Trego's Mountain Ear

"Serving North Lincoln County"

Tag: School

  • Filters come to Trego School

    Filters come to Trego School

    Trego School’s Health and Safety Plan includes HEPA filters installed in air purifiers and in the heaters. While the filters for the heaters have not yet arrived (and are not expected to be needed soon, given current temperatures), the others are here.

    HEPA filters specialize in filtering out the really small, things measured in microns (a micron, or micrometer, is a thousand times smaller than a millimeter). This means that they aren’t just going to pick up relatively large particles in the air such as dog hair.

    These filters are effective at removing dust, pollen, and smoke particles from the air. This particular model will filter a 23 ft by 23 ft room in about 15 minutes.

    The filters are plain, discrete, and nearly silent. The biggest risk seems to be that students and staff will wander over to the trashcan-like cylinder and have to redirect, a problem that should surely lessen with time.

    While the immediate use of the filters is obvious, it will be interesting to see how well these filters help students with asthma, and allergies. Will they be pressed into service the next time our air is filled with smoke? Will we see less spread of other illnesses this year, as our schools check temperatures, wash hands, and spread out?

    School starts on Wednesday, September 2nd. Enrollment information can be found on the school website.

  • Trego School Board Met Wednesday

    The five-member board meets on the second Wednesday each month at 6 PM. However, in-person attendance is no longer necessary. On the agenda, which can be found prior to the meeting in the school or post office, there are instructions on how to attend the meeting via GoToMeeting. Visitors can join with their computer (headset recommended), dial in with their telephone, or join via the GoToMeeting App.

    If you join, you’ll see the school board members and board clerk distributed at widely spaced tables. Across from it all is a large television that’s setup to interface with GoToMeeting and allow community members to attend board meetings without needing to be physically present.

    During the meeting on Wednesday August 12th, the board discussed the Health and Safety Plan for the 20-21 School Year. The plan is available on the school website and includes details about temperature screening, HEPA filters, and disinfectants. Additionally, the plan addresses the “what if” scenarios for what the school will do in the event of a student or staff member becoming infected with COVID-19.

    In the event of a community member becoming infected, the school will adjust recess and PE for social distancing, convert lunch to a “grab and go” eaten at spaced apart desks within the classroom. If a student or staff member becomes infected, the school will shift to distance learning for two weeks. Breakfast and lunch will be delivered to students’ homes via the school bus, and distance learning will use iPads and Chromebooks, avoiding the use of paper packets.

    Additionally, the meeting included the Trustee Financial Summary Report and discussion of the 20-21 budget.

    New business for the meeting included HVAC system filters and Air Purifiers, as well as a Distance Learning Parent/Student-School Contract.

    Finally, Trego’s School Board has a vacant position. Community members interested in joining the school board should contact the school clerk.

    The next school board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9th at 6PM. School starts the week before, on Wednesday, September 2nd.

  • Reading will be taking off at Trego School

    Taking advantage of the tour offered during the school’s start of the year Community Barbecue, I had the chance to visit the library and hear about the programs and changes taking place.

    This is the first of the reading program displays. Students move through different levels as they read, ultimately hoping to achieve the status of “Flight Commander”

    As students read, they’ll reach new levels, and ultimately the final level of “Flight Commander”. Progress won’t be without material reward, however. Students will earn dollars for books, money they can use to order books of their choosing.

    Additionally, some supporting changes are happening in the library proper. The card catalog is out and modern bar code scanners are in! That’s right, Trego’s library is amid a massive digitization progress using the tiny cat program. When finished, each book will be viewable in an online catalog with its cover, summary, publication information, and even reviews! Each book (and movie!) will have its own bar code. The program comes with ridiculously cute little scanners for students to use when checking out their books.

    As the library has been systematically organized, each book gone through, the search has been turning up “Antiques”: children’s books so old that they predate the library of congress system. Eventually, some of those treasures will be making their way into a display case.

    While nothing I read as a child would qualify as an antique, it did get me thinking about old favorites. Before Nancy Drew, and even before The Magic Treehouse and The Boxcar Children, was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. What were your favorites when you were young?