Dear Joseph staff, students and community members,

We have been notified that students in our school have tested positive for COVID-19. Students and staff that are following the masking and social distancing requirements are not included in the close contact list. Any person who has been identified as a close contact will be notified and will need to quarantine. If you have not been contacted, your child does not need to quarantine at this time. We will resume in person, on campus learning Monday, August 30th. As a reminder, please monitor your child(ren) and have them stay home if they are sick or beginning to feel sick.

Lance Homan

Dear Joseph staff, students and community members,

We have been notified that students in our school have tested positive for COVID-19. Students and staff that are following the masking and social distancing requirements are not included in the close contact list. Any person who has been identified as a close contact will be notified and will need to quarantine. If you have not been contacted, your child does not need to quarantine at this time. We will resume in person, on campus learning Monday, August 30th. As a reminder, please monitor your child(ren) and have them stay home if they are sick or beginning to feel sick.

Lance Homan

BOARD MEETING AGENDA 8/23/21

Dear Parents, Students, Staff, and Community,

Parents are asking about back to school night and at this time the only classes that will have any sort of back to school nights are 7th graders and 9th graders. Grades K-6, 8, 10-12 will not have a back to school night, we apologize. The 7th grade back to school night will be Tuesday, August 24th at 5:30 and 9th graders at 6:30 pm and they will be held outside on the football field.

Many questions have come our way in terms of the mandate for wearing masks in our school buildings. As a community we have talked extensively about the mandate and the threats of penalties that continue to grow. We have also talked about the threats of discipline and loss of licensure for all of our teachers and administrators which also continue to get louder. We have no choice but to follow the mandate for the health and safety of our school community.

Whether we agree or not as individuals with the mask mandate, we must follow it. Our local health providers see a tremendous increase in local COVID-19 cases, and our local hospital is beyond capacity at this time. There are limited hospitals in Oregon, Washington, or Idaho to send patients to who need more intensive care. As a community we need to support our local medical community. We need to do whatever it takes to ensure the health and safety of our local community.

Bottom line, we want to stay open! We want to focus on student learning. Masks are required inside of our school buildings, with the exception of breakfast, lunch, and snack/water breaks. We will move learning outdoors as much as possible. We will ensure mask breaks are provided.

The mandate stated that Oregon schools cannot serve a student in-person if they or their family choose not to wear a face covering. Schools may offer a remote or an online school option for the student who chooses not to wear a face covering. We are offering a partnership between Joseph School District and Baker Web Academy. I have attached a flier to this communication. Participation in this online option requires a minimum of a full semester commitment for enrollment. If you or your child will be choosing to not wear a face covering this school year, and are interested in an online option, please contact the superintendent's office by phone 541-432-7311 or email lance.homan@staff.josephcharter.org.

Our best tool for addressing mask use is education. We will not punish or discipline students. As a district our education will include messages on our morning announcements, messages shared by our teachers, and signage/posters throughout the building. Students will not be sent to the principal or superintendent for mask refusal, but will be privately reminded of the mandate by staff. Staff and administrators will speak with the students in a respectful and empathetic tone. If after education and a conference with the staff person, a student refuses to wear a mask in the classroom, teachers will notify administration. Administration will talk privately with the student and call the parent to discuss and ask for support in following the requirement. We will talk about online learning opportunities available. After the education and conferences, if the student continues to not wear a mask, we will enroll them in an online program for the semester.

Some positive news about wearing masks in classrooms is related to quarantine for COVID-19 exposure. According to the most recent communications, students who wear their masks in the classrooms will not have to automatically quarantine for 14 days if they are exposed in the classroom. They will not have to miss school. The same goes for individuals vaccinated. This year is on track for regular sports seasons, complete with playoffs! Our activities are also on track for full participation!

Our Joseph School District vision, to increase student achievement, compels us to continually look at student learning and progress. Quality teaching and learning involves teacher clarity, ongoing assessment, classroom dialogue on learning, small group learning, targeted intervention, responsive teaching, active engagement and so much more. Hundreds of thousands of recent studies with well over 300 million students have guided what happens in our classrooms. Teachers choose practices that yield the highest level of results and impact learning and growth for students. This same recent research is showing that in comparison, distance learning, online programs, and homeschooling have much less of an impact on student learning and growth. Our classrooms are all set for incredible learning, with new options for CTE, our medical pathways, and internships for high school students! We are ready for an amazing 2021-22 school year! Please help us meet this requirement and keep our schools open.

The Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority have schedules for reviewing the decision frequently. At a minimum right now, I am involved in a couple meetings a day regarding the requirements and response to the requirements. I am hopeful that local decision making will be returned to local districts and communities. Our focus must be on student learning! I continue to believe that we can provide the safest learning environment using our data to assess the danger of COVID-19 in our district and mitigate the impact in our schools. My position and the boards' position is to stand for local control of decisions impacting the health of our students. Please know that we hear you and we stand with you. We will continue to advocate actively for local decision making and hope that you will join us in our advocacy.

The past few weeks have seen us focusing on everchanging state requirements instead of fostering relationships with our students and community. We are excited to welcome back our students, and look forward to the many positive experiences we will share through the year.

Help us keep our schools open! Thank you for partnering with us to provide a positive learning experience for our students. As always if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call, email, or stop in.

Things are ever changing and we will update as needed.

Respectfully,

Lance Homan

RE-OPENING PLAN

BAKER WEB ACADEMY

MESSAGE FROM DR. POWERS AND COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS

CLICK HERE FOR REGISTRATION FORM

Hello - I just want to give an update on our online option. We will not be offering a Pearson online option this year, however, I am meeting with Baker Web Academy tomorrow to hopefully finalize a contract with them that will allow our Joseph students to register with them, but still be counted as Joseph students. This allows the district to keep the ADM for each student that registers with Baker Web Academy and it also allows each student online to continue to play sports for us if they choose.

More to come tomorrow afternoon.

Thank You,

Lance

Dear Staff, Students, Families, and Community,

The Joseph School District has been working on our plan for the 2021-2022 school year when Governor Brown announced she was directing OHA and ODE to create rules requiring masks for all K-12 schools. I just wanted to write a short note to say that we, the board and administration, do not support this move and will strive to keep our local control. I believe we can provide the safest learning environment using our data to assess the danger of COVID in our district. My position and the board’s position is to stand for local control of decisions impacting the health of our students. We will continue to advocate for local control and I hope that you will reinforce our advocacy by making contact with your representatives and state officials. We will be having a board meeting on Monday, August 9^th at 5:30 PM in the Joseph Charter School library (unless something changes, but we will keep you posted). We fully expect to have many concerned members from our community attend. Know that we will have a time slot at the beginning of the meeting for public comment, limiting each person to 3 min. You may also send me your input prior to the meeting and I can distribute your input to the board.

Respectfully,

Lance Homan

Bobby Levy - Representative

rep.BobbyLevy@oregonlegislature.gov

503-986-1458

Bill Hansell - Senator

Sen.BillHansell@oregonlegislature.gov

503-986-1729

Colt Gill-Oregon Department of Education

colt.gill@state.or.us

503-947-5652

Pat Allen – Oregon Health Authority

Patrick.Allen@state.or.us

503-945-6777

Oregon OSHA Enforcement Information:

enforce.web@oregon.gov

503-378-3272

Toll free: 800-922-2689 (inside Oregon only)

Governor Brown

Contact Form:

https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx

503-378-4582

Office of the Governor

900 Court Street, Suite 254

Salem, OR 97301-4047

Joseph School District #6

Secretary/Administrative Assistant

Date Open: June 28, 2021

Closing: Open until filled

DISTRICT POSITION INFORMATION

• Joseph School District is currently seeking a candidate for the full-time position of Secretary/Administrative Assistant.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform general office duties including answering multi-line phones, directing calls and taking messages as appropriate, sending and distributing faxes, greeting and directing the public, handling requests, sorting and handling incoming and outgoing mail, including bulk.

• Greet and provide assistance to parents, students, patrons and staff in the main entry positively and direct as appropriate.

• Maintain front office environment (i.e. organization and office plants); Keep staff common areas presentable, organized and sanitized including staff break room.

• Track daily attendance for students and calling home if someone is absent.

• Arrange for subs for certified and classified staff.

• Assist athletic director occasionally.

• Responsible for opening and closing the District Office (closing and locking doors and turning off lights).

• Set up meeting spaces

• Track, order, organize and stock all office and breakroom supplies (i.e. printers, copiers, and fax machines in the front office).

• Assist with office machinery (copy, fax, shredder, staplers, etc.) as needed.

• Reconcile monthly postage.

• Assist with updating data in Synergy (i.e. address and phone numbers of parents, students, and staff). • Compile information for registration communication and staff directory.

