Families: please remember to fill out your free/reduced meal application, including those choosing virtual campus. Last year's application expires October 2.
KRYTON AND CAPS COME TOGETHER TO CREATE A DIVIDED SOLUTION FOR SCHOOLS
The Cedar Falls manufacturer stepped up to partner with high school professionals to design and manufacture needed table dividers for Cedar Falls Elementary Schools.

The COVID19 pandemic has made schools innovate new ways for students to be safe when they returned to school this fall. Earlier this summer Cedar Falls School District STEM Coordinator Kenton Swartley committed to having the school’s robotics team that he leads, design and manufacture 46 polycarbonate divider panels for elementary school classrooms. In late August an additional 200 pieces were ordered to be delivered by the end of August. 

The substantial increase created a challenge for the group to meet that deadline and needed help to meet that demand. The original design for the base supports for the dividers was being fabricated using 3-D printers with plastic filament would take nine days to complete. When the volume quadrupled the project then was handed to the CF CAPS Robotics & Engineering (R&E) team to meet the four-day deadline.

CF CAPS R&E, a profession-based learning program that focuses on the development of skills and interest in STEM careers, discovered that it would take approximately 2-3 weeks to meet the August 31 deadline using the additive manufacturing method. The team knew that timeframe did not fit what the school district was needing. CAPS Associates Savoy Hiesterman and Brody Bruns approached Kevin Harberts, President/ CEO of Kryton Engineered Metals, on how his company could partner with CAPS on the project to support the local elementary schools. Kryton Engineered Metals is the host site for CAPS R&E at their facility in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

“For our production team to get these on the line to meet their short deadline was a challenge as it meant interrupting the work we are doing for our customers,” said Harberts. “That was a real-life aspect of manufacturing that was great to teach these associates about that they hadn’t necessarily thought about”.

Harberts connected the student-associates with one of Kyrton’s engineers Zach Berg to assist in moving the project forward. Berg worked with the CAPS team to redesign the part using aluminum and fabricated using the company’s laser cutter and metal brake to bend the aluminum to fit the new design for the dividers. Kryton was able to produce 420 finished pieces the next day, while the CAPS team focused on finishing the polycarbonate sheets.

“This was an amazing project for our associates to take on, especially during the first week of school,” said CAPS Director Ethan Wiechmann. “Kryton has been such an amazing partner of CAPS since we began in 2017. Without continued outreach to the community through CAPS, the relationship and understanding of what high school students can accomplish would not have been at the level needed without Kryton’s team to move such a project forward so quickly. Due to the commitment by our associates and partners like Kevin and Kryton, they were able to provide the materials needed for safer interactions for our elementary students in Cedar Falls.”

With the demand that Harberts and his team saw through the development of the dividers, they have challenged the CAPS associates to develop a business concept that could help the company serve a larger market beyond Cedar Falls to provide this type of in-demand product during the pandemic.

“I really cannot say enough good things about Kenton and CAPS,” said Harberts. “They were awesome to work with and hopefully a few of them are more excited about careers in manufacturing than when they started the program a couple of weeks ago.”

If you are interested in getting more information about the dividers, contact Kryton at 319-266-1771.
Below is important information to help understand confirmed and exposed individuals, as well as guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health on Evaluating Sick Students and the screening tool that is being used for when students are not feeling well.
The purpose of isolation is to keep infectious people separate from healthy people. The purpose of quarantine is to separate healthy people who have been exposed to the virus, and therefore, could become infectious, from other healthy people who have not been exposed to the virus. Both practices are intended to limit the spread of the virus.
Class of 1970 Celebrates 50th Reunion with Gift to
Cedar Falls Schools Foundation
 
Pictured (L to R): Dave Deaver, Bruce Sorensen, Celia Simmer and Jessie Sorensen, Cedar Falls High School Class of 1970 representatives, present a check for $53,775 to Dr. Andy Pattee, Cedar Falls Community Schools Superintendent, at the site of the new high school.
 
Five years ago, a group from the Cedar Falls High School Class of 1970 came together to discuss ways to celebrate their 50th High School Reunion. They wanted to “pay it forward,” so set to work to solicit funds from classmates for the Cedar Falls Schools Foundation (CFSF). They set a goal for their class of $50,000.
 
From the combined contributions from over 100 Cedar Falls High School Class of 1970 alumni, they have now exceeded that goal. $25,000 will be donated to the new High School building project – a room will be named after the Class of 1970. The remaining funds will be added to the Foundation’s Classroom Excellence Grants Endowed Fund. Classroom Excellence Grants are available to all Cedar Falls Community Schools District staff each fall, and support the purchases of learning materials and opportunities for students outside of the district’s budget. Because of their contribution, a “Class of 1970 Excellence Grant” will be awarded each year.
 
Monica Boyer, CFSF Executive Director commented, “Thank you Class of '70 for showing your pride and enthusiasm for Cedar Falls Community Schools. We are honored to have you as a partner in our mission to support our students, staff and community. You have proved there is great truth to ‘once a tiger, always a tiger!’"

Cedar Falls Schools Alumni: Would your class like to start a fund? Contact the Foundation at (319) 268-7007 to learn more!
2020 is a census year, when all of the people living in the United States are counted. The census is important because it determines everything from congressional representation to the distribution of billions of dollars in federal funds. In 2010, Iowa lost funding due to an undercount of young children. An estimated 4,726 children were missed. Some of the education programs that have lost funds in Iowa each year since 2015 by undercounting include: Special Education Grants, National School Lunch Program, Title 1 Grants, Head Start, School Breakfast Program. For more information, visit the Census 2020 web site.

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