Superintendent Conrad’s Weekly Update ~ April 29, 2022

Editor’s Note: In this week’s message Superintendent Conrad touches on Teacher Appreciation Week, Mental Health Awareness Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Orthodox Easter Sunday on April 24, DPW Water/Road Work, BHS Jon Sills Tenacity Challenge,  Support for the Class of 2022 All Night Graduation Party, the BPS Art Show, the Parent Diversity Council and BEST Meet the Tutu Teacher! Event, the Lenora Campoli Speaker Series, ticket sales for the Bedford Education Fund Soirée,  Citizens Scholarship of Bedford Dollars for Scholars, sign up for the BEST/PTO Color Run, Covid-19 testing and protocols, and BPS Substitute Rate Increase

Teacher Appreciation Week

Next week Monday, May 2, 2022 through Friday, May 6, 2022 is Teacher Appreciation Week. It is our opportunity to say thank you to our wonderful educators in each of our schools. I hope you will join me in sending a note or email to a teacher to say thank you for all that they have done and are doing for our students! This is a time to say thank you! To the extraordinary educators who work tirelessly for our students and families with flexibility, resilience, and care. For more information navigate to NEA TAW#

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The National Alliance on Mental Health is amplifying the message of Mental Health Awareness Month with the theme “Together for Mental Health.” For more information on Mental Health Awareness Month please navigate to NAMI Mental Health Awareness Month

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Sunday begins Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Week; it was expanded to a month in 1992. The month was chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and the contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad which was completed on May 10, 1869. For more information about the contributions of Asian/Pacific Islander Americans please navigate to Asian/Pacific Islander History Month

Orthodox Easter Sunday, April 24, 2022

In my letter prior to vacation I failed to recognize Easter to all of our community members who celebrated Orthodox Easter on Sunday. Orthodox Easter fell on Sunday, April 24, 2022, due to the Orthodox faith’s use of the Julian Calendar. For more information about the traditions of Orthodox Easter please go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48067272

DPW Road/Water Work

The Bedford DPW has informed us that water main installation work will begin on Monday, May 2, 2022, and will continue over the next four weeks on South Road. This means that  South Road from Summer Street to Evergreen Avenue will be closed to thru traffic. Local traffic will be allowed, including residents in this section, trash and recycling, school buses, and delivery vehicles. Please follow directions from police details as they will direct you around the construction work safely. All thru traffic will be directed to the detour on Neillian Street. Work hours will be Monday thru Friday, from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, depending on weather conditions. This section of the project should be completed over the course of four weeks, pending any unforeseen delays. Please visit the DPW website for more details on the project.

BHS Jon Sills Tenacity Challenge

This Saturday, April 30, 2022, the Bedford Public Schools hosted The  Jon Sills High School Tenacity Challenge. This in-person event included 22 teams from 10 different school districts. The all-day scholarly competition was held in person since 2019. Congratulations to all of our students, teachers, mentors, and guests for joining us.

Please Support the Class of 2022 All Night Graduation Party!

For 32 years, from 1988 to 2019, the BHS All Night Graduation Celebration Committee has held a safe, substance-free overnight party for the graduating class.  Following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to announce that the Class of 2022 will be able to enjoy this tradition once again, as the party returns in full force on the evening of June 2nd!  Throughout the night, the graduates will enjoy live entertainment, games, trivia, music, prizes, food and more, at Bedford High School from 10:30 PM – 5:30 AM.  Families, friends, and local businesses are encouraged to make a tax-deductible monetary donation or prize donation to support the celebration.  To learn more, visit https://bhspa.org/all-night-grad-party/.

Be sure to check out the article about All Night Grad in The Bedford Citizen!  https://thebedfordcitizen.org/2022/04/beloved-tradition-returns-bhs-all-night-graduation-set-for-june-2/ 

Friends can also support the All Night Graduation Celebration by dining at The Friendly Toast restaurant at the Burlington Mall on Friday, May 6 from 4-8 PM.  A generous 20% of all dine-in and take-out orders will be donated to the Class of 2022 ANG party from the Friendly Toast.

Link to Friendly Toast Fundraiser Flyer:  https://bhspa.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0f8f1ef5e6067698479eb3b35&id=204f918a92&e=ff0b278d8d)

BPS Art Show

The Bedford Public Schools’ Art Department is excited to announce that the 28th annual K-12 Art Show will be live in-person at Bedford High School this year! After two years of virtual exhibits, the Visual Art teachers are eager to display student works that can be enjoyed in person. The show will feature thousands of works from Bedford students from Davis, Lane, JGMS and BHS. Additionally there will be a senior exhibit where senior art majors will have their artwork and artist statements on display.

The dates for the show are as follows:

Friday, May 6th- Opening Night 6:00pm-9:00pm, Saturday, May 7th- 10am-2pm, and Sunday, May 8th- 11am-2pm. We hope to see you there!

Parent Diversity Council and BEST Meet the Tutu Teacher! Event

The Parents Diversity Council and BEST PTO invite families to meet former Davis Kindergarten teacher Vera Ahiyya, author of the brand new book, You Have a Voice! At the Davis School Cafeteria on Monday, May 2, 2022, at 6:00pm. Ms. Ahiyya will be the Author in Residence at Davis on Monday, May 2, 2022 and Tuesday, May 3, 2022.  The evening of May 2, 2022, she will be able to meet with parents and families.  She will make a brief presentation, read her book, and have time for a Q and A session as well as book signings. This event is open to all, but with a max capacity of 100. The PDC and BEST are asking families to fill out a registration form.  Please register here:  https://forms.gle/EZWqzKiEQfPgPQZ57 If you have any questions please reach out to the PDC by email at [email protected]

The Lenora Campoli Speaker Series

The Bedford Special Education Parent Advisory Council, along with ​​BEST, MSPA, and the BHSPA invite all parents and caregivers of students in K-12 to attend The Lenora Campoli Speaker Series. The speaker series will feature Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP who will discuss how to teach children to manage their time, space, materials, and emotions with powerful strategies to help children develop independent executive function skills.

This in-person event will take place on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at the John Glenn Middle School Auditorium at 7:00 PM. This is an in-person-only event.

Bedford Education Fund Soirée Tickets on Sale NOW!

Ticket sales are on sale now for the BEF May Soirée! Tickets are $50 each online through Wednesday, May 4, 2022. After that, they will only be available at the door for $60. The event will take place at the Tuscan Kitchen, 2400 District Avenue, Burlington, MA on Friday, May 6, 2022, from 7:30 until 10:30 pm. To purchase tickets navigate to Soirée Tickets

Citizens Scholarship of Bedford Dollars for Scholars

CSF of Bedford Dollars for Scholars is at the halfway point of raising funds for their BHS Class of 2022 Scholarships. CSF of Bedford will be awarding scholarships at their  57th Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony on May 31, 2022. They are grateful to the Bedford community for the donations already received. If you have not donated yet, please help them reach their goal of $60,000.

Donations may be made online by clicking CSF of Bedford Dollars for Scholars or by mail by sending a check payable to CSF of Bedford Dollars for Scholars at PO Box 585, Bedford, MA 01730-0585. All donations of $50 or more and received by May 5, 2022, will be acknowledged in the Awards Program for scholarship recipients. CSF of Bedford has helped students attend local colleges or technical or vocational schools. For additional information about the Bedford community’s longtime support for Dollars for Scholars, please see their website at bedfordma.dollarsforscholars.org

