Welcome Back & Personal Device Update

 AHSTW Families,

I hope everyone is having a great summer and this letter finds you relaxed and re-energized for an exciting year.  Personally, I know the summer has gone by quickly but it has certainly been packed with action and enjoyment.

As you will see upon your return there have been changes made to our building, and I have listed them below!

• Mrs. Calhoon’s classroom now has a bathroom in it!

• LED lighting has been installed in the southern half of our building.  What a change, as the light is whiter and brighter.  The dimming components will be added next summer.

• The HS mechanical room’s outside doors have been closed in.

• The HS music room as you know it is gone.  The room has been turned into an elementary music room along with a storage room, and an additional classroom.

• The fire suppression system has been installed in all rooms south of the weight room and elementary / JH gym.  The system is not operational, but all of the piping has been installed.

We also want to share that our AHSTW Community School District staff has  worked throughout the past school year to develop  guidelines relating to the use of electronic devices during the school day and we must be thoughtful in identifying which devices are allowed and in which situations.  With that said, we understand the use of electronic devices can be beneficial to students’ learning as society continues to become more digital than ever before and in order to promote learning and access to information, AHSTW Community School District provides one-to-one computers for all students to use as a learning tool.

 

However, we know technology can have a negative impact on a student’s mental health due to the increased access to cell phones [smart phones] and the influence of social media on students.  In fact, results from a 2019 nationwide survey by the National Center for Education Statistics indicated that 16% of students in grades 9-12 have experienced cyber-bullying. With that said, our goal in creating our new electronic device guidelines is to continually strive to lessen distraction over the course of the school day while creating a safer environment.

 

AHSTW High School Expectations: [Grades 9-12]

 

·  Students are allowed to have their personal electronic devices while at school, however all personal devices do need to be turned off and put away during all instructional periods.

·  Students are allowed to use personal devices during non-academic times, such as before and after school, during passing periods, and during lunch.

·  Students needing to use technology to monitor health conditions [ex: diabetes] will be allowed to do so based on individually written health plans.

·  Students will be required to put their devices in a designated location during the academic period.

·  Personal devices such as iPads, personal laptops, smartwatches, .mp3 devices, earphones are not allowed.

·  If a student uses a personal electronic device during an instructional period the following sequence of actions will be initiated :

o   Step 1:  The device is held in the HS Office until after 3:30 PM, at which time the student can pick it up.  Parents will be notified of the violation.

o   Step 2:  A discipline referral is submitted with a 30 minute detention assigned, and the device is held in the HS Office until a parent can pick it up after that school day (arrangements need to be made with school administration and/or HS Office).

o   Step 3:  An additional discipline referral is submitted with an additional 30 minute detention assigned, and the device is held in the HS Office for a parent or guardian to pick the device up. 

§  A 3rd offense will also require the student to check in his/her device at the beginning of each day prior to 1st period for the remainder of the semester (or a minimum of 30 days).  Access to the student's device will not be granted until the school day ends.

·  Parents are asked to contact the school office with any immediate information for their student and a message will be shared with the student.

·  As in past years, the school assumes no responsibility or liability for any student-owned personal electronic device brought into the school building or onto school property.

 

 

AHSTW Intermediate School Expectations: [Grades 4-8]

·   CELL PHONES: Cell phones must remain in the student’s backpack, cubby (gr. 4-6) or locker (gr. 7-8) during the school day (8:00 AM to 3:30 PM). If a student needs to contact a family member, they will be directed to use the classroom or office phone. If a family member needs to contact a student, please call Mrs. Kiesel (grades 4-6) or Mrs. Stamp (grades 7-8).

·   SMART WATCHES: Wrist devices that connect to cellular phones must have the cellular feature turned off during the school day.

·   MP3/AUDIO DEVICES/CHROMEBOOKS: digital devices for the purpose of listening to music are not to be used during the school day (8:30 AM to 3:30 PM). The use of such a device may result in disciplinary action.

o   Teachers may allow use of MP3/Audio Devices for instructional purposes only.

·   HEADPHONES: Headphones, including earbuds, are not to be worn at any time throughout the school day (8:30 AM to 3:30 PM).

o   Teachers may allow use of headphones for instructional purposes only.

