Wednesday's Word
January 19, 2022
What's Inside!
- Kindergarten On-line Registration Open!
- COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic
- COVID-19 Vaccination Status
- Classroom Happenings
Dear Families,
We hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and stayed warm despite the frigid temperatures! As you have probably heard, yesterday Governor Baker and Jeff Riley, the Commissioner of Education, announced that they would be making available a new Covid 19 testing option to districts that involves sending home rapid antigen tests with students and staff members who opt to participate in weekly testing. The new testing program is intended to replace the current Test and Stay option that many districts are currently operating, which provides testing for students who are identified as close contacts of Covid positive individuals in schools. The new state testing option is based on the following data reported by DESE:
- As of January 9, 503,312 Test and Stay tests had been conducted; 496,440 of them were negative (98.6%). Evidence from California and Illinois cited by the CDC in their Test to Stay guidance noted secondary transmission rates of 0.7-1.5%. A pre-publication study of the first 13 weeks of the Test and Stay program across all participating Massachusetts Schools found that the secondary transmission rate was 2.9%, and that tertiary transmission was very low.
Based on the available research, DESE points out that test positivity rates in Test and Stay indicate that individuals identified as close contacts in school are very unlikely to contract or spread COVID-19. As a result, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and DESE are recommending districts shift to focusing on only testing symptomatic individuals at school and providing self-administered rapid antigen tests to students and staff who opt to participate in a weekly testing program.
At this time we are just receiving the full details of the new testing option from DESE. We will be reviewing the guidelines and recommendations with our school based medical team and will be consulting with our public health officials prior to making a decision on which testing option we will be proceeding with. Please note as soon as we have determined the most effective plan for keeping our school community safe and our students and teachers in school, we will send out detailed information to all of our families.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Ingrid N. AllardiNPS Kindergarten Online Registration is Now Open!
2022 - 2023 Kindergarten information and the online registration form can be accessed by visiting the Norfolk Public Schools' website at www.norfolk.k12.ma.us
To help us plan effectively, please register
by February 18th, 2022.
For additional questions regarding kindergarten,
Please email kregistration@norfolk.k12.ma.us or phone the H. Olive Day School’s main office at
508-541-5475, extension 0.
COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic
February 8: 1st dose clinic
March 1: 2nd dose clinic for those who receive 1st dose February 8th..
Watch for registration and details in next week's Wednesday's Words.
COVID-19 Vaccination Status
If your child has been fully vaccinated (completion of either the Pfizer or Moderna series or two weeks following a single dose of the Johnson and Johnson Janssen vaccine) please send a photocopy of your child’s vaccination card in a sealed envelope to your child’s school nurse. Fully vaccinated students are exempt from test and quarantine requirements. Having a record of each child’s vaccination status will support our nurses with future contract tracing efforts.
H. Olive Day School Nurse- Ann Hurley
Freeman-Kennedy School Nurse- Barbara DiGiacomo
Norfolk Recreation Upcoming Programs!
Grade 2 student's playing math games in Mrs. Kealty's class.
5th & 6th grade students celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Norfolk Public Schools
Email: allardi@norfolk.k12.ma.us
Website: norfolk.k12.ma.us
Location: 70 Boardman Street, Norfolk, MA, USA
Phone: 508-528-1225