PE waivers tightened up at Mendota High School

Only juniors and seniors can opt out

Bonnie Morris
Posted 1/22/19

MENDOTA – A rule regarding PE athletic waivers for Mendota High School juniors and seniors has been tweaked.

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PE waivers tightened up at Mendota High School

Only juniors and seniors can opt out

Posted

MENDOTA – A rule regarding PE athletic waivers for Mendota High School juniors and seniors has been tweaked. The new rule will allow PE waivers only for junior and senior athletes who do not already have a study hall during their sport’s season.

Reporting at the Jan. 21 board of education meeting, Principal Denise Aughenbaugh updated board members on meetings of the Waiver Sub-Committee and the reasoning behind their recommendation for the new rule. The committee, which included seven teachers and coaches, three administrators, and board member Jim Sundberg, discussed GPA and waivers, requests to expand the current waiver system, requests to waiver appeals, and board discussion to have or not have waivers.

Additionally, Steve Hanson, athletic director, researched how 19 nearby schools handled the issue and found that 10 of those schools did not grant any athletic waivers.

Aughenbaugh said the main concern was the amount of study hall time students have with the current system, noting that all students have the 30-minute Period 8 study hall. “If they have a 47-minute study hall and then waive PE, that’s another 47 minutes,” she explained. “We had concerns about a student sitting in study hall for 125 minutes a day, and teachers observe that the time is not always used effectively.”

Superintendent Jeff Prusator emphasized the MHS was in the minority with the number of waivers they have. “Even the schools that have waivers, not many kids take advantage of them and quite a few schools just flat out don’t offer them,” he told the board. “We felt this was the best compromise.”

Prusator also noted that they had a request last year from a parent group about 9th and 10th grade waivers. Among the 19 surveyed schools, not one school that does that. “They feel that PE is important for kids freshman and sophomore year and seem to be doing just fine with limited waivers or no waivers at all, so we feel comfortable with this recommendation,” he said. “It’s a compromise and better use of student time.”

The new rule will read as follows (the change is underlined):

“Athletic waivers allowed from P.E. class for grades 11 and 12 athletes during the sport’s season, but only for student athletes who do not already have #095 or #096 (Study Hall-MTWRF) in their schedule during their sport’s season.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Big Northern Conference Music Festival and Augustana Honor Band

On Jan. 21, 22 MHS music students attended the BNC Music Festival. The BNC is organized with 11 high schools, Genoa-Kingston, North Boone, Rockford Christian, Byron, Dixon, Oregon, Rock Falls, Rockford Lutheran, Stillman Valley, Winnebago and Mendota.

Directors nominate up to 10 percent of the total band and up to 20 percent of the total choir to participate in this honor festival. Aughenbaugh said students were there all day to rehearse until the concert at 7 p.m. Lori Schrock, choir director, traveled with the BNC Honor Band.

On Sunday and Monday, Jan. 20-21, 12 MHS music students attended the Augustana College Honor Band, accompanied by Chris Dortwegt, band director.

Informational Items

* National Honor Society inductions are Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria.

* Spanish Honor Society inductions will be Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria.

* Freshman Welcome Night for the Class of 2023 will be Tuesday, Feb. 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. at MHS. Parents and students will confirm the registration process and receive informational items on activities and events.

* Sadies Dance is Saturday, Feb. 16.

* Symphony Band Concert is Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. in the auditorium.

* School Improvement dismissal at 11:31 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20.

BUILDING COMMITTEE

The Building Committee met this month to discuss two bids (Ameresco and ESG) for Performance Contracting and following that meeting, the committee is strongly leaning toward ESG.

Although performance contractors look at all aspects of preventative maintenance, Prusator said the top two priorities for the building committee are the chiller and the roof. “The chiller has been a concern for quite some time,” he noted. “It’s 15 years old and has outlived its life expectancy by three years.”

The hope is that the chiller will last through the third Saturday in May, which is graduation. “If it wants to quit at that point, we’re OK with that,” Prusator said. “We are looking at having it replaced this summer.”

As for the roof, the board will discuss whether to replace it with shingles or possibly a metal roof.

Prusator said a formal recommendation on one of the two companies is expected at the February meeting.

OTHER BUSINESS

Prusator said the district is $109, 343 short in transportation money at this point for both regular and special education transportation. “The rumor is we’re supposed to receive one of each before the end of this month,” he noted. “That means between now and next week.” 

PERSONNEL

The board approved Brandy Zell as a paraprofessional in the special education department. The resignations of both cheerleading sponsors, Cady Schmidt and Caitlin Zinke, were accepted for the coming year. Ken Haun was approved as a bus driver and the retirement of Liz Tucker, math teacher and math department head, was accepted effected June 30.

The next regular board of education meeting will be held at the high school on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be preceded by a bond shredding ceremony to celebrate the high school being paid off. Former board members who were involved in the process to build the new high school and the public are all invited to attend the celebration beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Media Center.