THANK YOU to all those individuals who donated blood today! We collected 49 units which could potentially save 147 people! The Red Cross was very grateful for our donations as more and more drives are being cancelled across the US.
Mrs Hardin also wants to send a huge thank you to all students who donated , attempted to donated, and volunteered today. They showed up even when they didn’t have to. Our kids are awesome!
COVID-19 and FAQ’s from the Mullen Administrative Team
Should schools close? NDE and the governor’s office are not requiring schools to close at this time. If 1% of the state’s population is infected with COVID-19 or if there is 1 case of community spread in a region or ESU area, the governor will close the schools in that region or ESU area. Currently, there are no confirmed cases in neither the West Central Health District in North Platte nor the Panhandle Health District. There are a number of tests that are being examined in the laboratory. School closures in those areas are precautionary at this point in time. Right now, Mullen Public Schools will close for two weeks, March 16 to March 30, with the first week being utilized by the teachers to prepare for remote learning. The second week will be utilized as a remote learning week recommended and encouraged by Commissioner Bloomstedt and Governor Ricketts. Please realize that schools could be closed for a prolonged period. We encourage all parents to have a plan in place for their student(s) for a prolonged closure of school.
How long will the school close? The governor’s office could require up to 6 or 8 weeks if there are community spread cases in our ESU area, which ranges from Mullen to North Platte to Ogallala to Brady. The situation will be re-evaluated every two weeks during the closure. Mullen Public Schools will be closed from March 16 to March 27 then reevaluate. There are two main reasons for closure. The first reason is to allow staff time to prepare for remote learning. The second reason would be to limit the spread of the virus in a case where a student contracted the virus while away from Mullen in the past week. To reiterate, our closure could be longer depending on the data presented on March 27.
Will the district consider longer school days or use Saturdays to make up the lost instructional time? Yes, if we are required to do so. At this point, NDE has told schools to not worry about the hourly requirements. The commissioner of education has suspended state assessments for the 2019-2020 school year. The bigger concern is whether or not students will have the knowledge and skills to move onto the next grade level or the next course in the sequence. The main concern is to provide the students with a foundation to be ready for their next step in the Fall of 2020. Because this is uncharted territory for all of us, educating students will need a growth mindset and flexibility in order to be successful.
What will students be asked to do during a school closure? Teachers will provide some instruction during that time, starting on Monday March 23, 2020. K-2 will most likely be asked to complete paper/pencil packets for enrichment. Students in grades 3-8 work will mostly likely be asked to use chromebooks or laptops for enrichment. Students in grades 9-12 will be asked to use chromebooks, Canvas, or other devices in order to turn in graded material. Every class may look a little different so we cannot answer that with one blanket statement. Special education services will be provided to the best of our ability, but we will not be going into student homes to provide instruction at this point.
Can students get into the school to pick up their educational materials and personal belongings? Yes, we will be allowing students to come to school to clean out their locker and grab educational materials that they may need. We will release a schedule to allow students to come to the building as the CDC is recommending that no more than 10 people gather at a time. Tuesday March 17- 9:00-12:00- Juniors & Seniors, 1:00-4:00 Freshmen-Sophomores and Wednesday March 18- 9:00-12:00- 6th & 7th Grade, 1:00-4:00- 8th grade. K-5 is developing a schedule for pick up of educational materials that will be shared tomorrow, March 17.
What is the status of spring sports and activities? The NSAA has suspended the spring sports practices and contests through March 30, 2020. They will reevaluate at that time and could suspend further. As of today, NDE has cancelled some of the career-related conferences, such as state FFA and FCCLA. Prom is indefinitely postponed and no other Mullen activities will take place during closure.
Will seniors graduate in May? The short answer is yes. However, they need to complete the work necessary to meet the graduation requirements. We would encourage students to make sure they are passing their classes at the time the school is closed. Otherwise, credits cannot be granted. At this time, we are very unsure of what a ceremony may look like.
What should we do if we just returned from travel out-of-state? Both the West Central Health Department and the Panhandle Health District have said that everyone who has traveled to the states of California, Colorado, Florida, Washington, South Dakota or New York needs to self-quarantine for 14 days before they go out in public unless going to a medical facility.
