ELY – Memorial High School students here celebrated Winter Frolic last week, marking the first time in about a year that they were all together again in the same building.
A “winter homecoming” celebration was held last week as 6-12 students cautiously continue to re-occupy the building and return to some semblance of educational normalcy.
Students in the ISD 696 school district, like so many other districts around the state and country, have endured a litany of school shut-downs, distance learning protocols, cancellations of sporting events, plays, prom, and graduation, as the community has battled the COVID-19 pandemic.
The district also marked the seventh week in a row with no positive cases reported in the school community.
Students have been back in school for about a month. Elementary students are also in school, and are kept exclusively in the Washington building.
Megan Anderson, 6-12 principal, said she is “heartened to hear the kiddos in the hallways, locker doors slamming, and basketballs bouncing in the gym.” She gave the Memorial High School student council the go-ahead to plan a celebration.
Because of safe learning protocols, only the top four grades were allowed at the pep rally last Thursday, and they were spaced out with mandatory mask wearing. The pep band was silenced, Anderson said, and there is no school dance this year.
Winter Frolic royalty Elsie Vollom, Julia Schwinghamer, Hailey Schaller and Brynn Vollom, along with, Jake Anderson, Jackson Flom, Riley Bishop and A.J. Walker, presided over the pep rally. Schwinghamer and Bishop were selected as the King and Queen.
Traditional feats of skill and strengthwere limited – no tug-of-war or three-legged relay races at this event. Big-ball soccer was allowed as students remained in their socially-distant cohorts.
The Ely Safe Learning Advisory Council (ESLAC) continues to meet weekly to discuss and recommend actions pertaining to ongoing coronavirus issues and the schools.
At the Feb. 25 ESLAC meeting, ISD 696 Superintendent Eric Erie informed the advisory council that the bi-weekly positive COVID-19 case rate for Northern St. Louis County doubled from 4.3 positive cases per 10,000 people to 9.9.
“We are still under the ‘ten’ threshold (benchmark to have in-person learning), and still lower than any other place in the county,” he said.
Central St. Louis County reported a case rate of 17.8. Duluth area reported a case rate of 13.2. All St. Louis County Schools reported a case rate of 14.4.
“All those areas went down and we were the only school to go up,” he said.
Total COVID-19 deaths in St. Louis County stood at 262 last week, unchanged from the previous week. According to Erie, Lake County reported two deaths last week and an increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
The Ely ZIP code positive case rate increased from 1.61 to 3.22. The Ely school district active positive case count was reported at zero for the seventh consecutive week. The school’s cumulative case count stands at 14.
Coronavirus rapid saliva-testing procedures continue on the school campus, with the next test date scheduled for Wednesday, March 10.
“The state encourages families to have their students tested, but we don’t have that mission here right now,” Erie said.
Vaccinations for school staff continue.
“As many as 30 employees were vaccinated last Wednesday,” according to Erie, “and as many as 86 percent ofschool staff have been vaccinated” to date.
Anne Oelke, K-5 principal, reported that all school employees who want vaccinations will have received their first dose this week.
“We are just working on getting a couple more coaches taken care of,” she said.
In-person learning for both school buildings will continue for the foreseeable future.
“We continue to enforce all the safety and mitigation protocols in the Washington building,” Oelke said.
Anderson added that the Memorial building “is in the same boat” with the continuation of mask-wearing and social distancing rules.
Winter sports and activities will soon give way to spring sports, and students are thinking about prom and graduation celebrations to close out the school year.