West Monona Community School District

7th/8th grade girls Volleyball practices start tomorrow (8/25) at 3:30 pm in the middle school gym. Please bring/wear appropriate clothing and shoes. If your student(s) ride the bus and cannot make it back to school, you will still have chances to practice at the following practices. Physicals, medical emergency plans, and concussion forms must be on file to participate.

*REMINDER* Middle School football practice will start Tuesday (8/25) at 3:30 pm and end at 5:00 pm for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. No practice on Friday. Please be sure to have your physical, medical emergency plan, and concussion awareness paperwork completed. You will need this to start practice!

Preschool parents: Preschool students' first day is Monday, August 31st. Preschoolers attend school full days Monday-Thursday. Preschoolers who are remote learning will begin on September 8th.

We are looking forward to seeing our students return next Monday! A couple updates for all. 1. Students who are returning to campus this fall will start classes Monday, August 24th. 2. Students who are using the continuous learning platform (online) will start classes August 31st. Your teacher will be in contact with you by the end of the day August 24th to set up a meeting. That meeting will include how to login, times you will need to log in, how assignments will work and other questions you may have. We will also be creating a form for students to request meals when they are using the continuous learning platform. 3. A few new tabs were added to the return to learn document that was shared earlier this month. The new tabs are guidance from Public Health and well as a Q&A section that includes information related to when student might be sent home for illness and how quarantine works as examples. To find the Return to Learn Plan go to the district website and click on menu. You will find the plan under the Our District heading. 4. One change from the information released previously. We will not be able to separate the in-town shuttles from the country routes. This would have had kids who live in the country arriving home considerably later. Instead we will pick up students as we have in past years. In-town shuttle riders will be asked to ride the same bus for the year. Kudos to staff for all their efforts and preparation! Also, thank you to parents for your patience as we work through this unprecedented situation! Have a great weekend!

CONGRATULATIONS to all of West Monona coaches, sponsors and student-athletes! The ISSAA has announced that West Monona is one of only 215 schools in the state of Iowa that had no student-athlete or coaches ejected during the 2019-2020 school year!! From everyone at WM, thank you coaches and student-athletes for demonstrating integrity, respect, and sportsmanship. This is the SPARTAN WAY!

This is a reminder that online MS/HS students can pick their computers up this morning from 8:00 - Noon. All other students will get their computers on Monday when they come to school. Contact Tm Chesnut with questions.

Elementary Back to School Night is scheduled for tonight! This will be an opportunity for families to drive up, drop off supplies, and say “hello!” We want all parents and students to have a chance to drop off their backpacks before the first day and give the parents a chance to meet their child’s teacher. Each grade level will be assigned a specific door and time frame to arrive at the school. Parents and students will stop at their grade level door where the grade level teachers will greet you. Then the teachers will take your backpack and supplies in the building to put them in your child’s cubby, locker, or on their hook. Please remain in your vehicle and the teachers will come to you. Here are the drop off times and door assignments. Preschool (PK/east doors), 1st (circle drive), and 3rd(west doors) from 5:00-5:45. Kindergarten (bus zone/east side doors), 2nd (circle drive), 4th & 5th (northwest doors) from 6:00-6:45.

I'm posting as a reminder that we have an athletic coach and activity sponsor meeting in the auditorium at 10:00 this morning. Thanks.

Elementary: If you have library books or take home book bags with books from last year, please drop them off with your child's school supplies at back to school night tomorrow.

School Computers - High School: If you are a high school student who will take part with learning inside the school you will pick your computer up on Monday, August 24 in the morning. If you are a high school or middle school student who has registered for school, returned the online selection form, and plan on taking courses with continuous learning online--- You may get your computer on Friday, August 21 from 8-noon in Mr. Lyon's office. Bring your masks. For a look at the first week schedule for MS & HS please click the link below. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SnwsgZqIVjP-66y3FwU8rbawjQxGy9Xp/view?usp=sharing

To clarify any confusion, whether you are choosing in school learning or online learning, please note that ALL students must legally be registered for school. Students who are not registered will be considered truant. If you have not done so already, please log on to the JMC parent portal to get your student(s) registered for the 2020-21 school year.

Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, & 5th from 6:00-6:45. Kindergarten parents will park in the bus zone(east side). 2nd Grade parents will park in the circle drive/main entrance. 4th/5th Grade parents will park at the 5th grade door(northwest).

Preschool, 1st, and 3rd from 5:00-5:45. PK parents will park at the Preschool doors(east side). 1st grade parents will park in the circle drive/main entrance. 3rd grade parents will park at the west doors(north of circle drive).

On Thursday, August 20th, the elementary will be having a non-traditional back to school night! We would love to see our students for a quick supply drop off. This will be an opportunity for families to drive up, drop off, and say “hello!” We want all parents and students to have a chance to drop off their backpacks before the first day and give the parents a chance to meet their child’s teacher. It will be similar to the way we did supply pick up in the spring. Each grade level will be assigned a specific door and time frame to arrive at the school. Parents and students will stop at their grade level door where the grade level teachers will greet you in the vehicle. Then the teachers will take your backpack and supplies in the building to put them in your child’s cubby, locker, or on their hook. Their supplies will be waiting for them when they arrive on Monday! Here are the drop off times and door assignments:

Football season is quickly approaching! Attached are the updated Varsity, JV, and MS football schedules. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Green/White scrimmage on August 15th at 6:00 pm.

Congratulations to West Monona Softball on having three players named to the all-state team: Lexi Lander - 1st Team, Megan Nichols - 2nd Team, and Mallory McCall - 3rd team.

If you have not yet registered your student(s) for school, please be reminded that all students must be registered by August 21st. You simply need to log on to your JMC parent portal, and your homepage will easily direct you through the online registration process. You will need to use a laptop or desktop computer. If you choose to apply for Free/Reduced lunches, there is a link on the registration dashboard that will take you directly to the online application. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call any of the school buildings.

Tomorrow (Monday, August 10th) is the first official day of high school football. Anyone that would like to play should be in Coach Potter's classroom by 4 pm tomorrow. Any high schooler that wants to play is invited to be on the TEAM. GO SPARTANS!!! Please contact Coach Drew Potter with questions at drew.potter@westmonona.org

West Monona is in need of a long-term sub from Aug 24 - October 17, 2020 in Middle School/Elementary Art. Candidates must be licensed as a substitute teacher in Iowa. Interested candidates can apply at 1314 15th Street, Onawa, IA. Please contact me at tim.chesnut@westmonona.org or 712-433-2453 with any questions you have. Thanks.

Outside groups are not allowed by law to bring food in the school to sell or donate during the COVID Pandemic. Therefore, we will not be having any tailgates at football games this year. Iowa Law-- Concession stands at a sporting, social, community, leisure, or recreational gathering or event, including but not limited to a parade, festival, convention, or fundraiser, must follow the Guidance for Iowa Concession Stands, Temporary Food Events, and Farmers Markets During COVID-19. Concession stands that are located on school property are not allowed to operate at this time. This includes concessions operated by an entity which independently holds a food establishment license separate from the school’s food license (e.g., a school booster organization or other independent contractor). This also includes concession stands licensed as Temporary Food Establishments and Mobile Food Units providing concessions. tim.chesnut@westmonona.org