Holiday Season

 The first semester of the 20-21 school year is moving along at a great pace. We have made it through 13 weeks of academics and a fall activity season where we watched our students have great success while dealing with challenges we have not seen before.  Students participating in school remotely, virtually, and traditionally has become somewhat the norm for most schools across the nation, including the MP School District.  With this challenge being met by students, I need to thank the teachers and classified staff in our school district for putting in the extra time necessary to make learning a reality for all students, no matter the model of instruction provided to the student.   

We have a great challenge ahead of us going into the holidays.  Like myself, I am certain many of you are eager to spend quality time with family and friends as they travel home for the holidays. With this, we all must be careful about how we decide to come together as families. The impact the holidays will have on our school system is yet to be seen.  

Over the next week, I want to encourage all families to enjoy time together.  We have made it through a period of time that many folks predicted would not happen. We need to stay vigilant with preventive practices as we spend time together to guarantee learning opportunities for students and growth in our communities in the future.  

I hope all of you have a great holiday season.  

Sincerely,

Tim Frederick

Superintendent

MP Schools

Students and Teachers Connecting

 In taking time to reflect upon the challenges we have been through since March of 2020, I find myself very thankful that I have the opportunity to surround myself with the spirit that embraces young people and the individuals who teach and guide our students. As a community and school, we have learned how to prepare for and live through a pandemic while educating using learning models that allow all students to grow.  This process has been gratifying to see teachers and students collaborate in the classrooms, online, and in one-on-one conversations occurring virtually and traditionally.  It is very apparent today's students and educators recognize what they missed from March through to May, and they do not want to return to being isolated.  

Congratulations to all the students being inducted into the National Honor Society on November 9th. This is a great accomplishment.  I also want to wish all of our student-athletes the best as they prepare for state meets and the playoffs.  All of your hard work over the past years is about to pay off.  Enjoy building last memories with your classmates and teammates over the next few weeks in striving to achieve common goals.

I would like to remind all of our students and community members how important it is to continue practicing social distancing and good hygiene. As a school district, we will continue to monitor our preventative plans' effectiveness as we focus on our students' and employees' health while we continue to educate.  

Below are some little reminders to keep everyone safe at school, in the community, and at home:

1. Wash your hands with soap and water regularly throughout the day.

2. Social distance at all times.  Stay 6 ft. away from others when conversing. 

3. When you cannot stay 6 ft. away from someone, please be respectful and put your mask on as we try to protect others and ourselves. 

4. When your child has symptoms or is sick, please keep them home until they feel better. 

5. When attending activities, please respect each other by sitting 6 ft. apart and/or sitting with your family members. 

We have been successful in limiting the amount of COVID exposure in our school.  With the flu and cold season upon us, we need to continue to be diligent in our preventative practices to support our students and community. 

Sincerely,

Tim Frederick

Superintendent

Mobridge-Pollock Schools

Week Three and Moving Forward

 The school year is off and running. We are heading into week four with a positive attitude as we stay focused on creating opportunities for students in the classrooms and activities. Our students continue to celebrate successes in and out of the classroom as we begin preparing for Homecoming. 

  

Week three provided a few challenges for us as we learned more about the impact COVID-19 could have on a school. We all learned the importance of staying vigilant in stressing to the students the importance of social distancing at all times while continuing to wear a facemask when practical and always practicing proper hygiene. Following these simple recommendations will allow our students to stay in school as they work towards their goals. The support of parents in reminding their children of these guidelines is much appreciated. I want to thank all the parents who have notified use when their child has tested positive or was in close contact with an individual who tested positive. Your willingness to communicate with the school allows us to move more quickly to develop the close contact list and stop the virus's spread. 

We are confident as we move forward in developing learning remotely, virtually, and traditionally that your child will be successful in education. We all need to continue working together and understand the challenges individuals face as we strive to do what is best for our school students. We will continue to learn, as we all stay focused on keeping the students engaged in learning.  

Information provided below and in the link offers guidance on Self-Quarantine, Self-Isolation, and Self Monitoring.  

1. Children being tested for COVID -19, need to stay home while they wait for the results. 
2. Children identified as close contacts should be watched for shortness of breath, cough, and fever. Please take your child's temperature twice a day.
3. Please document symptoms and the dates in which the symptoms occur. This is valuable information as we determine who close contacts may be.

        COVID19 Self-isolation and Quarantine

       Self-Quarantine, Self-Monitor, and Social Distance

Please feel free to contact the school at any time if you have questions.