• Maintain forms/files for district use. Update and replenish as necessary.

• Process and maintain volunteer list (Criminal History) and Senate Bill 155 information; prepare letters to volunteers as needed regarding their criminal history.

• Regular attendance is essential to this position. If an absence is anticipated, it is this position’s responsibility to coordinate a substitute in advance and provide training as needed.

• Maintain confidentiality in all areas.

• Perform other duties as requested by the Superintendent or Designee.

MISCELLANEOUS GENERAL DUTIES

• Keep track of supply inventories, assist with the orders, and stocks supplies.

• Willing to help with other tasks when possible.

• Report issues to authorities as necessary, animal control, suspicious activity, etc.

• Reports safety, sanitary and fire hazards immediately to teacher/principal/supervisor.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Must be able to multi-task efficiently.

• Must have a working knowledge of computers and office equipment; computer and typing proficiency; ability to work with Excel, Google Docs, Word, and create graphs and charts.

• Must be able to work independently as well as with employees and/or administrators in a positive, productive manner.

• Ability to exercise good judgment and work in an environment with constant interruptions.

EDUCATION

• High school diploma or equivalent and at least six months related experience in typing, general clerical and/or training or equivalent combination of education and experience.

HOURLY RATE

• $15.00 and up per hour dependent upon direct experience.

APPLICATION MATERIALS

• Applicant can find an application on our website at https://www.staff.josephcharter.org/ or you can call Lance Homan at 541-432-7311 for an application. If you have any questions, please call Lance Homan at 541-432-7311 or email at lance.homan@staff.josephcharter.org, please leave a detailed message if no one answers and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

• Resume

• At least 3 letters of recommendations

CLOSING DATE

• Open Until Filled.

Joseph School District #6 is an equal opportunity educator and employer and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, age, veterans’ status, familial status, genetic information, disability, culture and/or financial status.

APPLICATION

We are looking for someone who has a passion for Aviation and a desire to continue moving our aviation program forward. The job would entail three periods of aviation (junior high, high school beginning aviation, and high school advanced aviation). The Joseph School District has a very strong connection with our local flight club. This person would be a part of the local flight club and a liaison to our community. There is tremendous community support for this program. The program is located in our new Aviation building which includes a Flight Bird full size simulator that moves on three axis points, computer simulators, drones, gliders, two planes that are being constructed, as well as the AOPA curriculum. Aviation is only 3 periods, so we are looking for someone that can offer courses in the tech field, or second language, or a multitude of CTE potential courses.

The Joseph School District is located in beautiful Northeastern Oregon. We have 275 students K-12 with our high school population around 75 students. Classes are offered four days a week, small class sizes, 169.5 contract days, the district pays the employee's portion of PERS, coaching opportunities, and a competitive salary based on experience. Please email Lance Homan - Superintendent at lance.homan@staff.josephcharter.org or call at 541-432-7311 for more information. Information will posted on our website (https://www.staff.josephcharter.org/) by Monday, June 21st, 2021. Open until filled.

Application Requirements

The applicant must submit the following items online through Recruit & Hire Online Application Form

• Cover Letter

• Professional Resume

• Letters of Recommendation (3 required)

• Complete all required steps of application form

The cover letter must include interest in the position as well as current licensure status information. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure their application is complete. Only complete applications will be considered. Successful candidate will be subject to pre-employment drug screening and criminal background checks.

The Joseph School District prohibits discrimination and harassment on any basis protected by law, including but not limited to, an individual’s perceived or actual race, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, mental or physical disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, familial status, economic status, veterans’ status, or genetic information in providing education or access to benefits of education services, activities, and programs in accordance with Titles IV and VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and other civil rights or discrimination issues; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008; and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.

APPLICATION

May 26^th, 2021

Dear Parents,

Hello, Joseph Charter School is happy to let everyone know that we will be offering a summer academic and enrichment program for all students currently in grades K-8. The schedule is a little tough to read as when I printed them off they looked different than what is on my screen, so I apologize, but I can answer any questions at lance.homan@staff.josephcharter.org or at 541-432-7311. We will begin Monday, June 21^st, 2021 with enrichment only with Mr. Fulfer and Ms. Melissa in charge. Enrichment activities will include, but not limited to: physical activities, science projects, nature walks, Wallowalogy, the Josephy Center, chess, checkers, other academic projects, art, and maybe a little music. Beginning July 19^th, we will add academics to our enrichment activities for current grades K-6^th, working with students on what they need academically. Both academic activities and enrichment activities are two hours in length. So beginning July 19^th, if you have 1^st grader let’s say, your student would have academics from 8-10 am and then enrichment and lunch from 10-12 PM.