·   CHROMEBOOKS: Since we are a 1:1 Chromebook school, we believe that the Chromebook issued to the student should be the primary piece of technology needed throughout the day.

·   Any other electronic device will need administrative approval to be used throughout the school day. The use of any unapproved device or choosing to disregard any of the above policies will result in disciplinary action.

·   Students bringing their own electronic devices to school do so at their own risk and assume all responsibility and liability for their devices. Student-owned devices can be confiscated by school employees if disrupting the educational environment.

AHSTW Primary School Expectations:  [Grade PK-3]

o   As in years past, our recommendation is that all electronic devices remain at home as the school is not responsible for the loss of any personal items.  In the event a device is brought to school it is the expectation that the device remains powered off in the students backpack during the school day.

o   We ask that you please contact Mrs. Kiesel in the event you need to contact a student and the message will be shared.

We can’t wait to see everyone on August 23!

Respectfully,

Darin Jones

Superintendent 

AHSTW Community School District

AHSTW Activities & Ticket Costs

 Hello everyone,

 

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer before things are back in motion next month!  

 

This year AHSTW Community School District along with all Western Iowa Conference Schools will be increasing ticket prices for the 2023-2024 school year to $7.00 per event for attendees school-age through adult.  This is a necessary change due to increasing costs associated with hosting extra-curricular activities.

 

To assist in your understanding as to how districts support activities, I share the following three pronged approach:

·      AHSTW CSD’s General Fund:  This fund is used to pay coaches’ salaries, transportation costs to and from events, repairs and general upkeep to gym floors, fields, facilities, field paint, chalk, etc.…

·      Activities Fund:  The activities fund is funded by admission fees, team fundraising, and donations.  The purpose of this account is to:

o   Pay for all official fees for Varsity, JV, and JH events. 

§  [We do not collect admission at any event at the JV and JH levels when separate from varsity competitions.]

 

Referee/Umpire/Judge Costs Associated with Hosting Varsity Level Competitions: [Per event]
Varsity Football	$700	Track	$175
Varsity and JV Volleyball	$240	Varsity B/G Soccer	$400 + mileage
Cross Country  ·      [No Gate Fee]	$150	Varsity and JV Baseball	$320
Varsity Basketball	$420	Varsity and JV Softball	$280
Varsity Wrestling Quad	$300
·      Similar Costs are associated with each JH or JV Activity although at a slightly lower amount.

 

o   Pay for all team entry fees for tournaments and meets

o   Pay for the base package for HUDL and Track Wrestling, which are services required by the State High School Associations to share film and scouting materials for specific high school sponsored sports.

o   Pay for equipment needs including balls, training equipment, uniforms and supplies, etc.

·      AHSTW Booster Club:  We are very thankful for our booster club and all they do as they help tremendously in providing some basic needs of our sports teams [Ex. Uniforms, balls, and more], but also enhancements to our activities, as well.  

 

With that said, due to the increase in associated costs and fees, it is necessary for AHSTW CSD and other WIC schools to raise the price of admission beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.  With the increase in ticketing costs, AHSTW will also increase the cost of student, adult, and family passes, which are demonstrated on page three.

 

Online Ticketing – Bound

 

In addition to increasing the cost of admission AHSTW CSD and all Western Iowa Conference schools will begin the transition to cashless payment for admission to games, much like what we have been doing for postseason tournaments the past few years.  Spectators will have a few different options to purchase event tickets. 

o   Tickets can be purchased in advance using a link on the school’s Bound site: www.gobound.com/ia/schools/ahstw/tickets

o   You may need to use your email address to log into the site where you can download a QR code to your phone or print the ticket with the QR code to be scanned at the admission site. 

o   You can also use a debit/credit card at the event site to purchase a ticket. 

o   Jr. High events in the Western Iowa Conference will remain to be free. When our teams travel to play other schools outside of our conference, they may have different payment methods and admission prices and we will try to keep you informed of other payment situations. 

o   AHSTW will still offer the sale of activity passes which will work at AHSTW home events.  The price of event passes are included in this letter, but you will also be able to view pricing on our school website or by contacting the school.

Bound Activity Calendars:

 

Starting in August, AHSTW CSD will also transition to using Bound as our activities information hub. You can find our school’s page using the link  https://www.gobound.com/ia/schools/ahstw. It is on this site you will be able to see upcoming games and activities, access our activities calendar, purchase tickets to school events, and use various other tools as we start to implement those items. Bound also has an app that can be downloaded on your phone.

