ith the new positions finalized to lead the high school, the administration’s policies will remain similar to last year. However, Superintendent Rob Metz said there are new district-wide policies that will implemented. According to Metz, an anti-bully policy enacted through the state will charge someone with the responsibility of monitoring bullying in school. “At the high school that will be the assistant principal, Ms. Schweitering. She is going to be the person who will handle all the bullying situations,” he said. “I will be sending a letter to every family in the school system describing the new policy.” Additionally, Metz said in response to the middle school drowning death that occurred during class, the district is forming a task force to study the school pool use and establish new rules. “For the time being we will not being use the swimming pools during the school day during physical education classes.” Metz said. “We are going to form this task force and study the topic of how pools should be used.” Regarding the administration’s student policies, interim assistant principal Kari Schwietering said although there are currently no plans for them to change, the administration will work this year to improve the clarity of policy. “We are hoping to have some clarity regarding previous policies and to be as transparent as possible in future changes,” Schwietering said. Senior Emily Weinberg said the school should change the method for creating clubs.
he Department of Health will be requiring more vaccinations for seventh graders before the 2015-16 school year. Because of this, all freshmen entering the high school in 2016 will have been vaccinated as required by the new law. The new immunization laws will include a required meningitis vaccination as well as a Tetanus- Diphtheria-Pertussis (TDaP) booster. According to Karen Dorn, one of Park’s high school
nurses, these new laws will keep students healthy and help avoid preventable diseases. “Pertussis (whooping cough) was added as a requirement because the effectiveness of the pertussis vaccine wanes over time, and there has been an uptick in the number of cases over the last few years,” Dorn said. Despite the fact the requirements will not affect current high schoolers, Amanda Anderson, another nurse at Park believes these immunizations should still be taken by most students so they can stay healthy after high school. “Most colleges will recommend students get these vaccines so they can prevent the spread of
“I think it restricts clubs’ creativity, even though it’s a good way for kids to get involved at school,” Weinberg said. Interim Principal Scott Meyers said the parking will remain the same except cost has gone to $50 per semester. “We have done some basic things like restriping to try to help, and consulted with the fire marshal to see if there are any safety measures we need to consider before moving forward,” Meyers said. Meyers said the administration is willing to examine policy once the year begins. “We heard last year that some things didn’t work smoothly and we will try to address those, however some of the progress made last year was good too,” Meyers said.
disease since students live in close spaces,” Anderson said. These colleges include the University of Minnesota, which requires students to get certain immunizations in order to keep their school disease-free. According to the University of Minnesota’s website, the university requires immunizations for staff and students to maintain a high standard of health. Although these shots are required to go to school, students can be exempt from them if they decide not to for medical or personal reasons. “There are exemptions allowed for medical reasons documented by a physician or for the conscientious beliefs of a parent
when a notarized statement is provided,” Dorn said. The exemptions are important for students such as incoming freshman Jade LaBelle who said she believes the vaccines are more harmful than helpful. “I don’t think they’re necessary,” LaBelle said. “The vaccines have more negative side effects than benefits.” Since the laws are only for incoming seventh graders, high schoolers will not be affected by the new requirements, Dorn said. “For the present time, high school students can rest easy. While there are vaccines needed for school, there are no new requirements for this year or next,” Dorn said.