Early Dismissal AGAIN....

Today was another hot day and another early day. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Enjoy the holiday weekend and get ready for some cooler weather!

More of The Same........Hot Hot Hot!

It is another heat wave today. Our students are starting to really feel the cumulative effects of being in the heat for the last few days. It has been heating up quicker and quicker in the morning. Friday's forecast has changed to a slightly lower real-feel temperature during the day. We will see how our buildings cool down tonight and what the forecast calls for in the morning before making any decisions on early dismissal. We have moved the varsity FB game to a 7:30 start as a precaution. The HS blood drive is being rescheduled for a cooler date. If you plan on attending the FB game Friday night, please plan for the heat, humidity, and possible rain. We look forward to cooler temperatures next week and some normalcy for parents, staff, and students.

Early Out Today

Today we let students out early because the forcasted temperature for today with heat index was 105 degrees. The kids had toughed it out Monday and Tuesday and today was just going to be that much hotter. Tomorrow may be more of the same. I hope my calls are not getting the point of being "just another school call." AlertNow is a great tool and I hope you appreciate the value it adds to the district as much as I do.

The How and the Why of When We Dismiss Early

I thought I would take a moment to talk about weather related closings and early dismissals. No one wants to cancel school or dismiss early when it can be avoided. The problem with extreme heat is that it creates an uncomfortable learning environment and can be particularly difficult on the younger grades. Additionally, long bus rides are often required by many students to get home. Our buildings are not air-conditioned and the majority of our busses are not air-conditioned. Here in Illinois we are conditioned for dealing with heat and humidity to greater extent than maybe our neighboring states to the North and East might be. With that being said, a forecasted real-feel of 102, 105, 107 etc. is not the normal heat/humidity highs for this time of year. It is always hot when school starts, but this is an extremely hot stretch and our decisions to stay full days, dismiss early, or cancel school are all made with the best interest of our students in mind. We try to announce schedule changes early enough to allow for planning or schedule changing for parents - whenever we can. The following information regarding school attendance and weather can be found at the Illinois State Board of Education Website: http://www.isbe.net/funding/html/heat_days.htm The section begins with the following statement - that I take very seriously: A major responsibility of a local school superintendent is the health and safety of your students. As far as sports and the coop are concerned we try to error on the side of caution. Often the weather is better outside than in. All practices that cannot be moved to a better time are voluntary and the coaches are directed to provide plenty of physical breaks and water breaks. With the coop this often creates issues regarding busses and gym/practice field space. We work as closely as possible with Astoria when these issues arise.

Temperature Related Events

The Junior High Football Game for Tuesday August 27th has been pushed back to a start time of 6:30PM. This a precaution that we are taking, in coordination with Astoria and Lewistown, due to the excessive heat. We are taking the steps we feel are necessary to put our students in the safest possible environment with the least amount of disruption.

Early Dismissal for TUESDAY 8/27

NEWS>>>>>>>>>>> 8/27 - DUE TO THE EXCESSIVE HEAT FORCASTED FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 27TH, WE WILL DISMISS EARLY: HS- 2:10PM ELEM - 2:20PM

Great Last Few Days of Summer

Great start to the school year!
The past three days have been a great experience. We had a great turn-out for Meet-Your-Teacher Night on Thursday. Friday was my first day with the entire district staff. I came away excited about the prospects for this year. We talked about areas of positivity and those areas that are in need of a little extra attention. We had a great breakfast together and spent some time socializing as well.
Meet the Rebels Night was well attended and the pork chop sandwiches were awesome. At the FB scrimmage, I was introduced to a fellow mountain biker and by 7:30 a.m. the next day, we had met up with a few more guys and were on the trail at Spring Lake.
Two days of Table Grove Days about wore my wife and I out. We played Bingo, watched the bike rodeo, helped with the box car races, ate corn dogs, and had dinner at the fish fry!
Like I said, not a bad start to the school year. To top it all off....Bernadotte fish fry on Sunday and kids at school on Monday (I am sure some parents are quietly anticipating that day). Have a great week
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