January 9, 2023
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September 14, 2022
Additional Information: Due to the high number of positive cases, case workers are prioritizing phone calls. If you do not receive a call but are needing a letter to return to work or school, you may call the NDDOH hotline Monday- Friday between the hours of 8:00 am – 5:00 pm at 1-866-207-2880.
Household Contacts
– A household contact is anyone that lives in the same house as the positive case. People that live together have ongoing exposure, meaning they are repeatedly exposed until the case is no longer able to spread the virus to other people.
– If you are not up to date on COVID-19 vaccines and have ongoing exposure to COVID-19, you should:
- Begin quarantine immediately and continue to quarantine throughout the isolation period of the person with COVID-19.
- Continue to quarantine for an additional 5 days starting the day after the end of isolation for the person with COVID-19.
- If you remain symptom free, you may be released on day 6. It’s recommended that you continue to wear a mask through day 10.
- If you experience symptoms within this time frame, its recommended that you get tested.
If the case is able to isolate themselves within the household (meaning no shared spaces with other people-including bathrooms, kitchens, etc.); then the contact may start their 5 days, with day 0 being the day of last exposure. If you remain symptom free, you may be released on day 6. It’s recommended that you continue to wear a mask through day 10.
May 12, 2021
Dear Lisbon Parent/Guardian and Staff:
While we are making great gains with our fight against COVID-19, there is still some vigilant work to
be done to keep our students, staff, and families safe. There are still many unknowns about COVID-19;
however, we do know that it is very contagious and can spread very quickly. It is time to become diligent
to slow or stop the spread of coronavirus infections even during our nice spring weather and into the
summer months. There a number of things that we all must do to keep our kids safe in school and
activities as we head toward the end of the year. Since being back face-to-face fulltime starting on
January 22nd , 2021, we have done the following preventative actions to continue our learning as normal
as possible.
Guiding principles to keep in mind to reduce the spread of COVID-19:
- Stay home when appropriate as the virus seems to spread very quickly. Whenever you are in
groups inside, wear facial coverings and keep a distance of six feet from students and staff.
Please remember that if two people are wearing their facial covering properly but closer than six
feet they would only need to self-monitor. - Stay home when you have symptoms or someone in your home has symptoms. Symptoms may
include fever (100.4 or higher), fatigue, muscle aches, cough, sore throat, runny nose, nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or loss of taste/smell. Please seek medical attention. Get
tested when symptoms arise. - Public Health and our school district’s COVID-19 team will continue to follow quarantine rules for
close contacts and positives test results. Seating charts are still kept in school and on busses to
help identify infected individuals. - People are considered fully vaccinated after two weeks of their second shot in a 2-dose series or
two weeks after a single-dose vaccine. - Practice good hygiene including washing your hands with soap and hot water for at least 20
seconds and properly cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Keep your hands away from your
eyes, mouth and nose. Keep all surfaces including desktops, tables, door handles, etc., properly
sanitized. Respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze is the most common
way to spread COVID-19. - We have made accommodations for students with disabilities or other students that are unable
- to join the school safely at this time. These accommodations range from Zooming into standard
classroom instruction to enrolling in an online academy.
Lisbon Public Schools continue to provide counseling for students and staff on an at need basis
through the Village Mental Health Service. These services provide students and staff a chance to work
through added stress at this time. Our food service will continue to provide meals for students in person as well as those families that have been affected or choose to distance learn at this time.
We know that this time has been challenging, and even frustrating time for our staff, students,
parents, and school community. Our mitigating practices of wearing facial coverings, physical distancing
and washing hands must continue in order for us to stay in school and participate in activities. If you
have health concerns, please contact your private health provider. Vaccinations are now being offered
to all adults and children ages 12 years old and up. The Lisbon Public Schools has teamed up with
Ransom County Health to provide a space on campus for these vaccinations and will continue to look for
other opportunities to offer them in the future. Check with public health or your private health provider
if you would like to be vaccinated.
We appreciate your patience as we work with DPI, NDHSAA, and public health for further guidance.
My goal will always be to keep our school communities continuously updated as our situation could
change quickly. We will be continuing to look at these plans every six months to update them with the
current information and resources we have at each update period. If you have specific questions or
concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Respectfully,
Justin Fryer, Superintendent of Schools
December 7, 2020
All the new information on quarantine changes are on the Health.nd.gov website here.
This website includes the new guidance and included an FAQ and a new visual timeline to help explain, as well as an updated quarantine calculator.
Also here is the current FAQs for the vaccine.
Nov 16, 2020
Good Morning – Please find below the Governor’s news release from Friday, November 13, 2020, at 10:00 pm to slow the spread of COVID-19. We (LPS/FRS COVID-19 team) spent the weekend unpacking the announcement. Basically, we have determined the following – mask mandate, limit social gathering sizes, and delay in ALL activities until December 14, 2020. The executive order went into effect at 12:01 am November 16, 2020.
The mask mandate includes all indoor activities regardless of physical distance. The mask mandate also includes outdoor activities when physical distancing is not possible. Exceptions are for children under the age of five, individuals with a medical or mental health condition or disability that makes it unreasonable to wear a mask, and religious services.