Sincerely,

Tim Frederick

Superintendent

Mobridge-Pollock Schools

SUCCESSFUL WEEK ONE

The Mobridge-Pollock School District started school on August 24th. We had an incredible first week of school following our Return to School plans and all the prevention strategies. The students have been very supportive of the plans as they have shared with us how much they want to be in school and stay in school. Knowing this, we all realize we must be vigilant in our processes while staying focused on student learning. As we have shared with many, our objective this year is to make it to the end while keeping the focus on student learning.  

 The school district has moved forward with virtual learning opportunities for our students. I have been impressed with the students and teachers as they collaborate to make virtual and traditional synchronized in the classrooms at school and in the students' homes. The teachers continue to learn new tricks to their trade as they meet the needs of all students. A special thanks to all the great educators in the MP School District. You are doing a fantastic job!!

The fall activity season is underway. The teams are all doing great at this time. Please use the school website to follow the Fall Activity Plan to read up on the school district's phase regarding fan attendance and prevention plans being implemented. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call my office or feel free to stop by for a visit.  

Sincerely, 

Tim Frederick

Superintendent

Mobridge-Pollock Schools  

(605) 845-9204

Graduation

2020 MPHS Graduation Plans

The Mobridge-Pollock School District will be hosting a private commencement ceremony for the graduating class of 2020 and their immediate family members. Graduation is taking place at Tiger Stadium on May 17th at 2:00 pm.  

Graduates and their families will be given a family unit on the football field.  Each family will be escorted to their family unit when pulling into the Tiger Stadium parking area. If families have individuals who may have a immunodeficiency, please let the school know and we will have private parking area where you will still be able to watch graduation.  Each family unit is 15 x 15 area with a buffer zone of 15 ft. surrounding the family unit. 

We want to encourage families to have four individuals in their family unit.  If you have little children and this increases your number beyond four, please plan on keeping the little ones in the middle of your family unit in respect to the other families and the graduates. Please contact the school if you a special situation that you would like the school to consider. We are encouraging all family members over the age of 65 and with ongoing health issues to watch the graduation live on line.  We are also encouraging all immediate members of the family within the family unit to wear protective face mask on the infield of the football field. 

Following the graduation ceremony a parade of the 2020 Graduates will take place.  We encourage you to drive by the graduates homes or designated areas and offer a shout out to the graduate from your vehicle window.  All graduates will have a card basket set up at their homes for you to drop off a card.  

The Mobridge-Pollock School District is very grateful for all the individuals who have come forward in making this a special day for our graduates and their families. The amount of support by community members, city officials, parents, and business owners has been incredible as we continue to find ways to rise above the challenges created by COVID - 19.

Graduation Information Update

• Graduates and families should start arriving at Tiger Stadium at 1:20 pm.  
• Immediate family members will all need a parking pass to enter into Tiger Stadium.  Each graduate will receive a parking pass on Friday when they hand in laptops and textbooks. 
• To eliminate congestion in the parking lot, we ask all graduates and immediate family members to come in one vehicle. 
• All graduates and immediate family members will be greeted at the east entry of Tiger Stadium.
• Graduates will be escorted to the processional line.
• Families will be escorted to the assigned family unit.
• Reminder: 4 chairs will be set up in family unit. 
• Maintain Safe Behavioral Practices
• Recommending all immediate family members on the infield wear face mask.
• No mixing of immediate family units. 
• Keep a 6-15 ft. buffer at all times with individuals. Practice social distancing at all times.
• No shaking of hands
• Please stay home if you are sick.
• Children are not allowed to roam. All children must be in family units with parents.

When planning your at home reception, the school district recommends an immediate family celebration at this time using safe behavioral practices as a guide.  Please consider having a larger reception at a later time.

The school district will be assisting with parking. If possible, please come from the south on 10th Avenue West and pull to the side of the road as vehicles are being directed to parking areas. Most vehicles will enter the east parking lot of Tiger Stadium.  If you have a reserved parking spot for viewing, a school district employee will assist you with where to park.

Graduation may be viewed live on the following sites:
Mobridge-Pollock YouTube Live, Dakota Radio Group Live, and the cable channel 7.  Dakota Radio Group will also carry the graduation live on 1300 AM KOLY.

DRG News - http://www.drgnews.com/mobridge-pollock-high-school-graduation/

YouTube - https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCRLL-jGTI8Ttaf2rgbgS_EQ/

We will have two Zoom meetings this week with seniors. The first Zoom meeting this week will be at 2:00 pm on Tuesday and the second Zoom meeting with be on Friday 1:00 pm.  The meeting on Friday will be a graduation walk through via Zoom.  Zoom meeting information will be sent out through text and k12 email.  

Please continue to follow this blog post as I will be updating it with information on graduation and other events as decisions are made.  

Sincerely,

Tim Frederick

Superintendent

Mobridge-Pollock Schools