrow. A major benefit to this learning environment is that it will allow for adequate social distancing throughout the school day.

Students who are currently working remotely through Edgenuity will not change; they will continue to work entirely remotely under the direction of their cooperating teacher.

At this time, we are planning to continue with this Hybrid model until Thanksgiving break and return to on-site learning on Monday, November 30.

I will send out more information regarding this Hybrid learning environment soon

Thank you—

Kale Katt, Principal WHS

 

October 29, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

Happy Halloween and I hope you are all well.  It has been another great week in USD320.  Our students and staff continue to work hard in and out of the classroom.  Wamego High School has launched  the “Redesign” process this fall, and there have been  a couple opportunities for parents to hear about this work.  There will be another at the BOE meeting on November 9 when Mr. Katt provides an update.

Scott Meitler, Director of Instructional Services has been busy with many of our K-12 English teachers this week and last week working on ELA materials adoption and best practices to better meet the needs of our students.  We hope to pilot some resources this spring and then adopt and implement in the fall of 2021. 

Congratulations and good luck to our HS cross country teams and those who qualified for state.  This will be held on Saturday right here in Wamego.  The boys will run at 9:30am and the girls will follow at approximately 10:15am. Good luck to the Coach Moody and the HS football team in round one of playoffs.  We host Independence Friday at 6pm.  Congrats to Coach Foote and the HS Volleyball team on a substate championship and qualifying for state.  They did not advance into the 2^nd round of state after falling to Bishop Miege in the first round, but they had a fantastic season and the first state appearance since 2005.  All HS activities are now KSHSAA post season activities, and masks are required at all times for those are not directly competing.    

Our COVID numbers are up slightly for the 2^nd straight week.  I want to thank everyone however, as we are still in a good place.  We continue to have far fewer issues than many school districts in the state.  This is not the time to let up!  It continues to be important that we keep practicing the wearing of masks and social distancing whenever it is possible.  Please keep doing these two things in all situations, not just at school.  Our data indicates that the spread of COVID is most likely occurring outside of school.  Currently we have 36 staff or students in quarantine and 1 active positive case.  Our county is trending up in terms of percent positive according to state data, but again this week we feel locally that the trends and cases numbers are closer to home and in the Wamego community.  Please continue to have mask and social distancing conversations with your children while also modeling this behavior.  

Happy Halloween and for our social emotional health, I encourage all to celebrate and enjoy Halloween at their comfort level, but please wear those masks and social distance.    

As always,  Thanks for all your support, Stay Strong, and keep praying for Palmer and his family.

Tim Winter

Supt. 

 

October 15, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

I hope you are having a great week.  It is time for another update.  I am going to focus on two items today, positive celebrations, and the “things” we can control.

Let’s start with positive items unrelated to COVID-19.  We have completed 29 days of school and our students and staff are working very hard and doing very well.  Next week is conference week and an opportunity for parents, staff, and students to communicate about the successes and growth opportunities our students have as we move further through the school year.  Each school will be coordinating online and zoom events to make this happen and you should have received this information from your principals  and teachers.

Congratulations to 8 outstanding Wamego Middle School Band students for auditioning for and being selected to the 2020 Kansas Music Educators Association North Central District Middle Level Honor Band.  Mr. Richmond and Mrs. Gardner had these 8 students do a virtual audition and all 8 students were selected.  The students are:

• Gabe Visocsky- 1^st chair clarinet
• Madeline May- 3^rd chair clarinet
• Josh Pugh- 6^th chair clarinet
• Klayson Newell- tenor sax
• Carter McCune- 2^nd chair trumpet
• Piper Clark- 1^st chair French Horn
• Caleb Breymeyer- 5^th chair trombone
• Eli Paddock- 2^nd chair mallets & 2^nd chair snare drum

Nice Work to you all.

This week we are wrapping up MS Fall Sports.  All of our student-athletes have benefit from these activities.  They have worked hard, built relationships, and learned life-long lessons of commitment, discipline, work ethic, dealing with loss and disappointment, and so many other important skills.  Congrats to the 7^th Grade VB team and coaches on their 2^nd place league finish and good luck to our cross-country teams (MS and HS) at league today.  Our HS teams have also ended or nearing the end of their seasons.  Tennis wrapped up their season this past week at regionals with great effort.  The girls golf team just won their regional event and qualified for state which is next Monday and Tuesday.  Coach Miller and the girls had a great season and now best of luck to them at state.  Volleyball is having a solid season at 16-8, winning 14 of their last 15 games.  Football is also having a solid season at 3-3, but just coming off two losses to the #1 and #2 teams in the state.  As noted earlier, HS league cross country is today and of course the long-standing winning tradition of Wamego Cross Country continues with expectations of league, regional, and even state championships are very realistic expectations.  We also have HS students and Mrs. Topliff preparing for our fall musical coming in November.

All of these celebrations and opportunities in classrooms or activities for our students have been made possible because we are in school.  We are having success in minimizing the COVID numbers in our community.    

• Zero active positive cases in the district, students or staff
• 8 students and staff in quarantine
• Average Daily Attendance in our schools is extremely high.  
• Trends are decreasing for the county at this time.  

We continue to be so appreciative of the efforts of our students, staff, and community to make this happen.  It is not just luck.  What we are doing is making a difference.  This leads me to the things we can control.  We can control our own personal choices of taking precautions.  Please  practice our 4 W’s with your family and continue to encourage your students to do the same.  

• Wellness first 
• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands
• Watch your distance 

We know there are social emotional needs of our students to have connections with friends and stay involved in activities and events.  We support this by all means, we just ask that everyone practice 4 W’s whenever possible and, as parents, we must model the same expectations.  I bring all this up because a single COVID case could cause several quarantines and end the seasons and opportunities our students have.  One example of this occurred at the regional golf tournament when a student-athlete from another school (NOT Wamego) had to leave the tournament after 3 holes of play as she was informed she was a close contact and then placed in quarantine.  This had to be so very difficult for this individual and her teammates.  It is not the end of the world, and we would all deal with this and move on.   As I have said many times, we have to support those individuals who are positives and those who are quarantined.  A great way to do that is to practice and model the precautions we recommend.  