The limit on social gatherings include bars, restaurants, and food service establishments are limited to 50% of their licensed seated capacity, not to exceed 150 patrons, and are closed to in-person service between the hours of 10:00 pm and 4:00 am. This restrict does not affect schools.
Schools and community activities are found under item 3. a.- e. of his executive order. All high school winter sports and all association, community, and club sports for youth and adults are suspended until December 14, 2020. This order includes practices. The only thing that will be allowed would be the State Volleyball tournament scheduled for this week in Fargo. Religious activities are exempt from this order.
I had a meeting this morning with my state-wide superintendent’s organization. We will be having another meeting later this afternoon with the Governor’s office to receive more clarification of the executive order. The Governor’s office has already received a large pushback on his order but until he sees numbers going down and reduction in our medical capacity for beds, I could see this thing lasting beyond December 14. Let’s do are part and help slow the spread of COVID-19 and follow the Governor’s executive order. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. SLJ
Justin Fryer, Superintendent
July 6, 2020
Last March, Governor Burgum closed schools for in-person instruction due to concerns about COVID-19. He directed schools to serve their students via distance learning “until further notice”.
The Governor amended his order on June 1st to allow schools to have summer school and to provide daycare as long as it was in groups of 15 or less. Under the guidance of the Governor, we did offer summer school in-person for remedial reading, special education, beginners’ music, school-based mental health services, and behind the wheel, which was also approved by Ransom County Public Health.
We are in frequent contact with the ND Department of Public Instruction, Ransom County Public Health and the Governor’s Office trying to find out what schools will be allowed to do in August.
- At this time, we do not know if students will be allowed to return.
- If they are allowed to return, will class-size caps and social distancing guidelines be in place?
- If so, that may force us to limit the number of students who can attend school each day.
- Will schools still have the authority to offer distance-learning classes to our students who have been identified as high risk by a medical-professional?
It is our hope that the Guidelines we need to follow will be released by mid-July. Once those guidelines are released, we will share the educational plan for this fall.
We know how difficult this uncertainty is for many of you. Rest assured that as soon as we have guidance from the state, we would communicate our plan. If you have specific questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Respectfully,
Justin Fryer, Superintendent of Schools
May 22 Update
Today marks the last day of the 2019-2020 academic school year. Thanks to all who have made this year possible. We will hold graduation on Sunday starting at 2:00 pm at the Outdoor Sports Complex weather permits. Mr. Adair will watch the weather very closely. We have some chances of rain so he might need to call a “Rain Delay” much like a umpire during a baseball game. Plans can also change due to public health concerns. I know of one school district that had some graduates and families members test positive for COVID so they had to change their ceremony format just two days before graduation. Please remember the graduation rules – people who are sick should not attend; members of vulnerable populations should not attend; masks are strongly encouraged; and please do not be selfish by violating the rules. I will be announcing scholarship winners during the graduation ceremony with 25 seniors receiving $62,600 in locally generated scholarships. Dollars for Scholars awarded $35,000 while another $27,600 was awarded by others. Nearly 39% of our graduates will receive ND Academic and CTE Scholarships worth $750 per semester for four years as long as they are a full time student and hold a 2.75 GPA. Winners of the CTE were – Kasen Anderson, Jacie Baarson, Colton Bergemann, Brady Carlson, Kaylee Dickerman, Logan Fellows, Chynna Langhoff, Ethan Lyons, Caleb Nielsen, Brooklyn Person, Jacob Reinke, Mandy Saxerud, and Keaten Shelton. Winners of the Academic Scholarships were – Jacob Bear, Isac Bentten, Peyton McNea, and Cassidy Rostock. We also had 14 graduating seniors receive University and College Scholarships from ten different institutions of Higher Education. Congratulations to the Class of 2020!!!! This week included planning for summer school. We started ordering PPE materials so that we can meet the guidelines as set forth for re-entry. Most of those guidelines are changing week by week as we learn more about the pandemic. My Wednesday ended late in the day with my email being compromised. I worked with the state IT personnel to get things straighten out but by Thursday morning the problems go worse making for a long day. The hackers are getting better at what they do as they did use my signature, picture, and my correct email address. However, they made some mistakes like our school phone number and other small mistakes. It took us a while to find what they did but once we found it we were able to get my email back on track. We have offered contracts for elementary special education and elementary music. We believe the candidates will fit in nicely with the Lisbon Public Schools. Once I received signed contracts, I will make those individuals names public.
