September 7th, 2022
Dear MISD Parents, Guardians, and Students,
We are in need of your help!
MISD has a long tradition of exceptional sports teams and co-curricular activities that we all enjoy supporting. Related to our home football games we are going to ask for your help and assistance to create a safe and suitable environment where all fans can enjoy the game.
We are asking that our students enjoy the game from the stands or find a place along the fence to enjoy the game.
High School students do have a section, creating a great spot to support our National Anthem Singers, the Football Team and Cheerleaders for four quarters and the Marching Band at half-time, as well as the MHS Dance team.
Parents typically sit in the stands and along the fence, again, a great place to enjoy the evening.
VMS students and some elementary students use the bleachers just north of our main seating section. We will continue to ask our VMS students to remain in this area, allowing a greater amount of safety and unity related to enjoying the event.
Elementary students may sit with their parents or friends in the stands of course; our hope is we are creating enough places for all to have a place to safely see the game.
Related, just a few things that will help. We are asking that no one stands in the walkway against the fence in the main stands; fans have had a difficult time seeing the game as some of our youngsters have begun to use this as an option as the season has progressed. We will allow HS students to stand against the fence as they have historically, in that, they are all standing and their fellow students are not blocked from seeing the field. We will work at making sure the MHS students remain standing only in their section, in an effort to make sure other fans have a clear view of play near the south end zone.
In an effort to keep all at the game safe, we are asking that we not have students behind the stand in the gravel parking lot throughout the game. We know passing through this section is part of the evening, using the restroom, going to the concession stands, and viewing options from the Booster club trailer; save for those exceptions, we are going to ask our students and fans to return to the game rather than spend time behind the stands. We are for certain letting all students know there will not be pick-up football games in the gravel, or anywhere during our Football evenings.
If a student leaves the game, they may not return. In this, we are particularly concerned with visits to Thomas Park and poor behavior, and the potential for unacceptable behavior in this unsupervised setting.
One additional note - We ask that students do not bring "baby powder" to our games and disperse it into the air in moments of particular excitement. We will share this with our HS students and seek their cooperation. We believe this is an unsafe practice in a public setting, we ask for everyone's support in this.
We are committed to making sure we have a safe environment, including behind the stands; at times, we have struggled with students not getting along, car and property damage, in addition to our fans struggling and concerned with navigating around students on the move or involved in a bit of horseplay.
District staff as well as our Marion Police Department will monitor and work with our students and families as we team up to continue to support the great tradition of Friday Night Lights and Marion Football Evenings!
We appreciate your help and support!
Sincerely,
Greg Semler, High School Principal