Good afternoon to everyone. I hope you are each well and enjoying this beautiful snow day. I have to say I am not a huge fan of Maine winters, but there is just something about a snow day in Maine that is peaceful and up lifting. Being able to sit and type by a window, watching the snow fall just makes me feel like a kid again, and that was many moons ago! Of course, for those of you that have to get out there, drive in this, clear the snow, salt/sand, etc. you may not share those same feelings, so I'll stop here with my metaphors! ☺
This past week returning from break has been both exciting and challenging. It was great to see our children back in our schools. Their smiles, laughter and joy were once again contagious as they shared their holiday experiences with their friends and teachers. It also was very challenging being the first week back with new SOP's for dealing with positive cases of COVID 19, and with dealing with impacts of the current surge in COVID 19 cases. I suspect the current surge may get just a little worse before it gets better over the next week or two.
I realize that makes people a little nervous, and I can understand why - however I want to remind you that we already have the appropriate "tools in the toolbox" to make sure everyone remains safe while at school. Our data continues to demonstrate that our schools are very safe places for students to be even amidst yet another wave of COVID 19 cases in our community. This is the case because we continue to concentrate on following our core safety guidelines.
Many folks ask however, What can you do to ensure everyone's safety? My response: You can continue to use these tried and true tools. Those are:
- Get vaccinated (or boosted if eligible)
- Stay home if sick (remember to use that daily health screener found in our handbook)
- PROPERLY wear those masks when indoors around people (and if you can double up or use a surgical mask or N95 mask, even better)
- Wash and sanitize those hands frequently
- Keep that physical distance if possible
When things seem out of control, remember, you have these tools to help make sure you are doing what you can to stay healthy and mitigate the spread of COVID 19. You are not powerless.
Now, I'm a realist so I'm going to state the obvious. Even after vaccinating and following all these rules, you may still contract COVID 19. This is true. However, it is important to remember that the goal of these mitigation strategies is to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations and death as a result of contracting COVID 19. We know from the past two years worth of data that using these techniques does indeed accomplish that task. So if you have been using them - keep it up. If you have maybe gotten a little more relaxed about using these tools, perhaps now is the time to recommit. Keeping our children and families from getting seriously ill, keeping our neighbors from getting seriously ill, and keeping our schools open continues to be the primary goal I am sure we all share and we need everyone as a community to continue to do what they can towards this common goal.
Now on to other important information...
AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEW SOP's FROM MDOE/MCDC & UPDATED HANDBOOK
I realize I have already shared a quick overview of the recent changes made by the MDOE and MCDC to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for how we deal with positive cases of COVID 19 in our schools. I also realize that when implementing quick changes of this magnitude it is important to repeat clearly and often the key aspects of these changes to help curb confusion. Over the past two years as we have had to move and adjust and be flexible with our rules, we have certainly learned the importance of repetition. So here goes:
On December 30, 2021 the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) and the Maine Centers for Disease Control (MCDC) in conjunction with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) released a new set of rules for how we deal with positive cases of COVID 19 in our schools. You can access the full document by CLICKING HERE but below is a bulleted highlight of significant changes in the order they appear in the revised SOP:
*. Schools may elect to accept results of home COVID 19 tests (which we are now doing), although these results are NOT formally reported to the state CDC and they will not count towards the 90 day exemption.
*. The isolation period for individuals testing positive for COVID 19 has moved from 10 days to 5 days. After day 5 individuals may come out of isolation so long as their symptoms are resolving and they remain masked for an additional 5 days.
* We are no longer contact tracing for exposures that occur outside on playgrounds.
*. We are no longer contact tracing for exposures that occur while on school buses, although masks are still required to be worn on school buses at all times.
*. Although the definition for what constitutes a close contact HAS NOT CHANGED, how we treat individuals who have been designated as close contacts has changed. Individuals designated as close contacts must now quarantine 5 days from exposure from school and school based activities and wear a mask for an additional five days UNLESS one of the following exemptions/conditions apply (see chart below):
*. There is no distinction any longer between where the exposure took place and the school's response to it. Therefore, for example, if an exposure takes place in the household to a positive case (let's say a parent tests positive) but the children are not symptomatic and do not test positive, they may still come to school.
