NEWS
BISD Trustees review COVID-19 procedures
Trustees of the Bowie Independent School District met in called session on Nov. 5 to review the district’s COVID-19 practices and procedures.
Twelve weeks into the school year, Superintendent Blake Enlow said several board members wanted to have the discussion in light of the increase in county virus cases and hospitalizations. Bowie ISD continues to experience each week two-three students and staff members at each campus who test positive or have been exposed to a positive case.
Trustees review staff and student self-reporting procedures, and the checking of student symptoms when they arise. Enlow said there was discussion about mask wearing at different common areas such as the cafeteria or gyms, where students may gather throughout the day.
“Teachers have said in some classes it is just hard to teach kids wearing a mask. There was some discussion of having a mask mandate, but it goes back to the common areas where they can’t social distance. Some wear them all the time, but we did not mandate. We will have conversations with those who may not be wearing them in common areas and why we are asking them to do it,” said Enlow.
There also is the challenge of social distancing where some of the classroom don’t have the space for the full six-feet. The superintendent said they are moving things around to make it work better and some added partitions when the students can’t be far apart.
Trustees talked about events and the public coming into facilities. Enlow said they will try to do social distancing and encourage masks.
“Football was outside, as we move inside we will mark chairs for distance and we are going to ask for and offer masks. We feel most will comply if you ask,” said Enlow.
The superintendent continued at this point it was a good discussion giving the administration an opportunity to get feedback from the board, who all have varied opinions based on their different levels of exposure to the illness.
The number 13 is widely considered unlucky, so much so that certain buildings do not list a thirteenth floor. It’s hard to avoid 13 when it makes up a day each and every month, and even more so when the 13th falls on a Friday.
Every year people are treated to at least one Friday the 13th on the Gregorian calendar, but some years there can be as many as three such days. It is difficult to pinpoint when superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th first came to be, but it may have something to do with Christianity.
The New York Historical Society says the unlucky connotations may be traced back to The Last Supper. In attendance were 13 people: Jesus as well as his 12 apostles (one of whom betrayed him). The following day (Friday) Jesus was crucified. Superstitions cropped up among Christians that a table of 13 “courted death” and that having 13 people around a table or in a group was unlucky, according to the BBC.
The number 12 often is seen as a sign of completion. The 12 months of the year, 12 zodiac signs, 12 apostles, 12 days of Christmas, and 12 gods of Olympus perhaps bolster that reputation. That belief may have given rise to foods being sold in multiples of 12, as in a dozen doughnuts. Thirteen is then incomplete.
Friday also has a reputation for being unlucky. It was said to be the day Eve gave Adam the apple from the Tree of Knowledge as well as the day Cain killed his brother, Abel.
The Christian connection is not the only potential source of superstition surrounding the unlucky nature of 13. History.com says the ancient Code of Hammurabi reportedly omitted a 13th law from its list of legal rules. Also, National Public Radio says the Knights Templar were condemned on a Friday the 13th.
Although there are many past examples of when Friday and the number 13 have been linked to potential bad luck, word of mouth also may have contributed to this unfortunate relationship. Things have a tendency to be misremembered, which is known as the “Mandela Effect.” It is possible someone misremembered or incorrectly indicated that Friday the 13th was unlucky, and then it has since been remembered that way.
Thirteen is not always considered unlucky. Prior to World War I, the French traditionally considered 13 a lucky number. In Italy, 13 was the lucky number in football pools. The Italian expression “fare tredici” meant “to hit the jackpot” and is translated as “make thirteen.” Also, Colgate University has long considered 13 a lucky number, as the school was founded by 13 men with 13 dollars, 13 prayers and 13 articles.
Friday the 13th next falls in December 2024, potentially leaving the superstitious on edge.
Reconstruction of the southbound main lanes of U.S. 287/US 81 from Fruitland Rd. to
the Montague/Wise County Line is scheduled to begin on Feb. 16. Traffic will be reduced to one lane while contractors rebuild the other lane. Entrance and exit ramps will be closed in various stages of construction. Message boards will be placed in advance of the
closures to notify the public of specific closures. Construction is scheduled to last until July 2027.
-
NEWS2 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS3 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS3 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS3 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS3 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
Show us something good9 years agoCountry music star children perform in Bowie
-
NEWS3 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
100th Birthday3 years agoLooking back at the 1958 Centennial edition of The Bowie News