Welcome Back and Happy New Year! |
Welcome Back and Happy New Year!
As next week brings back the return of our hybrid students, the health and safety of our school population is of utmost priority. Our goal here at North Elementary is to provide each student with an immersive in person learning experience in the safest environment possible. As expected, the Covid-19 cases have continued to rise in Somerset. Coming on the heels of holiday gatherings with friends and families, some of our students may potentially be considered a close contact of a Covid-19 positive individual or experiencing Covid-like symptoms themselves. Quarantine periods can range anywhere from 10 days to upwards of 30+ days depending on the timing of exposure and the nature of the relationship our students have with the Covid positive individual. If your child has symptoms, has been exposed, or is considered a close contact, please contact the School Nurse as soon as possible. It is imperative to accurately determine the quarantine period to avoid bringing Covid-19 into our school. If you have traveled during the holiday break, be advised that we are mandated to follow the Massachusetts travel guidelines. Testing out of mandatory travel and close contact quarantine is an option, but is time sensitive. Please check with the School Nurse to determine the appropriate timeline if you wish to return your child to school before their quarantine period is up. As we move forward with our hybrid model, we will still continue to screen our students for Covid-19 infections. Identifying persons at risk and removing them from the general population will ensure the best outcome. Please continue to monitor your children for the following symptoms, and note that if they experience any of these during their school day, they will be dismissed from our Covid isolation room:
Please be assured that I am ethically and legally responsible for protecting all students’ health information. All test results and information reported to the School Nurse is completely confidential. Teachers will be made aware to expect their quarantined students to be virtually present for their school day. However, without parental consent, I am not allowed to discuss the nature of their absence from in person learning. I am available via telephone during school hours Monday-Friday at 508-324-3170 and via email on weekends and evenings: stephanie.roy@somersetschools.org. Thank you all for your dedicated effort to provide our students with a safe and valuable learning experience. Stephanie L. Roy, BSN, RN |
Face Coverings Policy
Please be advised that Somerset Public Schools has a Face Coverings Policy. It is an expectation that ALL students (PreK-8) wear an appropriate face covering. Gaiters, bandannas, and masks with vent ports are not considered appropriate infection prevention in the school setting. You can find our face coverings policy here.
*Parents are expected to provided face coverings for their child. However, a new clean mask will be provided if your student soils their mask*
Covid Prevention at the Ground Level
LEFT: Covid prevention begins with education. ALL students will be shown a short video prior to their return to hybrid learning. It outlines basic concepts of wearing masks, physical distancing, handwashing, and when to stay home from school. On their return to campus, I will be going into each classroom to do Live presentations with the children. We will review the concepts seen in the video and reinforcing schoolwide expectations. I will also be demonstrating some of the PPE the students may see me wear throughout the course of the next few months.
MIDDLE: This is a preschool classroom with clearly delineated areas of separation for students. As you can see, they each have their own classroom supplies. This greatly reduces the spread of infection by decreasing the amount of high touch surfaces in the classroom.
RIGHT: Minor injuries and ailments will be handled on a case by case basis in the classroom setting. This minimizes the mobility of students throughout the building, allows for easier contact tracing, and keeps them within their designated cohort peer groups. It also keeps "healthy" kids away from the "sick" kids. Children with minor bumps, scrapes, loose teeth, etc are still healthy and keeping them out of the Health Office will keep them that way. My mobile triage cart affords me the opportunity to tend to children in their classroom.
MIDDLE: This is a preschool classroom with clearly delineated areas of separation for students. As you can see, they each have their own classroom supplies. This greatly reduces the spread of infection by decreasing the amount of high touch surfaces in the classroom.
RIGHT: Minor injuries and ailments will be handled on a case by case basis in the classroom setting. This minimizes the mobility of students throughout the building, allows for easier contact tracing, and keeps them within their designated cohort peer groups. It also keeps "healthy" kids away from the "sick" kids. Children with minor bumps, scrapes, loose teeth, etc are still healthy and keeping them out of the Health Office will keep them that way. My mobile triage cart affords me the opportunity to tend to children in their classroom.