KSHSAA has informed all schools that at ALL KSHSAA post-season events all non-participating individuals MUST wear a mask.  This will be the case for all indoor and outdoor events, regardless of social distancing.  We are asking our spectators to our last few games to now do the same.  To be clear, we are asking that everyone wear a mask at FB, VB, Golf, CC, etc. at all times except when you are getting a drink or eating, regardless of social distancing.  We feel our students have done pretty good job of this, and now we are asking our parents to do so as well, at ALL of our activities.  Please and thank you.    

One other item we can control is our choice to get a flu shot or not.  We encourage everyone to get a flu shot this year.  On October 21, from 3:30 to 6:30 there will be a county health department flu shot clinic at the Wamego City Sports Complex (Softball/Baseball/Tennis/Soccer).  This will be a quick and easy drive through clinic and all you need to bring is your insurance card or $20.  

Tomorrow and next Friday our students do not have school.  We hope you all are able to enjoy some extra family time with them.  

As always,  Thanks for all your support, Stay Strong, and keep praying for Palmer and his family.

 

Tim Winter

Supt. 

 

October 9, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

I hope you are enjoying the fall colors and thank goodness cooler weather is in the forecast for next week.  I am here to provide another update and to focus mostly on the positive.  We completed another week of school.  We currently have very low COVID numbers.

• Zero active positive cases in the district, students or staff
• 15 students and staff in quarantine
• Average Daily Attendance in our schools this week is around 98%
• Trends are decreasing for the county

This is all great news and we appreciate everyone’s efforts to do our best to keep kids in schools.  Beginning Monday, our entire kitchen staff will be back on duty and the HS students will be served a hot lunch.  We helped bag sack lunches today for the last day of the two-week quarantine of 8 food service employees.  Our HS students were gracious and appreciative of our food service team each and every day they received their sack lunch.  It is wonderful to hear so many of our young adults saying please and thank you.  Thank you all for raising great kids.   Thanks also to several volunteers who worked with the food service team to provide these kids with a great sack lunch.  Beginning Monday, our quarantine numbers should be in the single digits.  

Remember how we got to this point.  We are taking precautions:

• Wellness First 
• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands
• Watch your distance 

Please remember the numbers from Abilene Schools which I shared last  week:

• 7 staff members positive
• 45 staff quarantined
• 22 students positive
• 234 students quarantined, 212 are HS students

Abilene is now back onsite, but they were in an all-district remote setting for approximately 2 weeks, as was Chapman.  This could very easily be Wamego.  Yesterday we were notified that Concordia has quarantined the high school volleyball team.  They will miss our game with them on Tuesday and cannot return to the court for practice on October 19, just a few days before sub-state.  Please encourage your children to keep holding the line.  Numbers are trending up in many areas of the state so much, that hospital capacity at Stormont Vail Hospital is at its lowest point since the  pandemic began.  This could impact us, as many patients in Wamego are referred to Stormont Vail Hospital. 

I have attached a graphic which demonstrates the significance of wearing a mask properly.  Please take a look and share with your students.  Masks.pdf 

Final thoughts… Thanks for all your support, Stay Strong, and keep praying for Palmer and his family.

Tim Winter, Supt. 

OneWamego4W's w-frame.pdf 

 

 

 

October 2, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

I hope you all had a great week.    Wamego Schools were blessed with another week of school onsite, and I am thankful for every day we are able to serve and work with our students.

It’s official, we are adding a 4^th “W” to our One Wamego 4 W’s.  

Wellness First 

Wear a mask

Wash your hands

Watch your distance

Thanks to a few of you who had suggestions.  It was great to hear from you.  See the attachment for the full graphic.  OneWamego4W's w-frame.pdf

Every single one of these suggestions is becoming more and more important as we are experiencing an increase of COVID cases in the county.  It certainly is no one’s fault and it can happen to anyone.  Today we learned that even our President is susceptible to COVID-19.  Other schools in our area are experiencing challenges and have had to switch to remote learning- USD 435 Abilene schools for example.  Greg Brown their superintendent gave me permission to share some of their numbers with you all.  They have been in remote learning at all levels for approximately 2 weeks.  Here are their numbers as of Sept. 30. 

• 7 staff members positive
• 45 staff quarantined
• 22 students positive
• 234 students quarantined, 212 are HS students

Abilene is very similar to Wamego.  Please everyone, Practice the 4 W’s.  I believe that if we should ever have to move to remote, it will not be due to the number of positives cases, but rather the number of quarantined individuals.  Wellness first and Watching your distance are the best ways to minimize quarantines.  If you or your children are not feeling well, stay home to give yourself time to see what becomes of your symptoms and possibly consult your doctor.  Do not assume it is allergies, head cold, or something else.  We will do our best to work with absent students and provide them instruction and resources.  

Flu season is also upon us and I strongly encourage everyone to get your flu shot.  Please look for flu shot clinic opportunities in the area, at your work places, or contact the county health department for additional information.  

Our schools finally received their desk and table top sneeze guards for all students.  The use of these will help minimize spread of all airborne viruses.  Please encourage your children to adhere to using them in the classrooms and other areas.  We also learned today that if students are separated by sneeze guards and are wearing masks, they will minimize the chance of being quarantined.  This is significant and could certainly be a major step towards keeping our classrooms open. 

I ask at this time you keep one of our students and his family in your thoughts and prayers.  This young man was in a serious car accident on Wednesday and he and his family need our support.  

