Valliant Schools

Parents and Patrons, Late on Wednesday, we were notified that a student in a PreK class at Valliant Elementary was tested as positive for Covid-19. This same student happened to ride Bus 9 on Tuesday. We have been very busy notifying the parents of everyone that has been exposed to the student and is subject to quarantine. Please help us stay in school. Wash your hands, Watch your distance, and Wear your mask! It's a Great Day to be a Bulldog!

Parents and Students, It's a Great Day to be a Bulldog! It was great seeing all the kids getting back to school tomorrow. While our soft opening last week went well, we discovered a few areas we need to work on this morning. Please make sure you are screening your children before you send them to school and be patient while we work through our morning screening procedures. We will get faster and make it as seamless as possible. I wanted to remind everyone that this week we have a VIRTUAL FRIDAY! Students will not have to attend school, but will have class assignments to complete. Teachers will be taking attendance based on completion of the assignments. I am attaching a 2020-2021 School Calendar to this message. Days in Green are attendance days and days in Blue are Virtual days. We are glad to be back. Help us be back and stay back. Wear your mask. Watch your distance. Wash your hands. #weareValliant

Parents and Students, Please see the attached letter concerning a positive test for Covid-19 of one of our employees. The employee was at work on Monday and for a short time on Tuesday, but works in an area with very limited student contact. All persons that may have had contact with the individual have been identified and contacted. Individuals with close contact have been quarantined and will remain in quarantine until it is safe to return to school. Thank you for your understanding and support. Craig Wall

We have had several Questions about attendance at Roland for football a week from Friday. Right now they are operating under the same guidelines that we are. Please be aware that these can change at any time due to changes in school, city, county or state policies. Roland's current policy: Roland Public Schools Athletic Event Guidelines 2020-2021 We welcome you to Roland Public Schools. Below you will find information regarding your community’s visit to our campus. In the current health climate, there are a number of unique challenges for schools to address as visitors come on campus. It is our hope that you find the information below beneficial for your visit to our school. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Athletic Director, Eddie Lewis.. Guidelines for Athletic Facilities In an effort to meet current recommendations for safety during the current health climate, the following guidelines are in place: Visiting Teams/Personnel Masks are to be worn by athletes and staff when entering and exiting the facility. Masks may be removed by athletes and staff upon entering the playing field/court or in areas where social distancing can be observed (Safe Zones). If you have known exposure to COVID-19 in the past 14 days or been asked to quarantine in the past 10 days, we ask that you not enter our facility. Do not enter school facilities if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms; temperature over 100 degrees, persistent cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, headache, muscle/joint pain, nausea, or loss of smell/taste. Locker room facilities will be available for visiting teams. Water will not be provided by Roland Public Schools. Visiting teams are welcome to bring their own towels and water bottles. No towels or water bottles should be shared among athletes and staff. While we believe sportsmanship is important to the development of our young athletes, we recommend that there is no hand shake before or after the competition to reduce the amount of contact. Only essential personnel will be allowed in the sidelines and press box. No unauthorized personnel will be allowed on the track or playing field. Visiting Spectators/Fans Masks and/or face coverings are strongly encouraged for all spectators/fans visiting Roland Public Schools athletic facilities. Patrons are encourage to make every attempt to maintain 6-feet social distance from those who are not members of their family If you have known exposure to COVID-19 in the past 14 days or been asked to quarantine in the past 10 days, we ask that you not enter our facility Do not enter school facilities if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms: Temperature over 100 degrees, persistent cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, headache, muscle/joint pain, nausea, or loss of smell/taste. No unauthorized personnel will be allowed on the playing surface. Upon conclusion of the athletic event, please do not loiter or gather in large groups. We ask that all visitors exit the facility as quickly as possible. Lady Ranger Softball Field Spectators/fans are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and utilize the areas down the left and right field baselines for seating. The bleachers will be available under the social distancing guidelines listed above. Ranger Stadium Spectators/fans are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and utilize the open areas adjacent to the bleachers as well as behind the West end zone area. The bleachers will be available under the 6-foot social distancing guideline listed above. Please distribute this information to all who are planning on attending our event. Ticket Price: Adults - $5.00, Students - $3.00, non-school age children are Free. Acceptable Passes: OSSAA Playoff Pass, Valid Press Pass, Roland School issued Senior Citizen Pass. Roland Public Schools is a Tobacco/Firearm Free Campus. No animals or pets of any kind are allowed with the exception of service animals. Sportsmanship Activity programs are primarily for the student participants. The purpose of scholastic athletics is to provide positive learning experiences and opportunities for personal growth of our student athletes. This competition is being conducted according to the roles of the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association (OSSAA). Players, coaches, officials, and spectators can, and are expected to assist in the promotion and achievement of good sportsmanship ideals by taking personal responsibility for keeping this contest at a high level of fair, clean, wholesome completion. Best of luck to both teams.

