As sports open up, I wanted to reach out to ask for your patience in this “new” endeavor for us. We are extremely excited that our athletes will have the opportunity to practice and compete!! We are thankful for everything we are allowed to offer this group of students, as we fully realize the impact of extra-curricular activities for their physical and mental well-being.
With that being said, there are MANY restrictions in place that we will need to follow. Everyone has their own perspective on these restrictions. Some of them may not seem reasonable to you. Some may not seem logical. Many of these make things difficult, uncomfortable, or unfamiliar for our athletes, our parents, and our administrators. All are created with the best of intentions: to keep our athletes and their families as safe as possible under the circumstances. Again, we are focusing on being THANKFUL for anything we can offer, and plan to follow all guidelines given to us by IHSA, IESA, and IDPH. Following the guidelines assigned will help us ensure that our athletes are safe, that we can continue to offer these opportunities, and that they will get the most out of the opportunities they are afforded. If nothing else, the pandemic has taught us not to take things for granted, and to be thankful for what we have.
As more and more information is given to us about how to conduct the sports seasons, things will most likely change. We will make sure all coaches and athletes are aware of changes as they occur, and will be constantly changing our plan of action as we learn from our experiences.
One of the restrictions that will affect parents and guardians the most is our ability/inability to welcome spectators at competitions. Because of guidelines given to us regarding spacing, our junior high facility is unable to accommodate spectators. The high school gym, having more space, will be able to accommodate a limited number of spectators for indoor sports. The general public may not attend. Please understand that we would love to have a packed gym to support our athletes, but that is not an option at this time. We have, however, had a camera installed in the high school gym so that all home events can be streamed to anyone interested in watching. The junior high will be making these accommodations available as well. We hope that many Hawk fans will be able to enjoy these games from near and far! Information on how to access the games will be made available on our website.
Again, I ask for your patience with our administrative team and coaches. Each sport has different guidelines and a different set of rules. It is the job of the administrators in these buildings to ensure that these guidelines are being followed. They are not making the rules, just making the best of them. I guarantee that at the heart of every decision being made is the physical and mental health of our kids. If we could make it “normal”, we would.
Please watch for the specific rules for your athlete’s sport and continue to watch for updates. The rule for today may not be the rule for tomorrow. We grow as we learn. As always, thank you for all of the support you have shown to the children this year, and for your support of the Prairie Central district. We appreciate working with you for the benefit of our students. Please feel free to contact us with questions. GO HAWKS!!
Sincerely,
Paula Crane,
Superintendent