22 August 2023
SILVER LAKE (KSNT) – It all started last Friday, the Silver Lake School District getting ahead of what is going to be a very hot week in Northeast Kansas.
“Our superintendent started putting things out on Facebook and to the staff on Friday just acknowledging that it’s going to be really hot this week and we need to consider some safety interventions,” Silver Lake Director of Special Services Greg Harmon said.
Some safety precautions include a lot of bottles of water on hand and moving recess inside for those who have a later recess time. It’s not just elementary school; the middle school and high school also changed up plans when it comes to sports. The high school football team practiced at 5:45 in the morning while the middle school team took part in a film and chalk session inside after school.
The district wasn’t the only one who stepped up. Many parents also helped their kids beat the heat.
“We have a lot of parents who kind of changed up their game plan too and came and picked up their kids so they wouldn’t have to be on the bus for a long time, Silver Lake Third Grade Teacher Diane Herrmann said. “A lot of kids who would typically walk home also got picked up.”
Although, you can’t always prepare for the unexpected. Near the end of the school day Monday for Silver Lake Elementary School, the power went out which forced teachers to switch up their game plan.
“We just had to make adjustments,” Herrmann said. “In my room we at least have windows, so we had a little bit of light and we could kind of gather on our reading carpet. We did some little problem solutions, discussions and did a little bit of reading.”
While Monday came with a slight inconvenience at the end of the school day for some, district officials will be talking throughout the week and doing their best to make sure the rest of the week runs smoothly.
“We expect the rest of this week is gonna be the exact same,” Harmon said. “So, we’ll be having daily meetings to make sure that the kids are cool enough, that we have enough water, that there’s no issues there. And if we need to make changes to that we certainly can, but for now, I think we have a good plan in place.”
Harmon tells 27 News with more parents opting to pick their kids up from school this week, most bus routes have gotten fairly small, making kids who do still have to take the bus not wait as long to get home.