Trego's Mountain Ear

"Serving North Lincoln County"

Tag: Trego School

  • Trego School Board Meets Tomorrow (Wed 9/9)

    Trego School Board Meets Tomorrow (Wed 9/9)

    Trego School has two items of interest on the bulletin board in the post office this week. The first is the agenda for this Wednesday’s board meeting (6PM). The second is an announcement that there is an opening on the school board; anyone interested should contact the clerk for an application. Since the agenda for this upcoming meeting includes a discussion of that vacancy, those interested in applying should probably try to get their applications in before Wednesday’s meeting.

    The meeting, which can be attended via gotomeeting, will begin with approval of the minutes from the August board meetings (the public is free to request copies of the minutes), allow time for general public comment, followed by the following reports: Board, Clerk, Maintenance, Supervising Teacher, Transportation

    Returning from the last meeting is a discussion about school bus safety and extending the stop sign arms on the school buses.

    Additionally, the board will be discussing fall maintenance items, attendance agreements, classroom dividers and the board member vacancy. Some discussion is expected involving the Flathead Special Education Cooperative, field trips, school security, technology and policy items. Specific policy items include Suspension and Expulsion, Administering Medicines to Students, and Screening for Dyslexia.

    Since this is the first board meeting since school started last Wednesday (September 2nd), the meeting is sure to include status updates on how well things are working. The school’s Health and Safety plan includes temperature screening both on the bus and at the school entrance and a number of provisions for social distancing. The Transportation Report is sure to include details on how well temperature screening is working.

    Attending the board meetings has never been easier. Visit https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/412537733 or dial in using your phone. For those new to GoToMeeting, it does require an app download. Once you’ve downloaded (which you can do on computer, tablet, or smartphone) it’s a simple prompt: Use speaker/camera, or have it call your phone. Alternatively, if you’re going to use your phone, you can skip the app entirely and call in.

    You can find a copy of the agenda at the Trego post Office, or request a copy at the Trego 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.

  • Community BBQ at Trego School

    Community BBQ at Trego School

    Busy! Amazingly busy. Optional tours (small group) coincided with grilling, snacking at picnic tables, the collection of paperwork, and a few very lively games of tag.

    Trego School is revisiting the past with a collection of old photographs. Most of the photos feature smiling children, but a few feature their teachers. If you’d like to know who is featured, I’m afraid you’ll just have to drop by yourself!

    After pausing to admire the display, we stopped to view the office. I was surprised to notice a computer set up beside the clear plastic screen that indicates the present year.

    Trego School’s office, complete with a sign-in and guest computer

    The computer, I was told, is for guests. While ultimately finding free wifi is usually possible, finding free computer access, outside a public library, is more challenging. So a simple computer here in Trego School represents the ability to apply for a job or print, or any of the myriad other things for which computers are so essential.

    More clear screens.

    I was surprised by how functional the screens on each desk were. A quick demonstration showed that they barely limit elbow room in an adult. Another screen is present in the cafeteria, separating the student giving directions from the adult dishing up the trays, but ultimately there is little change. The classrooms will soon be acquiring filtration systems. Trego school remains determined to open, and determined to do so safely.

    Finally, with the paperwork, was a trophy. Ms. Emma Brannon won second place in the 2020 Aviation Awareness poster contest she entered during the previous school year. Congratulations, Emma.