The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

Plans for a semi-regular Homecoming at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn were put on hold last week due to the number of high school students placed under public health quarantines.

According to a statement posted Sept. 25 on the district's Facebook page, all Homecoming activities will be moved to the week of Oct. 5-9. The decision came from the students themselves, said science teacher Isaac Skalsky, who serves as advisor of the H-M-S Student Council.

"Essentially, last Friday the student council met and expressed that by moving it one week, they hoped that most of their peers would be able to return and be present for Homecoming," he said. "We are going to re-evaluate with the student council at the end of this week and decide if further postponement is necessary or desired by the student body. If we shift it again it will be moved to a much later date."

According to H-M-S Superintendent Patrick Carlin, the number of high school students who have come into contact with a coronavirus-positive individual and are in quarantine "changes frequently."

"We had just a few positive tests resulting in several students needing to quarantine due to contact tracing," he said Tuesday morning. "Our coaches in football, volleyball, cross country and cheerleading have had to make a few adjustments."

Guidance provided by the Iowa Department of Education and public health officials suggest students who've been within 6 feet of an individual infected with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes enter a 14-day quarantine away from school. If no symptoms develop during the two-week window, they are allowed to return.

Increased COVID-19 mitigation strategies were implemented this week at the high school, according to daily announcements posted on the district's website. Student space has been maximized in classrooms by marking where desks are supposed to be on the floor. A large temporary classroom has also been created in the H-M-S Event Center, and all study halls that cannot properly accommodate social distancing guidelines in the classroom have been moved to the lunchroom.

Additionally, students are being asked to sit in their assigned seats at lunch when they eat their food. Once finished, they have been encouraged to dump their trays, stay in the lunchroom, spread out and practice social distancing.

"The district has reflected on and refined many of the mitigation strategies," Carlin said. "The district has greatly improved their strategies to implement social distancing and/or limit the number of students that would need to quarantine due to contact tracing. We continue to work in accordance with O'Brien County Public Health to ensure the safety of all of our students and staff."

• Homecoming schedule

Homecoming festivities kick off next Monday and run through Friday, when the Hawks take on Lawton-Bronson at Peterson Field at 7 p.m. Ten seniors are vying for the king and queen crowns: Queen candidates Taya Mason, Cher Hibbing, Darby Mastbergen, Elle Mastbergen and Jessica Riedemann, and king candidates Noah Adams, Dawson Schiphoff, Dylan Doyle, Ben Haack and Gabe Bronstad. Coronation is slated for Monday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced H-M-S officials to adjust the schedule of events. There is currently a plan for a pep rally and parade, however, they are going to look different than past years and are subject to last-minute cancellation.

Both events will be held at the football field. To adhere to social distancing guidelines, the junior high and high school students will sit in the bleachers, the elementary students will sit on the grass, and any community members in attendance will be asked to sit in the visitors' bleachers if the home team side is deemed full.

The parade will go around the track so guests in the visitors' bleachers will get to view all float entries. In case of rain, there will be no parade and the pep rally will be high school students only in the H-M-S Event Center.

The pep rally is set to begin Friday, Oct. 9 at 1:30 p.m., with the parade to follow at 2:45 p.m.