Mask Wearing

It is about education.  Whether you believe that one should wear a mask or not is not the question.  As we continue to get guidance from our local health department and those of the Governor our CoVid Standard operating Procedures (SOP) are more relevant than ever.  I feel it is my charge from the board to keep in-person learning and extra-curricular activities happening at Chadron Public School.  To avoid large numbers in quarantine our SOP will help with that.  No one wants to return to the education that we experienced last spring.

From PPHD September 29, 2020

"Keeping kids in school is the goal

School has now been in session for up to six weeks in many Panhandle communities. Several area schools, administration, and boards have worked hard to implement increased precautions during the COVID pandemic to keep children and staff safe. These include things like:

Spacing students out in the classroom and at lunch to allow for effective distancing.

Mask wearing in accordance with the Panhandle risk dial.

Staggered passing times to decrease the number of people in the hallways and staggered recesses.

Increased handwashing and sanitizing points throughout the school.

Staying home when a student or staff member is experiencing even minor signs of illness.

“These are all key to slowing the disease spread,” said Kim Engel, Panhandle Public Health District Director. She added, “When these increased precautions are being implemented, it significantly reduces the amount of students that are required to quarantine due to close contact resulting in kids staying in school.”

In some situations, the health district has seen one confirmed COVID positive student or staff member and upwards of 38 others that are then required to quarantine, as required by the Governor’s Directed Health Measure, when contact tracing has been conducted. Factors that are considered in the disease investigation:

Close contact is considered less than six feet for a total of 15 minutes or more.

Were masks worn by the positive individual and the close contacts?

In a classroom where everyone is masked, including the initial positive case, the initial positive case will isolate at home, and the remainder of the school-aged individuals will self-monitor for symptoms.

In a classroom where the initial positive case is not masked, the initial positive case will be isolated at home, and any school-aged individual who had close contact will quarantine at home.

In a classroom where the initial positive case is masked but others are not, the initial positive case will isolate at home, those school-aged individuals without masks and had close contact with initial positive case who are exposed will quarantine at home, and the remainder of the classroom will self-monitor for symptoms.

In a classroom where no school-aged individual were masked, the initial positive case will be isolated at home, and any school-aged individual who had close contact with initial positive case will quarantine at home.

Seating charts for the classroom, lunch room, and transportation

marking where each student sat and if they wore a mask

distance between desk

attendance for the date(s) in question

If a school-aged individual has close contact during an outdoor extracurricular event or in an indoor space where all individuals are spaced six feet apart, the school-aged individual(s) may self-monitor in lieu of quarantine.

Taken from Jon Gordon’s Blog.  

How to Overcome Negative Thoughts and Fear

“Do you struggle with Fear?”

Every hand in the audience went up when I asked the question.

“Do your negative thoughts come from you?”

Most said “Yes.”

“Are you sure,” I asked? “Who would ever choose to have a negative thought?” Eyes widened, some heads shook and a few people smiled. They were having an Aha moment.

I then explained that your negative thoughts don’t come from you. They come from consciousness. They pop in at random times or, for some, more frequently. They are like an unwanted surprise guest that show up at your front door to tell you how weak, unworthy, insignificant and incapable you are.

But here’s the deal. Like any unwanted surprise guest you decide whether or not to entertain them. A thought’s power only comes from the power you give it. You don’t have to give your negative thoughts power. You can ignore them. You can see them for what they truly are: lies, lies, lies.

Always remember that just because you have a negative thought doesn’t mean you have to believe it.

Fear is a liar and if you struggle with fear and negative thoughts, it’s because you believe the lies that they tell. Fear stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear looks and feels true but it isn’t.

Fear says you aren’t strong enough, good enough, successful enough, wealthy enough, happy enough, smart enough, talented enough. Well, I say enough with fear. Instead, know the truth. You have everything you need inside you to be successful. You weren’t meant to be average. You have a desire to be great because you were created and born to go great things. You have a purpose. There’s a plan for your life. You may be going through a hard time now but the best is yet to come.

