COVID-19 Announcement (Thursday, 12/23/21)

December 23, 2021

Dear Families and Faculty,

We apologize for the interruption as we head off to our winter vacation. In accordance with our school’s policy, we are writing to notify you that we were informed after school today (Thursday, 12/23/21) that a faculty member has tested positive for COVID-19.

  • Based on the symptom timeline, this team member was identified as being on campus during the period of infectiousness.  DESE/DPH defines the infectious period as: “The infectious period begins 2 days prior to symptom onset. If someone is asymptomatic, the infectious period is considered to begin 2 days prior to the collection of a positive test result.”  We are sending our well wishes to our team member for a speedy recovery, and this individual will remain out of school until receiving medical clearance to return.

  • We have completed the school-based contact tracing process according to the protocols set forth by DESE/DPH and have already notified any staff member or family with a student who was identified as a close contact to discuss next steps. If you were not individually contacted after school this afternoon by either our School Nurse or a member of our Administration Team, you or your child was not identified as a close contact.

  • DESE/DPH defines close contacts as: “individuals who have been within 6 feet of a COVID-19 positive individual while indoors, for at least 15 minutes during a 24-hour period.  Please note that the at-risk exposure time begins 48 hours prior to symptom onset (or time of positive test if asymptomatic) and continues until the time the COVID-19 positive individual is isolated.”

  • A schoolwide announcement will also be issued following this message through our automated voicemail system.

Thank you for your ongoing monitoring for health and safety.  During the school vacation, our School Nurse (Lyn Ross: lross@advancingmilestones.com) will continue to check email if faculty or families have any health-related notifications or questions to best support our safe return to campus on January 3rd.

Sincerely,
Kim