December 18 Update

We have made it through week #15 of in person instruction via our hybrid model in Gorham!   Two days next week and then a well-deserved break for everyone! I continue to  be so impressed with how well our students, staff, and  parents have met the challenges COVID 19 has placed upon us all - head on, with a strong sense of resilience and Gorham Pride!  I  encourage everyone to take some time during the coming Holiday break to"turn  off" and "recharge"...we'll need that continued energy when we return to school on Jan. 4, 2021.  Hopefully  2021 will treat us better  than 2020 has!

This  will be my last blog post until after the break (Jan. 8, 2020).  Let's get to it!

CUMBERLAND COUNTY MOVING  TO YELLOW DESIGNATION TODAY

We just received word earlier this afternoon that Cumberland County will be, for the first time, moving to a yellow designation as a county  beginning today, December 18, 2020.  This is due to the fact that Cumberland County experienced an  increase in its new case rate and positivity rate, and 11 new outbreaks were opened in the county in the last week.  Although our schools remain safe places to be (still  0 transmissions  in our schools),  it is increasingly clear that COVID is very much present in our communities. 

So what does this change in county level designation mean for our schools?  Academically, not much.  We will  continue to operate our schools  under our hybrid model of learning as we  have been for the past  15 weeks.  The bigger impact is not on our regular school learning activities, the bigger impact is on  our student athletes.  Our Athletic Director Tim  Spear has either already sent a message out to families, or he  will  be later today but the bottom line is that if the county is in yellow - all practices cease.  This is truly unfortunate for our students who so very much look forward to the limited activities we have been able to offer them so far this winter.  It is my hope that everyone in Cumberland County can band together for our students and double and triple down on following all safety protocols so we can deliver a good old fashioned  kick in the pants to this virus and get our student athletes back in the gyms doing the things they love, where they belong!

The county level designations can  be viewed by CLICKING HERE.  They will  be updated again on Dec. 31.  If you have any questions, please reach out to tim.spear@gorhamschools.org or myself at heather.perry@gorhamschools.org.

ANOTHER HOLIDAY WITH COVID...REMINDER ON SOME RULES AND A FEW THOUGHTS ON HOW TO CELEBRATE SAFELY

As we get ready to launch into another Holiday break within a Pandemic, I thought it would be important to once again remind folks of some of the rules and expectations for travel over the Holidays as well as what to do if your  child experiences symptoms or tests positive for COVID over the break.  Our School nurses have put together a  quick reference guide to answer these questions, so please CLICK HERE to view. 

As I stated before and will say again, it is not up to me or anyone else to judge a family for how they choose to celebrate the holidays together.   Each family must balance its own needs and unique  circumstances to make decisions based upon what they know to be right for them.  What I can do is encourage folks to please celebrate the Holidays as safely as possible.  I  do this for the most selfish of reasons - I want to see everyone able to return back to school on Monday Jan. 4, 2021!  Below I have included some links to resources I hope you find helpful to inform your decision making.

*  Information from the Mayo Clinic

*  Information from CDC

*  21 Festive Quarantine Ideas For the Holidays

*  Tips from the Associated Press

* Tips from  the Today  Show

Once again, I would be remiss if I didn't say  it...please continue to follow the 3 top safety measures that work anywhere you are!  (1) Wear your  face coverings, (2)wash/sanitize those hands frequently and (3) Keep your six! The Gorham Schools wish you all the happiest and safest of Holidays!

ANSWERING A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION

This  question, along with other lots of other awesome questions, was asked of me during the most recent K-12 parent open forum.  The question is this:  How can you have a positive case of  COVID 19 associated  with our schools and NOT have close contacts?

Great question!  The answer is there are actually lots of different ways this can happen...but for the sake of brevity, I'll describe the top two ways we are seeing this occur. The most frequent way we see this in our schools is when a family member that is not a student or staff member tests positive and the other family  members are deemed close contacts.  Later as those individuals are going through their quarantine period, they develop symptoms themselves and then test positive.  The student or staff member would have been in quarantine for several days before experiencing symptoms or testing positive so when we do our typical contact tracing that requires us to look back 2 days prior to symptoms  or 2 days prior to the test, they weren't in school - so no close contacts.   Here's a specific example:

Father of a child in  Gorham Schools tests positive, likely contracting it from work.  Children stay home to quarantine as close contacts.   7 days into the quarantine the child tests positive and the school  is notified.  We go back 2 days prior to the test being  taken and determine that the child was at home under quarantine, therefore there are no close contacts.  The school still has to report the associated case, because the child is a student at one of our schools, but there are no close contacts.

