Hutchinson West Elementary School
Addition and Renovation
Bid Package #1
Sealed bids will be received at Hutchinson Public Schools, ISD 423 District Office: 30 Glen St NW, Hutchinson, Mn 55350. Bids will be received and stamped-in prior to 2:00 pm local time on July 16, 2020.
Click Here for Complete Details
By Karen Lerfald, Director of Special Services
The summer of 2020 will be like no other summer our children have experienced. Many summer camps have been canceled or modified, community education and recreational activities do not look the same, and planned outings or vacations may not be happening. As a parent, I worry how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted my two daughters’ learning, relationships with their peers, and overall mental health. Families and schools did their best to continue with educational opportunities for children, but COVID-19 swept away the structure that schools provided. Children and parents experienced a huge change to their normal routine.
As we transition into the summer months, some children may continue to experience anxiety and depression from missing out on school activities, missing friends, and dealing with summer activities being canceled. As a parent, it is important to look for warning signs that your child may be experiencing anxiety or depression in response to COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov), you might see following if your child is experiencing anxiety or depression:
While it is common for children and teens to experience a mild headache or to act out occasionally, as parents, we must pay attention to how often, how long, and the intensity of these symptoms and behaviors.
If you are noticing any of these changes in your child or teen, the CDC has offered a variety of ways to provide support. They recommend talking about the pandemic, answering questions, and sharing facts in a way your child can understand. It is also important to reassure your child or teen that they are safe. Acknowledge when they are upset and take the opportunity to share with them how you manage stress as an adult. For more information on managing your own and your child’s mental health during COVID-19, visit the MN Department of Health website.
Another way to reduce anxiety is by maintaining a routine. Work with your child or teen to create a daily schedule for the summer. It is important to have your child help create the schedule, as they will feel empowered and will be more likely to follow the schedule if they help create it. The structure and predictability of a routine can bring them a sense of security.
Providing your child and teen with a variety of activities and learning experiences to keep them engaged are some ways to manage anxiety and depression. The Hutchinson Library has a number of online programs to keep your child or teen reading throughout the summer. Visit the Hutchinson Library website and look under Kids and Teen Services. Families can also take virtual field trips to museums locally and around the world. Search the internet for virtual tours being offered by museums.
Enjoy the unusual summer of 2020 by staying safe, providing opportunities for engagement, enjoying the outdoors, and having fun with family and friends!
MSBA (Minnesota School Board Association) will offer a free “Running for School Board” webinar noon Wednesday, June 24.
The webinar will cover basics such as how to file for the board, reasons to serve on the board — and reasons not to serve on a board, job duties of school boards, and how boards function as a team.
The webinar recording will be available on the MSBA website.
The filing period for School Board candidates is from July 28 and ends August 11.
Webinar Details:
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Noon
Zoom Webinar Link
Password: MSBA
Webinar ID 860 6487 2328
The ISD 423 Board of Education will conduct a special meeting on Monday, June 22, 2020 beginning at 5:30 pm in the auditorium of the Hutchinson High School (1200 Roberts Rd SW).
The public is welcome to attend. Seating will be limited to accommodate social distancing. Please RSVP by calling 320-234-2601 or emailing tina.vorlicek@isd423.org.
By Lesli Mueller, Director of Child Nutrition
For the last two and half months Minnesota Public Schools have put students, parents, teachers, school administrators and staff into uncharted territory. Distant learning, social distancing, flattening the curve and shelter-in-place has become some of the common terminology to guide all of us in the preventive spread of Covid-19. Feverish hand washing has become the daily norm together with singing familiar jingles to keep track of the 20 seconds recommended for hand washing. School breakfast and lunch pivoted from students being served in the cafeteria to picking up meals from drop off sites through the Summer Feeding Program. All under the directive of our Governor’s orders.
June 8 was the kickoff to continue the Summer Feeding Program and pick up where it left off at the end of school for meal distribution. This assures children and teens will have access to free nutritious meals while school is not in session over the summer. The running program is made possible by Hutchinson Public Schools, Common Cup and Hunger Free McLeod coming together to serve our community of families. The USDA provides the funding for breakfast and lunch, which are designed to meet their guidelines.
Pizza, chicken bites, Gyros, cheesy bread, taco in a bag and BBQ pulled pork sandwiches are menus students will be able to enjoy all summer long. The variety of pickup meals offered for a five-day week is attributed to some of the food coming to you frozen. You will find on our school website links to simple preparation instructions and ingredients of the frozen entrees as well as information on properly storing foods. Also on the website, is the meal order form accessible Tuesdays and Fridays to order bundled meals. Friday’s order form is for picking up meals on Monday and receiving a 2-day meal package. Tuesday’s order form is for picking up meals on Wednesday and receiving a 3-day meal package. The meal packages will ONLY be distributed on Mondays and Wednesdays containing both breakfast and lunch. Meal pick up sites will be at the back of Park Elementary near the bus lane from 11:00 am-12:00 pm and the back of Hutchinson Middle School near door 13 from 11:15 am-12:15 pm. All meals during summer food service are provided free for any child that is 18-years-old and younger. Students do not have to be enrolled in Hutchinson Public Schools in order to participate.
