Happy Thanksgiving! Included in this e-news: How to plan a safe Thanksgiving + Much More! #tigerpride

The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful and isolating for many people. Gatherings during the upcoming holidays can be an opportunity to reconnect with family and friends. This holiday season, consider how your holiday plans can be modified to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to keep your friends, families, and communities healthy and safe.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 epidemic is worsening, and small household gatherings are an important contributor to the rise in COVID-19 cases. CDC offers the following considerations to slow the spread of COVID-19 during small gatherings.

The following people should not attend in-person holiday gatherings:

People with or exposed to COVID-19

Do not host or participate in any in-person gatherings if you or anyone in your household

Has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and has not met the criteria for when it is safe to be around others
Has symptoms of COVID-19
Is waiting for COVID-19 viral test results
May have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days
Is at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19

Do not host or attend gatherings with anyone who has COVID-19 or has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

People at increased risk for severe illness

If you are an older adult or person with certain medical conditions who is at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, or live or work with someone at increased risk of severe illness, you should avoid in-person gatherings with people who do not live in your household.

Considerations for Hosting or Attending a Gathering

If you will be hosting a gathering during the holiday season that brings people who live in different households together, follow CDC tips for hosting gatherings. If you will be attending a gathering that someone else is hosting, follow CDC Considerations for Events and Gatherings. Below are some general considerations for hosting a gathering that brings together people from different households. Guests should be aware of these considerations and ask their host what mitigation measures will be in place during the gathering. Hosts should consider the following:

Check the COVID-19 infection rates in areas where attendees live on state, local, territorial, or tribal health department websites. Based on the current status of the pandemic, consider if it is safe to hold or attend the gathering on the proposed date.
Limit the number of attendees as much as possible to allow people from different households to remain at least 6 feet apart at all times. Guests should avoid direct contact, including handshakes and hugs, with others not from their household.
Host outdoor rather than indoor gatherings as much as possible. Even outdoors, require guests to wear masks when not eating or drinking.
Avoid holding gatherings in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces with persons who are not in your household.
Increase ventilation by opening windows and doors to the extent that is safe and feasible based on the weather, or by placing central air and heating on continuous circulation.
For additional information on increasing ventilation, visit CDC’s information on Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Home.
Winter weather can be cold, wet, and unpredictable. Inclement weather makes it difficult to increase ventilation by opening windows or to hold an event outdoors.
If setting up outdoor seating under a pop-up open air tent, ensure guests are still seated with physical distancing in mind. Enclosed 4-wall tents will have less air circulation than open air tents. If outdoor temperature or weather forces you to put up the tent sidewalls, consider leaving one or more sides open or rolling up the bottom 12” of each sidewall to enhance ventilation while still providing a wind break.
Require guests to wear masks. At gatherings that include persons of different households, everyone should always wear a mask that covers both the mouth and nose, except when eating or drinking. It is also important to stay at least 6 feet away from people who are not in your household at all times.
Encourage guests to avoid singing or shouting, especially indoors. Keep music levels down so people don’t have to shout or speak loudly to be heard.
Encourage attendees to wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Provide guests information about any COVID-19 safety guidelines and steps that will be in place at the gathering to prevent the spread of the virus.
Provide and/or encourage attendees to bring supplies to help everyone to stay healthy. These include extra masks (do not share or swap with others), hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, and tissues. Stock bathrooms with enough hand soap and single use towels.
Limit contact with commonly touched surfaces or shared items such as serving utensils.
Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and any shared items between use when feasible. Use EPA-approved disinfectant.
Use touchless garbage cans if available. Use gloves when removing garbage bags or handling and disposing of trash. Wash hands after removing gloves.
Plan ahead and ask guests to avoid contact with people outside of their households for 14 days before the gathering.

The more of these prevention measures that you put in place, the safer your gathering will be. No one measure is enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Cedar Falls Schools will not hold in-person classes the week of Thanksgiving and the

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday following Thanksgiving (November 23-December 2).

Classes will be provided virtually during these five days of instruction. Attendance will be taken at all levels as the learning is required. Students currently enrolled in our virtual program will continue their online program as scheduled. At this time our plan is to resume in-person classes for those students currently learning in-person on Thursday, December 3. This school closure is part of a community effort to drive down local COVID rates so we can return to school ready to resume in-person learning (and stay in-person) for as long as possible. Please help towards this goal by continuing to practice good habits while away from school; wearing masks, washing hands frequently, limiting exposure by avoiding crowds or high-risk activities, etc.

Free Grab-n-Go Meals During Virtual Learning

On November 23-24, 30 and December 1-2, the District will be offering grab-n-go meals for all students at two locations:

Holmes Junior High - 505 Holmes Drive, west side of the building
Peet Junior High - 525 E Seerley Blvd, east side of the building

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. You must sign-up ahead of time at this link and order each day you pick-up meals. All orders must be placed by 5 p.m. two days prior to the scheduled pick-up day and by 5 p.m. on Saturday for Monday pick-up. Pick up is anytime between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Regardless of the school, your student(s) attends, you can pick up at either site. As you pull up, please pop your trunk so meals can be placed in your vehicle.

Resources for Families

Black Hawk County YMCA Emergency Childcare

Child Care Resource & Referral of Northeast Iowa

COVID Recovery Iowa offers free virtual counseling and assistance

The staff and administration of Cedar Falls Secondary Schools would like feedback on your experience with virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences. Please complete the survey by December 4 to assist in planning for future events. Thank you!

Congratulations to our #TigerPride #State Women's Swim Team! 6th Place in State!

Congrats to Rob Welter, Holmes Junior High science teacher, who won this month's 'Tools for Schools' award. With the pandemic causing hurdles with hands-on experiments, he is using the grant money towards electronics to help students develop their own experiments and learn how electricity works. They will also learn about wind energy, solar energy, and other renewable energies.