Thanks for your support and allowing us to work with your students. 

Tim Winter

Supt. 

September 28, 2020

Dear USD 320 Families,

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Wamego Schools had a wonderful homecoming celebration with a big victory over Atchison on Friday, and the VB team followed up with a championship in the invitational tournament we hosted.  Unfortunately, over the weekend we were notified that a positive case of COVID-19 has been identified at Wamego High School.  The individual, a food service team member was last on site on Friday, September 25, 2020.   The intent of this letter is not to alarm you, but to inform you about COVID-19 and how you can help protect your student.  CDC guidelines state that currently there is no evidence that people can get COVID-19 by eating or handling food.  We are quite certain that no students will be identified as close contacts through their interaction at lunch times with the food service team.  However, several of our food service team are being quarantined until the end of the day October 9.  This will have a significant impact on our ability to prepare and serve meals at all school sites.  We will pull together and make it happen so we can keep kids in school.  It will, however, necessitate that all school menus will be simplified.  Ala’ carte will not be available at the HS, and HS students will receive sack lunches for the next two weeks minimum.  We ask that you work with us through this challenge.  Students will still receive their full meal in terms of calories, but choice will be limited.  If you think your child will need more food throughout the day or before going to athletic practice after school, you may certainly send snacks with them.  

Per our established protocol, all areas of the building have been sanitized and deep-cleaned regularly. We are in contact with the Pottawatomie County Health Department and will take the steps necessary to protect the health of our students and staff.  The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath.  Some have reported additional symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. Individuals who need medical care should call their medical provider to report their illness prior to seeking care at a clinic, physician’s office, or hospital.  Parents of students exhibiting flu-like symptoms or staff exhibiting flu-like symptoms are asked to contact our school nurses, local health authorities, or the Pottawatomie County Health Department.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with updates as we know more.  If you or someone you know is interested in helping serve or prepare meals, please have them reach out to Kati Wolfgang, Director Human Resources- 785-456-7643.

Thanks for supporting our students and staff, and have great day.

Tim Winter

Supt. 

 

 

 

 

September 14, 2020

Dear USD320 Parents/Guardians,

We just learned today that the Kansas State Department of Education has eliminated the requirement to complete daily learning logs for all students who are remote learners.  The learning log has been replaced by an assurance document.  This document is a simple one-page document that each family will complete one time and only one time.  Families with multiple students will be able to list all students on the one assurance document they complete.  USD 320 will be collecting this document electronically to further minimize the burden on our families.   

Students who have chosen the remote learning option, or whenever USD 320 schools are in a model where students (Pre-K-12) will be working remotely, parents and guardians will agree to the following 3 assurances:

1.   I understand that my child(ren) may need additional support to complete assigned work, and to the best of our ability, our family will provide the needed support.  Additionally, our family will provide supervision during the learning process. 

2.   I agree that my child(ren) are expected to be available to communicate with teaching staff on a regular basis as outlined by the school district. 

3. If a student is unable to participate on any given day (illness or doctor appointment), I will notify the appropriate school office to report the absence.

The district will be sending the entire assurances document to all families to complete electronically by Friday, Sept. 18.  The only information we are asking for is:

• Student(s) First and Last Names
• Parent Printed Name
• Parent Signature
• Date

We are certain this will help all families and their students focus more on learning and less on completing learning logs during these times.  At this time, remote learners may stop completing learning logs and we will follow up with additional support to complete the assurances document.  

Thanks for your support,

Tim Winter

Superintendent

 

August 28, 2010

Dear USD320 Parents, Guardians, and Students,

 

I hope you are all doing well.  We are almost there finally.  The start of school is just one week away.  We are so excited to welcome 6^th graders and 9^th graders to the MS and HS next Wednesday.  And then, the day we have been anxiously anticipating for these past 5 months.  Thursday Sept. 3, will be the first official day for grades 1 to 12.  Our current students will someday tell their kids about the LONGEST summer ever.  Pre-K and KG will start school on Tuesday, Sept. 8.  Our administration, teachers, nurses, office staff, and operations staff have been working extremely hard to be ready for this special first day of the 2020 school year.  I want to assure everyone we are ready, and our students will be taken care of whether they are onsite or learning remotely. 

 

Families can expect buildings to be sending more specific details  in the coming days.  Bus route riders will start hearing from their bus drivers, and yes, the shuttle bus route for students within the city limits is ready to go.  Here are more details regarding the shuttle bus, and please read carefully as there are couple changes since we have collected rider information. 

 

Middle School students who live in the city limits and on the South side of highway 24 will be able to access the shuttle bus at two locations:

 

MS Stops South of HWY 24

• Stop 1 - 7:25am, The T-intersection of Sycamore and  6^th Street.  Students will await the bus on this city owned lot on the North side of 6^th street
• Stop 2 - 7:30am, City Park Shelter located at the intersection of Pine and 6^th street 

 

Upon making these two stops, the bus will travel to WMS and drop off these MS students.  The bus will then disinfect the interior and high touch areas before traveling to the North end of Lilac Lane on Say Road.  There will be 2 stops between 7:40am and 7:50am on Lilac Lane for West and Central Elementary students who live in this area North of Hwy 24:

 

Elementary Stops North of HWY 24

• Stop 3 - 7:45am Lilac Lane and 17th
• Stop 4 - 7:48am Lilac Lane and 14^th Street

 

The bus will then travel to West Elementary to drop off West students followed by a drop off at Central. 

 

This route will be repeated after school in reverse order with the loading of Central students at 3:05.  The bus will then pick up West riders and drop students off at Stop 4, and Stop 3 respectively.  The bus will then travel to WMS to load students to be dropped off at Stop 2 and Stop 1. 

 

We hope this is an effective solution for our families who need this service for their students. 

