Tri-Valley School District

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.

Good Afternoon, This message is to keep our students, parents, and fans informed of our football game situation for next week. Our Tri-Valley varsity football team was scheduled to play Pine Ridge next week, September 4th. Pine Ridge has decided not to play varsity football this year. Since we received that information, we have been working to schedule another game for our football team. We have pursued teams from both the local area and as far away as Hot Springs. So far, we have been unsuccessful in finding any teams that have an open date for next week that are willing and/or able to play. If another (11-man) team should have to cancel their game for next week, we will do what we can to schedule their opponent. But, as of right now there is no game for the Mustangs football team on September 4th. Have a great weekend.

Good Afternoon, 1. We will be accepting player passes #1 through #10 this week for Tri-Valley high school activities. A reminder that only those individuals that have a player pass as well as current Tri-Valley high school students will be allowed into high school activities. Tickets/activity passes will still need to be used in conjunction with the player pass. (There is still a cost to get into the activities.) 2. It is our intent to have all Tri-Valley varsity volleyball and varsity football games webcast through the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) this fall. Please visit the NFHS site @ www.nfhsnetwork.com Once you arrive at the NFHS website, create a username/password to be used when you log in to watch games. After creating an account, search Tri-Valley School, Colton, SD for events that will be broadcast throughout the year. There are no charges associated with creating an account or watching Tri-Valley athletics online this year. 3. A reminder that school pictures are Wednesday, August 26th. Respectfully, Dr. Mike Lodmel, Superintendent

Good Afternoon,       The following video is under 5 minutes in length and covers the following frequently asked questions as well as some quick reminders:       1. First day of school    2.  Friday, August 21st     3. Online materials pickup   4. Junior High Athletics   5. Spectators for high school   6. Watching activities online https://www.loom.com/share/8a9bb3c55fc1448885434a95c68583cd       Respectfully,        Dr. Mike Lodmel, Superintendent 

A recording of the board meeting held Monday night has been posted to the Tri-Valley Facebook page. Some of the audio is difficult to hear, as our volunteer video recorder is still working out some of the kinks.