North Fayette Valley Community School District
Proud to be NFV
600 N. Pine Street, P.O. Box 73, West Union, Iowa 52175
Phone (563) 422-3851 - Fax (563) 422-3854
Joe Griffith, Superintendent
| Travis Elliott, PK-5 Principal | Micah Gearhart, PK-8 Principal |
| Micah Gearhart, PK-8 Principal | Betsy Nefzger, Curriculum Director |
November 18, 2020
Hello North Fayette Valley Parents and Students!
NFV has developed, and will continue to work towards developing, procedures for our students and coaches to have a successful and safe season during a pandemic. We will need the cooperation from all students, coaches, officials and spectators to help us navigate our competitive team sports through this time. We will continue to be adaptable as we receive new guidance or receive new recommendations from the Governor, IGHSAU, IAHSAA, Public Health and the Iowa Department of Education.
The Governor in a proclamation on November 17th, established a mask requirement for attendance at all venues that have over 15 people in attendance. It is also a state mandate that we limit attendance to two (2) spectators per participant. The Upper Iowa Conference will be issuing two tickets to each student participant for their family to use for the events their student is participating in. Until further notice, the only way you can attend events is if you have this specific ticket. Admission fees will still be required.
For your convenience, the North Fayette Valley Community School District will be sharing our high school home athletic events via YouTube. These links will be different for each game. For ease of access, please visit our website ( www.nfvschools.com). This is also where you can go to see regulations for upcoming events at other school sites.
Those in attendance are required to have a mask on when entering the facility and for the duration of the event. This is a state rule, and as a public school we are required to enforce this. The Iowa Department of Public Health has determined that mask wearing has been beneficial in controlling the spread of COVID-19. All schools will expect all fans to wear masks during the entire event. After the conclusion of the game/meet in which your son/daughter is participating, we will require you to leave the gym to make room for the next set of parents. Anyone not wearing a mask will be asked to leave the event.
Spectators, in attendance, will be asked to sit in specific locations in the gym to allow for social distancing. We strongly encourage you to bring your own hand sanitizer. There will be concessions available. We will allow food and drinks in our gym, but our expectation will be that people consume their food and drink and then put their masks back on.
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 (fever 100.4 or higher, loss of taste/smell, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle/body aches, headaches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea) or have been exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days, please do not attend.
We would ask that everyone please be considerate of others around you. It is our continued hope that these strategies will give us our greatest chance to keep everyone safe and keep our students and staff in school, which is where we want to be!
The Governor cancelled Middle School afterschool activities until December 11, 2020, at which time the state will reassess the middle school sports seasons. This means that there will be no practices, games or meets for our middle school athletes.
High School students can continue to utilize the weight room as long as they are wearing masks, social distancing and wiping down equipment after each use. Middle School weight training and workouts are currently prohibited by the state.
Additionally, and until further notice, the NFV school buildings will be closed to outside agencies wishing to use our facilities.
Thank you!
Joe Griffith, Superintendent
Lori Westhoff, High School Principal/AD
NFV Community, Sports Spectators, Students and Families:
We had a successful summer & fall sports season and we are excited to start our winter seasons. NFV has developed, and will continue to work towards developing, procedures for our students and coaches to have a successful and safe season during a pandemic. We will need the cooperation from all students, coaches, officials and spectators to help us navigate our competitive team sports through this time. We will continue to be adaptable as we receive new guidance or receive new recommendations from IGHSAU, IAHSAA, Public Health and the Iowa Department of Education.
While attending at NFV, these are the things that you will be seeing and hearing:
- Public Address Announcements before each contest regarding our expectations for COVID 19 mitigation strategies and social distancing.
- COVID-related signage.
- Every other row of bleachers will be taped off and we are asking spectators to not sit on those designated bleachers.
- Cleaning/sanitizing products. We strongly encourage you to bring your own hand sanitizer.
- Longer and more frequent timeouts.
- Student sections will require masks be worn if there is not 6 feet of social distancing.
General Guidelines while attending activities at NFV:
- We are NOT limiting attendance at home events at this time.
- If you have symptoms of COVID-19 (fever 100.4 or higher, loss of taste/smell, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle/body aches, headaches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea) or have been exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days, please do not attend.
- Maintain social distancing from everyone not in your immediate family. Masks are strongly encouraged, but not mandatory for adult spectators when 6 feet is not possible.
- Student sections that are not following social distancing protocols will be required to wear masks.
- Concession stands will be operating.
- There will be admission charged for events.
- Please be considerate of others around you.
NFV Activities on the Road
- Many schools are mandating or strongly recommending masks, especially indoors. Please have a mask with you in case they are required.
- Some schools are limiting the number of spectators that can attend. We will try to get this information to you as it becomes available to us.
- Local restrictions, recommendations and expectations will vary from place to place. Be prepared to adhere to them. We will post these on the school website under the Activities tab, as we receive them.
- Concessions will be available at most places, but menus will vary greatly from school to school.
We will be able to offer and have our students participate in middle school and high school activities as long as we are having in person classes or, when necessary, a hybrid model of instruction. If we have to go to total remote learning, all activities will be suspended.
Each and everyone of us has the personal responsibility to adhere to the guidelines at each venue. This will give our student athletes, coaches and spectators the best opportunity to participate this winter. The Public Health officials and schools have developed these strategies and they are doing their best and working hard to create a safe and healthy environment for all. We thank you for your cooperation.
Proud to Be NFV!
Respectfully,
Lori Westhoff
NFV HS Principal/AD
