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School Bus Driver Appreciation Week

Posted on February 24th, 2021

Thousands of hardworking school bus drivers across the state are going above and beyond their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic as essential school district employees.
To recognize this important profession, Governor Tim Walz has proclaimed Feb. 21-27 as School Bus Driver Appreciation Week in the state of Minnesota.

“I am proud to proclaim February 21-27 as School Bus Driver Appreciation Week in the State of Minnesota,” said Governor Walz. “Our school bus drivers have stepped up in unprecedented ways to serve Minnesota’s students during an incredibly challenging year, and I am forever grateful for their dedication to our students’ education, safety, and wellbeing.” The Minnesota School Bus Operators Association and Minnesota Association of Pupil Transportation first teamed up in 2017 to create School Bus Driver Appreciation Day in Minnesota to encourage school leaders, parents and students to celebrate the often-overlooked profession. This year’s recognition has been expanded to a weeklong, virtual event. Content celebrating Minnesota’s school bus drivers will be unveiled on dedicated Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the week. Content includes submitted videos from the Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, the Minnesota State Patrol, and the Minnesota Department of Education.

“Minnesota school bus drivers are going above and beyond their typical duties to serve students and communities during this unprecedented school year,” said MSBOA President Garrett Regan. “We are thankful that Governor Walz has declared February 21-27 as School Bus Driver Appreciation Week in Minnesota to help give school bus drivers the recognition they deserve.” Minnesota school bus drivers have taken on new essential roles during the COVID-19 pandemic to serve their communities, such as delivering meals and distance learning supplies to families, providing Wi-Fi connections, and transporting the children of first responders and healthcare workers to and from daycare. School bus drivers have also followed new, rigorous health and safety protocols to transport students to and from school safely during the pandemic.

“Not only do Minnesota school bus drivers play a crucial role in our school systems, but they have a positive impact on students,” said MAPT President John Thomas. “The pandemic has reinforced how caring and dedicated school bus drivers are. Many drivers have participated in activities like birthday parades and graduation ceremonies, showing how much they care about the students they serve.” Click Here to read the proclamation.

School Board Recognition Week

Posted on February 22nd, 2021

Minnesota School Board Recognition Week

February 22 to February 26, 2021

ISD #203 — The Minnesota School Boards Association has set February 22-26 as Minnesota School Board Recognition Week to build awareness and understanding of the vital function elected school board members play in our society. Hayfield Community Schools is joining other public school districts from across the state to celebrate School Board Recognition Week to honor local board members for their commitment to ISD #203 and its students.

“Strong schools help build strong communities – and the Hayfield Community Schools School Board devotes countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level,” Superintendent Gregg Slaathaug said. “School board members make the difficult decisions every month – and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect.”

Slaathaug said the key work of boards is to raise student achievement by:
 Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
 Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do;
 Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;
 Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results;
 Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;
 Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
 Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.

“Even though we’re making a special effort to show our appreciation this month, school board members’ work is a year-round commitment,” Slaathaug said.

The members serving our district and their years of service are as follows: Patrich Towey Jr., Kathy Hegna-Zelinske, Justin Holtan, Lori Rouhoff, Chad O’Connor, Curt Heydt, Heather Swygman.

Posted on November 25th, 2020

Our Third Grade students got together with their teachers to some Thank you posters and cards for some of our front line medical personnel. Comments below:
“Wow! This is so nice of them….look at how smart they are!”
Just some of the comments from doctors and nurses on a very busy ICU at Mayo Clinic after being presented with their Poster of Thanks from your awesome 3rd grade class! Both Posters are now proudly displayed in the middle of the unit for all to see. Little acts of kindness are so appreciated! THANK YOU!
Ms. Bungum, Mrs. Carlson and Mrs. Streightiff are pretty neat teachers!

Message From Superintendent Slaathaug

Posted on October 11th, 2020

Parents and Staff:

I am coming to Staff and Parents today to inform you we will be making some changes to our Safe Learning Model. Based on information from DCPH we will be moving grades 7-12 into hybrid starting Monday October 19th. This decision is being made only with our administrative team, Board Chair Patrick Towey, and most importantly DCPH as they are leading the way. These were the only influences considered in making this decision. This decision was not made lightly.

The school district continues to work closely with county and state public health officials in reviewing not only the 14-day published county-wide rate that lags by almost two weeks, but also looking closer at zip code data and current positive cases, isolations and quarantines within our own school district. PK-6 will stay full in person at this time.

The plan for this school week will be the following:

PK-12 will all be in person tomorrow Monday October 12th. Tuesday and Wednesday there will be no school for any students grades PK-12. We will be using this time for teacher preparedness and deep cleaning. SACC will be open all day Tuesday and Wednesday. We will obviously already be closed Thursday and Friday for MEA.

The 7-12 Hybrid plan will be announced sometime Tuesday afternoon Oct 13th.

So to recap.

Tomorrow Oct 12th. PK-12 all in person. Virtual PT conference will remain as scheduled in the HS.

Tuesday and Wednesday 13th and 14th. School closed for all students. 7-12 Hybrid plan to be announced Tuesday afternoon to parents via email and the school website.

Thank you all for your understanding and patience during the pandemic and please know we are doing the best we can here at school to educate your children and keep them safe. I want to thank Michelle Nelson, Amy Caron from DCPH, Jeff Snider, and Grant Klennert for their tireless efforts. I also want to thank our staff here at Hayfield Public schools for going above and beyond in their efforts to make this all work for our children and thank you as parents for your continued support.

We feel we have the best policies possible in place to keep our children safe here at school. And we still feel this is a very safe place for them to be during the school day and school hours. We will continue to need parental assistance outside of school if we are going to be able to keep our students at school as the year progresses.

Thank you

Gregg Slaathaug

Superintendent Hayfield Community Schools

New Viking Mural

Posted on September 9th, 2020

New mural in the cafeteria painted by Hayfield alum Annikka Bjornson.

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