COVID-19 Protocol Updates

• No mask requirement- except when in the Health Offices and/or returning to school after testing positive- wear a mask Day 6-10 (unless test negative on Day 5 or after)
• Individuals who wish to continue to wear a mask will be supported
• Discontinued Pool Testing, At-Home Rapid Antigen Testing, Test to Stay and Contract Tracing
• Quarantine for close contacts is no longer required, regardless of vaccination status or where the exposure occurred.
• Exposed individuals may attend school as long as they remain symptom free.

COVID-19 Symptoms

• Fever 100.0/chills, shaking chills
• Difficulty breathing or Shortness of breath
• New loss of taste or smell,
• Muscle aches/body aches
• Cough (not due to other known cause such as chronic cough)
• Sore throat when in combination with other symptoms
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea when in combination with other symptoms
• Headache when in combination with other symptoms
• Fatigue when in combination with other symptoms
• Nasal congestion/runny nose (not due to other known cause such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms

COVID-19: Positive Case

Protocol for individuals who test positive:

• Duration: 5 Day isolation
• Day 0- onset of symptoms or positive test date if asymptomatic
• Return to School on Day 6 if:

1. fever free for 24 hrs. without fever reducing medication
2. improvement of symptoms
3. wear a mask Day 6-10
4. no mask required Day 6-10 if the individual tests negative on Day 5 or after

• Quarantine for close contacts is no longer required, regardless of vaccination status or where the exposure occurred.
• All exposed individuals may attend school as long as they remain symptom free.
• Ask families/staff to inform school nurse of a positive test

Mitigation Strategies

• Encourage good hand hygiene
• Ask Staff/Students stay home if not feeling well
• Advise testing if experiencing s/s COVID-19
• Cleaning and Disinfecting
• Encourage COVID-19 Vaccine and Booster
• Encourage Flu Vaccine
• Masks available in Health Offices

Information & Logistics

Start/End Times: Students will be allowed to enter the school at 8:00am with HR beginning at 8:19. Students who enter before 8:05 will go to the cafeteria where we have supervision and breakfast is served. Our dismissal time is 2:40pm. We will continue to maintain a safe, staggered dismissal allowing for less-crowded hallways and ample time for students to board the buses or get picked up.

Buses/ Transportation: I encourage families to register your students for the buses. There is plenty of room on our buses. Please use this link to register your students for the bus: https://www.chelmsford.k12.ma.us/domain/90

For those who have registered, bus passes were mailed last week. Hopefully, you've received your child's bus pass

Schedule: We are continuing to tweak student schedules in regards to support services. We have added most support services to student schedules. We are continuing to work with the staff who provide the support to effectively schedule student support services (learning center, literacy support, ELL, speech, etc.). On the first day of school, every student will receive a new, updated schedule in homeroom.

Lockers: Lockers will be issued by homeroom teachers on the first few days of school.

Lunch: The Free Lunch Program will continue this school year. This means that all students will continue to receive a free lunch daily if they wish. Additionally, we will have a "grab-and-go" breakfast in the cafeteria students can grab a breakfast item and go to homeroom. The breakfast is also free this year. Students will be provided with a card with their individualized bar code/account number that the system will scan in. They will need that card to pick-up a free breakfast or lunch. However, students would need money or cash in their Meal Magic account to buy a la carte snack items. See separate area in newsletter from our Food Services Department.

Students will eat in the cafeteria. We will have additional seating options for students who feel more comfortable being distanced.

It Is OK to Forget Items...

For security purposes, are trying to limit the number of visitors into the building. Part of being a middle school student is learning to be responsible for their own items. Teachers will understand if items are not here on a particular day. We have bubblers and cup available if your student forgets their water bottle. We understand that there are times you absolutely must bring something in, but we are trying our best to keep interruptions to a minimal and keep our building safe as possible. Thanks in advance for everyone's understanding and cooperation

Drop Off Procedures at McCarthy

DROP OFF/PICKUP/DISMISSAL REMINDERS

DROP OFF FOR STUDENTS MEETING WITH A TEACHER: Students should not arrive at school before 8:00am unless they have a pre-arranged meeting with a teacher. Those students arriving before 8:00am must enter through the front door any time after 7:30 and sign in at the main office.

