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Dear Parents 

Please take the parent survey regarding reopening school this fall.  This will be available until July 30, 2020, thank you for your input. 

Please click on this link to take the Survey.

Sincerely

Barry Schaeffer

Superintendent/K-6 Principal

Dear Parents: 

Due to our school being closed to students from March - May of this year, and the changes in circumstances relating to teaching and learning during this time; we were unable to secure fair projects for display.   We regret to inform you that this year, there will not be any projects from school for your students to display or to be judged at the Arthur County Fair.  Thank you for your understanding.  

Sincerely 

Barry Schaeffer

Superintendent/K-6 Principal  

ARTHUR COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 500

111 ELM STREET

PO BOX 145

ARTHUR NE 69142

MAIN OFFICE – (308) 764-2253

FAX (308) 764 2206

POST COVID SCHOOL CLOSURES – What will Arthur County Schools do next fall?

We all have some questions regarding the how school will be in 2020-2021, let’s be honest 2020 has not been very good to us, but we have hope that things will improve.  The pandemic has caused us to evaluate how to conduct school in the safest manner possible.

Currently the plan is to open school on August 14, 2020 with students attending school as normal as possible. We plan to operate in this way as long as we possibly can do so and do so safely. We will need to work together on this and I would like to know some of your concerns regarding getting back to school in our buildings.

One of the things you can do to help us as you did last spring, is monitor your children for symptoms, if they exhibit symptoms please keep them home. Watch for symptoms, which according to the CDC are as follows:

 Most common symptoms include:

• Fever

• Dry cough

• Tiredness

Less common symptoms:

• Aches and pains

• Sore throat

• Diarrhea

• Conjunctivitis

• Headache

• Loss of taste or smell

• a rash on skin, or discoloration of fingers or toes

Serious symptoms:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

• Chest pain or pressure

• Loss of speech of movement

Seek immediate medical attention if you have serious symptoms. Always call before visiting your doctor or health facility.

On average it takes 5–6 days from when someone is infected with the virus for symptoms to show, however it can take up to 14 day

We may be checking temperatures for students as they get on the bus, and/or before they enter the school or classroom. Any student with a fever of at least 100 will not be allowed to attend school and should be kept home until fever free for at least 48 hours to 72 hours.  This will apply to all fevers related to illness not just COVID-19.  If your student has symptoms but no fever please keep them home and monitor for at least a day or two before sending them to school,  especially since it may take a few days to show. It may only turn out to be flu but if we keep kids home when they are sick, they get better sooner and we lessen risk to other students.

We are working on contingency plans in the event that we are not able to have students in our buildings for an extended period or even a short period of time.  We will try to operate in way that is as close to what we were used to before the pandemic, but with some precautions because of the pandemic.   The priority will be being able to conduct school in as safe a manner as possible and keeping staff and students healthy and at a lesser risk for any type of possible infection.

The biggest take away from this is that we are trying to be prepared situations that could possibly occur.  As we all know this is a fluid situation and many unknowns, and we cannot necessarily be able to plan for all the possibilities. We will be sharing the plan with you once we have it completed.    I will also be posting a survey online for parents to share some thoughts and concerns regards to restarting in our buildings, please take time to complete the survey.  

I am excited at the possibility of having students in our school buildings once again and I am hopeful we can have them there all year long.  More information regarding starting school will be coming.

Barry Schaeffer

Superintendent

The Arthur County Schools all school reunion will be postponed until July of 2021. 

This decision was made June 1 to postpone for one year until July 24, 2021. Due to anticipated Directed Health Measurers in effect, due to COVID-19, the committee felt violations may exist if the reunion is held as planned. This was a difficult decision, but in order to comply with all guidelines this was the prudent choice.

Postcards will be sent out now with this information alerting everyone of the new date next summer. This will be your only notification. The plan will be the same. Vendors for the meals with registration beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the park.

Please check out this website http://69121.touchpros.com and mail your donations to help fund this project to Arthur County Schools, PO Box 145, Arthur, NE 69121 in care of Terria Hampton.

Begining June 1, 2020 the weight room will once again be open for use.  There are some guidelines for the public to be aware of when visiting the weight room.  

1.  If you are sick or not feeling well please do not come to the weight room.

2. If you come to the weight room please keep the number of people in the weight room at 10 or less. If student-athletes are lifting please come back at a different time. 

3. Maintain your distances between people, try to maintain the 6 foot distance when possible. 

4. Wipe down equipment with disinfecting wipe, before and after using equipment. 

5. Help keep the weight room clean and organizes, please pick up all trash and dispose of it properly, and please put weights back on racks when you are finished. 

NSAA Guidelines for student Athletes and Coaches regarding summer weights and conditioning:

In permitting summertime conditioning programs, prioritizing the health and safety of all students and staff must remain the focus of each NSAA member school.

These requirements must be followed when conducting voluntary strength and conditioning sessions:

• Maintain social distance by being 6 feet apart.
• Groups of a maximum 25 persons (students) or less must be pre-determined; the fifty percentage (50%) of rated occupancy does not apply to high school weight rooms per the express directive of the Governor’s office.
  • Note – Hall, Hamilton, Merrick and Dakota counties remain under the 10-person occupancy requirements.
• Once groups determined, students may not switch from one group to another.
• Interaction between groups shall be avoided.
• Sessions can only include weightlifting, running, and exercises designed to promote physical fitness.
• Sport-specific drills are not permitted, and sport-specific equipment may not be used as part of school sponsored summer conditioning.
• Implement diligent and effective cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched objects and surfaces following the guidance of the CDC

It is the responsibility of each NSAA member school to comply with:

1. The above requirements; and,
2.   The NSAA Summer Activities by-laws beginning at Section 3.27 

Additionally, notwithstanding the NSAA summer by-laws, NSAA member school sponsored camps and clinics are prohibited in any sport at this time. 

Pursuant to the Governor’s DHM the following activities are prohibited: Basketball, cheerleading, football, soccer and wrestling (“Prohibited Sports”).  Due to the nature of close contact between athletes. 

Members may have open gyms where sport-specific drills are permitted and sport-specific equipment may be used by individuals except in the Prohibited Sports.  Allowable sports: Baseball, Softball, Volleyball. Equipment should be disinfected before and after use.