As always, Superintendent Conrad’s weekly message is full of news.
Graduation
The Class of 2021 Commencement Ceremony is this evening at 6:30 PM on Sabourin Field. Congratulations to the graduates and their families!
DESE Guidance 2020-2021
On May 27, 2021, DESE sent guidance that the core mitigation strategies used throughout the school year will remain in place through the end of the school year, except for outdoors. Most other guidance also remains in place with a few exceptions. Also, summer school and programs will continue to employ these same core mitigation strategies as an extension of the 2020-2021 school year. To read the announcement please navigate to DESE COVID-19 Updates
DESE Guidance 2021-2022
Late last week we received the first written guidance for the 2021-2022 school year. More will undoubtedly follow. However, the initial guidance stated that with the ending of the State of Emergency on June 15, 2021 all districts and schools will be required to be in-person, full-time, five days a week and that all DESE health and safety requirements will be lifted for the fall. This includes all physical distancing requirements. We will be encouraged to maintain ventilation upgrades, continue hand hygiene and to extend policies that encourage staff and students to continue to stay home when sick. DESE and DPH will collaborate to issue any additional health and safety recommendations over the summer. Finally, with the requirement for in-person, full-time, five days a week learning this fall will mean that pathways that existed prior to the pandemic for offering virtual learning to individual students in limited cases will remain available to us. For us this is primarily home/hospital tutoring due to a documented medical condition. We expect to hear more from DESE about this in June. To read the announcement please navigate to DESE COVID-19 Updates
Depression Awareness Webinar
Families for Depression Awareness is presenting a free Adult Depression: Getting on the Path to Wellness as a Family webinar on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. In this webinar, Dr. Christine M. Crawford discusses the causes and symptoms of depression in adults, practical ways that caregivers can support a loved one in getting help and accessing treatment, and how caregivers can support their families during episodes of depression. Register to join us for a live webinar discussion or watch on demand after it airs.
You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown
The John Glenn Middle School Performing Arts Department is proud to present You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. The production will be streamed online at 4:00pm and 7:00pm on Friday, June 11 and Saturday, June, 12, 2021. This musical explores life through the eyes of Charlie Brown and his friends in the Peanuts gang. Tickets are $15 per device. Donations are encouraged to cover the cost of additional viewers on a particular device. Tickets are on sale NOW at https://jgmsmusical.wordpress.com/tickets/ Please note that this show has two casts! One cast’s performance will be streamed on Friday, June 11 at 4:00pm and 7:00pm, and the other cast’s performance will be streamed at the same times on Saturday, June 12. Please check the cast lists on the Tickets page of the musical website before you purchase!
JGMS Principal Search UPDATE
The search for our next JGMS Principal continues to move forward. This week our four finalists met socially distanced with teachers and the district leadership team in person. A decision is expected soon.
COVID-19 Vaccination
We are happy to report that the rates of vaccinations continue to grow at a steady pace! To date nearly 25% of the sixth grade class has gotten vaccinated and the numbers rise from there with the seniors and juniors each over 60%. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated.
Pool Testing
This week was our fourth week using home saliva kits through Veritas Genetics. We will continue this process through the remainder of the school year, and collection day will be every Thursday morning. At this point everyone who has signed up should have enough kits to last 3 more rounds of testing. Please reach out to your school nurse if you need more kits.
Thank you to everyone who participated and returned their sample on Thursday morning. No news is good news and 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.
It is not too late to sign up for pooled testing! All staff and students may sign up at any time. 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. If interested please see the following information to enroll your child: Pool Testing
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.
Heat Wave
Just a reminder that temperatures on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are expected to be in the 90’s creating our first heat wave of 2021. Please help students stay hydrated, remind them to eat small meals more often than normal, avoid strenuous activities, and to wear lightweight light colored clothing. If they need assistance please have them see their teacher or the school nurse. For more helpful information about dealing with heat please navigate to the Red Cross Heat Safety Webpage
As always, thank you for your patience, your participation, and your continued commitment to our schools,
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