Superintendent’s Update ~ Wednesday, September 30, 2020
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I was informed by the Bedford Board of Health that they received a laboratory testing report indicating that a school community member (i.e., student or staff) at John Glenn Middle School has been diagnosed with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
The Bedford Board of Health immediately began case investigations. The first step in a school case investigation is to determine whether or not the positive case attended school during the infectious period. According to the MA Department of Public Health (MDPH) guidelines, the infectious period for COVID-19 is two days prior to becoming symptomatic or, if asymptomatic, two days prior to testing. The Board of Health determined that the positive school community member at JGMS was not present at school during their infectious period, therefore, no close contacts were identified among the school community in this situation.
Our first responsibility is to keep our school community safe. We have been planning for this scenario during our reopening planning process and have a comprehensive plan in place to sanitize the school each school day, inform families whose students were at risk of exposure or in close contact, and support the affected family as they navigate this stressful experience.
Our school community has been closely adhering to safety protocols including mask-wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing. We are grateful to our families for their continued efforts to keep students home at the first sign of symptoms. These measures, taken in combination, greatly reduce the risk of additional transmission. Though we cannot provide specific information about our school community member who tested positive, your child was not a close contact (defined as being within 6 feet of the person for at least 15 minutes) of the affected school member. Please continue to monitor your child for symptoms, and keep your child home if he/she/they show any symptoms or is not feeling well.
We will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue in-person learning via our current hybrid model. We are also providing remote learning for all students required to quarantine at home to continue to provide instruction, structure, and an emotional connection to the classroom during a time that we know will be challenging for those children and families involved.
Parents should be aware of the signs and symptoms of Covid-19.
Related: Bedford Statistics on Mass.Gov’s Covid Map ~ September 30, 2020
What’s Bedford Thinking About the Upcoming Presidential Election ~ This Week’s Snap Poll
For many Americans, the stakes are high when it comes to the 2020 election. In a YouGov poll of more than 6,500 Americans, about seven in 10 (69%) people say that the upcoming 2020 presidential election is the most important one of their lifetime so far.
What’s Bedford thinking about the upcoming election?
Let the Games Begin ~ Bedford’s First Soccer Game under new Covid Constraints
Editor’s Note at 10 pm, thanks to @VinceAutMorire on Twitter: Bucs win 2-0 over Waltham with SR Jasper Paez tallying both goals and earning the 1st Vince of the season. JR Max Alper with the assist and JR Evan Squire with his 1st career shutout. Backline of Manocha, Melfi, Loughlin + Morrison were lockdown
In a way, it was almost normal.
The Bedford High School Buccaneers entertained the Waltham Hawks in Dual Count League Small Schools Division boys’ varsity soccer Wednesday afternoon.
Sarah Stanton Offers Town’s Cemetery Perspectives
The town is responding on two fronts to complaints about the upkeep and turf management at Shawsheen Cemetery. But neither presents an immediate solution.
Town Manager Sarah A. Stanton, in a written response to a letter and petition, said she hopes an additional worker assigned to the Department of Public Works Grounds Division will make a difference.
Funding for that position was supposed to have been considered by the 2020 Annual Town Meeting but was dropped when town officials stripped the warrant to financial necessities in response to the pandemic and associated budget uncertainty. “I am hopeful, if the economy recovers in Bedford, we will be able to reinstate the positions for the next budget cycle,” the town manager wrote.
The solution to poor quality in parts of the turf, Stanton wrote, can best be addressed by the installation of an irrigation system in the cemetery, which could cost up to $2 million.