 

 

AHSTW CSD & Western Iowa Conference

 

2023-2024 Admission Prices

All varsity events including District Football: 

Adults &  Students - $7.00

All tickets will be digital. Tickets can be purchased in advance through Bound or purchased at the gate with a card.

 

https://www.gobound.com/ia/schools/ahstw/tickets

 

AHSTW Community School District Activity Passes 2023- 2024

 

Student Activity Pass [A $50 pass pays for itself after attending 7.1 events.]	$50	Good for all home regular season events for specified student
Adult Activity Pass [A $100 pass  pays for itself after attending 14.3 events.]	$100	Good for all home regular season events for specified adult
Family Activity Pass [A family pass pays for itself after a family of 4 attends 42.8 events or 10.7 events per person.]	$300	Good for all home regular season events for immediate family under 18 in one household
** AHSTW hosts roughly 50 home events per year. ** The cost of a family pass is based on a family of 4.  [A family of 4 could pay for roughly 200 gate fees, if all events were attended.] ** AHSTW extra-curricular passes are not valid for postseason activities.

 

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

 

 

Mr. Darin Jones

Superintendent

AHSTW Community School District

Removal of School District Equipment [Portable Classrooms]

Hello everyone,

On Thursday, April 27, 2023 the AHSTW Board of Education met to discuss the removal of the two portable buildings on the west side of AHSTW Community Schools.  After receiving interest but no agreement to purchase the two structures, the AHSTW Board of Education decided to remove the obsolete structures from the property.  Feedlot Service Company will remove the structures prior to the beginning of our 2023 Addition and Renovation Project.

 

Respectfully,

 

Mr. Darin Jones

Superintendent

AHSTW Community School District

Update: April 6, 2023 - Return to Regular Locations

Hello, 

 

I am pleased to announce that all classrooms impacted by our mechanical fire and smoke damage are ready for our return.  All classrooms and students will return to their normal locations on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

 

We appreciate your understanding and assistance over the past week and a half.  Your efforts helped minimize disruptions to our students learning opportunities!

 

I also want to thank our staff effectively created normalcy in an adverse situation!  Thank you and Great Job!

 

Respectfully,

 

Mr. Darin Jones

Superintendent

AHSTW Community School District

Update April 5, 2023: AHSTW Community School District 2023 Renovation and Addition Project

Hello everyone,

 

AHSTW Community School District is excited to announce that our 2023 Building and Renovation project is set to begin as bids have been accepted and contracts are being signed.  The project has taken us time to finalize, but we are extremely excited to begin moving forward this spring.

 

The initial design estimated our project cost to be $12,900,000.00.  This cost was brought to our communities through a referendum vote in the fall of 2021.  We were extremely thankful the support as the referendum passed allowing us to engage in and finalize the full design process.

 

The process allowed us the opportunity to add five new classrooms on the west side of our high school facility to help us relocate our Industrial Technology, Family and Consumer Science, Agriculture, Business Education, and High School Music and Band classrooms.  The new construction also allows for the renovation of the interior sections of the high school creating five new classroom spaces along with office space for our high school and intermediate guidance counselors, as well as our instructional coaches from our teacher leadership program.

 

In addition to the above projects, AHSTW Community School District will install LED lighting throughout our facility creating a cleaner more efficient light.  This includes our elementary and middle school sections of the  building.  Substantial renovations to our facility will also require us to upgrade our fire safety system and we will do so by installing a fire suppression system across the PK-12 facility.

 

As the design process concluded in January, we requested bids for project.  We understood material costs had increased since the inception of the project and we anticipated a potential increase in overall costs.  The anticipated increases were realized after bid submission.  At that time, we evaluated our options moving forward and decided to reject bids associated with portions of the project and to rebid those sections with the electrical portion of the project, as no bids were received for electrical services.

 

Our second bidding session, in January and February, provided us time to review various funding mechanisms in the event costs remained over the $12,900,000.00 referendum.  In late February, the process concluded and we were able to realize a cost savings of nearly $750,000.00 from the first bidding process, but the total project remained over the original amount with the project now costing a little more than $16,000,000.00.

