2022 - Letters from the Superintendent » 2022 - January

2022 - January

 
 
Jan 11, 2022 3:03 PM         
 
Dear Milford Community,
 
Beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, January 12th, a MASK MANDATE will be enacted for all schools. In addition to our 4th school reaching two clusters (3+ related cases) today, the current transmission and positivity rates in town have caused concern.  The MSD Return to Learning Plan states that school-based decision making will be done with consideration to town positivity rates. The current positivity rate according to the NH COVID-19 Response dashboard  is at 20.9%. 
 
The Milford School Board will be discussing the Return to Learning Plan at its meeting on Tuesday, January 18th.  
 
For up-to-date information including COVID data, guidelines, the current Return to Learning Plan, testing site information, and communications from the District office, please go to "FOR FAMILIES" on the School District website.  Scroll down to "21-22 Return to Learning Plan/Covid Updates".  Here you will find several resources to assist you.  
 
As always, thanks for #TEAMING UP to support our students, families, faculty, and staff during challenging times. We got this!
 
Kindly,
Ms. Christi Michaud
Interim Superintendent of Schools
 
 
 
Jan 10, 2022 7:24 PM         
 
Dear Milford Community,
 
Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, January 11th, Heron Pond School, Milford Middle School, and Milford High School will be in a MASK MANDATE due to the number of clusters within the schools. We continue to closely monitor data at JMS in consultation with NH DHHS.  All mitigation strategies are highly recommended as we weather the surge in cases. 
 
The new NH DHHS guidelines have presented new complexities and challenges for our schools. We appreciate your understanding and patience while we work to manage the changes and address your questions.  For students that are currently out of school due to being a household contact or with a positive case, please know that our school nurses and administrative teams are working as quickly as possible to reach out to families to provide updated return to school dates based on new guidelines.  
 
Additionally, we are working to create a user-friendly Q&A document that may assist in answering many questions. We expect that Q&A document to go out later this week.   In the meantime, the new guidelines can be found HERE and questions pertaining to unique circumstances can be answered by contacting your child's school.  
 
Finally, in the event that you may need to use the COVID testing clinic outside of the BALES building, it is best to have a consent form on file.  Getting this done ahead of time will save you time should you need to set up an appointment for testing. The information for the COVID testing site and forms can be found below and are available for your immediate access. 
 
To Schedule a Testing Appointment:  Click Here
 
Testing Hours:  Monday & Wednesday 8:30 AM - 10:50 AM 
                           Tuesday & Thursday 11:30 AM - 1:50 PM
 
Consent Forms:
Parents child under 18: http://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com//minor-consent
Staff/Student over 18: https://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com/invite-by-code
 
The codes:
Jacques (K-1) - MILFORDJMS
Heron Pond (2-5) - MILFORDHP
Middle School (6-8) - MILFORDMMS
High School (9-12) - MILFORDHIGH
 
Again, your patience is appreciated.  We are all doing our very best to manage an ever-changing situation. 
 
 
Kindly,
Ms. Christi Michaud
Interim Superintendent of Schools
 
 
Jan 9, 2022 11:15 PM         
 
Dear Parents, Students, and Families, 
 
On Wednesday last week, school and district leaders learned from NH DHHS that the state of NH would adopt the updated CDC guidelines.  On Friday, we received the attached guidance for the implementation of the new guidelines in schools. In accordance with the Milford School District Return to Learning Plan, we will instate the following recommendations beginning tomorrow, Monday, January 10th.  
 
Close Contact to Someone that tests Positive to COVID-19  (Quarantine)
 
Quarantining recommendations are for household contacts only who are:
  • Unvaccinated
  • Not “up to date” on receiving all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses (which includes the 2 COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 booster - the booster is for people 12 and up)
 
However, anybody with a known exposure to COVID-19 should continue to take additional precautions, even if not required to quarantine, especially in a community and school setting.
 
To shorten the duration of quarantine to 5 days, all the following should be followed:
 
Days 1-5
  1. Stay home and away from others for 5 days after the last exposure.
  2. Watch for symptoms for COVID-19 for 10 days after the last exposure, and get tested if symptoms develop.
  3. Get tested at least 5 days after the exposure, even if no symptoms develop.  If positive, move to isolation.
Days 6-10 
  1. Wear a well-fitting medical face mask when around other people.
  2. Avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high-risk for severe disease. 
  3. Avoid travel, if possible.
Persons who do NOT need to quarantine after being exposed to someone with COVID-19
  1. Lower risk exposure in the community setting (such as non-household contacts).
  2. Household contacts who are “up to date” on receiving all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses which includes the 2 vaccines and booster - the booster is for people 12 and up.
  3. Unvaccinated household contacts who are within 90 days of testing positive for COVID-19 by antigen or PCR-based testing.
Actions 
  1. Wear a well-fitting face mask around other people for 10 days, especially indoor settings.
  2. If symptoms develop, stay home and get tested for COVID-19.
  3. If testing positive, follow the isolation guidelines below.
Any Person Testing Positive for COVID-19 (Isolation)
 
Anybody who tests positive for COVID-19 or who has symptoms of COVID-19 (while awaiting testing) should isolate - regardless of vaccination status, previous infection, or lack of symptoms.
 
To shorten the duration of isolation to 5 days, all the following recommendations should be followed:
 
Days 1-5 after testing positive or onset of symptoms
  1. Stay home and away from others (including people in your household) for at least 5 days
  2. Isolation can end after 5 days if you are fever-free (off fever-reducing medications) for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are improving.
  3. If fever has been present in the 24 hours, or if other symptoms are not improving, then you should continue to isolate until fever free and symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours, or until after 10 days of isolation.
Days 5 - 10 after testing positive or onset of symptoms
  1. Wear a well-fitting face mask when around other people.
  2. Avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high-risk for severe disease.
  3. Avoid travel, if possible.
Finally, we would like to thank our students, parents, and families for your patience and understanding with the bussing situation. Staffing shortages, as well as drivers impacted by COVID-19, are having an effect on the timeliness of pick-up and drop-off of our students.  Returning three students to a seat, combining bus routes, and training additional staff to drive leased vans to assist with getting students home from school are among the strategies that have been discussed in ongoing, collaborative discussions with Butler's Busses and Durham Transportation. Please be assured that we have also reviewed protocols to ensure parents are receiving communication from the bus company and/or our schools in the most timely manner.  
 
#MILFORDTEAMSUP Thanks very much for working together as we continue to manage the challenges of the pandemic. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions or concerns ([email protected]
 
Kindly, Christi Michaud
Interim Superintendent of Schools
 
File attachments: