There is a crispness in the air that signals fall is not far away. When fall arrives it’s hard to tell how soon the snow will fly and we will be making those hard decisions about late starts, not having school at all, etc.  Please remember that safety is our main priority, but we also understand that we may have to decide to not have school, but parents haven’t had work “called off,” so we know that it can be an inconvenience. Many times it is a transportation concern, and if busses can’t make it into our rural areas, it is very difficult to have school. It is always a parent’s right to keep a child home due to weather concerns if conditions warrant it. We will get the message out via mass calls, emails, texts, placement on all of our local radio and TV stations, and try to do that as early as possible. We make the decision as best we can with the current available weather forecast, and of course, sometimes things turn out better than predicted, but other times it may get worse. Please know we usually are up all night trying to make the right, safe call.

I have had some concerns about student driving in and around the school property that needs to be discussed. Driving through the school parking lot should be done slowly and carefully. At the end of the school day, there are many younger children that must walk across the paring lot on their way home. We have monitors outside of the school at this time, but we still see this careless driving. We also see a great deal of excessive speed once a student has left the parking lot and school grounds. Please know that law enforcement has been contacted and we are trying to curtail this behavior. Excessive speed can result in tickets, fines, or even driver’s license suspensions, so I would emphasize to all students to drive within the posted speed limits and be alert for people walking around or near school property. Students and parents should be able to walk around town without the fear of having to dodge a speeding vehicle.

Thanks to the many community members that have shown up in full force at our student activities. We are having great success in our extra-curricular events, and having a good-sized, well behaved but supportive crowd really gets our kids pumped. Keep in mind that these are young kids that are trying their best, and we want to see them have success in whatever role they are playing in that sport or activity. It looks different for every student, but being “part of something” can really be the hook that keeps interested in school and is proven to help students achieve better academically. It doesn’t matter if it is music, FFA, volleyball or any other activity, it’s great to be involved. This is a great time to be a Southwest Roughrider!

Sincerely,

R. Todd Porter - Superintendent