The Summer Meal Program will run June 8 through August 14, excluding the week of June 29 – July 3 for observance of the Fourth of July holiday week. In previous years, children ate the free meals on-site, but as a result of the guidelines in place during the pandemic, USDA is now letting them take the meals home to eat. Close to 650 meals were served out to community kids on June 8. I strongly encourage families to continue taking advantage of this great program to help ease some of the stress of these difficult times we all are experiencing. Feeding kids is what this program is all about.
School Board agendas, minutes and videos can be accessed by clicking here.
Tutors: The District does not endorse or recommend specific tutors; however, a list of people providing tutoring services is available.
We have received the wonderful news that the Summer Feeding Program will continue this summer! The dates are June 8 – August 14, closed June 29 – July 3. The times will be 11:00am – 12:00pm at Park Elementary and 11:15am – 12:15pm at Hutchinson Middle School.
Volunteering duties will look a little different this year. Shifts will only be twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays and will last one hour. Volunteers will report to kitchen staff and be directed outside to help hand out already packaged meals to families when they arrive. You will need to supply your own mask but gloves and hand sanitizer will be provided.
If you or your workplace is interested in volunteering please contact me at this email jenwicklund@gmail.com or by phone/text at 320-583-9929 and we’ll get you on our calendar. Thank you so much for your past help and consideration!
Sincerely,
Jen Wicklund
What We Have Learned from COVID-19
By Brenda Vatthauer, Hutchinson Middle School Principal
Leading during the COVID-19 virus has been challenging for school leaders, teachers, staff, parents and our community on many levels. Despite the uncertainty, our schools and community have rallied and found many ways to continue to positively impact students and help them in ways that extend far beyond the distance learning educational experience. This includes providing food, basic necessities, childcare, the power of relationships and a new daily routine. Educators understand the importance of innovation or trying something new to create better results and teachers have been willing to take that risk. Our community should be proud of the efforts to come together in joint partnership to support students and families with distance learning.
During this time there also have been many questions posed to school leaders about “What does next year look like?” This question is the most challenging to answer right now. First, the data and ripple effect of COVID-19 changes daily and schools must follow the guidelines of our MN State Health officials, Governor Walz and the Commissioner of Education. How do you prepare to lead for an unpredictable future, whether you are an educator, parent or community partner?
As schools, we should be proud of the work we have done during COVID-19 reaching out to many students with creative approaches. (No one predicted back in August that we would be educating our students through distance learning for a full 12 weeks). What are the essential learnings for each course? What are student needs? What supports are needed? How can we connect with face to face interactions? As educators, there was stress, anxiety, unfamiliar methods yet a “can do” attitude that each adult had within them. There were days we didn’t have all the answers and that was okay. The key was developing the right questions that could be asked for greater learning together.
As parents, we have had to be flexible and adaptable. Parents learned quickly to be ready for changes and when they happened, parents and caregivers embraced them. Parents handled adversity to support learning at home, even when they worked a full-time job from home, and supported student learning also. Parents also worked out of the home and arrived home to help support their son or daughter in the evening hours. Hutchinson parents have been extremely adaptable. Parents have modeled core principles of education and learning through their home support. Thank-you to all the amazing parents in our Hutchinson community.
Our community has responded with intentional direction and compliance. No single person or business hasn’t had their share of challenges. As a result, the best way to learn together and navigate has been to connect with others (distantly), listen, ask questions and see what can be applied to make the best out of an unasked-for COVID-19 situation. Our community has had to take on different perspectives and accelerate a rate of slow growth, following guidance from state officials. Through the process, our community will be stronger. Hope doesn’t create change, action does. Everyone within the Hutchinson community has something of value to share as we are all connected within this rapid change.
I encourage everyone to think about how they can grow from this process and become better and then apply that moving forward. I have learned how to navigate through this struggle and move forward to a better future focusing on what I can control. There is great hope for our future, the future of our young scholars and the future of Hutchinson schools. Through the connections and stronger relationships developed through COVID-19, we all have adapted and changed. We can choose to go through an experience or grow through it. Change is also an opportunity to do something different and amazing. As an educational entity, we have put our best foot forward through the twelve-week distance learning experience. We will finish the school year stronger together. Hutchinson – We are all in this Together!
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