Please remember that this is a limited service.  MS students who live in the city limits South of HWY 24 are eligible for this service and Elementary students who live North of HWY 24 in the city limits are eligible for this service.  Students who do not need to cross HWY 24 to reach their school are not eligible for this shuttle bus service. 

 

I have attached a map of the stops.  These stops and times are subject to change if we determine more suitable stop locations.  We require that all riders respect all  properties on or near these stop locations.  We also ask that students wear a mask and social distance at each stop.

 

If you have any questions regarding the shuttle bus service, you may reach out to Sharlee Serb our transportation contact:  785-456-7695, serbs@usd320.com                       

 

Next week we will share more details regarding school activities.  I will take the time now to help prepare families for limited attendance at activities and athletic events.  This past week the NCKL, our league affiliate, voted to limit capacity of league events to 25%.  We will work to allow as many fans as possible but still meet this maximum capacity.  We are planning to live stream or record as many events as possible for public viewing.  Specific details on this and so much more will be sent out next week.

 

Thanks again and here’s to a great school year!

 

Stay Healthy Wamego, and remember the 3 W’s- Wear a Mask, Wash your Hands, and Watch your Distance. 

 

Tim Winter

Superintendent

 

 

 

 

August 14, 2020

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students,

Thanks for working with us through another week of planning for the 2020/21 school year.  Last night we held the online information night where the building principals and myself shared more details of the reopening plans and answered well over 200 questions which had been submitted by you, our parents and guardians this week.  The program was recorded, so if you were not able to watch it live you may access it at this link-  watch.  The recording does have about 13 minutes of preprogram air time before the start that you can certainly fast forward through.  We appreciate your help and please continue to send our building principals or myself your questions.  If you have not read the reopening documents they are available on the website at USD320.com.  If you have not enrolled your students, online enrollment is also available.  We are encouraging everyone to enroll by August 18 so we can plan appropriately before the start of school.  

Thanks again for all your support and have a great weekend.

Tim Winter, Supt. 

 

August 10, 2020

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

Thank you for partnering with us to provide your students an excellent education.  We appreciate your support and trust as we plan for our schools reopening.  As promised last Friday, today we are releasing the draft of the USD320 Navigating Change- Wamego Public Schools Reopening Plan 2020-21.  Within this document we hope to answer the majority of your questions.  The primary pages of the document review the guidelines we expect of all staff, students, parents, and visitors to our schools.  There are sections which cover operations, health/safety, academics, and activities.  This work will change as we move through the school year.  Some items are not yet complete, but as we gather more information and follow the COVID 19 situation for our specific area we will update those items.  The first link below will take you to the document.  Within the document there are other links that take you to the specific school plans and other supporting resources.  However, we have included the specific school links below for your convenience.  All the information is also available at our district website.  I encourage you to read the primary document and the building document(s) for where your students attend.  After reading the material, if you have questions please submit your questions in the google survey link provided below.  On Thursday at 6pm(to 8pm) the USD320 Admin team will host a live Zoom information night.  We will cover the primary areas of the plan and answer the questions which have been submitted.  Please submit your questions by 9am Thursday.  The information night will air on the district Facebook.    

 

Navigating Change Link- https://usd320.socs.net/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/5e6fb4afc750e/USD320ReopeningPlan.pdf

 

School Plan Links-

Central

https://usd320.socs.net/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/5f2acbe62df5f/Central%20Elementary%20Reopening%20Plan.pdf

West

https://usd320.socs.net/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/5f2acbe62df5f/West%20Elementary%20Reopening%20Plan_Final.pdf

WMS

https://usd320.socs.net/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/5f2acbe62df5f/WMS%20Reopening%20Plan.pdf

WHS

https://usd320.socs.net/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/5f2acbe62df5f/WHS%20Reopening%20Plan.pdf

 

Question/Survey Link-  https://forms.gle/XJF58wgt1bQaFac88

 

Enrollment- Remember to enroll by August 18 if you have not yet completed the process.  The links to enroll and pay are below for your convenience.  

https://www.usd320.com/vnews/display.v/SEC/Enrollment%7COnline%20Registration

 

All fees should be paid at the end of enrollment in the link provided.  https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56441/

 

Thanks again for your support, patience, and allowing us to work with your students.

 

Stay Healthy and Go Wamego!

Tim Winter, Supt. 

 

• National Center for Disease Control (CDC) 
• Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) 
• Pottawatomie County Health Department

 

August 7, 2020

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you are all doing well.  It is time for a weekly USD320 update.  This week I am going to first focus on enrollment.  At this point we have nearly 800 students enrolled after just 4 days of opening the process.  If you have not yet enrolled, online enrollment is open and you can access at this website. 

https://www.usd320.com/vnews/display.v/SEC/Enrollment%7COnline%20Registration

All fees should be paid at the end of enrollment in the link provided.  https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56441/

If you have any questions regarding enrollment or experience any challenges, please contact our school office staff.  For families who do not have a device to complete online enrollment, you must schedule an appointment with the school your student attends.  If you have students in more than one school, you may complete the enrollment process for all of your students at one school of your choosing.  All onsite enrollment must be done by appointment.  You  must wear masks, and will have temperature checks and health screenings prior to entering the building.  Please do not bring your students with you.  We will provide a computer in a socially distanced space with office support as needed.  Our school offices are open from 7:30 to 4:00 Monday – Friday.

It is important that enrollment is completed asap.  We are moving our request up and asking that all families enroll by August 18 so we can appropriately plan and prepare for onsite and remote learners. 

A draft of the  USD320 Reopening Plan will be released Monday evening, August 10.  As COVID changes and we receive additional health and KSDE guidance this plan will be continually updated throughout the year.  The BOE will review the plan at the August 17 BOE meeting.  We will also have an informational night on Thursday, August 13 at  6pm.  All principals will be present to share details and respond to specific school questions for the information night.  This meeting will be broadcast on the district Facebook page.  We will review the main details of the plan and answer questions that are submitted to us by the end of the day on August 12^th.   When we send out the plan on Monday, we will include a link to a survey where you can submit our questions.  We want your feedback and questions to help us put for the best plan possible. 