The second way this occurs is similar in nature.   Let's say  we have a student who begins feeling  symptoms on a Tuesday morning.  Let's say the student is a B day student so this would have been their first day back at school that week...but because they were experiencing symptoms they stayed home.  The student later  gets  tested and on  Friday finds out they are positive.  We would then do our contact tracing 2 days prior to the symptoms...in this case that would fall on a Sunday.  No school in session so there would be no close contacts.

There were LOTS  of great questions asked  during the most recent parent forum so I thought folks  might want to listen in.  I recorded the session which can be viewed by CLICKING HERE.  It is worth the watch!

TECHNOLOGY HELP - HOW TO ACCESS  IT AS A PARENT

The Gorham Schools have provided 1:1 devices for all our students in grades K-12.  These devices have been incredible learning tools, no  doubt. But like any other piece of equipment, sometimes they don't work exactly the way you think they should!  As a parent or caregiver, I'm sure you have asked:  How do I get my tech questions answered?

Many of you have been asking your child's classroom teachers to help in these areas, which they have done a wonderful job at doing.  However, some of your questions can't really wait until the end of the day or when a teacher gets a chance to check their email.  In those circumstances, please know there is help.  Our Gorham School Department has an incredibly talented technology team who stand ready to assist while doing lots of other technology tasks as well.  If  you have these kinds of questions, I'd encourage you to reach out to this talented team. Here's how:

*  High School & Middle School:

You may reach out to the technology staff assigned to your school (listed above), or email Tech Support <techsupport@gorhamschools.org> or call the tech support line: 207-222-1188

*  Elementary School, ​

please email your teacher​, and:

Joanne Gauley <​joanne.gauley@gorhamschools.org​> or email Tech Support <techsupport@gorhamschools.org> or call the tech support line: 207-222-1188

And if that doesn't work, and you  are still  unable to resolve your issue or get an answer to your question, please contact the technology director, Dennis Crowe <dennis.crowe@gorhamschools.org> 

THOUGHT EXCHANGE  - FINAL REMINDER TO PARTICIPATE!

Hi Gorham students, staff, and parents/guardians,

We hope you and your family are doing well. We are now in our 15th week of having students back in our schools. We are thankful for the efforts of everyone in making this happen. Now more than ever, it takes a village to collaborate in order to teach and support our children/students. With that in mind, after three months or so of participating in the Gorham hybrid model of teaching and learning, we would like to hear your thoughts on what is going well and what you have for questions or concerns. We want to continue to do what is working well and make adjustments, if possible, to what is not working so well. Please participate in this Thought Exchange. It will remain open until 12/21/20. Please continue to participate throughout the next two weeks.

Thought Exchange Link:

https://my.thoughtexchange.com/470136252

Or, by Smartphone:

Text the 9-digit code 470-136-252 to the phone number 728-55 to get a link to participate in this exchange

WE NEED YOUR VOICE TO INFORM THE FUTURE OF CTE IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY

CTE or Career and  Technical Education is an  important part of our educational systems across Cumberland County and specifically in Gorham.  We currently have 74  Gorham Rams attending either Westbrook Regional Vocational Center (WRVC) or Portland Arts and Technology  High School  (PATHS).  These two fine institutions have embarked upon a visioning process to set a new vision for  the future of CTE education in our county and they are seeking your voice as  parents.  All parents of any age level are invited to attend  public forum on this  topic via Portland Schools' "Parent University" on Monday,  Dec. 21 at 5:30 p.m.  Zoom  link is below.  

Here is the link to the ParentU event on December 21st about CTE:

https://zoom.us/j/99690015701?pwd=T1VUZFdRd2RRZnBNTFc5QWluK3BBZz09

Passcode: 335502

ASPIRE  GORHAM STEERING COMMITTEE  LEARNS ABOUT PROJECTED TRENDS IN KEY CAREER FIELDS IN MAINE

At its meeting held on Wednesday, the Aspire Gorham Steering Committee spent some time learning from the Department of Labor regarding  projected trends in Maine's labor markets over the next ten years.  It was a fascinating presentation that just touches  the "tip of the iceberg" of incredible data that can be found on the  Department  of Labor's site for those interested in looking further.  Of particular interest were conversations around where jobs will be in Maine in the next 10 years, and what kinds of skills are required to land these jobs.  As I said, it was a fascinating discussion that I just happened to record for your  benefit! ☺  Below, please find  the recording link for this  presentation as  well as the link to the Maine Department  of  Labor site where you can discover even more!

* Presentation Recording

*  Maine Department of Labor Site.

ENDING WITH SOME PICTURES

I just wanted to end this week's blog post before the Holiday break sharing some images of what I am most grateful for this Holiday season - OUR INCREDIBLE STUDENTS AND STAFF! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! GO RAMS!

Have a  great weekend...and  best wishes for  a SAFE and HAPPY Holiday Season from our Gorham family to yours!  PROUD TO BE A RAM!