School mandates masks and cancels some activities

North Iowa Community School continues to feel the effects of COVID-19, and the school is responding by making some changes to policies and activities.

The school board voted last Monday to require that students wear masks most of the time at school, with exceptions including P.E., recess, lunch, and athletic activities. Up until now, the school had been encouraging students to wear masks at school but letting teachers decide whether to require masks in their classrooms. The school will continue to make exceptions for medical needs.

The school board also discussed North Iowa’s learning format, and they plan to stick with in-person learning. The school has plans in place for fully online learning and hybrid learning, and board members talked about the hardship it would place on families if kids had to do all their learning at home like they did in the spring.

Superintendent Joe Erickson says if they do have to switch formats, they will look to get back to in-person learning as soon as possible. The board previously discussed that if they switched formats, they would stick to that new format for two weeks, but Erickson hopes they could come back to in-person learning in a matter of days, if conditions allow.

North Iowa is also putting some activities on hold, as a result of new restrictions announced by Gov. Kim Reynolds last Monday. Schools cannot hold youth sports other than high school sports, so the junior high boys’ basketball season is now on pause. Erickson hopes the junior high boys will be able to resume their basketball season once the governor’s current order ends on December 10.

The governor also placed new restrictions on indoor gatherings, and as a result, North Iowa will not hold in-person concerts for Christmas. Instead, the K-12 music groups at the school will make recordings, which will be shared with the community on December 11.

High school basketball will continue, although the first two girls’ games have been postponed. The school previously announced that spectators at basketball games will be limited to two guests per athlete, with special lanyard passes being required to attend. Masks must be worn to attend games. People without a pass will still have an opportunity to see the games, however, as the school is livestreaming events in the gymnasium. Links to the livestream can be found on the school’s Facebook page, or find the “Bison High School” channel on YouTube.

Those attending JV basketball games who have a JV pass but don’t have a varsity pass will be asked to leave the gymnasium after the JV is done playing. The school plans to set up screens in the school commons if those spectators would like to stick around and watch the varsity play from there. At this time, cheerleaders will not receive passes to give to spectators.

The limit on crowds at games this winter also means the school will generate less money for its activity fund through admissions. These funds go toward things like hiring officials and purchasing jerseys and other equipment. Erickson says they were able to transfer some money from the school’s general fund to the activity fund for safety equipment, but there are many costs that can’t be covered with that money. The school board discussed the possibility of having sponsors help to offset the admissions losses.

The Wellness Center at North Iowa will remain open to adults only, as the school has decided not to reopen it to students outside of school hours due to the recent surge in COVID-19 activity.