REGULAR MORNING DROP OFF: This still occurs on the police station side of the school. The side doors open at 8:00am. Parents need to have their students exit the vehicle ASAP and walk directly onto the sidewalk. Parents cannot wait until the car pulls up to the door. Multiple cars (8-10 cars) need to allow students to disembark simultaneously. Rain or Shine!

Once buses are clear from the front, we begin sending cars to the front door as well to alleviate congestion. Students should not be waiting to exit right at the door. That slows the process down. We want to make sure students get to HR on time (8:19).

Morning traffic pattern (PLEASE see photo below)

Traffic can either pull in off on North Road or enter the back parking lot from Old Westford Road. At that point two lines (potentially more) will be formed running parallel to the football field. This allows traffic coming in from North Road to join the cars coming in from Old Westford Road. As the cars turn left to go toward the actual drop off zone, lines will merge back into one lane to drop students off directly onto the sidewalk.

Pick Up Procedures at McCarthy

AFTER SCHOOL PICK-UP (2:40): Please enter back parking lot from Old Westford Road. Pick-ups at the end of the school day are in the parking lot near the tennis courts/football field. If you are picking up any combination of 6th, 7th or 8th grade students, please park in a parking spot and the students will come to you in your car. You will exit the parking lot back onto Old Westford Road. If you are picking up a fifth-grade student or any combination of students that includes a fifth-grade student, you can line up along the sidewalk next to the school. Please see blue line below. For children's safety, please back into a parking spot before the dismissal time as it is much safer pulling forward out of a parking spot once school is dismissed. Thanks for keeping our children safe. PLEASE see photo below.

DISMISSALS: Please try to remember to send in a note with your child when you know your child will need to be dismissed.

Thanks for helping us keep children safe by following these procedures.

Dear McCarthy Community,

It has again been reported that we have an unsafe situation. Despite previous messaging to all families, our Central Office parking lot continues to be an unsafe area people are dropping off/picking up children. This can no longer happen. There have been some close calls and near accidents as people are pulling over in various spots in the driveways and parking lot at Central Office. All drop-offs and pick-ups are on the Chelmsford Police Department side (right side) of the building. There should be no drop-off/pick-ups on the staff parking area as well (left side of the building). The only time there are pick-ups on the left side of the school are for activities pick-ups at 3:45. Below is a reminder of our drop-off and pick-up procedures. Thanks for everyone's cooperation as we want to keep everyone safe.

Regards,

Mr. McPhee

From Our Food Services Department

Hello,

I hope this email finds you well. As you may all know, breakfast and lunch are free again this school year. What does this mean? There is no charge for any child taking a breakfast or lunch.

Unfortunately, if a student only wants a milk, water, or anything separate they must pay for that item. If your students want a milk to accompany their lunch from home, they will be charged for that milk.

Accounts – Every student has an account. The account follows the student from school to school. Although meals are free, students are still able to purchase an addition meal, snacks, and drinks at lunch time. They will need to have money in their account to be able to do this. If they do not have money, they will not be able to “charge” these purchases. Please send in a check to your student’s school or mail directly to:

Nancy Antolini

School Nutrition Director

200 Richardson Road

North Chelmsford, MA 01863

Currently, our online payment system is not up and running. Look for more information to come.

This year the students must use their ID numbers. We are currently making badges/cards with their own personal bar code/account number that each student must use to pick up a free breakfast/lunch, purchase an additional breakfast/lunch, or any a la cart items. They will be handed out on the first day of school.

I wish you a happy and healthy school year!

Nancy Antolini

School Nutrition Director