Dear Mendon and Upton Families,

We wanted to reach out and provide an update on our return to school amidst the uptick in COVID-19 cases across Massachusetts.

As predicted by the medical experts and anticipated by our district, we are seeing an increase in COVID-19 since the return from vacation. Along with our local boards of health, we expect that this will decrease in the coming weeks.

We sincerely appreciate the collective awareness and support of our community, particularly in communicating with school nurses about students who are dealing with illnesses. We continue to see that our schools are safe, and we are experiencing minimal in-school transmission of the virus. With that said, we have seen an increase in COVID-19 in our communities and wanted to provide some updates.

In the past we had only asked students who have been identified as close contacts to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms. In order to be cautious, at this time we are asking that all students self-monitor for symptoms and reach out to your school nurse with any concerns.

COVID-19 symptoms list:

• Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

• New loss of taste or smell

• Muscle aches or 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 or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms

You can find our nurses’ contact information below. Parents/Guardians will continue to receive notification if their child is determined to be a close contact who needs to participate in the test and stay program or self-quarantine.

If a student begins to exhibit symptoms, please keep them home from school. Please do not send your student in if they are symptomatic with the intent to get them tested by the nurse. This not only exposes students and staff but also our health care professionals. Please call the school nurse should you have any questions or visit the link in the questions and answers document linked below to find testing locations nearby.

FAQs

We also wanted to take this opportunity to share answers to some of the frequently asked questions that we have received in recent days. You can find those questions and answers here.

DESE/DPH came out with some revisions to their protocols last week, which were shared with you. Here are the updated protocols for your convenience. Any specific questions that can't be answered through the protocols or FAQ, please reach out to your school nurse.

• DESE/DPH Protocols December 2021

Despite the uptick in cases across the Commonwealth, we know that our schools are safe. In each school in the district, we have taken the time at the start of this new year to refocus on the health guidelines and to remind staff and students of behaviors that have been shown to keep schools safe. It is great to see everyone working together to do their part. We are confident that the protocols we have in place will continue to make our schools safe and healthy communities of learning. We appreciate everyone’s support in this community-wide effort.

Sincerely,

Maureen Cohen, Ed.D.

Interim Superintendent of Schools

MURSD School District Nurses

MURSD School Nurse Contact Information:

Nipmuc: Leslie McInnis, RN, lmcinnis@mursd.org, 508-529-2143

Miscoe: Gail Farquharson, RN, gfarquharson@mursd.org , 508-634-1589

Memorial: Lisa Ryan, RN, lryan@mursd.org, 508-529-1903

Clough: Tara Bellefontaine, RN, tbellefontaine@mursd.org, 508-634-9179

SI Kindergarten Information Night Link

Join the MURSD SEPAC for our January (all virtual) meeting to hear from the SEPAC board, as well as Director of Student Support Services, on district updates. This month’s meeting will also feature a special guest speaker, Randy Fedoruk from Sensation Station in Franklin, MA, who will be discussing Occupational Therapy.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

6:30pm on Zoom:

https://mursd.zoom.us/j/89227877073?pwd=MFNENDJ1b1psSmo3OUVpb1RKdmE0dz09

More on Randy:

Randy has been practicing as a pediatric occupational therapist for over twenty years. He has experience working with infants, toddlers and school age children and he has specific expertise in working with medically complex or medically fragile infants and toddlers and graduates from the NICU. Drawing upon his extensive knowledge base and experience, Randy has conducted numerous evaluations in early intervention programs across three states as well as school based evaluations across several school districts. Randy provides intervention plans for children who have autism spectrum disorder and he creates sensory diets that can be incorporated into the children and family's daily routines. An experienced mentor and teacher, Randy has lectured at national and international conferences. Randy has been an adjunct professor at Dominican College and Quinnipiac University and an Assistant Professor of Occupational therapy at University of Hartford and he has taught courses in neuroscience, splinting, assistive technology, theory or frames of reference, advanced practice skills and pediatrics. Currently he is the Program Director and a professor of occupational therapy at NEIT and he owns and operates a small private occupational therapy practice – Sensation Station.