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FROM THE SUPERINTENDENTKEVIN WELLEN |
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From Superintendent Wellen: May 26, 2020 Dear Menahga Families: We made it through graduation! Hats off to Mr. Frank, Mrs. Berg, and the high school team for an exceptional program. Now we have the last week of school to get through before students, parents, and staff can take a well-deserved break from distance learning. Thank you for your continued support and appreciation for all the efforts of our staff during these trying times. Please know that everyone on the staff has stepped up to take on these challenges. We are already making plans for next year. Our hope is that we can run traditional school hours and return to in-person interaction with students and families. If we are allowed, we will probably have some minor adjustments, but the school will have a strong resemblance to the program we had prior to distance learning. In the event, we are not allowed to return, we are going to take time this summer to use feedback from families, students, and staff to make improvements moving forward. We are also planning a third option- students get direct face to face instruction one day and distance learning the next, in the case we are allowed limited capacity in the building on a given day. As you can see, we are planning for all contingencies with our future unknown. Again, when we know more, you will know more. Now for the immediate future: Wednesday, May 27th from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM, will be the day devices are collected in the Elementary. We invite you to join us in a parade, through the middle school parking lot, to end the year with waves and drop-offs. As you enter from the North, (near the hockey rink), you will follow the signs, stopping at the first stop and dropping off any library books and getting a treat from the staff. Your next stop(s) will be your teachers to drop off your device, charger, and any classroom books that were sent to you. (Please keep all the math supplies.) You will exit the South end of the parking lot near the high school. We ask that you stay in your cars through the parade. Masks and gloves are recommended by the CDC but will be individual decisions.
Middle School and High School students are encouraged to keep their devices for the summer allowing them to stay connected. However, if you are wanting to return them, there will be tables outside where you can turn them in. Make sure you turn in both the charger and the device. You may also return any textbooks, library books, or classroom books that were sent home.
If you are not able to make it to the school tomorrow but need/wish to return items, please put them in a bag, clearly marked with the child’s name and the homeroom teacher’s name, and place it in the boxes in the entryway of each building. These boxes will only be available Monday-Thursday from 8 am - 2 pm, June 1st-11th. Forms will go out tomorrow if you want to continue to get lunches during June. If you do not complete a new form or call the district your meals will stop automatically. There are significant changes: Meals are for pick-up only in Menahga, Wolf Lake, and Huntersville, on Mondays and Wednesdays only. There will be three lunches and three snacks per child. Meals will not be available for the first week of June while the kitchen resets for summer. Meals will run through the month of June. We still have no finite decisions for summer rec, but we are investigating the option of starting July 6th, I said it before, it is still true today, there is not another team I would want to work with and no other community that can top the support we have had. Thank you all for your continued patience and support during these challenging times! Please take care of yourself and your family! Kevin Wellen, Superintendent
Dear Menahga Families: As you have probably heard by now, Governor Walz has extended distance learning until the end of the school year. That means students will get a break from distance learning from May 1st through May 4th while teachers get prepared for distance learning for the remainder of the school year. Meals will still be delivered on May 1st and May 4th. Our goal in this endeavor is to make it meaningful for students without overwhelming anyone. So, I will say it again, if you, as a parent or family, are having challenges, or feeling a bit overwhelmed, please reach out to your children’s teachers. Every grade level, every subject must be a little different, but we want it to be a system that works for you. We will not know if we can do better unless we hear from you. Teachers are available every day that we were scheduled to be in session and are happy to hear from you. We are currently waiting for more direction from the state as to how those last few weeks will look and what the summer may hold for everyone. Thank you for your continued support and appreciation for all the efforts our staff during these trying times. Please know that everyone on the staff has stepped up to take on these challenges. Everyone is monitoring and adjusting to the ever-changing variables we are being handed. Now the big questions we have been hearing: Our Priorities continue to be: 1. Food for kids and childcare for essential personnel 2. Connectivity with students 3. Distance learning I said it before, it is still true today, there is not another team I would want to work with and no other community that can top the support we have had. Thank you all for your continued patience and support during these challenging times! When we know more, you will know more. Please take care of yourself and your family! Kevin Wellen, Superintendent
Dear Menahga Families: Update At the Governor’s press conference today, he issued a stay at home executive order effective this Friday, March 27th at midnight through April 10th. Distance learning will still begin Monday, March 30th as we have been planning for. Distance Learning will be in effect through May 4th. Our plan will be published on our website by the close of day Friday, March 27th. Schools are considered essential personnel. We will continue to provide distance learning, meals, and childcare throughout the duration. We have been directed to ensure that every staff member has work to do. We will balance between providing those essential services, keeping staff income stream steady and being flexible in these trying times. As we move forward Our Priorities are: 1. Food for kids and childcare for essential personnel 2. Connectivity with students 3. Distance learning …and we need to do all of this without putting staff in harm’s way. As a community, we can meet this challenge if we stay in this together. As I look at what we