Good Morning, Reading Public School Staff and Community,
I hope that you had a relaxing and happy Thanksgiving break. Here is Fall Reopening Update #25.
- COVID Information Updates
- Communication-Please note that any communication related to COVID-19 cases to staff and families will only be coming from the building principal, Director of Nurses, or Superintendent of Schools. We are asking that teachers and other staff members not communicate their individual situations to parents.
- Friendly Reminder to Staff and Students-I cannot stress enough the importance of remaining diligent in our health and safety protocols. This includes wearing masks, proper hand hygiene, and 6 foot physical distancing. These three simple protocols are critical to minimizing the spread of COVID-19 in our schools.
- Testing-We would like to remind staff and students that if you are getting a COVID-19 test for surveillance purposes only and not connected to symptoms or close contact, you need to stay remote until you receive a negative COVID test. If you are getting regular tests, please take those tests during your remote weeks, if possible, to avoid having to stay out of school during in person weeks.
- Massachusetts Travel Advisory-This is a reminder to please follow the Massachusetts Travel Advisory during the holiday season. The complete travel order is found here. Many of you live in New Hampshire and work in the Reading Public Schools. The state travel ban has an exemption for people in your category. Here is the employment exemption language.
Persons Commuting for Work or School: People who regularly commute, at least weekly, outside of Massachusetts to a fixed place to attend school or work or any person who regularly commutes, at least weekly into Massachusetts to a fixed place to attend school or work; provided that in either case, this exception applies only to and from the person’s residence and place of work or school. Workers or students who travel to any place that is not their home state for personal or leisure reasons cannot rely on this exemption.
2. Contact Tracing and Notification-There have been some questions about contact tracing and notification when we have a positive test case in a school. When contact tracing we are looking for close contacts, which are currently defined as “anyone who was within 6 feet of a COVID positive person, during their infectious period, for 15 minutes or more during a 24 hour period.” We follow CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidance for determining the infectious period.
Here is the process that we follow when a staff member or student tests positive.
- A staff member contacts the principal if they have a positive COVID test. Director of Nurses Mary Giuliana finds out about a positive student or family test through the town public health database.
- If it’s a student Mary Giuliana calls the family and then calls the Principal. The Principal calls the teacher of the student and get a list of adults who were with the class.
- If it’s a staff member, Mary Giuliana or the Principal talks with the staff member and get the names of all individuals who they believe to be close contacts during the infectious period.
- The Principal, Director of Nurses, and School Nurse create a list of contacts and they begin to call people.
- When calling a staff member, we ask them if they believe they were a close contact (based on the definition) and also ask them if they know anyone else who was in the room or with the COVID positive staff member at that time. This includes special education staff, specialists, paraeducators, or other staff. We add to the list as we get names of individuals who may have been close contacts.
- The Principal, Director of Nurses, and school nurse call until they have reached everyone on the list.
- During the communication process, Dr. Doherty is notified and creates a district wide notification that is sent out. The notification is as specific as possible without violating HIPPA rights.
There’s been concern expressed about not getting a phone call when you hear about a COVID positive case. If you do not get a call from the Principal, Director of Nurses, or School Nurse that means that you do not need to be contacted because you are not a close contact. So no call means you do not have to quarantine and do not have to get a COVID test.
3. Winter Sports-Last week, the Middlesex League voted to have the following changes made to the Winter Sports Season:
Basketball (with modifications), Hockey (with modifications), Gymnastics (with modifications) and Skiing (with modifications) will be offered as winter sports.
Indoor Track, Wrestling, and Swimming will be moved to Fall 2.
Winter sports will begin on December 14th. Games will begin the first of the year.
Teams will play a shortened schedule and will play the same teams that they played in the fall.
The modifications for each sport can be found here.
In Reading, the user fee is $250 for the winter season.
4. Special Education Office Hours- With the holidays upon us, we wanted to take a quick moment to thank all the families for their support and partnership during this most unusual school year. We hope that you all have a chance to relax, spend time with family and reenergize for the coming weeks! As December is approaching, we wanted to share our office hours for the month of December. Jen Stys, Director of Student Services, and Allison Wright, Assistant Director of Student Services, are available for office hours on the following dates. Please sign up for an appointment through the link below.
December Office Hours:
- Thursday, December 3 @ 10-11 am
- Tuesday, December 8 @ 9-10 am
- Wednesday, December 16 @ 2-3 pm
- Monday, December 21 @ 12-1 pm
Link to the DOODLE Poll to sign up for office hours:
We are all thankful to be working in such a wonderful community. Happy Thanksgiving
5. RMHS Drama Club Presentation- The RMHS Drama Club is proud to present their virtual fall production: Act Up! Theatrical Activism from the Bard to Broadway. This original work is a musical revue featuring monologues and small scenes from Shakespeare’s greatest works, as well as musical solos and duets from time-honored Broadway shows, woven together to examine the historical and current role of theater as a voice for social justice. The production was written and directed by Natalie Cunha and Katie Donovan, with music direction by Anna Wentlent, choreography by Katie Donovan, filming by Anna Cuevas, and costumes by Erline Trites. The cast and crew of nearly 60 high school students have spent the last two months rehearsing over Zoom, recording music using online technology, designing costumes, hair, and make-up from afar, and filming outdoor, socially distanced performances. The final film will be aired on YouTube on Friday, December 4th at 7:00 PM. To purchase tickets, please visit www.rmhsdrama.org .
6. Reading Public Schools COVID-19 Community Resources-The Reading Public Schools has compiled a list of COVID-19 Community Resources (see attached) for those who need assistance with quarantine vs. isolation, food services, medical care, mental health, family and parenting, and financial assistance and housing.
Have a great day and week ahead.
Take care.
John Doherty
Superintendent
Reading Public Schools
82 Oakland Road
Reading, Massachusetts 01867
781-944-5800
The Journey-The Next Chapter 