When fear and negativity pop in your head you can ignore them or speak truth to the lies. That’s what I do and I was thrilled to hear that’s what the singer Jewel does as well. I was recently listening to an interview she did on The Finding Mastery Podcast and she said she makes a list of all the lies fear tells. Then she writes down the truth next to the lies. She said it has given her a lot of power and freedom.

It can do the same for you. There is a tremendous amount of freedom in knowing that negative thoughts are not coming from you. There’s a ton of power in knowing that you don’t have to believe the lies. You can know and live the truth and just keep moving forward with belief, optimism, faith and grit.

During the Australian Open Championship a few weeks ago, Roger Federer lost the first few games of the 5th and deciding set to Rafael Nadal. Federer said that at the time he thought “It’s probably not going to happen for me tonight.” A thought popped in and then it popped out. He didn’t energize it. He just kept playing one point after another and eventually won the set and the match.

You can do the same. No matter what thoughts come your way, you have everything you need to accomplish your task. Thoughts will come and go but you just stay in the game and keep moving forward. The truth is that the best is yet to come. Do you believe it?

- Jon

 

Grateful

Thanks for stopping by this blog!  I plan to blog every now and then to provide updates on thoughts about Chadron Public Schools and other topics on my mind..  

I have just started my 12th week with Chadron Public Schools.  This summer has been a blur.  To be honest, this has been one of the toughest years I have experienced as an educator.  

We have enjoyed the transition to Chadron.  This year we are a two household family, as my husband had to stay in his current position for the 20-21 school year.  He has already been burning up the roads coming back and forth.  We will miss Scribner-Snyder and the life-long friends we made there. 

I have really enjoyed getting to make connections with people all over Chadron.  It's been awesome to meet so many people that are so proud of Chadron Public Schools.  This is rightfully so.  I have been impressed with the people I get to work with each day.  We have a lot of talented, passionate and dedicated staff. 

Chadron is a special place.  It's an honor to be here.  The tradition and reputation of this place is inspiring.  I get to continue to live my dream of working with kids and providing a superior education in a rural setting.  Few things about me:

• I was born and raised in Broken Bow, Nebraska.

• I attended McCook Community College, UNL, and Wayne State at various stages of my education.

• I want to earn trust and develop positive relationships with students, staff, parents, and patrons through communication, visibility, accessibility, and attention to detail.

• We have two children Nia and Tobin.  Students at the High School and Middle School respectively.

• I have been married to Deron for 20 years this fall.

• I began my career as a 5th and 6th grade teacher and high school volleyball and basketball coach at Battle Creek, Nebraska.

• Throughout my career, I have served as a teacher, coach, curriculum and assessment director, poverty coordinator, ESL coordinator, and superintendent

• This is my 27th year as an educator and tenth year as a superintendent.

• I am competitive.

• I put family first in my tenants.

Welcome

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Chadron Public Schools.  Set apart for excellence, our students enjoy dynamic relationships and rigorous curriculum equipping them for the future and challenging them to be lifelong leaders. We believe that every student can learn and will grow when expectations are high and clear.  

 

Chadron Public Schools is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities for all of our students. We set high expectations for ourselves and our students. With the work that has already been done on our Strategic Plan, the ongoing development of a District Facilities Plan, and the fiscally responsible decisions that have been made, there is a strong foundation in place from which we build upon to accomplish our goals.

 

We face many new challenges, including an economic climate that impacts our current and future funding and the Covid Pandemic. In order to manage these challenges we will continue to evaluate our operations in order to effectively and efficiently align our resources to our strategic goals.  

 

While we are extremely proud of the quality programs and services we provide our students, we fully recognize the success we enjoy as a school district is built on a strong foundation of parent and community support.  Working together as team, we effectively prepare our students for success in a dynamic and rapidly changing world.

 

Welcome to Chadron Public Schools and join us as we continue to provide Infinite Education, Infinite Possibilities.