Reading Public Schools Spring Update #8

Good Afternoon, Reading Public School Staff and Community,

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope that you enjoy this beautiful day. Here is Spring Update #8.

Happy Nurse Appreciation Week!-May 6-13^th is Nurse Appreciation Week. Our school nurse always go above and beyond the call of duty, but this year they have even been more amazing keeping our students and staff healthy with mask distributions, contact tracing, pool testing, and the day to day work that they have always done. Please take a moment this week to thank our nurses for the work that they have done to keep us safe and healthy.

Health Information-Our health information for this week are as follows:
- 2 positive pools this week. out of total of 267.
  - 1 RMHS athletics pool tested positive, positive individual identified who was a remote student.
  - 1 Barrows pool tested positive, all reflex tests were negative.
- 1 RMHS 11th grade student tested positive who was remote.
- 1 RMHS 9th grader who was remote tested positive, 2 students quarantined.
- 1 NRT bus staff member tested positive. As a result, 5 Coolidge/Birch students were quarantined.
- 1 Parker 8^th grader tested positive, no students were quarantined.
- 473 RMHS Students have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

FY22 Budget Passed by Town Meeting-At Thursday night’s Town Meeting, the FY22 Budget was passed. I want to thank the support of School Committee and Town Meeting for their efforts in a very unpredictable year. I also want to thank CFO Gail Dowd for leading the development of this budget.

This is also my last budget as Superintendent of the Reading Public Schools. My final remarks to Town Meeting are located here.

Food Distribution Continues-This is a reminder that we are continuing the food distribution program from the USDA. Our two distribution times are Wednesdays from 2:30-3:30 p.m. and Fridays from 11:00 a.m.-12 noon under the bridge at RMHS, near the Hawkes Field House. No signup is necessary ahead of time and it is open to all families with children ages 0-22. When you come to the food distribution, you will receive some delicious breakfast and lunch options for 7 days per child. In addition, we provide an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Birch Meadow Finalists Announced-We are pleased to announce the following finalists for the next Principal of Birch Meadow Elementary School. They are as follows:
- Jessica Ekhomu-Assistant Principal, Tobin K-8 School, Roxbury Crossing MA
- Scarlett Grandt-Assistant Principal, Horace Mann Laboratory School (K-5), Salem Public Schools, Salem, MA
- Caitlin Shelburne-Senior Director of Academic Instruction, Making Waves Academy, Richmond, CA

There will be an open microphone session for the Community on Tuesday, May 11^th from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The link and schedule are below:

May is Mental Health Month- May is Mental Health Month! Please CLICK HERE for district and community trainings in the upcoming weeks.

Superintendent

Reading Public Schools

82 Oakland Road

Reading, Massachusetts 01867

781-944-5800

John.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us

The Journey-The Next Chapter