Just a Reminder- There will be no school on Monday, September 7th in observance of Labor Day! Enjoy your weekend!
We are now reporting our internal COVID data at least weekly to the public. You can find the link here: http://bit.ly/vandalscovid
Stay safe and enjoy the Labor Day weekend!
Parents/Guardians/Students,
Good day everyone! We wanted to reach out to the families of our students to thank you for your support and efforts of your child's education. Parents, students, teachers, administrators, and support staff are all learning day by day about this new educational format and how to best serve our students. Parental involvement has always been an important component in student learning and growth. Right now, more than ever, we need to work together as a school and community to give our students the best education they can have in these challenging times. Please have daily conversations with your child about their learning and their school work that needs to be completed and submitted on remote days. As a reminder, students are accountable for all classwork completion and their grades will reflect their progress. Have them explain to you, as parents, Google classroom and what they are doing in these platforms. We understand it is hard for parents to know what all is going on in Google classroom because none of us learned the way the students are learning today.
Every day that is on the school calendar is a school day whether or not the student is in attendance. Students are expected to participate in learning activities on these remote days. Yes, that means on Fridays too, which is a remote learning day for all students. If you have any questions, please contact the junior high at 283-5151.
Respectfully,
Brian Kern, Principal
Good news this evening to share! The USDA announced yesterday that the free meal program has been extended until December 31st. We are able to provide free meals to all students effective immediately.
We are currently having phone bandwidth issues. I am working on this issue, so sorry for the inconvenience this morning.
We will move forward with our hybrid learning model next week based on our updated metrics that I shared yesterday. This is being sent out in response to Fayette County hitting the COVID Warning level today. Thank you for your patience and understanding this week.
Informational update- Our COVID-19 Mitigation Metrics have been updated to reflect the new IDPH COVID-19 County & School Metrics released this week.
JH Softball at Home vs Ramsey has been moved to Friday 8/28 @ 4:30pm
JH Baseball at Home vs Effingham has been moved to Wednesday 8/26 @ 4:30pm
All Tuesday events remain as scheduled at this time.
Please complete the meal request form for Monday and Tuesday before 8:00 a.m on 8-24 if you want to order meals. https://forms.gle/fxqg28rFe9qg3hbc9
Details:
Two meals will be available for pick-up on both Monday and Tuesday during our adaptive pause Remote Learning Days.
Times: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Outside VES/VJHS, VCHS, the old post office in Hagarstown, the church at Vera, old water tower in Shobonier, and the storage shed in Bluff City.
Wednesday hybrid remote learners will receive their meals for Wednesday during the Tuesday distribution.
We are doing our best to honor in-person learning while being mindful we must have a safe learning environment for all who walk through our doors. My hope & request is that we can find a way to be respectful regardless of opinions. In my heart I know we are #VandalStrong.
Good morning Vandals. I am attaching our COVID-19 Mitigation Metrics as a means for transparency. We are contact tracing within our staff currently. Please see the bold section which is from the most recent IDPH guidance.
Dear Parents and Guardians. Please read the attached letter. We will be Remote Learning for all on Monday and Tuesday. More information will follow.
Good evening Vandal fans! We know and understand the wide range of opinions about wearing masks. However, we need to come together to give our kids the opportunity to continue playing this fall. Below is an email we received from the IESA in regards to spectators and participants wearing a mask during contests. We are asking to please abide by these expectations.
To All IESA Member Schools:
We have received numerous calls and emails about the wearing of face coverings by players, coaches, and spectators. To alleviate many of these calls and to help you answer the questions you are receiving, please refer to the document we have put together. Hopefully, this will assist all of us regarding the questions surrounding the wearing of face coverings.
Unfortunately, we are receiving many reports of players, coaches, and particularly parents and spectators who are not following the face covering mandates. We are also receiving reports of schools who are doing a good job of abiding by the face covering mandates. But, the number of those who are not following the mandates exceeds the good reports. I have said this before, and I think it bears repeating especially to those who question the wearing of face coverings at outdoor events. If we want our student-athletes to have the privilege of participating in education-based sports and the benefits provided by doing so, we ALL have to be accountable for following the mandates and requirements. If we do not, we may not have any choice but to shut things down.
Here is the face covering document :
https://www.iesa.org/temp/IESAFaceCoverings.pdf
VCUSD 203 We Have Started School!
Vandalia Schools have ventured into the new school year successfully. Many things have changed due to COVID-19. Our schools have to adhere to recommendations of Illinois State Board of Education, IDPH, and balance these with Fayette County Health Dept., and the needs of the 1700 students and faculty we serve. This is a challenging time for both school and community. The criteria for attending school and staying in school are posted on the school website and may also be viewed on the school app. The basic criteria to remember is to wear a mask, social distance, and stay home if you're sick. More info is available on the School website. The purpose of the criteria is keeping our schools healthy and safe. Politics and personal opinion have been set aside to get our schools open.
The Board of Education thanks Administrators, School Nurses, Teachers, Bus Drivers, Food Service, maintenance, custodial and all other staff for working together to get our schools started. We appreciate all you are doing. Success in education comes from all our team working together in concert for the good of students.
Success in our schools is also a partnership with parents and community. We are not perfect and take input seriously. We ask the input given will be in a kind manner- speak as you wish to be spoken to. Take an opportunity for positive comments when appropriate. Encourage your children and those in your sphere of influence to work together for the best school outcome possible. Unity is the strength of our community. Let’s keep working together. Thankfully your Vandalia School Board.
Joe Lawson, Joe Schaal, John Campbell, Connie Goldsmith, Ryan Lewis, Adam Braun, Kevin Satterthwite
Parents/Guardians,
Please be sure to monitor that your child's use of the district provided device is used for school related/educationally based content only. Each device has a content filter that triggers "red flags" to staff at VCUSD #203 to be aware of inappropriate content being searched. If we feel that there is an issue regarding what your child may be searching/watching we will be in contact to determine if there was a violation of our technology policies.
Please contact your building administrator with any questions.
VJHS Baseball at Greenville has been CANCELLED for tomorrow, Friday, August 21st.
VJHS Softball vs Ramsey has been cancelled for today, Monday, August 17th.
All Junior High School Parents have to fill out this semesters home lunch form, by August 21st. These lunches will be for the week days when the student/s are learning at home. Students lunches are normal charge.
E-learning only:
https://forms.gle/H4sKdLreLXpCqps18
Group A (Monday/ Wednesday): https://forms.gle/yet2pytYULizZchg7
Group B (Tuesday/Thursday):
https://forms.gle/chqGQibMXgpmhhYo8
Just A Reminder if you are an All-In Remote Learner: Chromebook Pick up for Grades K-8 is from 5:30-7:30pm tonight, August 13th under the canopy between VES and VJHS. Please Enter from VETERANS Avenue.
There will be an informational meeting if you are interested in the VES cafeteria. Grades K-3 will be from 6:00-7:00 and grades 4-5 will be from 7:00-8:00 on August 13. Mrs. Philpot, Mrs. Mesnard, and Mr. Holliday will be there to answer your questions and pass out general information about the program.
VCHS All-In Remote Learners can pick up their materials and Chromebooks between 9am - 3pm tomorrow, August 14th in the VCHS office.
You must wear a mask when entering our buildings.