 

I am including our calendar changes which were approved at the last BOE meeting for your convenience and as a reminder. 

• BOE Approved Calendar Revisions

• School will begin two weeks later to allow time for staff to prepare
• September 2- 6^th grade and 9^th Grade Transition Day
• September 3 – First Official Day of School for Grades 1- 12
• September 8 – Pre-K and KG First Day
• Thanksgiving Break Holiday is now November 25-27,  Nov. 23 and 24 will be school days. 
• Last Day of School is May 25 for PreK- Grade 11, one day earlier

 

• Early Release Friday- The BOE Approved “Early Release Friday” for Central Elem., West Elem., and WMS.  These buildings will dismiss early on Fridays- 2:00 pm at CES and WES, 2:20 at WMS, so staff are able to plan and collaborate. 

That is all for this week.

Stay Healthy and Go Wamego!

 

Tim Winter, Supt.

 

 

July 29, 2020

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you are all doing well and it is time for a weekly USD320 update.  Last night the BOE had a special meeting to discuss the opening date of school and the progress of the reopening plan.  There was some great dialogue between our BOE, administration, and nursing staff.   I know many of you have concerns and have voiced those concerns to myself, other school staff, or our BOE.  I want you to know that your thoughts and concerns are carefully reviewed and are a part of the decision-making process.  The administration team and others have been working very hard on the development of the reopening plan. Practices and procedures will be implemented to keep everyone  safe and healthy.  Here are the major take-aways from last night’s meeting. 

• BOE Approved Calendar Revision- See attached for full details.

• School will begin two weeks later to allow time for staff to prepare
• September 2- 6^th grade and 9^th Grade Transition Day
• September 3 – First Official Day of School for Grades 1- 12
• September 8 – Pre-K and KG First Day
• Thanksgiving Break Holiday is now November 25-27,  Nov. 23 and 24 will be school days. 
• Last Day of School is May 25 for PreK- Grade 11, one day earlier

 

• Early Release Friday- The BOE Approved “Early Release Friday” for Central Elem., West Elem., and WMS.  These buildings will dismiss early on Fridays- 2:00 pm at CES and WES, 2:20 at WMS, so staff are able to plan and collaborate. 

 

• Learning Options Shared- See attached for additional details
• Option 1- On-Site Learning
• Option 2-Remote Learning- students must log a minimum of 6 hours of school work each school day.
• Contingency Plan- Hybrid Learning- a combination of onsite and remote.

Families will be able to choose learning option 1 or 2 through the  online enrollment portal, which opens August 3.  If you have not enrolled by August 25 we will assume your students will be a part of onsite learning, option 1.  We want each family to carefully consider each option and what is best for their students.  We will deter changes from one option to another as we move through the year as this will allow for more consistent and reliable staffing.  I am hopeful we will start school the first week of September with the majority of our students on site.  However,  the COVID situation in our area, may dictate remote learning or the hybrid learning plan.   Please complete online enrollment as soon as possible after it opens on August 3.

 

Here are some other key take-aways from the BOE discuss and or reopening planning.

• Students and Staff will wear masks in schools and on buses
• Shuttle Bus Service will NOT be provided- This will allow us to do a better job of social distancing on our bus routes
• All students and staff will be health screened before entering the buildings each morning
• Hand washing and/or sanitizers will be available in all classrooms
• WHS will NOT have Open Lunch for 11^th and 12^th grades.  All students will remain on campus for lunch.

I encourage you to review the attached documents for full details and promise more details specific to each school will be coming.   Our timeline will be to release our plans to the BOE and public for review on August 10 and to be considered for approval at the regular August BOE meeting on August 17. 

That is all for this week.

Stay Healthy and Go Wamego!

 

Tim Winter, Supt.

 

 July 16, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you are all doing well.  It is time for a weekly USD320 update.  From this point forward, we will send an update every Thursday with the latest developments in our efforts to return to school and keep everyone COVID free.  

Yesterday the state board of education approved the guidance document- Navigating Change.  Please understand this is guidance for ALL schools in Kansas to use as a resource to develop our plan for returning to school.  We will very carefully utilize the document in our planning, but our plan will not be a mirror image of the document and our plan will most likely be unique to all other schools in the state.  We will all have some similarities, but the Wamego USD320 Plan will be created to best meet the needs of our students and keep our students, staff, and community safe.  Navigating Change is a guidance resource, it is not the answer to all our questions.  Here is a link you use the access 1080-page document.  I do not recommend printing.  The operations section beginning on page 1003  may be of most interest to families. 

Navigating Change Guidance Document-

https://www.ksde.org/Teaching-Learning/Resources/Navigating-Change-Kansas-Guide-to-Learning-and-School-Safety-Operations

Just following the approval of this document Governor Kelly announced she would be releasing an executive order mandating that schools will not open until Sept. 8 after Labor Day.  It is my understanding that this order must also be approved by the state board of education and it will be on their agenda next Tuesday.  I want to assure you we want our students back in school or in some form of a learning environment/model.  However, I also want it to be done safely.  Those are the two most important items on our minds as we plan for a return to school.  In this planning our district leadership team along with support staff and educators are working very hard to put our plan together.  We will also work with our local and county health officials and resources in this process.  This work will continue until August 3 when we will  submit our plan to the BOE for approval.  This will follow with an opportunity for parents, students, and community members to hear the plan and ask questions in a structured format on the evening of August 6.  Due to the recent announcement by Governor Kelly,  and the tremendous amount of planning this plan will take for school leaders and teachers, our start date for school will more than likely be later than the original scheduled date.  I hope to have this date more definitive at our next information release next Thursday. 

