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Guthrie County Public Health asks school districts to lengthen Thanksgiving time off

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November 16th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

The Guthrie County Public Health Department has issued a request of Superintendents and School Board in the County, with regard to Thanksgiving and a return to classes. In his statement, Guthrie County Public Health Director Jotham Arber says “In an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our county and help reduce the strain that a high positivity rate puts on our community’s resources, the Guthrie County Public Health Department is asking that our school districts consider lengthening the time that students are away from school over the week of the Thanksgiving break.

Arber said “We recommend that all schools include Monday, November 23rd and Tuesday November 24th to the days that students are not in person on campus. This would allow students and staff to remain at home with their families and away from others for 9-to 10-days before and throughout the holidays.” He said the thinking is that the move would provide a decrease in the daily positive cases and overall positivity rate.

Officials with the Panorama CSD will follow the recommendation from the Guthrie County Public Health Department and conduct virtual remote learning on Monday the 23rd and Tuesday the 24th of November. District meals will not be provided to students on November 23rd or 24th. Office hours in both buildings will be from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The secondary library and elementary cafeteria will be available for WiFi on both dates. Panorama students in grades Pre-k through 8th grade will need to be accompanied by an adult if utilizing the library or cafeteria. Face masks will be required of any adults utilizing the secondary library and elementary cafeteria during these time periods.

Panorama officials say they will use this week (November 16-20) to finalize plans, check out chromebooks, and communicate out further details.