VPSD Child Nutrition Information for the Week of August 24 - 28 We want your children to have a nutritious return to school. We will be feeding the students in attendance each day through our regular procedures although feeding locations will be different for our Elementary students. We will also be offering Curbside Pickup Meal Service for those students that are not attending this week as well as the students attending Valliant Virtual School. Curbside service will offered from 9:00 to 9:30 am each day in the front of the Cafeteria. Pull up and park and the Cafeteria staff will deliver a meal to your car. Do not get out and come in! Curbside service will be different than it was during the summer. Students will be charged for meals using their normal lunch status (Free/Reduced, Paid, etc.). It would be helpful if Valliant Virtual Students would notify the cafeteria if they are planning to eat. Please call 933-7140. Please take advantage of our meal service. We look forward to seeing you all in person very soon! #weareValliant

The Valliant Bulldogs will be hosting the Talihina Tigers for a "Soap and Towel" scrimmage on Friday night at 6:30 pm. In lieu of admission, we are asking that you provide a donation of towels and soap. Please come out and support our kids and Coach Colby Shamley in his debut. The concession stand will be open, but will only be providing drinks. Please help us stay safe by maintaining social distancing guidelines and it is strongly suggested that you wear a face covering during the contest. Go Dogs! #weareValliant

Patrons and Friends, This morning, we were notified that one of our employees at Valliant Elementary tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. The employee and all other employees that were in "close contact" have been quarantined. Fortunately, no students or parents are affected. Additionally, areas of our campus that may have been affected have been cleaned and disinfected. We are working closely with the Oklahoma State Department of Health and following the protocols established by the VPSD Covid Response plan. Currently, there are no plans to change the start of school, although some programs and classes may be impacted. We are working through how we will handle those issues. I encourage you to help us by working with your children to practice good hygiene, social distancing and by using any means at your disposal to help prevent the spread of this virus. #weareValliant and we will get through this together! Craig Wall, Supt.

MS Football Players and Parents, Coach Shamley would like to try to have MS Football Practice at 4 pm on Thursday, August 20. Should be done before 5:30.

Parents, Students, Patrons and Friends, In an effort to navigate through these difficult times, schools across SE Oklahoma met with many health experts and the Oklahoma State Department of Health to develop a plan for how we would operate should we experience incidents of exposure and positive cases of the virus. Very recently, we have seen a number of schools in our area, begin to adjust schedules, quarantine, and move to virtual learning. Most have chosen those actions because they chose to adopt this plan. It takes any personal aspect out of the decision making process and simply becomes a reaction to the current circumstance. Please take time to read and understand this plan. It is how we will act if necessary. https://5il.co/iup7 Valliant Response Plan

Parents, Guardians, and Students, Please see the attached message concerning Buses. Craig Wall, Supt.

JOM School Supplies will be available beginning August 17th for pick up at 8:00-4:00 at the Media Center as "grab and go". You will remain in your vehicle and they will be brought out to you. If you are unable to pick up the week of August 17-20th, students may pick them up on the first day of school. To make other arrangements please email lcoffman@vpsd.org. If you are a new student please bring a copy of your CDIB card.

Middle School & High School will use last name to determine what day your child will attend "orientation day" the week of the 24th. Elementary students can expect a phone call from their teacher next week. A-C - Monday, Aug 24th D-J - Tuesday, Aug 25th K-P - Wednesday, Aug 26th Q-Z - Thursday, Aug 27th ALL students will begin on Monday Aug 31st with a regular school schedule. We hope to get all the bugs and jitters worked out during orientation week so we are all ready on the 31st. I expect some hiccups and we will be offering leniency during this first week and hope that you will express our staff the same courtesy. This is new to us as well. We share the same goals, and if we all work together we can make this the best experience possible for the kids.