Last week, I reported on the asbestos insulation that was found wrapped around the steam line pipes encased in cement in the elementary. Wednesday, we were able to get an abatement company to our campus to start the removal process. The removal and the air monitoring during the abatement should take another three days. Mark Qual and Lori Lyons were able to sign the closing papers on the Bond sale on Wednesday. We will have closing papers on the bond sale completed on Thursday May 28, 2020. I really hated to end my 43rd year of education like this. I did not get a chance to say proper goodbyes to staff who are leaving us and brag up the seniors during our Annual Awards Night! I will miss you all. My hope will be to see you all back her in August. Thanks for everyone’s support and hard work over the past ten weeks. Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend. SLJ
May 15 Update
Good Afternoon:
On Wednesday, I had our grant awarding meeting for the Lisbon Community Endowment. The announcement of grant winners will be out later as letters with checks are coming in the mail. Wednesday afternoon I had a South Valley school board meeting via Zoom. We also had a construction meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Things were going pretty well on the construction until we found that all of our steam line pipe going into our classrooms and other areas was wrapped with asbestos insulation. Because it was contained it causes no risk until you try to remove it, which must be done as we are changing our heating system from steam to hot water. Therefore, we will need to get an abatement company down to remove the asbestos and the pipe according to the EPA guidelines. This delay will only affect the elementary school and the mechanical contractor. While we are abating the elementary pipes, we will have the mechanical contractor concentrate on the sprinkler system in the middle school.
During our $3 million dollar bond sale on Monday we were very happy as our bonds sold for 1.95% with a premium payment of over $93,000. That is lower than the state interest rate on voter passed bonds. The closing on the bond sale will be on Thursday May 28.
On Thursday, we received word that Mrs. Emma Waloch and her 4th graders were recognized by the Rural Schools Collaborative for their work with Parkside Nursing home. We are so proud of Emma and her students.
The calendar year is coming to a close and next Friday will be the last day of our 2019-2020 school year. We have a lot of things to finish before we say goodbye to the year. For Seniors of the Class of 2020, this week will be very special for them and their families. Although we have new rules we must pay by including social distancing, we know that the school, parents, staff and community will make graduation one to remember. I know I am going all out for this year’s Senior Class. Let’s hope for some great weather. When new information becomes available, I will forward it to you.
Thanks for everyone’s support and hard work over the past nine weeks.
Have a wonderful and safe weekend. SLJ
May 8, 2020 Update
Good Afternoon: We started this week with a state-wide superintendents meeting, Ransom County Public Health and a meeting with music instructors to discuss summer band.
On Tuesday, I was able to sit in on Mr. Adair’s Zoom meeting with the Class of 2020 as he reviewed graduation options, answered questions, and received suggestions from our seniors. I am confident that Mr. Adair and the Seniors will put on a great graduation within the guidance and rules we have been given to follow. On Wednesday, the Department of Public Instruction and the Governor’s office came out with graduation guidance.
Our property is still off limits for students and non-essential personnel except for graduation ceremony. Guidelines are attached. We are expecting re-entry guidelines to come out soon so that we can do more planning for summer school and the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
On Wednesday night, I was able to celebrate with the 4th graders in Mrs. Waloch’s class as they were chosen as the 2020 Volunteer Group of the Year by the Long-term Care Organization. They were supposed to be at a banquet in Bismarck but because of the pandemic they celebrated on Zoom! Congratulations Parkside Buddies!
Today we had our first meeting of the Department of Public Instruction’s pk12 Alliance Team. I was chosen to represent the Lisbon Public Schools on this team whose mission will be to create and provide unified messaging and support for family educators and students during this unprecedented time. The team consists of 25 members from across the state including students. Many of the team members are part of the family engagement team.
Construction was delayed because of the rain earlier this week. They did get the walls poured and plans are to get the floors formed up and cemented next year. It appears that we are three-weeks ahead of schedule.
Next week, we have a school board meeting via Zoom for Fort Ransom on Monday night and on Tuesday night Lisbon. Everybody should have received the meeting ID and
Password. I also have a South Valley Special Education board meeting on Wednesday, May 13. According to our approved distance-learning plan our last day of school will be May 22, 2020. I want to be as transparent as possible while giving you honest and 
truthful information to the best of my ability. I am on three state-wide administrative committees, which help me stay informed. When new information becomes available, I will forward it to you.
Thanks for everyone’s support and hard work over the past eight weeks. Have a wonderful and safe weekend. If you have time check out the Drive-In Movie night and curbside popcorn from the Scenic Theater.
Justin Fryer
Superintendent
“No Tech Day” Monday, April 13, 2020
Monday, April 13, 2020, has been declared No Tech Day by Justin Fryer, Superintendent of the Fort Ransom and Lisbon Public Schools. Teachers in Fort Ransom and Lisbon will not be available for contact with their students or parents on that day. We encourage teachers, students and families to take the day off from technology including cell phones, television, iPad, computers, etc. and stay off social media for at least TWO HOURS.
Suggestions –
Write two letters to a loved one you have not been able to see since the COVID-19 School closure began.
Do two additional chores around your house or farm to assist your parents.
Spend two hour outside, not in groups, enjoying the weather.
Create a hands-on project using materials found in your home. (Ex. Build a rocket out of Legos, art project, sewing project, paint, draw, build a fort, design a medical facemask, possibilities are unlimited)
Go for a walk, ride your bike, rollerblade, etc…. for two hours
Help make or make a family meal for all to enjoy with all family members sitting at the table together.
Be creative!
I would like thank our staff, students and community while we flipped our delivery of educational services to Distance-Learning in one short week for all your work and understanding. You all deserve a break. We live in a wonderful community. Enjoy!
Respectfully,
Justin Fryer, Superintendent