Toutle Lake School District

October 19, 2021

 

Toutle Lake School District Staff/Parents/Guardians and Students –

 

I am writing to provide an update with respect to recent developments and changes here at TLSD. We have finally reached and passed the day of October 18^th – the date that all school employees had to be fully vaccinated or be in possession of an approved exemption (medical or religious).

 

While the last two weeks have been a bit stressful for many, I am happy to say that all of our regular certificated and regular classified staff have reached that milestone of being in compliance with the vaccination mandate. We still have some substitute employees for whom we are hoping to receive documentation. Until they submit the necessary documents, they will not be able to work at the school.

 

With respect to volunteers at school, we have been delaying a final decision due to the fact that the mandates apply to them as well. By the end of the month, we hope to begin considering requests from those who would like to volunteer, provided they are fully vaccinated or are in possession of an approved exemption.

 

As you know basketball season is right around the corner, and compared to the fall sports, the safety protocols will increase. Any player who is not fully vaccinated, will need to be tested within 24 hours of the start of a competitive event. The same is true for any non-vaccinated coach or support staff. Spectators will be required to wear a mask at all times while indoors. Players will need to do the same, unless they are on the court in a competitive event.

 

On a more positive note, we are happy to inform you that I will be recommending to the School Board that they approve the hiring of Shayna Lindquist, as a new elementary teacher for us. We are excited to have someone of Shayna’s caliber joining our staff!

 

The next school board meeting will be Tuesday, October 26^th beginning at 7:00pm in the high school library. In the meantime, take care.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bob Garrett

Superintendent

__________________________________________________________________________
September 22, 2021

 

Toutle Lake School District Staff/Parents/Guardians and Students –

 

The purpose of this letter is to provide information regarding the District’s initiation of a COVID-19 testing center. The reasoning behind this decision is four-fold:

     1) WIAA will be requiring unvaccinated junior high and high school basketball players, cheerleaders, wrestlers and coaches to test twice weekly once their season begins;

     2) Unvaccinated staff members with a religious or medical exemption will need to test weekly beginning on or around October 18^th;

     3) Testing programs are critical for identifying cases of COVID-19 in our schools, preventing the spread of the disease, and keeping our students and staff at school whenever possible; and

     4) The District received a grant for funding the staffing for this program, as well as free testing supplies.

 

Some very important facts about this program follows:

1. Parental consent must exist before a student would be tested. Click here to see Consent Form.
2. The primary test used will be BinaxNow. It is a rapid antigen test, self-administered, observed by a trained staff member, with results available within 15 minutes. It is much less intrusive than the tests that many of us have experienced, with this one using a shallow nasal swab put into each nostril (about one-half inch).
3. In the future, the District may begin making a PCR/molecular test available to staff and students if they are interested.
4. The District is required to report all positive results to the Department of Health.
5. There is no charge to the staff, nor to the students, for the testing services.

Feel free to send any questions that you may have to me via email at bgarrett@toutlesd.org; and I will respond in a timely manner as possible.

 

Thank you for your continued support of our staff and student body.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bob Garrett

Superintendent

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program to help families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, virtual classrooms, and so much more. Please click here for more info and to apply.

The Toutle Lake High School has partnered with NFHS to install Pixellot cameras in the Basketball Gym and in the Football Stadium to allow for watching games live and watching past games. There is a monthly or annual membership available. Please click here to view the flyer which has instructions on where to go to sign up.

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