We truly feel this is a great opportunity for all students, so we want to do what we can to get your children here. We will provide transportation for your child (ren) wherever they may be (to a point). This may be a little challenging, but we will do our best. The bottom line is we want everyone to take advantage of this opportunity that would like to.

If your student is here around noon, we will provide lunches as well. We will also provide snacks throughout the academics and enrichment times. We want to make sure kids have what they need to be successful.

I know this is a lot of information and lots to process, but we would love to see your children here if at all possible. We also understand that summer plans are not fully in place for every family, and we understand that plans change as well. We just want to get a head count so we can plan accordingly for transportation, food, and teacher time.

Respectfully,

Lance Homan

SUMMER ENRICHMENT SURVEY

SUMMER ENRICHMENT SCHEDULE

The following letter has been mailed out and you should be receiving it in the mail. There is also a page to sign and return to Mrs. Kilgore. Please check your mail boxes!

June 1, 2021

Dear 8^th Grade Families:

Can you believe that your student is going to be in High School next year? We are looking forward to having this class as part of our HS student body next fall and wish them the best experience that high school has to offer. Promotion is Tuesday, June 15^th @ 7:00 where your student will be awarded a Promotion Medallion and “diploma.”

The class motto is: “Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh”

The class symbol is: Ronald McDonald

The class colors are: Space Age (neon pink/blue)

The 8^th graders’ last day of school will be Tuesday the 15^th as well and they will “check out” at the end of the day then have time to set up and decorate for Promotion. Here is what your student signed up for. (And in some cases what they signed you up for)!

Invitations: Dylan & Jayden

Decorating: Cole, Juan, Gain, Mathew, Kellen, & Jett

Cupcake/Punch: Logan, Aidan, Lucas, Basey, & Laila

Presentation: Savannah, & Addie

The invitation committee will be making invitations for all of the classmates so you can mail or give invites to the guests of your choice. These will be completed ASAP.

Charity Ketscher will be taking pictures the night of Promotion beginning at 5:30. She will take group and individual pictures. If your student wants to purchase pictures please count on that extra expense.

Dress: In the past this has been a semi-formal affair. Girls wore dresses or slacks and boys wore nice pants and a dress shirt (ties would be great but not required). NO jeans or shorts. Please don’t feel like you need to purchase new clothes. There are many teachers, students, neighbors, friends, etc. to borrow from. Several of the high school girls have offered dresses to the 8^th graders already. If you need help or clarification let me know. I “think” this class has decided to something different with dress which is okay too.

Promotion Policy:

In order to be promoted to high school, a student must earn 14 units of credit during the 7^th and 8^th grades. A unit of credit will be earned by receiving passing grades in a subject for the four 9-week quarters. These credits shall include two (2) units in each of the following areas: language arts, mathematics, social science, science, health, physical education and elective classes.

Options for a student to earn credit for a quarter in which he or she does not earn a passing grade include: making up a quarter in lieu of taking an elective, receiving credit by exam, or taking a correspondence course. At the end of each quarter, homeroom teachers will give the principal a list of any students who did not earn a passing grade. A meeting will be called with the student and his/her parent(s)/guardian(s) to discuss the situation and plan how the student will make up the credit.

8^th Grade Promotion will be held each year. In order to participate in Promotion activities students must have passed and completed all classed by a pre-determined date in May.

Finally, if a student has had any Fs over the course of the year, arrangements must be made with individual teachers to fix the F in order to participate. If a student earns an F the last quarter, they will not participate in Promotion. Also, all fines/fees must be paid on the last day of school when the 8^th graders check out.

After Promotion: If the class plans a get together all classmates are invited to attend but the school is not “sponsoring” this activity so it is not liable or responsible for chaperoning or transportation. It will be solely the obligation of parents and students.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call the school 541.432.7311 or email me @ sherri.kilgore@staff.josephcharter.org.

Respectfully,

Sherri Kilgore

Principal

Joseph School District is seeking an educational leader to serve as 7th-12th grade Principal. CLOSING DATE MAY 11, 2021

Information

Job Description

Application

CLICK HERE FOR A LETTER FROM MRS. KILGORE

We're excited to share our first School Counseling Newsletter! This quarterly newsletter will be a way for Joseph Charter School counseling and student support staff to keep parents, families, and the community up to date on exciting things happening with social-emotional learning and the counseling program at school.

