News

Community update from MSAD 15

3 years ago
by NGX edit

To: MSAD 15 Community
From: Craig King, Superintendent
Date: December 18, 2020
Re: COVID-19 Update

All families and employees have a well-deserved holiday break from Wednesday, December 23, 2020 to Monday, January 4, 2021. This is a nice, elongated period of time for families to be together, get some rest, and enjoy our beautiful Maine winter. Thank you all for your hard work and flexibility this semester. Despite many challenges and obstacles at home and school, everyone has done their best under difficult circumstances.

Please allow me to update you on the most recent COVID-19 information.

Cumberland County **Yellow** Designation. The Maine Department of Education and the Maine Center for Disease Control changed our designation from “green” to “yellow”. Categorization as “yellow” suggests that the county has an elevated risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider additional precautions and /or hybrid instructional models to reduce the number of people in schools and classrooms at any one time.

As of the writing of this memo, MSAD 15 will continue our hybrid model and will be in session Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22. There will be academic classes only. There will be no after school activities of any kind. We will notify you by School Messenger if any changes are made. We will also monitor this data throughout the vacation period.

Confirmed Cases. We have two additional confirmed, positive cases of COVID-19 in MSAD 15. In one case, the individual has not been on school premises since November 28, 2020. In the second case, the individual was present in school during the infectious period. The Maine Center for Disease Control determined the individual did not have close contact with anyone at school during the infectious period. Contact tracing is not required in either case.

Holiday Travel and Holiday Gatherings. As we approach the winter holidays, families will have to make difficult decisions regarding holiday gatherings and out-of-town/out-of-state travel. Personally, as at Thanksgiving, I will not be traveling to northern Maine for Christmas or New Year’s with my 83-year-old mother and extended family. It was a hard decision; however, I determined the risks to be too great. All families will have to use their best judgement regarding the question of holiday travel and large family gatherings.

The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued strong guidance to the American people to limit our interactions and travel this holiday season so that we can all gather safely in the future. Both the U.S. CDC and Maine CDC provide excellent information on this topic:

— US CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html

— MeCDC https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious- disease/epi/airborne/coronavirus/travel.shtml

Any staff or students who travel to any state other than New Hampshire or Vermont will be required to either:

  1. Quarantine for 14 days upon return to Maine, or
  2. Quarantine until receiving a negative COVID-19 test result. The COVID-19 test result must be taken either:
    • In the state you are visiting and no more than 72 hours prior to your return to Maine, or
    • Once you return to Maine

Any staff or students who travel to restricted states will not be permitted inside the school building until either the negative test result can be produced or the 14-day quarantine has been met. Even a one-day visit to a restricted state would trigger this requirement. All household members who travel must test or quarantine if over 12 months old. Any person who is in quarantine should stay home and not have in-person contact with others outside the home unless absolutely necessary. Information on Maine COVID-19 testing sites can be found: https://www.maine.gov/covid19/restartingmaine/keepmainehealthy/testing

We ask all families to keep in close contact with either the school nurse or school administrator regarding any possible exposure to a person with a confirmed COVID-19 case, pending COVID- 19 test results, confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, or travel to a restricted state.

Emphasis on Health Guidelines at School and Home. Although “COVID Fatigue” is a very real phenomenon, we owe it to ourselves to be more vigilant than ever as the pandemic surges. Focus on what we know are effective measures:

  • Frequent Handwashing
  • Social Distancing
  • Masks/Face Coverings
  • Daily Health Check
  • Stay Home When Ill

Useful Family Links:

  • MSAD 15 COVID-19 Information Page https://msad15.org/district-news/
  • State of Maine COVID-19 Resource Page https://www.maine.gov/covid19/
  • Maine Center for Disease Control COVID-19 Page

Important COVID-19 Contact People:

  • Ted Finn, High School Principal tfinn@sad15.org
  • Sadie Grealish, High School Assistant Principal, sgrealish@sad15.org
  • Cristie Barone, High School R.N., cbarone@sad15.org
  • Rick Benoit, Middle School Principal rbenoit@sad15.org
  • Kristin Dacko, Middle School Assistant Principal, kdacko@sad15.org
  • Shelley Blake, Middle School Health Office, sblake@sad15.org
  • Geoff Robbins, Dunn School Principal, grobbins@sad15.org
  • Tonia Gilley-Pratt, Dunn School R.N., tgilley-pratt@sad15.org
  • Danny Blake, Russell School Health Office, dblake@sad15.org
  • Dorothy Foster, Russell School Health Office, dfoster@sad15.org
  • Amanda Hennessey, Memorial School Principal, ahennessey@sad15.org
  • Tracey Ross, Memorial Health Office, tross@sad15.org

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