Should my family or myself go out in public if we have not been feeling well? No. Please stay at home and consult the guidance of medical professionals. Use the above 99.5 temperature, uncontrollable cough, or respiratory issues as a guide to stay at home.
What is social distancing? Social distancing is a strategy to limit the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. This is a conscious effort to reduce contact between people to slow down the spread of the virus. Even if you are symptom free and not part of an at-risk group, you still need to change your lifestyle starting today. If you go out in public, try to stay 6 feet away from other people. There is not a specific set of rules so use your best judgement.
In preparation for a prolonged closure due to prevent the spread of the COVID-19/Coronavirus, Mullen Public Schools will close for two weeks, March 16 to March 30, with the first week being utilized by the teachers to prepare for remote learning. The second week will be utilized as a remote learning week recommended and encouraged by Commissioner Bloomstedt and Governor Ricketts. Please realize that schools could be closed for a prolonged period. We encourage all parents to have a plan in place for their student(s) for a prolonged closure of school. We will release more information on some frequently asked questions shortly. Please bear with us as we are in uncharted territory.
Mullen public schools has also canceled all gym memberships and weight room access until the school is back in session. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding.
Mullen Public Schools has postponed all activities as well as prom at this point. We will just have to play it week by week and information will be sent out if anything changes.
The blood drive is still scheduled to start at 9am today! Students who are helping or donating can still participate.
Due to some new information on possible COVID-19 cases in our region and the Center for Disease Control recommendation to not have gatherings of more than 50 people, Mullen Public Schools will not be in session on Monday March 16, 2020. As we gather more information throughout the day, we will provide communication via the public through social media, our website, and mass calls through our Thrillshare system. Please know that all of us are witnessing an unprecedented event and we are doing our best to make the decisions that are in the best interest of both the Mullen students and the Mullen community.
The MHS blood drive is still on as scheduled tomorrow! Student volunteers and donors: Please report at the same time as scheduled! The Red Cross desperately needs our drive to be successful.
Dear Mullen Families, Parents, Guardians, and Community Members
This statement is to inform you of the awareness that Mullen Public School District has of the COVID-19 Virus/Coronavirus and some very tentative plans that the district is going to implement on a “day-by-day” to a “week-by-week” basis. This letter is not meant to scare anyone, but it is intended to communicate our plans and make sure all stakeholders are aware of the situation.
Over the past couple of weeks, the Commissioner of Education, Matt Bloomstedt recently began online meetings with all Superintendents in the state of Nebraska. These meetings will continue to take place on Sunday afternoons for the foreseeable future. As you may be aware, several school districts in the state of Nebraska have closed for short periods due to outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus in their communities. These closures could extend for longer periods depending on the spread of the virus and more schools could close. This is an unprecedented event that is very difficult to predict. Fortunately, at this time, we have not gotten any reports of any confirmed cases in the Sandhills region. Just know, we are in constant contact with both our ESU 16 in North Platte, our regional health district, and several of our neighboring districts in order to monitor this situation. To be aware, as with any procedure, it is always subject to change based upon the direction given by any state or federal agency. As I previously stated, this will be a “day-by-day” to a “week-by-week” decision at this point in time.
On the morning of Monday March 16, 2020, Mullen will have a 10:00 late start in order to meet with staff on possible strategies to implement if we are closed a significant amount of time. Governor Pete Ricketts stated during his press conference that schools could be required, by the government, to close for 6-8 weeks due to the spread of this virus if the spread reaches 1% of the population or one community spread case in our area. I am strongly encouraging you to have a plan in place for your student(s) in case this closure is forced upon our school district.
At this time the administrative team has reviewed procedures and we are confident that we will be able to respond to any situation that may arise. During Monday morning’s meeting, we will meet with staff to discuss different ways that we may be able to educate your student in cases of a 6-8 week closure so that we may provide a foundation for when they start school in the Fall of 2020 should a closure happen. Some possible ways to educate may be to send packets home, utilize YouTube, utilize Canvas, utilize Zoom, and all of the google formats for some online learning. As for activities, for the foreseeable future we will not be attending activities away from Mullen. We are planning on hosting Prom, on Saturday March 21, with some limitations. One limitation is that no outside date from a school district who is closed due to precautions of the coronavirus will be allowed to attend the Mullen Prom. We are also looking at an adapted schedule to be sure the immune systems of the students are not compromised due to lack of sleep. This will be monitored on a day-by-day basis.
