Monday, January 18, 2021
MSD 114 Families,
We are very excited and all looking forward to the students returning back to in-person learning, starting tomorrow, Tuesday, January 19th. If you have not already been doing so, please remember that beginning Tuesday, January 19th, you must “Self-Certify” your child(ren) before school each day. Once again, this is a very important part of maintaining a healthy school environment so that we can remain in-person. If a student has not self-certified, then the school nurse will check to make sure they are symptom free before allowing them to return to class. While the green wristbands do not take the place of self-certification, it does help staff with checking students into school more quickly. If you need a new wristband, please check with the office of your child’s school. The “Self-Certification” list is checked daily and is the most important component of this process. It takes all of us working together and communicating with each other in order to be successful.
We would also like to remind both families and staff to please remain home if they or anyone they have been a close contact with are being tested and awaiting results. Even though you may not be symptomatic, it is important to wait until the test results have been returned before returning to school. If the result is positive, then the quarantine time will have already begun. If both a Rapid Test as well as a PCR or Send Out test were performed, we must wait on the results of both tests to be returned before a decision regarding returning to school is made.
If one student in the family is staying home for illness all students must stay home until we have an alternate diagnosis or confirmation that it is not a positive COVID-19 case.
Lastly, we understand that the winter break has been a time that either for family reasons or vacation reasons, families have chosen to travel, either within the States or abroad. During the pandemic, almost every location is currently considered to be high risk. As such, we are providing the following guidance you may wish to consider from the CDC:
After You Travel
You may have been exposed to COVID-19 on your travels. You may feel well and not have any symptoms, but you can still spread the virus to others. You and your travel companions (including children) may pose a risk to your family, friends, and community after your travel.
● Consider getting tested with a viral test 3–5 days after your trip and reduce non-essential activities for a full 7 days after travel, even if your test is negative. If you don’t get tested, consider reducing non-essential activities for 10 days.
● If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.
Also take these actions for 14 days after you return from travel to protect others from getting COVID-19:
● Stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who did not travel with you, particularly in crowded areas. It’s important to do this everywhere — both indoors and outdoors.
● Wear a mask to keep your nose and mouth covered when you are in shared spaces outside of your home, including when using public transportation.
● If there are people in the household who did not travel with you, wear a mask and ask everyone in the household to wear masks in shared spaces inside your home.
● Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
● Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness.
● Watch your health: Look for symptoms of COVID-19, and take your temperature if you feel sick.
● https://www.cdc.gov/coronaviru...
Once again, thank you for your continued support and understanding.
Sincerely,
Rusty Ragon,
Superintendent