CLICK HERE

Please note that conferences have been moved to April 8-9th (originally scheduled for April 1-2).

ELEMENTARY (K-6) :

• APRIL 8TH - NO SCHOOL (CONFENCES AS SCHEDULED ALL DAY)

• APRIL 9TH - CONFERENCES AS SCHEDULED 8AM - 12PM

7-12TH GRADES:

• APRIL 8TH - SCHOOL DAY!!! (CONFERENCES AS SCHEDULED 4-8 PM)

• APRIL 9TH - CONFRENCES AS SCHEDULED 8AM - 12PM

Joseph School District No. 6

P.O. Box 787 Joseph, OR 97846

February 15^th, 2021 Please Post

Internal/External Posting

7^th-12^th Grade Math Teacher Position

Beginning the 2021/2022 School Year

Position to be filled: 7^th-12^th Grade Math Teacher for Joseph School District

Description

The teaching assignment will include 7^th -12^th grade math courses. Variations of the assignment could exist depending upon additional further qualifications and/or licensing of the successful candidate. All teachers are responsible for student behavior management and school safety. Teachers are responsible for curriculum design consistent with state and district standards.

Qualifications

Applicants must have or be able to obtain an Oregon Teaching License with an advanced mathematics endorsement. Applicants must have knowledge of effective instructional techniques and skills in student behavior management.

Compensation

The experience and degree level in accordance with the current salary schedule will determine salary and extended contract stipend.

Application Procedure

A letter of interest, teacher application, at least 3 letters of recommendation, and a detailed resume should be submitted to Joseph School District No. 6, PO Box 787, Joseph, OR 97846 or the documents can be emailed to Lance Homan, Superintendent at lance.homan@staff.josephcharter.org .

Deadline

Applications due by 4:00 Thursday, March 4^th, 2021

Joseph School District #6 is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Joseph School District is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, disability, parental or marital status, or age. The district will provide reasonable accommodations for the known disabilities of all applicants for positions and current employees upon request and with appropriate advance notice.

Hello - Below are more updates and information:

• We will be holding summer school this summer focusing on reading and math for this years K-4 students and our goal is to try to catch up with where we left off when covid originally hit. We have noticed that students are catching up, however, the time away from school has had an impact. Our hope is to have 2 hour sessions at each grade level to work on specific needs of our students. We will provide transportation for your child if you are interested and snacks. Our hope is to get every child we can that is interested to school for a couple hours a day (four days a week). The dates are July 19th - August 12th. I will provide more detailed information soon. I just want parents to start thinking about it. Please let me know if you are interested in having your child attend. You can just reply to me with your child's name and grade level. Thank You.

• Oregon Health Authority has told us that 3 feet distancing is good for our students, so we have adjusted accordingly.

• Graduation on June 4th at 4 PM this year will be outside on the football field. We are working on details based on the guidance from the state as to what it will look like. We will update as soon as we have more details.

• We Will be looking at upgrading the Imnaha playground. We will work with the teacher and students to figure out what it will look like.

• Baseball, softball, track, and golf are in full swing. It is nice to see our students back on the different fields of play. It has certainly helped physically and emotionally for a lot of our students.

• Basketball and wrestling are still up in the air as to if and when they will start, we are waiting on guidance from the state.

• Questions about aviation have emerged on the future of the program. This year we were only able to offer aviation/aeronautics for the advanced students due to COVID. In the fall we are looking at having two courses for aeronautics for beginners and for the advanced students. We are working out the logistics, but we have someone to teach it and we will continue. The program has a lot of community support and our students definitely benefit from the program.

• We are excited to announce that we hired a new math teacher, Damian Huff. He comes to us from the Newport area (Taft High School). Damian currently teaches high school math and teaches math at the local community college. He has a lot of knowledge and is excited to join our staff and community.

• 2nd grade is doing a community school project and they are working on our school playground by adding chips and working to get new equipment. Thank you 2nd grade.

• Last day of school is June 17th.

• If you drive up to school you will see our new building/barn being built. This is part of a student's senior project. This building/barn will be used for animal sciences as part of our ag program. The building is being paid for by a grant that we received. Thank You to all of those involved. Many people are volunteering their time and we couldn't do it without you.

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and can enjoy the sun as much as possible.