 

Due to our solid financial standing, AHSTW Community School District is able to support our project at the new amount and will do so with the support of Physical Plant and Equipment Levy [PPEL].  Please know the use of the PPEL funds will not impact our tax rate at all, as the levy amount of $1.00 / thousand dollars of taxable valuation is already in place after the Voter Approved PPEL election during the 2020-2021 school year.

 

In the end, I am excited to share that the construction portion of the project is beginning and you will see physical signs soon!  

 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have on our building project and get ready for updates!

 

Mr. Darin Jones

Superintendent

AHSTW Community School District

Update: Saturday, April 1, 2023

 Update:  April 1, 2023

Well, the last week has been interesting to say the least.  After Tuesday night’s fire in one of our air exchange units there has been a lot happening at school and I hope the following sequence of events helps you understand our current reality and plan to move forward.

Tuesday, March 28: 

• An ERV unit started on fire causing extensive smoke damage in sections of our Early Childhood pod.
• We want to thank everyone who assisted in minimizing the event and limiting any damages to only smoke.  We are fortunate that no structural or water damage occurred to our facility.

Wednesday, March 29:

• ServiceMaster arrived on scene around 12:45 AM on Wednesday morning.  Air mitigation units were brought in to begin cleaning the air and reducing the smell of smoke in the Early Childhood section of our building.
• AHSTW cancelled school on Wednesday to begin understanding the situation and to provide access to any groups assisting in clean up or review.
• We also needed time to determine how we might be able to plan for upcoming days.
• It was determined that we would be able to hold school in all sections of our building other than the early childhood pod.  
• We also determined that an extended amount of cleaning would be needed in the impacted area and AHSTW staff would not have access to their area and classrooms on Wednesday.
• This realization led us to cancel school on Thursday and Friday for grades PK, TK, and Kindergarten.
• We also determined that the amount of cleaning needed for a safe return to the building would require us to find alternate locations for learning in the future.
• Kindergarten will be held in the AEA Building near Casey’s.
• TK and PK will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Avoca.

Thursday, March 30 & Friday, March 31:

• Cancelling school allowed AHSTW staff members to meet with representatives from ServiceMaster and our insurance company to better understand the amount of cleaning needed before a return is allowed.
• Findings:
• Ceiling tiles were removed from the most impacted classrooms. 
• It was later determined that all ceiling tiles would need to be removed from the early childhood pod. [This was completed on Saturday morning.]
• Our building has ductwork wrapped in insulation and it was determined that the insulation would need to be removed and ductwork rewrapped. [This will be in the upcoming week.]
• Classroom items would need to be discarded in highly impacted areas and then also from other classrooms in the area to an extent.
• Paper [Student journals, classroom books, wall charts that students would be able to touch, and even laminated papers that may hold and odor overtime needed to be evaluated and potentially discarded.]
• Small toys such as Legos, math manipulative, etc… were also removed from classrooms.
• Other items were recommended to be discarded based on the ability to be fully mitigated for smell or due the fact that debris from the smoke may not be able to be completed removed.
• Crayons, markers, pencils were also discarded.
• It is also recommended that student water bottles and headphones were are to be removed.  
• Contact with families will be made and each family will be able to come pick personal items up to discard at home or clean reuse based on personal choice.
• Thursday and Friday were difficult days for our EC staff, as many items that had been created or personally purchased, over what I am sure is over 200 years of teaching experience, were thrown away.  I cannot express how hard this was!
• Inventories of items to be thrown away were required to assist in knowing our total loss and what purchases will be needed in the future.
• On Friday, staff members also began to look at our alternate areas in attempt to begin making it home to our students while it is necessary to be away.

Saturday, April 1 and future:

With all of that said, there is still work to do!  

• ServiceMaster will continue to clean classrooms.  This includes washing walls, carpets, and ceiling grids.
• Our ductwork will be cleaned over the weekend.
• The air quality of the impacted areas will be checked to help us determine when a safe return is allowed.
• The insulation on wrapped ductwork will be removed and replaced.

We hope this work will be completed in an efficient manner allowing for a return to classrooms, as soon as possible.

I end today by expressing my gratitude for our EC staff who are working diligently for a return to school through a tremendous amount of adversity.  They are doing a wonderful job!

Respectfully,

Mr. Darin Jones

Superintendent

AHSTW Community School District