Sign up for the BEST/PTO Color Run

BEST/PTO is excited to announce the in-person return of their Spring fundraiser, the 6th Annual Color Run on Saturday, June 11, 2022, from 4 pm to 6 pm at the JGMS fields. The event features a racecourse with color powder sprayed by teachers and administrators, raffles, music, food, bounce houses, face painting, and more. Families are invited to Walk, Run, Roll, or Stroll as little or as much as they want. This event has raised over $85,000 for the Davis and Lane Elementary Schools since 2016.  Please sign up today to help BEST reach $100,000 this year!   Early Bird Registration is $25 per individual or $75 per household until TODAY and includes a bag, t-shirts, and food tickets.  More details and sign up at BEST Color Run

COVID-19 Testing

We continue to offer free COVID-19 testing via pooled testing (PCR tests) at each school every week, and free home test kits are distributed every other week.

If you would like your child to resume weekly pooled testing after they have been off the roster for 90 days after testing positive for COVID-19,  please notify your child’s school nurse.  You do not need to sign up again.

Want to be part of our FREE at-home testing program or our pooled testing program?

• Click Here to opt in to the At-Home Antigen Test Opt-In Google Form
• Click here to view a video on How to use the iHealth COVID 19 Test
• Click here for instructions on how to use the iHealth COVID 19 Test in multiple languages
• Click here to consent to the ongoing Pooled Testing Pooled-Testing Consent Form

FDA Extension of iHealth (Home Antigen Test Kits) Expiration Dates

On Tuesday 3/29/22, the FDA granted a three-month shelf-life extension for the iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test. As an example, if the expiration date on a test is April 1st, 2022, the new expiration date would be July 1st, 2022. To confirm the expiration date of an iHealth test kit, you can enter the lot number on the iHealth website here (this feature is case sensitive!) Please note that this extension is only in regard to the iHealth test kits and does not have any association with the timelines of the DESE testing program.

COVID-19 Email Addresses

All cases of COVID-19 (both home tests and tests from a medical provider) should be reported to your child’s school nurse using the following email addresses:

• For the Davis School please email: [email protected]
• For the Lane School please email [email protected]
• For JGMS please email [email protected]
• For BHS please email [email protected]

Masks for those who test positive for COVID-19

Please keep in mind that for infected individuals the current guidelines require masks to be worn within the ten-day infection period.

• Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will need to wear a mask after a 5-day isolation and/or quarantine period when around others for an additional five days, except when eating, drinking, or outdoors.
• Individuals who experience COVID-19 symptoms should stay home and obtain testing.  If they receive a negative result and their symptoms improve (including remaining fever-free for a 24-hour period without fever-reducing medication), they can return to school but should continue to wear a mask until their symptoms fully resolve.
• Unvaccinated individuals should continue to wear a mask in school settings.

COVID-19 Case Updates

The dashboard is up-to-date and can be accessed here:

Link to COVID-19 Cases in the Bedford Public Schools This Week

Pooled Testing Results Week of April 25, 2022

• BHS 59 students, 31 staff,  0 positive cases
• JGMS 172  students, 38 staff, 1 positive case
• Lane 303 students, 46 staff,  4 positive cases
• Davis  265  students, 36 staff, 3 positive case

For weekly pooled testing we are using the single swab collection, placing 2- 3 swabs in a “pool” to be processed by the lab, and if the pool detects a positive result, the school nurses will retest those individuals with rapid antigen tests, and if positive families will be notified and instructed on isolation procedures.  If the rapid test is negative and the individual is symptom-free, they can resume weekly COVID-19 testing the following week.

Cases Reported This Week Since April 15, 2022 (this week and over April break)

• BHS 12 reported over break, 11 this week
• JGMS 3 reported over break, 5  this week
• Lane  5 reported over break, 11 this week
• Davis 9 reported over break, 13 this week

BPS Substitute Rate Increase

As of April 1, 2022, the daily substitute rate for Bedford Public Schools will increase to $100.00 per day.  If you are interested in becoming a substitute, please apply at BPS Substitutes.

As always, thank you for your patience, your participation, and your continued commitment to our schools.