News : First week of school, First case of COVID-19

The West Family celebrating the first day of Kindergarten at Tilford Elementary

The first day of school for many of the children took place on Tuesday, for Kindergarten and on Wednesday for preschoolers. For the first time in 5 months, children gathered at the local schools and made their way to their classrooms. Teachers were eager to get back to work, in a normal way and the children lined up outside, were obviously ready to be back as well.

Smiles couldn't be seen, but then neither could any frowns that might have taken place. Masked up and ready to go the children arrived excited and ready to start the 2020-21 school year. Children this year will be bringing their own water bottles to class because the drinking fountains will also be closed due to COVID-19 in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus should it occur at the schools.

Unfortunately, we didn't get through the first week of school without the first case of COVID-19 being reported in a Vinton-Shellsburg High School student.

"We are in contact with the Benton County Department of Health and will take the steps necessary to protect the health of our students and staff," Superintendent Koeppen said in an email to families. "The individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to school for at least 14 days. Classes will continue tomorrow morning. Contract tracing has occurred and those additional students needing to quarantine, due to close contact exposure, have been identified and communicated with. Those students also have a quarantine period."