With this virus being highly contagious, Mullen Public Schools encourages all parents/guardians to recognize flu type symptoms such as a fever above 99.5, difficulty breathing, and uncontrollable coughing. If your student has these symptoms, please keep them at home and report the symptoms to either Kris Forsen, Carolyn Hoyt, or Lauren Hollenbeck so we can track these symptoms. If a student has a 99.5 degree fever at school or is showing signs of difficulty breathing or uncontrollable coughing, they will be sent home along with anyone else who lives in your household. We will allow them to come back as soon as they are cleared by a health professional.
While the COVID-19/Coronavirus has been documented to not be a huge risk to the younger population, it is feared that they are more likely to spread the virus to elderly or those immunosuppressed. One reason for concern is that Mullen has students and staff who battle respiratory issues normally and we do not want to put them at further risk. At any time if your primary care physician feels that your child needs to stay home as a safety precaution due to respiratory issues or being immunosuppressed, please contact a building administrator so we can plan accordingly. As a school, we will provide plenty of opportunities for our students to wash their hands and use sanitizers along with the cleaning of desks and classroom furniture on a daily basis. We encourage all parents/guardians to talk about the importance of hand washing and general hygiene with you students. Overall good hygiene will slow the spread of this virus.
In conclusion, this statement is to put your mind at ease and let you know that the Mullen Public Schools and the Nebraska Department of Education has your student’s best interest at heart and throughout this situation we will do our best to educate your student(s). We highly encourage you to remain informed about the COVID-19/Coronavirus by visiting the website for the Department of Health and Human Services and the website for the Nebraska Department of Education.
http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx
https://www.education.ne.gov/publichealth/
Overall, our goal must be to slow or stop the spread of this virus to others and those who are immunosuppressed or suffer from respiratory issues. To quote another superintendent, “In the end it will be impossible to know if we overreacted or did too much, but it will be QUITE apparent if we under reacted and did too little.”
Thank you for your support and cooperation
The Mullen Administrative Team
The Nebraska School Athletic Association announced it is suspending district and state speech contests "until further notice."
The Mid-Plains Inter High Scholastic contest that was scheduled for March 18 has been canceled.
Broncos get the early game in tomorrow's consolation game versus Parkview Christian at 8am mst. Come cheer them on at the Hilltop Gym. The Friendly Bean crew will offer their specialty drinks and breakfast options of burritos and cinnamon rolls. Go Broncos!
We're at it again at the Hilltop Gym. A lot of the same faces in the same places but it is a picture from today:) Go Broncos!!
Watch Party at the Hilltop Gym as your #4 Mullen Broncos take on #1 Humphrey St. Francis in the boys state bball semifinals. Game time is 1pm mst. Limited concessions available.
#MullenBroncos
Watch your #4 Broncos take on #1 Humphrey St. Francis Friday at 1pm mst from the Hilltop Gym! Limited concessions available.
Two messages regarding the blood drive scheduled for Monday, March 16:
-The Red Cross will be checking all individuals entering the drive for a fever. Anyone (volunteers included) with a temperature above 99.5 will not be allowed inside.
- Please use the NORTH doors to enter the gym in order to minimize disruptions to the school.
Please contact Mrs Hardin if you have any questions.
The Hilltop Gym & weightroom will be unavailable the remainder of today (Thursday), Friday, & Saturday. Thanks for your understanding.
The Mullen faithful cheering on the boys basketball team 1st round of state bball. We cant be there in person but we're there in spirit!
Your Mullen Broncos are taking on O'Neill St. Mary's in the 1st round of the boys state basketball tournament today. Come watch the live action at the Hilltop Gym. The Friendly Bean crew will be on site to provide specialty coffee drinks and limited concessions. Tip off is 945!
Birthday selfie with the principal!