* The definition of "School Outbreak" has changed. The process now requires that 15% or more of a school's population (including staff) be absent due to illness. When that target is hit, CDC is notified and they open an investigation to determine outbreak status. From there the process works very similarly to how it has worked the past few years.
All of these changes have been updated in our COVID 19 handbook. I would encourage you to go there to learn more and to of course reach out to your school's nurse with specific questions you may have.
We realize these changes have come fast and furious and in the midst of a spike in cases but we have always followed the state's SOP and we will continue to follow them. Together we will work through the nuances and we will continue to ensure the safety of our children and staff while at school. That remains our top priority.
MAJOR TOPICS AT SCHOOL COMMITTEE LEVEL
With all that is happening in our lives right now, I'm sure it has become more and more difficult to try and follow what is happening at the School Committee level right now. What are the issues they are focused on? What are we thinking about for the future, both short and longer term. Sometimes when we get so busy, and we don't know what is going on, we might assume nothing is. Well, I wanted to take a moment to assure you that our School Committee continues to work hard to lead our community's schools through our current challenges, while maintaining an "eye on the horizon" so that our schools are able to maintain the strong and positive learning environments our community has come to expect. Here are just a few things they are working on broken out between "Current/Short Term" and "Longer Term" items (Note: This is NOT a comprehensive list):
Current/Short Term Items (in no particular order):
These newsletters are always awesome, but this one in particular is definitely worth the read as we have several students sharing their new year's aspirations related resolutions. I am always so impressed with our students...seeing/reading this does nothing but strengthen that! Check it out using the link below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fiRTvXO2U3b4F2EIYcgpE3QHiqEJx4b4/view?usp=sharing
WHERE TO GO TO GET ONGOING INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING AT OUR SCHOOLS
Just a quick reminder about where to go to access more information about our schools, ongoing activities and the like. The first place I would suggest anyone go is to our website: www.gorhamschools.org. There is A LOT of information there. On the front page there is a direct link to COVID 19 data. Also there is a calendar showing all district wide important events. Then you can click on each school to view updated calendars for their events as well. You can also link to our district wide social media pages. Each of our schools also have social media pages as well that can be found readily with a quick search of their school names.
There is always way too much going on in our schools to include in this little blog, so I strongly encourage you to like and follow our schools activities via our website or their individual social media sites.
IN CLOSING...
I just want to once again be clear with families that I believe strongly our schools remain some of the safest places for our students and staff to be right now, even amidst the current surge in cases happening in our community. With all that continues to be plastered on the front page of our newspapers, and in the news and on social media sites right now, I know it is easy to believe otherwise. But let's take a quick look at the facts.
The fact is that we have had a total of 302 positive cases of COVID 19 associated with our schools since the beginning of this school year. Yes that is higher than last year, but this year we've had all students in our schools, 5 days per week for in person instruction. That is 302 different and unique opportunities for COVID 19 to have spread in our schools with less physical distancing available. Thus far we have had some school based transmission, yes, but only 13 reasonably identified such cases. That is just 4% of the "opportunities" for COVID 19 to spread in our schools that have actually come to fruition.
Now, to be clear, this isn't exact math because it is VERY HARD to determine if in school transmission is occurring due to the close nature of our community. However, I do think that at the macro level, these numbers very clearly tell the tale. With how easily COVID 19 spreads (either Delta or Omicron), it is NOT spreading that easily in our schools. Our mitigation strategies work to prevent spread. Our schools remain safe places for our students and staff. And unless this data changes significantly, we will work diligently to keep our schools open for in person instruction now and in the future.
I truly appreciate the continued flexibility and support of each of you as parents and as staff. This pandemic continues to challenge us all, but it also strengthens us in ways that will endure far beyond this pandemic. For this blog post I am choosing to end the post with those pictures I usually share - showing exactly what I mean! Our students, our staff, our families remain strong and we are slowly learning how to continue to positively live and learn together in this new pandemic world. Enjoy!
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