Approximately two weeks ago we asked all parents guardians to complete a survey to assist with our planning.  Thank you for your phenomenal response.  We have 1,504 responses.  This data has been very helpful in in our planning process.  We are asking you to complete yet another survey which will give us more specific information regarding what you feel is the best way to meet your student’s needs during this time.  It is critical that you complete this for each of your Wamego Students. The survey may be accessed at the link below.

https://forms.gle/k65Yu3xgfkatGVV1A

Enrollment for the 2020/21 school year is topic we need to address.  We are currently experiencing some technical difficulties with the online enrollment process but expect to have the online portal for enrollment open next week.  A notification will be sent out when you are able to enroll and please take advantage of the online process to enroll as soon as possible.  

This is all I have for now.  Please complete the survey and thanks again for all you do and your support.

Stay Healthy and Go Wamego!

 

Tim Winter, Supt. 

 

Dear Parents, Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Friday May 8, 2020

I hope you have all had a good week.  Happy Friday, happy end of Teacher Appreciation Week, and to all of our amazing mothers- HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!  No one would be here without their mother, literallyJ.  Thanks to all who took the time to complete our 2^nd parent survey.  We carefully reviewed this information and there are couple topics I will address in this letter due to your responses and comments in the survey.

I will start with summer lunch today.  We will continue to offer a food service program through the summer this year.  We will serve meals in the current format until the last day of school, May 19.  We will then begin the summer food service program beginning on June 1 and ending July 31.  This is a free program for children ages 1 to 18.  To best meet our community needs we are asking all to complete a survey of your intentions to participate in the summer meals program.  Please use this link to complete the survey.  This survey is anonymous and will not commit you to anything.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBxFNBGs_xqY4ZYUMhia4StOhMPUx7HWwegzNzyBt5V0F1mQ/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1

We are nearing the end of the school year with just 5 days remaining for our seniors (last day May 15), 6 days for our 8^th graders (last day May 18), and 7 days for all other grades (last day May 19).  The school principals will be sending out information on how the end of the school year and checking in school equipment, textbooks, etc. will look. 

It is so unfortunate we will not be able to celebrate the end of the year as we are accustomed to with our seniors, 8^th graders, and others.  The Governor doubled down on her order that graduations of any kind that bring people together in any manner during phase 1 will not be allowed.  This means traditional, drive up, small group, etc. are prohibited.  The only permissible graduation ceremony during phase 1 would be a virtual program.  We decided our best option was to find date this summer for a graduation.  Seniors and parent, please complete the survey Mr. Katt sent out this week by tomorrow if you have not already done so.  We ask that both seniors and parents complete the surveys which were sent. 

As we move into our summer routine we will continue to monitor and abide by all COVID 19 Phase Out guidelines as issued by our county health department.  We also reserve the right to take a more conservative approach.  For example, we will not open our indoor school facilities to any activities prior to June 12.  Decisions and dates regarding Boys and Girls Club, Camp Invention and other programs are on hold at this time.  We will make decision on these programs most likely the first week of June.   

From the survey some indicated concerns with their students falling behind.  This is a legitimate concern and it is a topic of our leadership discussions.  We are exploring the possibilities of offering summer school programs when permissible this summer and or next summer, and the possibly after school remediation programs in the school year.  This is subject to how we continue to move out of the COVID 19 challenge.  I am not optimistic summer programs will happen this summer, but I am also not ready to rule it out.  

Also, from the survey you asked what the plan is for this fall?  I am very optimistic we will be back in school in August as we would any other year.  However, other options could be a later start date, a combination of in school instruction and online instruction, or we will be in the online format.  The state department of education, administrators, and teachers across the state are currently working on a fall plan.  Details of this plan will be made available to us in early July.  Again, I am optimistic we will be back together “in school”, but we will plan for any and all options.    

Happy Mother’s Day, God Bless, and stay healthy Wamego.

Tim Winter, Supt. 

 

Dear USD320,

April 20,2020

I hope you have all all had a good week.  We survived another week of COVID 19 and our numbers in this area remain pretty flat.  I am certain that is due to your diligence in following the recommended guidelines.  Please continue to follow those guidelines

Last week we sent out a survey to parents asking for their input on many things related to our school in the current platform.  Thank you so much for taking the time to complete it.  We had 691 surveys completed.  We have and will carefully continue to review this information to make improvements.  Overall the survey responses were extremely positive.  All responses were in the neighborhood of 95% positive.  This is wonderful, however, if you are having any issues or concern please reach out to your teachers, principals, or myself.  Most indicated little or no issues with internet connectivity, but some indicated speed issues.  Our technology team took a look at this and we hope to have improved this area by adding an additional filter survey for the district.  All of our district owned devices still go through our filter even from a remote location.  Please keep us informed of any issues you may be having.  We will be resurvey parents in the next couple weeks.  

Thanks as always for your support and patience.  

Stay strong Wamego and We are Better Together!

Tim Winter, Supt. 

 

Dear Parents, Students, Faculty, and Staff,

April 09, 2020

I hope you have all had a good 2^nd week of continuous learning.  From all accounts I receive, we are having great success reaching out to our students, building relationships, and providing instruction.  However, we need to hear from all our parents so we can validate this and or make changes and improvements where ever possible.  I am asking that all parents use the link below to complete a short survey for us.  Please complete this survey for each student you may have.  We know students in different classrooms or schools may have different needs and our goal is to identify how we can best meet the needs of each and every one of our students.  You do not need to identify yourself in the survey, but if you would like a principal or myself to reach out to you, please leave your name and contact information in the comments section.  We certainly encourage you all to reach out to us by email or phone directly as well if you prefer.  

