This week’s news from the Superintendent of Schools.
Eid al-Fitr
Yesterday was the end of the Holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan ends with the festival Eid al-Fitr, or the Festival of the Breaking Fast. Also known as Lesser Eid. Eid al-Fitr commemorates the end of the fasting done in observance of the Holy month of Ramadan and is an occasion for special prayers, family visits, gift giving, and charity. For more information on Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr please navigate to https://www.history.com/topics/religion/eid-al-fitr
Town Meeting
Tomorrow, Saturday, May 15, 2021 is the annual Bedford Town Meeting. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the event is being held outside at Sabourin Field at 9:00. For more information please see the Town Website https://www.bedfordma.gov/home/news/annual-town-meeting-0
Middle School Tenacity Challenge
Tomorrow, Saturday, May 15, 2021 is also the Fifth Annual Middle School Tenacity Challenge. If you are not attending Town Meeting we hope you can join us for this virtual event. The Challenge will begin at 9:00 AM and is being live streamed at 2021 MS Tenacity Challenge
Les Misérables
Bedford High School presents Les Misérables: School Edition virtually onFriday, May 21st and Saturday, 22nd at 7pm. Les Misérables: School Edition, is based on the novel by French writer Victor Hugo, is a timely choice to present. Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, a former convict who struggles to break free of the stigma of imprisonment and build a new life for himself. Les Misérables is a story about the struggle between right and wrong and the power of love, sacrifice and redemption. Eighty-five BPS students and musical staff have been working on this production since January. The performance is being streamed on May 21 and 22 at 7pm. More information and tickets can be found at www.bhschorusandtheater.weebly.com/tickets
Graduation
The Class of 2021 Commencement Ceremony has been scheduled for Friday, June 4, 2021 at 6:30PM on Sabourin Field. The rain date is scheduled for Saturday, June 5, 2021 at 6:30PM. The students are excited to have an in-person ceremony with faculty, staff and family members in attendance. Each graduate may have up to two guests with them on the field and two additional guests in the audience. The event has been planned in accordance with the DESE guidance. Thank you to the BHS administration, faculty, and staff for planning a safe ceremony so that we can honor the graduates and their families.
June 18, 2021
Just a reminder that the last day of the 2020 – 2021 school year is Friday, June 18, 2021. It will be an early dismissal day. John Glenn Middle School will dismiss at 10:50, followed by Bedford High School at 11:05, Lane School at 11:35, and Davis School at 12:10.
Vaccination Update
This week the FDA expanded vaccine eligibility. The Johnson and Johnson formulation is now available to children 16 and older and Pfizer vaccine is available to those age 12 and older. Not all clinics have the formulation you may need so it is best to pre-register your child for a vaccine appointment at https://vaccinesignup.mass.gov/#/ or VaxFinder.mass.gov and you’ll be provided with access to clinics that can serve your child, based on their age.
You can also navigate to the Bedford Health Department COVID-19 page for information, articles, and FAQs about the vaccines at Bedford Health Department COVID-19 Page. While some communities have been provided access to doses of vaccine through the CDC’s federal pharmacy program, at this time neither the Bedford Public Schools nor the Town of Bedford have been provided direct access to vaccines to administer to our populations. We do, however, encourage everyone to be vaccinated. The vaccines are safe and have been thoroughly tested. A high vaccination rate will keep COVID-19 from spreading in our community and will keep our schools open. Being vaccinated also allows for more interaction with the ones we care about.
Pooled Testing Update
This week we started our new pooled testing process using home saliva kits through Veritas Genetics. As we noted in an earlier message this week, there were some technical issues with the enrollment process. At this point we anticipate that all those who signed up will be on our list and will be able to submit their samples next week. Thanks to all families for your patience and understanding. Thank you to everyone who participated and returned their sample on Thursday morning. So far we have not had any positive pool results. We will let you know if your child’s sample resulted in a positive result. Please consider signing up your child for asymptomatic testing With this new process if there is a positive pool the lab will be able to identify the positive case from the original sample and there will be no need to be called back in for retesting or quarantine while waiting for a re-test. Please see the following information to enroll your child: Updated Pooled Testing Process
Community COVID-19 Dashboard
The Bedford Board of Health Bedford COVID-19 Dashboard contains data related to case counts, active/recovered cases, case demographics and school case data. The majority of the data on the Dashboard will be updated Monday through Friday, with some data tables and charts updated on a weekly basis. We invite you to view the dashboard at www.bedfordma.gov/covid-stats.
As always, thank you for your patience, your participation, and your continued commitment to our schools,
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