Key News for Families
December 17, 2020
School Calendar Update
2021-22 Student Enrollment Information
4K Parent Information Night
A virtual 4K Parent Information Night will be held on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, at 6:30 pm. Parents will hear information about the 4K program, have opportunities to meet virtually with the community partners, and obtain additional information about registration. View the 4K Parent Night presentation information here.
Click here for a printable flyer that includes important information about registration.
4K registration begins February 1, 2021.
COVID-19 Updates
Keeping Students Home When Household Members Are Tested:
We strongly recommend that families with household members awaiting COVID-19 test results keep their children home until they receive a negative test result. Many close contact quarantines have been avoided by families proactively keeping students who later tested positive home while waiting for a parent or sibling to receive their test results.
If an immediate family member is displaying COVID-19 symptoms and is tested, please strongly consider keeping your child home until the test results are received to help avoid quarantining other students.
COVID-19 Contact Tracing During Winter Break:
Our district staff will not be conducting contact tracing beginning at noon on Christmas Eve through Christmas Day to allow our staff to enjoy time with their families. There will be limited contact tracing after Christmas with regular COVID-19 responsibilities resuming Monday, December 28.
New COVID-19 Quarantine Guidelines:
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated guidelines for quarantine of those who were a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The guidelines were approved by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Waukesha County Public Health. As such, we will adopt these new guidelines:
A 14-day quarantine remains the safest option for close contacts of someone with COVID-19.
- An individual's official quarantine will be shortened to 10 days, provided the individual is asymptomatic and continues to monitor for symptoms for the full 14 days
If the quarantined individual receives a negative test result (PCR or antigen) that was collected on or after day 6 of quarantine, the quarantine may be shortened to a minimum of 7 days once our health team receives proof of the negative test result.
Please note: a positive test will result in a new isolation period of ten days.
You can find testing sites in Waukesha County at https://bit.ly/WaukeshaCoTesting.
Please note, this only applies to close contact quarantines. It does not change isolation periods for people who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Our district nurses are emailing families of students who have students in close contact quarantines with updated dates following this guidance. Families should check their email carefully for new letters. If you have not received a letter, email our health team at covid19@masd.k12.wi.us.
You can view Waukesha County’s new quarantine options by clicking here.
Grade 7-12 Second Semester Learning Options Reminder
Families with students currently in the Grade 7-8 Virtual Learning Option should click here to complete this short survey to communicate their choice for second semester.
Families with students currently in the Grade 9-12 Virtual Learning Option should click here to complete this short survey to communicate their choice for second semester. All families must complete this for each student by Wednesday, January 6.
Grade 7-8 families with students currently attending in-person at Park View Middle School who wish to move their child to the Virtual Learning Option should click here to enroll.
Grade 9-12 families with students currently attending in-person at Mukwonago High School who wish to move their child to the Virtual Learning Option should click here to enroll.
Families choosing the Virtual Learning Option must understand that this is not the same instruction provided to students in quarantine. The Virtual Learning Option features different teachers and most courses use the Apex Learning platform to deliver instruction. Also, students enrolled in the Virtual Learning Option are committing to remain with this option for the entire second semester.
To ensure families fully understand the Virtual Learning Option, be sure to review our Virtual Learning Option Information Guide.
Bark Jr. Offering Free Lifetime Subscriptions for Personal Devices
‘Tis the season to spread some cheer (and online safety!). From now until Dec. 31, 2020, our friends at Bark are offering free lifetime Bark Jr subscriptions to help give you a little peace of mind when it's time to hand your kids their holiday gifts of new devices.
What is Bark Jr?
Bark Jr is a screen time management and web filtering tool. It enables you to set daily screen time schedules for each of your kids’ devices, from hands-off bedtime hours to educational site-only school time sessions. You can also block specific websites and apps as well as general categories like streaming, gaming, and more. Sign up today to take advantage of this special offer — it won’t last long!
Students Home in Quarantine
In order to ensure a continuation of learning, please help to make sure that your child is joining the livestream classes or doing his/her work off the learning platform (Seesaw or Google Classroom). If students are not able to complete their assigned work, families should contact their child's teacher(s). Students are expected to be caught up with work when they return.
Thank you for your support as we maintain a continuation of learning!
Continuing COVID-19 Reminders
Families are asked to review this important information which will help keep our students and staff healthy and our in-person schools open for learning:
COVID-19 Information and Reporting Email Address:
Families who need to communicate with our district nurses about COVID-19 related matters including reporting symptoms, sharing test results, or to ask questions should email us at covid19@masd.k12.wi.us. This new email address will allow for more efficient response times and tracking of all student related COVID-19 issues.
Students Awaiting Test Results Must Remain Home:
Families are reminded that students who have been tested for COVID-19 must remain home until their results are returned, even if they begin to feel better. If the results are negative, they can return to school with proof of the negative result unless they are already in quarantine due to a close contact.
Report All Positive Student and Household Cases:
Also, families are reminded that if your child or someone in their household tests positive for COVID-19, you must contact your child's health room or District Nurse Noel Menghe (covid19@masd.k12.wi.us or 262.363.6292 x27515). Contact tracing for all positive cases must be conducted and any delay in notifying the health room or district nurse could result in additional outbreaks or ill students. Thank you for your cooperation!
Mask Use and Close Contact:
We believe that mask use is helping to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our district. While we have had some students and staff who have tested positive, the number of positives related to these cases has been very low thus far.
However, the Waukesha County Health Department still requires students or staff members who come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 to quarantine, regardless of mask use and physical barriers. Close contact is defined as being within six feet or less for 15 or more minutes.
Parents should be aware that a negative COVID test does not release a student from quarantine. It's important to note that our legal counsel and liability insurance carrier have made it clear that we need to follow our local health department's guidelines on quarantine procedures.
Assigned Seats on Bus:
Students riding the bus to or from school must sit in their assigned seats. Assigned seats assist us in contact tracing when there are positive cases and help us ensure the proper students are quarantined when necessary.
Student Stigma About COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation:
The Waukesha County Public Health quarantine and isolation procedures are an important part of helping us Stay Safe to Stay Open. Unfortunately, some attach a negative association to those students and staff who are in the quarantine and isolation protocols. Please review this guide to Social Stigma Associated with COVID-19 to learn what you can do to reduce the negative stigma many associate with COVID-19 and help keep everyone in our schools in community safe.
Substitute Teachers Needed
- Have you ever thought about teaching in a classroom?
- Has the pandemic caused you to want to get out of the house and interact with people?
- Do you want to earn some extra money?
- Do you enjoy working with students?
It is now easier than ever to become a substitute teacher. A three year short term sub license is available for applicants who hold an associate degree or higher from an accredited college or university and who has successfully completed an approved substitute training program, but has not completed a state-approved educator preparation program.
Training opportunities are currently available through Stedi.com, CESA 1, or CESA 2.
Mukwonago Community Bulletin Board
Important Links
District Website | Pandemic Information
School Websites:
Big Bend | Clarendon Avenue | Eagleville | Prairie View | Rolling Hills | Section |
Park View Middle School | Mukwonago High School
Other Important Links:
Mukwonago Education Foundation | MASD Community Education | Lunch Menus |
School Calendars | Infinite Campus Parent Portal | School Board | School Board Agenda/Minutes
Mukwonago Area School District
Email: helpdesk@masd.k12.wi.us
Website: www.masd.k12.wi.us
Location: 385 East Veterans Way, Mukwonago, WI, USA
Phone: 262.363.6300
Facebook: facebook.com/masdschools
Twitter: @MASDSCHOOLS