Greetings,
We have recently been placed into a Winter Storm Warning. With the timing of the warning, I don’t believe that a district wide early release would be of much benefit by the time we could get busses here, loaded, etc. and this would also put parents in a significant time crunch to make daycare arrangements. We are going to make some accommodations due to the weather though:
1). High school students will be released today at 2:50 p.m. This will allow the high school to begin 8th-period and get any materials that they may need before dismissal. This will also allow our high schoolers that drive to get on the road before our busses start to enter the premises and parents begin to show up for student pickups. If a high schooler rides a school bus home, they will be able to stay until loading time for the busses. Some of our high schoolers drive siblings home and in these events: parents if you wish for your jk-8 child to be released earlier so they can ride home with a sibling please contact the appropriate office (Joni Bunde 446-3538 ext. 100 for jk-4th-grade; or Dana Sundal for grades 5-8 at 446-3538 ext. 400).
2). There will be no after school activities today.
3). In order to get our busses home as soon as possible today, some routes will not have bus monitors so as to not have to take extra time to drop off the monitors at the conclusion of the route.
Respectfully,
Dr. Mike Lodmel, Superintendent
The board agenda for Monday's meeting can be found at: https://www.tri-valley.k12.sd.us/browse/156880 On Monday, the school board will decide whether or not to open up our facilities to outside groups and organizations. This includes youth sports practices.
Tri-Valley will travel to SF Christian tonight for a Region 3A Semifinal match starting at 7:00pm. SF Christian is allowing all fans to attend; the only stipulation is all spectators MUST wear masks. The game is also livestreamed on SF Christian's website. (www.siouxfallschristian.org). It is a YouTube link, so shouldn't have any issues with subscriptions this time. My deepest apologies for the error on Tuesday's stream.
Go Mustangs!!
Good morning,
Last night, the Region VB brackets were finalized. Tri-Valley will be hosting West Central on Tuesday, November 3rd at 7:00pm. This will only be one varsity game and the winner will advance to the second round of the region tournament to be played at SF Christian on Thursday, November 5th.
With active cases increasing in our district, we will only be allowing two spectators per varsity volleyball player to attend the game on Tuesday at Tri-Valley. Varsity players will give their two names to the head coach and the compiled list will be at the Activities Entrance. For post-season play, all spectators must pay admittance per SDHSAA guidelines - Adults $6.00 and Students $4.00.
The game will be live-streamed for free at:
https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/trivalley-high-school-colton-sd
If you have any questions, please email me at eric.smart@k12.sd.us
Thank you.
Over the past month, we have received numerous questions regarding the "school lunch grant" (free meals) that has been published in many media stories. There's two different avenues for the free lunches that get somewhat intertwined. The first is if you believe your family would qualify for free and reduced lunches based upon household income that can be easily investigated. There is a form to fill out that pretty much lets you know if you qualify. You would need to contact our business manager, Brian Anderson (446-3538 ext. 408) and he can guide you through that process.
Secondly, many districts are able to offer free lunches to all students under the grant from the state because their free and reduced lunch numbers (explained above) are higher than they were a year ago. The rationale being that Covid-19 probably caused a lot of people out of work and then their household income went down and thus they now qualify for free and/or reduced lunches and wouldn't have before. In Tri-Valley, we didn't receive an "uptick" in free and reduced lunch households in August and September so we hadn't been able to receive the grant, unlike some other area schools. Just recently, our free and reduced lunch numbers have increased so we completed the grant process and have waited to hear back on its approval.
I am pleased to announce that today we were informed that we have been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide free breakfast and lunch meals to all our students under the Seamless Summer program. Our approval runs from October 1st until December 31 or until the USDA funding runs out (whichever comes first). We will begin the process of crediting back any meals that have been purchased since October 1st. If your student wishes to purchase extra entrees, milk, or other food items, it will be charged to their account. Likewise, if your student purchased extra entrees, milk, or other food items, those items will not be credited back to the account. The regular cost of meals will resume in January.
Respectfully,
Dr. Mike Lodmel, Superintendent
Tri-Valley is in need of a bus monitor and substitute bus monitors. They pay is $25 per route. Interested individuals should contact Sherry Roth at 605-366-8777.