6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Football Players, Coach Shamley would like to meet with you at 5:00 pm on Monday, August 10 at the stadium. Bring along your parent if you'd like. He wants to let you know what to expect and get ready to get started winning. It's a Great Day to be a Valliant Bulldog!

Help Needed! The Valliant High School Football Team is looking for HS students (boys or girls) that would be interested in serving as a Manager this year. If you are interested, please contact Coach Ken Rhoten at (580)478-8128. It's a Great Day to be a Bulldog!

Students and Parents, For several months now, your administrators and I have discussed and debated the proper course of action concerning return to school, plans for that return, and timelines for return. Throughout our discussions, there has been a consistent theme present, what is the right thing to do for our students, our staff, and our community. We have been extremely concerned with the continued unchecked spread of the virus in our own community. 4 weeks ago, the state unveiled a color coded mapping system to represent the spread of the disease in new cases per capita, and McCurtain County has consistently been listed in the Orange status which is the most severe. When the SDE released their plans and recommendations last week, McCurtain County was listed in the Orange 2 status. The recommendations that come with that status are very limiting. Our color status has not changed for the better in the last week. Those recommendations are that we start school using distance learning and that we limit our capacity of kids to no more than 25% on campus at any one time. The state also recommends the wearing of masks for all students at all times, restrict visitors, and curtail extracurricular activities. We have studied these recommendations and have consulted with other Superintendents and Principals at other county schools. We do not believe that starting the school year in Distance Learning is practical, although it will likely be necessary throughout the year. Many of the supplies that we need to start school have not yet arrived. Much as the supply chain has affected everyday items, it has affected items such as computers, disinfectants, and PPE. After much debate, we decided to take the following actions: 1. We will delay our Staff Development by 1 week. Staff Development will now begin on August 10 and continue through the 14th. HS Teachers may have to meet with the K20 Center as originally scheduled. 2. We will be notifying students and parents that classes will begin on August 24, but will be limited to 25% of the student population each day at the HS, MS, and in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. In the lower elementary, appointments will be made for the students and one parent. Teachers will reach out to parents to make these appointments and to notify students on their days for attendance. 3. Face to face instruction with all students will begin on August 31. Masks will be required for all students, teachers, and staff while we remain in the Orange 2 status and will be reevaluated as the status changes. 4. Virtual only students will begin instruction on August 24. 5. Extracurricular activities will continue however, additional safety protocols may be required. 6. Students attending KTC at Idabel will be attending virtually. Students attending KTC at Hugo will be attending in person currently. I am extremely saddened to be making this announcement today. However, we feel it is the most prudent decision we can make. Craig Wall

About Valliant Virtual Academy Although we did the best we could in the time we had to prepare, we know that the distance learning model we had in the spring needed much improvement for our students to have a successful experience. We were very particular about looking for a program to fill the need for a virtual learning environment knowing some students would not return in the fall for various reasons. As we were researching programs the focus was as follows: Meet the education requirements and needs of our students Easy to use and navigate for both student and parent Does not require the parent to be the teacher (minimal parent involvement) Allows our staff to monitor the progress and intervene if necessary Student Oriented / individualized instruction Acellus is the program that we chose that best addressed those concerns. Acellus is a learning accelerator. It uses video-based lessons with cutting-edge technology to accelerate learning, elevate standardized test scores, reduce dropout rates and transition more students into careers and college. Acellus has been providing a virtual setting for some time and has had great success. Here is a link that explains their program. https://www.acellus.com/for-your-school/ There are many options for virtual instruction out there but I recommend, if virtual is for your child, you give this a shot. This is the only option that keeps your tax dollars in our district - This program is free to our students. Your child will remain a Valliant student and have options to participate in extracurricular activities such as athletics, Etc. There will be a Certified teacher assigned to only virtual students allowing them to focus all of their attention on monitoring, providing intervention, and answering questions to our virtual students. Our traditional students will be using the same program on a regular basis and times when school cannot meet in person. This will allow virtual students to easily transition back into a normal classroom post covid if that is desired. We know that this is not an easy decision. If you would like more information or have further questions, please contact the building principals. Cpanell@vpsd.org - Elementary bfrazier@vpsd.org - Middle School rsmith@vpsd.org - High School