Parent Survey Link-  https://forms.gle/1vywhkZaG5Bxqgr26

Additional information you may need to know-

Calendar/Easter Break- Remember we are on Easter Break Friday, April 10 and Monday, April 13.  Classes in the continuous learning format will resume on Tuesday, April 14.  There will be no meals served on school holidays.  This is a federal program and at this time we are authorized to serve meals on school days only.  We will be back at all of the meal locations on Tuesday.  

COVID 19 Guidance (See attachments)- Please continue to take the recommended steps to stay healthy and keep others healthy.  Wash your hands frequently, avoid groups of any size, practice the 6+ social distance measure at all times, and an addition is- the recommendation to wear some type of facial covering over your mouth and nose when out of your house.  This can be a simple clothe mask and there are plenty of sites which demonstrate how to make these on the internet. Lastly- DO NOT LET UP.  Some have started to communicate that this is making a difference and the spread is lessening.  If that is the case, it is happening because we are doing a good job on all of the above.  Keep doing what is working please.  Our students, our families, and our community are so important, let’s keep working together to keep everyone safe and healthy.  Better Together.

I want to continue to thank all of you for being so supportive.  This community has really come together.  These are difficult times and it will become even more challenging.  Working together will become even more important in the future.  If there is something that you are not happy about, or struggling with, please reach out for help to those who can actually help or have an impact on the situation.  Wamego is a community of volunteers who want to help.   

I will end with wishing you all a Blessed Easter.

God Bless and stay healthy Wamego!

Tim Winter, Supt. 

COVID 19 Update 4:9:20.docx 

Travel_Related_Quarantine_Table.pdf 

Isolation_Quarantine_Release_Graphic_KS.pdf 

Public_Health_Management.pdf 

 

 

Hi Parents,

 

 

March 30, 2017

 

If your student is having trouble connecting to any of our services, please follow the steps below:

 

1.  Use the link below as a guide for troubleshooting

https://sites.google.com/usd320.com/techhelp/home

 

2. You may also contact your teacher, as they are the first point of contact for troubleshooting tech issues.

 

3.  If you have tried these, and you are still experiencing difficulty you may e-mail helpdesk@usd320.com

 

Keep in mind that applications like google classroom, seesaw, and other educational services are being heavily used and we may see performance issues.  Most issues that have been reported are a slowdown in downloads from seesaw. 

 

 

The majority of issues we are seeing, are regarding the school owned device not authenticating to our proxy. Please use the site for troubleshooting these issues.  

https://sites.google.com/usd320.com/techhelp/home

 

Dear USD320 Families,

March 27, 2020

I hope you are all doing well.  You continue to be in our thoughts.  Monday, March 30 is an exciting day! Essentially it is our 2^nd First Day of School for the 19-20 school year.  We will start the Continuous Learning Program, Day 1.  I want to assure all that we will take this very slow for the first few days.  This is an experiment that is happening around the entire country, and never before will the internet, zoom, google classroom, seesaw, and other online learning platforms been accessed to this level.  Because of this I ask all to be patient and gracious to all.  If you experience technical issues, your first contact is your student’s teacher.  They have been trained on trouble shooting the common minor issues that may occur.  If they are unable to correct this issue, we will then utilize the USD320 Technology Department.

Specific information regarding schedules and format for the Continuous Learning Program is  or has been sent out by each school.  Please be looking for this information.  The teachers and principals have been working very hard for all of our students to put forth a quality educational experience for the remainder of the school year.  Our school calendar will remain as is.  

Remember to take advantage of the school lunch program that is now offered at 3 locations.

• Wamego City Park 11am to 1pm
• Louisville Ball Field 11:30am to 12:30am
• Belvue Ball Field 11:30am to 12:30am

Our food service have been simply amazing preparing and distributing lunch and breakfast meals.  They are working very hard along with some other staff and volunteers.  Yesterday over 1600 meals (breakfast and lunch) were distributed.  We also started providing toilet paper to those who ask.  This will take place every Tuesday-  TP Tuesday. 

Please follow all recommended guidelines;

• Stay home as much as possible.
• Wash Hands Frequently
• Practice the 6-foot distance when in public
• Avoid groups of people
• Monitor for these symptoms and if they occur contact your primary physician by phone

• Dry cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fever greater than 100

• Fevers- It is recommended that you are fever free for 72 hours without the assistance of fever reducers before you are not contagious from COVID 19.  Please practice this protocol no matter why you have a fever, whether you have been tested or not.  Better safe than sorry.   
• A positive COVID 19 Test requires quarantine and two negative test to be released from the quarantine. 

Thanks for all your support and patience as we continue to navigate this challenge.  We will get through this and we will be- Better, Working Together.  

Have a great weekend and Stay Healthy Wamego!

Tim Winter

Supt. 

 

 

 

 

Dear USD320 Families, 

Tuesday March 24, 2020

I hope you are all doing well.  You continue to be in our thoughts and we hope you are all well.  Our teachers and administrators are working very hard this week for you, to be ready for Monday, March 30 when we roll out the Wamego Continuous Learning Program.  We are so grateful for WTC and working with us to provide internet to all homes from now until the end of school in May.  If you did not fill out our internet survey we sent out last week and still need internet, please contact the district office at 785-456-7643 or email me at wintert@usd320.com  asap.  We ask this even if you are not in the WTC service area.  We will assist you in securing internet for your homes during this time. 