The board agenda for Monday's meeting has been posted to the Tri-Valley website: https://www.tri-valley.k12.sd.us/browse/156880
Good Evening,
At the school board meeting this evening, the administrative recommendation did not pass. The school board passed a motion that stated “Close contacts can remain in school for the 14-day quarantine period as long as extra mitigation efforts are made (wear a mask).” What this means essentially, is if your child is a close contact, they can remain in school as long as they exhibit no symptoms and wear a mask. Unlike the administrative recommendation, mask usage is not a requirement at the time of exposure; just for the 14-day “quarantine” period.
The board also made a clarifying motion that will continue to require students to wear a mask on school busses.
Respectfully,
Dr. Mike Lodmel, Superintendent
Tri-Valley will be having a special board meeting on Tuesday, October 6th for the purpose of potentially changing close contact definitions and quarantining procedures. The agenda can be found at: https://www.tri-valley.k12.sd.us/browse/156880
Tonight the high school varsity volleyball team is traveling to Kimball to play a varsity only match at 6:00pm. Here is the link to the livestream:
https://youtu.be/VcAu2QKsarE
Good Luck Mustangs!
Tri-Valley will be having a special board meeting on Wednesday, September 30th at noon. The purpose of the meeting is for executive session for personnel matters. The agenda can be found at: https://www.tri-valley.k12.sd.us/browse/156880
Tri-Valley is seeking applicants for an educational assistant (teacher's aide) and bus monitor. Interested applicants should apply online at: https://trivalley.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx
Monday, September 21st
Activities as scheduled. No changes.
Tuesday, September 22nd
MSVB @ Canton 3:30 (changed from 4:00)
7th @ Elementary (724 N Sanborn Canton, SD 57013)
8th @ High School (800 N Main Canton, SD 57013)
HSVB @ Canton 5:00
*4 passes per rostered player
**MASKS ARE REQUIRED IN CANTON SCHOOL FACILITIES**
MSFB vs. West Central has been moved to Thursday, September 24th
Wednesday, September 23rd
Activities as scheduled. No changes.
Thursday, September 24th
MSFB vs. West Central 4:30 (changed from 4:00)
7th followed by 8th
MSVB vs. Lennox
7th – MS Gym
8th – HS Gym
HSVB @ Madison 5:00
*10/passes per rostered individual allowed
**MASKS ARE REQUIRED IN MADISON SCHOOL FACILITIES**
Friday, September 25th
HSFB @ Dell Rapids 7:00
*4 passes per rostered individual allowed
**7-12 Students MUST present School ID for admission, but do not need a player pass (Lunch Card will work)
**MASKS ARE REQUIRED IN STUDENT SECTION**
The school board will be having a special meeting on Tuesday, September 22nd at 2 p.m. The meeting will be held by teleconference (Zoom). Anyone can call into the meeting to listen or can also attend in-person to listen in the McAreavey Board Room. (I don’t believe any board members will be attending “in-person.”) The purpose of the meeting is for two items that were on the September 14th agenda - Consider easement for Dianne Street and 9. Consider approval for surcharging Early Learning Center footprint. Neither of these items received any public comment on the 14th, but if any individual(s) wish to speak to either of the agenda items, please contact me so we can unmute your line at the appropriate time (if calling into the meeting). Or, if attending in person you can speak at that time as well. The agenda for the special meeting and call-in instructions can be viewed from the school website at: https://www.tri-valley.k12.sd.us/browse/156880
The September 14th, 2020, school board meeting can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/6PUiD8NFlNw
At tonight's board meeting, there was a motion and and second to continue with the Tri-Valley return to learn plan and verified close contacts being required to quarantine for 14 days. The motion passed. This means any individuals currently on quarantine will remain on quarantine.
Respectfully,
Dr. Mike Lodmel, Superintendent
The agenda for Monday's board meeting has been posted to the Tri-Valley website: https://www.tri-valley.k12.sd.us/browse/156880
Tri-Valley School is currently experiencing phone issues. If you need to get a hold of the school, please email your child’s teacher or secretary. For attendance, Jr K-4 please email Joni.Bunde@k12.sd.us, grades 5-8 email Dana.Sundal@k12.sd.us, and grades 9-12 email Christy.Oberg@k12.sd.us. Sorry for the inconvenience.
For HSVB @ Vermillion on Thursday, September 10th, masks are REQUIRED for all spectators in attendance. All 10 passes per player will be accepted. Thank you.
Coronation for Homecoming 2020 schedule for tonight has been moved inside to the High School Gym! The live stream of the event starting at 7:00 p.m. can be found at https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/trivalley-high-school-colton-sd/evt7a8f75f524.