JOM school supplies should be ready for pickup this year beginning August 10th, the week before school starts. In addition to the supplies a padded backpack will be provided this year to carry a tablet/chromebook. When supplies are available a schedule and directions will be posted. If you are new to the district please bring a copy of CDIB card with you when picking up supplies. For more information please contact Linda Coffman at 580-933-7232 or lcoffman@vpsd.org. *****JOM School Supplies do not include a tablet or chromebook but students are reminded to visit the Choctaw Nation website and apply for the COVID-19 Technology Program Grant and the COVID-19 Student Assistance Program Grant for help with these items.

Parents, Students, Patrons, and Friends, Earlier today, the Oklahoma State School Board voted to accept some strongly worded recommendations for schools in Oklahoma in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. These recommendations vary based upon the level of community spread in each county based upon the OSDH Covid-19 Status Map. McCurtain County is currently in the most severely affected status. At Valliant Schools, we are continuing to work on our plans for reopening. The administration will meet together on Monday and reassess how the recommendations approved today will affect our plans. We will notify you if and when our plans should change. We want to be in school face to face with our students. We need your help to make that happen. Please follow social distancing guidelines, wear masks when required, and do whatever you can to allow us to get back to normal. This is not about politics or conspiracies. It is about the health and safety of our kids. Craig

Parents, Students, Patrons, and Friends, Last week, we released plans in the form of FAQ’s detailing how we would return to school. Tomorrow, (Thursday, July 23) the State Board of Education will meet. At that meeting the Board will likely hear recommendations from the State Superintendent which details further restrictions in our ability to return to school. The recommendations made by the State Superintendent will likely be based upon the level of community spread in our county on a per capita basis. Right now our county is in an Orange status on the Governors Covid-19 status map. As a result, schools in McCurtain County are facing huge restrictions in our ability to return to school in a traditional manner. Limitations to the number of students, the requiring of masks, and prohibition of extracurricular activities are likely. While we DO NOT KNOW the full extent of the restrictions, we are confident that they will be severe. We have tried to emphasize that we need everyone’s help. Masks and social distancing are inconvenient, but our ability to return to school is going to be 100% dependent on you helping to prevent the spread of this virus. No conspiracies, no politics, we sincerely need your help, or our schools will never get back to normal. Valliant, we need you. Wear your mask and social distance. Our kids need to get back to school and we know that is what you want. #weareValliant

Parents, Students, Patrons, and Friends, We are releasing information today concerning our return to school. As you know students will be returning to school soon, and we are doing our best to take into consideration how we can return to school safely. We take our roles very seriously. The health and safety of our students, teachers, staff, and community is paramount. We are using our best judgement to make decisions that will allow us to return to school as safely as possible. While we are doing all we can, we desperately need your help. We want to start school and stay in school throughout the year. We need you to take every precaution you can to help us prevent the spread of Covid-19 in our community. If you help, we can be so much more successful. Today, on our website, we posted a set of Frequently Asked Questions that will hopefully address many of the issues that you may have. You can find that document at the following link. https://5il.co/ib4i Additionally, we are posting a document that will provide guidance for what we will do when or if we have an infection at school. We have been working with other schools to develop this plan with guidance from the State Health Department, the State Department of Education, and the Centers for Disease Control. You can find a link to that document here. https://5il.co/ib68 After you take a look through the documents, we would also like for you to complete the following survey concerning your choice of format for schooling for the upcoming year. It is important for us to get this information so that we can continue our planning. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeO You can access the survey at the following link. eRg1fDSLwW9Og6Lm_rMRTZTVMNIGYxEYurPHXDTxxgP-Sg/viewform?usp=sf_link We are working very hard to make this work, and we are sure things will change before school gets here. We encourage you to work with us during these difficult times. It's a Great Day to be a Bulldog! Craig Wall, Supt.