If needed, we hope you are taking advantage of our Monday - Friday meal program provided by our food service in Wamego (11am to 1pm), Louisville (11:30 to 12:30), and beginning tomorrow 11:30 to 12:30 the Belvue ball field.  One additional feature of this we will add is, TP (Toilet Paper) Tuesday.  On Tuesdays we will have toilet paper available to any family who requests it.  We will provide two rolls to those who request it when picking up their meals.  We ask that you request it only if you have a critical need.  I know it is kind of crappyJ that we must do this, but we want to help however we can.  We do have an inventory of TP that would have been used in the schools if we were still in session.  We are limiting to two rolls per week so are able to make our supply last until the school is out in May.  Each Tuesday we will have a limited amount to be given out on a first come first serve basis.  We hope this is helpful to those who really need it.  TP has been missing from most stores’ shelves for several days now.  To get this started we offer it Thursday this week and moving forward next week, it will always be on TP-Tuesday.  It will not be openly offered, you must request it when you pick up your meals, simply ask your lunch provider. 

I have attached the latest guidance from our local health depart.  Please review this.  There have been two additional states added to travel areas which require self-quarantines, Illinois and New Jersey.  Please follow all recommended guidelines;

• Stay home as much as possible.
• Wash Hands Frequently
• Practice the 6-foot distance when in public
• Avoid groups of people
• Monitor for these symptoms and if they occur contact your primary physician by phone

• Dry cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fever greater than 100

• Fevers- It is recommended that you are fever free for 72 hours without the assistance of fever reducers before you are not contagious from COVID 19.  Please practice this protocol no matter why you have a fever, whether you have been tested or not.  Better safe than sorry.   
• A positive COVID 19 Test requires quarantine and two negative test to be released from the quarantine. 

This all this information I have for now.  Your schools will be in touch with you regarding your needs for starting school in the Continuous Learning Program.  Please monitor you email frequently.  

Thanks for all your support and patience as we continue to navigate this challenge.  We will get through this and we will be- Better, Working Together.  

Stay Healthy Wamego!

 

3-23-2020 Updates.pdf 

 

COVID-19_March_24_2020_[1].pdf 

 

 

COVID-19 Resources for Parents

 

 

• • National Center for Disease Control (CDC) 
  • Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) 
  • Pottawatomie County Health Department
  • Talking to Children About COVID-19: A Parent Resource
  • How to Talk to your Children About Coronavirus
  • 5 Tips to Help Children Manage Coronavirus Anxiety
  • Coping With Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks
  • Helping Children Cope With Emergencies
  • Helping Children Cope During and After Disaster
  • How to Talk to your Elementary Children About Coronavirus
  • Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
  • http://sites.edb.utexas.edu/agency-and-young-children/
  • https://consciousdiscipline.com/covid-19-five-helpful-responses-for-families/?mc_cid=89fc7c1740&mc_eid=347c7f60b3
  • https://preventchildabuse.org/coronavirus-resources/

 

Dear USD 320 Families,

Today, March 17, 2020, Governor Laura Kelly announced all school facilities will be closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. This would also imply all school activities, programs, and events will be canceled.  We understand this may place tremendous hardship on our families and staff, and impact the social and emotional well-being of our students.  We also realize the many cancelations will be a great disappointment to all.  For that, we are very sorry.  

In cooperation with the Kansas State Department of Education, we are developing a Continuous Learning plan to meet the ongoing learning needs of our students. While our buildings may be closed, student learning will continue. Details of this process will be developed with our teachers next week and will be communicated to all families as soon as possible. 

Food Service will continue to provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to anyone ages 1-18. At this time, meals can be picked up at the Wamego City Park or the Louisville ball diamonds from 11:00am to 1:00pm.

Our staff and board of education are also working on other critical issues, such as what this means for our seniors, how this will affect next school year, and what impact this will have on our employees. We will provide updates on these issues as soon as the information is available.

We are committed to working together as a community to support one another throughout these unprecedented times, and communication will remain a top priority. Please continue to monitor your email for updates from the district. 

As a reminder, this school closure is in response to the current public health crisis. The focus should remain on preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Please be mindful of the following:

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing (cough/sneeze into your sleeve or a tissue).
• If you or any member of your family are sick, stay home.
• Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.

Follow additional guidance from these sources:

• National Center for Disease Control (CDC) 
• Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) 
• Pottawatomie County Health Department

All of us in USD 320 are working together to meet the needs of our students and maintain the healthiest environment possible for our community. We appreciate your patience and continued support. We live in one of the greatest communities in the world, and together, we will get through this. 

God Bless you all,

Dear USD320 Families, Faculty, and Staff,

As you all know all Wamego Schools are closed this week.  A decision regarding next week will be made later this week.  The KS Dept. of Education and Governor Kelly also yesterday Strongly encouraged All schools in Kansas to close this week.  Please do your best to practice the precautionary measures of social distancing and avoiding travel as much as possible.  Remember the symptoms to look for are- coughing, shortness of breath, and a fever greater than 100.4.  If these occur call your primary physician and they will direct you to your next steps.  

I have attached the latest updates from the health department on self isolation if you have traveled.  This now includes areas in the U.S., specific counties in Colorado, all international travel, and cruise travel.  PLEASE review and take the appropriate recommendations to heart.  

Grab & Go meals will be available from 11:00-1:00pm in front of the Wamego City Park Train Shelter House on 6th Street.  There will be a “pull through” lane (graciously marked by the City) for cars to pull into.  Food Service staff will hand meals to students in the vehicles.  Students may also walk to the park and pick up their meals from a Food Service Staff member at the Shelter House.  Each student can pick up a lunch for today and a breakfast for tomorrow.  The both meals should be refrigerated within two hours.

All Schools are closed to everyone except USD320 essential personnel who have been notified.  We must continue to deep clean and maintain a sanitary environment for when our students return.  Please, do not visit our schools.  If you have a critical need, office staff will be present, and you may call a specific school.

We will continue to provide regular communication regarding this situation through email and social media. 

Thank you for all your support and working together to maintain the safety and health of our entire community.

 3-15-20+Quarantine+recommendations+press+release[1].pdf

 COVID19-Traveler-Info-Card[1].pdf 

10Things.pdf