Milford Central School
Reminders from Mrs. Wenck
Friday, October 15, 2021
Hello,
Have we not been able to enjoy some very pleasant fall weather! My husband and I traveled to my oldest son’s home in Connecticut last weekend. If I am being perfectly honest, the purpose of the trip was to visit with his son, my 8 month old grandson, Flynn. It was a wonderful visit, complete with a Saturday afternoon outing to a local pumpkin farm, complete with scarecrows, hay bales, and cider. I hope you were able to spend some time outdoors, enjoying the fall colors as well.
Important Information and Reminders
*1 COVID update: I have been asked to provide some guidance regarding students being either sent home or kept home for COVID like symptoms, quarantine requirements, rules for bus quarantine, additional information about CDC appropriate masks, vaccinations and so forth. Please note:
* COVID symptoms are very similar to those of the common cold and/or flu: runny nose, cough, fever, upset stomach
* Quarantine Requirements: The DOH sets the quarantine requirements. When a person in the school tests positive for COVID, the school is required to report that to the DOH. The school is also required to report any close contacts and must identify those individuals in close contact two full days before the person who tested positive became symptomatic. This can cause confusion when determining the length of time a person who is a close contact must be out. I could receive positive test results on a Thursday, but became symptomatic on the Saturday before; therefore, everyone in close contact with me on Thursday, a week earlier, have to quarantine for ten days. As a result, my ten days and your ten days can be different days. (Are you confused? Sometimes so are we!!)
*School Buses: The DOH has provided schools with diagrams to use for determining close contacts. Whether or not a person is quarantined depends on where they were seated in relation to the COVID positive person. The entire bus is not quarantined.
*Proper Masks: We are using the CDC guidance with regard to allowable masks. All masks must be constructed of at least two layers of material and must fit properly. If you hold your mask up to a light, you should not be able to see through the mask. Also, masks that have holes, vents, or are made of a mesh material are not allowable.
*2. A note from the Otsego County Department of Health: With the recent upsurge in cases, the state's contact tracing staff has been stretched to the limit. As a result, going forward, contact tracers will only attempt to reach school contacts a total of 6 times over the course of two days before closing out that record as unreachable. If that happens, those school contacts will NOT have any quarantine paperwork.
In an effort make contacting more efficient the DOH is asking people to please answer the phone when called. The call will come from a 518 area code and usually says NYS Contact Tracing. THERE IS NO NUMBER FOR PARENTS TO CALL BACK IF THEY MISS THE CALL. They MUST answer the call when it is made. Your help with this is greatly appreciated.
*3. Parent/Teacher Conferences: A team of middle and high school teachers developed the following process to be used to setting up Parent/Teacher conferences. Please note:
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Guidance will send a letter to 6-12 parents inviting them to make appointments for conferences between 5-8:00 pm on Wednesday, 11/10, and 8-3:00 on Friday, 11/12.
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9-12 conferences will be individual conferences
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6-8 conferences will be team conferences (as has been past practice)
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Nicki Couse, the Guidance Secretary, will schedule all times and confirm phone numbers and emails. She will also confirm whether parents want to meet via Google meets or by phone.
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Lorre Gregory will share directions with teachers for opening Google meets from Google calendar.
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Teachers will schedule all Google meets.
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Teachers will place the phone calls for parents who wish to be called.
Please remember, teachers will need to end conferences in time to open the next Google meet or make the next phone call. If you end up needing additional time to speak with your child’s teacher, please schedule another meeting.
*4. Universal Masking Requirement:
As was shared at our recent presentation of the Return to School Plan, the State of New York Department of Health has issued a Mandatory Mask requirement for everyone in school. All students, staff and any person entering the school building must properly wear a mask. Please see the “Return to School Plan” located on the school website for details.
I would like to thank everyone for complying with this requirement. Our students continue to be great about both wearing their masks and social distancing. If this is going to help us stay in school and able to provide in-person instruction I will wear a mask for as long as it takes!
*5 News from the School Based Health Center:
The SBHC has vaccine and can vaccinate students, age 12 and above. Students can be signed up to receive the vaccine on Tuesdays, from 8:00am – 4:00pm, and on Fridays, from 12:00noon to 4:00pm. Call 286-7909 to sign up for the vaccine and/or enroll your child.
No child will be able to sign up for the vaccine without written parental consent. Consent forms are available in the SBHC.