Respectfully,

Lance Homan

Hello - I haven't sent out an update in a while, so today sounded like a good day to do that. Below are updates from the school:

• Both of our kitchen staff are either moving on or retiring, so you will see two new faces in the kitchen. Tami Klages will be our head cook and Brandi Shultz will be her assistant. Please welcome both Tami and Brandi into our school community. We want to wish Christine and Shelley the best in their next adventures.

• We are hiring for a new 7th-12th grade math teacher. We have some really good applicants and we are excited to meet them. Mr. Hite will be moving to the shop (wood shop, metal shop, etc.)

• We are fortunate to have added a very experienced administrative assistant/secretary for the remainder of the year. Her name is Lori Shaw and if you call the office, you will more than likely reach her. We are excited to be working with Lori as she brings a wealth of school office experience. Please welcome her into our school community.

• Recently a school district relatively close to ours has had to go into COVID protocol and move to comprehensive distance learning as a result of students playing sports in Idaho. We fully support our students academically and athletically, but we just want to remind all families that the travel advisory statewide is still in effect. What does this mean? This means that it is recommended that students/staff quarantine if they leave the state for a reason that is not essential. If someone has received both vaccines for COVID they do not have to quarantine if they choose to travel outside of the state. Trust me when I say that we are not going to be following everyone around trying to figure out what everyone is up to. I personally struggle even writing this update, but I want everyone to be aware and I want to do whatever we can to keep our school open. Call or email me if you have questions or concerns.

• Football, volleyball, and cross country have started back up. Football and volleyball played their first games of the "new" season. It is strange that these sports are being played in the winter, but here we are. After football, volleyball, and cross country are done, we will move into our normal spring sports (track, golf, baseball, and softball), followed by basketball and wrestling in May and June. Crazy times for sure.

• State FFA is this week and we have a student participating in advanced public speaking and our beginning parli pro team will participate as well. Good luck to them and thanks Mrs. Mansfield for all your hard work as well!!

• The gym is in the final, final, final steps in being fully done. Once it is completely finished we will do some kind of "open" house for those that would like to see it. It is truly spectacular!!

Hello everyone - This is just a quick update regarding the number of COVID cases in Wallowa County. As a county we have broken our 30 case barrier in two weeks. For our school this does not mean anything at this point. We will continue to move forward with in-person instruction. You may see some sort of shift with businesses in the community. We will continue to update everyone as we know more. At this point we do not have a case in our school. If we do, we will complete the proper communication.

Have a good snowy weeknd!

Hello Everyone - It has been quite some time since my last update. Below are all the things going on in the Joseph School District:

• COVID cases are on the rise in Wallowa County. Hopefully they are on the decline now. I believe we had 12 cases last week in our county! This is a one week high for our county and really put us all on watch. There are a lot of rumors out in the county regarding case, but please know that we will be in immediate contact with everyone if we get a case in our school.

• We continue to clean high traffic areas regularly. Bathrooms are disinfected several times a day as well. All staff are pitching in to make sure we are as safe as possible.

• 7th-12th grade parents/guardians - grades should be updated last week so please check your students progress in Parent Vue. Let us know if there are any issues.

• Athletics are still up in the air on which sports, what they look like, and when they will be played. If you have any questions or concerns our Athletic Director has been doing a lot of work to try to make things happen and he can be reached at jason.crenshaw@staff.josephcharter.org.

• Spring Break is just around the corner March 22nd - 25th.

• The gym area is very close to being all the way done. The crew is just finishing up little odds and ins and we should be fully back soon. We are brainstorming ways that the general public can view the finished product. If you have ideas that follow COVID protocols please let me know.

• FFA competed this past weekend and our students did very well. We had kids complete in public speaking, FFA Creed speaking, job interviews, and the parliamentary procedures. We had kids placed overall very, very well. Congrats to Chelcee Mansfield and our FFA kids. Great Job!!

• We recently had several students show their artwork at the Josephy Center. Students had to submit their art and if they were chosen their piece would be part of the art show. Several of our students work were chosen. Congrats to Jennifer Hawkins-Connolly and her students!!

We feel very fortunate to be in school and we will continue to do our best to keep it that way. I know there are kids that may be in a slump as things are as good as they can be, but it is definitely not normal. If your child needs more support at school we have a counselor available. Center for Wellness also has resources available as well. Let us know how we can help.

In closing, thank you for your continued support of our students, staff, and community. We are all dealing with this pandemic in one way or another and know we are thinking about you all and we are here to support in any way we can.