have done in the last 12 days I don’t believe we could have done any better if we had time to plan. If we keep the same efforts moving forward, we will succeed. There is not another team I would want to work with and no other community that can top the support we have had. Thank you all in advance for your patience and support during these challenging times! When we know more, you will know more. Thank you Kevin Wellen, Superintendent March 16, 2020 Dear Menahga Families: Update Beginning tomorrow, March 17th, the Menahga Schools are closed to give staff time to plan to provide educational services in the event of a longer school closure. We will also be using the time to deep clean the school and buses. If you still need to pick up devices or student’s personal possessions, parents may come to the school tomorrow, as we can still have the public in the building tomorrow if necessary. This afternoon all students will be offered tomorrow’s breakfast to take home on the bus. Tomorrow kitchen staff will prepare lunch for every student and we will use bus routes to deliver these sack lunches and Wednesday’s breakfast for every student beginning with routes tomorrow at 11:30. Please accept this with our gratitude for your patience. Our plan is that all deliveries are distributed by 1:30, but this is the first time this has ever been done. Below are reminders of previous information that is still relevant. IF you are a member of the emergency services profession (law enforcement, fire department, EMTs, etc.) and/or the medical profession (direct care staff) that has school-aged children enrolled in the Menahga School District from pre-kindergarten through 12 years old, please contact the school as soon as possible. We will make arrangements to provide supervision for your children during what would be regular school hours, 8:00 A.M.-3:15 P.M. Please remember the basics for prevention – thorough and frequent hand washing, covering sneezes and coughs, cleaning frequently touched surfaces, practicing social distancing (maintain a 3 – 6-foot separation between you and others) and staying away from large gatherings of people. As more information is made available, we will post on our website, on Facebook, and through School Messenger. This is the plan as of now. Like everything involved in this crisis, this plan has been evolving and this is what we have in place as of 3:00 P.M. on Monday, March 16th. We are in this together as a school and a community. As we know more, we will share more. Thank you Kevin Wellen, Superintendent March 15, 2020 Dear Menahga Families: Governor Walz announced this morning the closure of all schools to students in Minnesota beginning Wednesday, March 18 through Friday March 27. Menahga Schools WILL be in operation Monday, March 16 but will be closed Tuesday, March 17th. This closure is to give staff time to plan to provide educational services in the event of a longer school closure. We will also be using the time to deep clean the school and buses. On Monday we will use the day to prepare students and staff for “distance learning”. For planning purposes, we need to know if families do not have internet access. We also need to know if you are parents of students in grades 5 and 6 or have declined to have devices home who would like them to come home now. We will also make arrangements to provide sack lunches for students on a “grab and go” and/or delivery using our bus fleet. We will need to know how many to prepare. IF you are a member of the emergency services profession (law enforcement, fire department, EMTs, etc.) and/or the medical profession (direct care staff) that has school-aged children enrolled in the Menahga School District from pre-kindergarten through 12 years old, please contact the school as soon as possible. We will make arrangements to provide supervision for your children during what would be regular school hours, 8:00 A.M.-3:15 P.M. Please remember the basics for prevention – thorough and frequent hand washing, covering sneezes and coughs, cleaning frequently touched surfaces, practicing social distancing (maintain a 3 – 6-foot separation between you and others) and staying away from large gatherings of people. As more information is made available, we will post on our website, on Facebook, and through School Messenger. This is the plan as of now. Like everything involved in this crisis, this plan has been evolving and this is what we have in place as of 3:00 P.M. on Sunday, March 15th. We are in this together as a school and a community. As we know more, we will share more. Thank you Kevin Wellen, Superintendent Posted 3.14.2020 We know there are growing concerns regarding the COVID-19 virus. I want to assure you that as a school, Menahga is in regular contact with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Department of Education. According to them, there are currently 14 cases in MN, none of which are students or staff in school communities, and all cases appear to be a result of travel. We are following the recommendations of MDH and at this time, they do not recommend school closures. We are putting extra effort into cleaning and sanitizing, at the school, and reinforcing good hygiene practices for all. We are also minimizing close contact with students and large group gatherings. In the event a case finds its way into a school, MDH and MDE are committed to being in contact with the school district, to help make the best decision for that school. The Minnesota State High School League has canceled all competitions until April 6th. Our spring sports are non-contact, so we will follow the same expectations for them as we are for classes. We have canceled Community Ed activities until further notice. Field trips and student travel will be handled on a case by case decision. We will not put kids at risk, but we want them to have opportunities. Therefore, the first goal is to postpone such travel and cancel when no other options are available. We are asking families to do their part too. MDH recommends frequent health checks on kids. Keep them HOME if they are sick. Please continue to teach prevention, maintain social distances, encourage handwashing, disinfect frequently and of course cover sneezes and coughs. In the event MDH does direct us to shut down the school, teachers are preparing for distance learning to be ready to implement and keep student progress moving forward. Our goal is to make any downtime as meaningful as possible. We continue to constantly monitor the situation and are trying to have all of your children’s needs met to the best of our ability.
Thank you, everyone, for your support and patience as we enter uncharted waters.
Sincerely, Kevin Wellen Superintendent, Menahga
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