Good afternoon Nashoba students and families -

We hope everyone had a great week. The weekend weather looks like we can enjoy some outdoor time. Please read the newsletter for some important information.

Steve Cullinane

Interim Principal

We will continue to follow our schedule rotation. Here is the schedule for next week.

All 10th graders are required to take the ELA and Mathematics MCAS exams for graduation. (The class of 2023 is not required to take the STE MCAS.) Students will take the computer-based “next-generation” tests unless a previous accommodation for a paper-based test has been arranged, and students must take the exam in person at NRHS. DESE is not offering remote testing to high school students. This year, the MCAS administration will take place on June 3rd and 4th (ELA) and June 8th and 9th (Math) during the regular school day. June 10th and 11th will be reserved for make-up exams.

Students who do not participate in this June's 2021 MCAS tests for medical reasons or because they are learning remotely and choose not to come to school for testing may participate in fall 2021 for graduation and scholarship purposes.

Thank you for your continued support throughout this year. We wanted to let you know of recent changes in quarantine guidelines from the Dept of Elementary & Secondary Education:

As you may be aware, there have been some recent updates to DESE guidelines that have been endorsed by the Governor’s COVID Command Medical Advisory board (including DPH and CDC), the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and medical experts from Mass General Brigham. (Protocols for responding to COVID-19 scenarios in school, on the bus, or in community settings- 4/20/21).

• Close contacts who were exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual in the classroom or on the bus while both individuals were masked do not have to quarantine unless they were within 3 feet of distance of the COVID-19 positive individual for a total of 15 minutes during a 24-hour period.

• This does not apply if someone was identified as a close contact outside of the classroom or bus (e.g., in sports, extracurriculars, lunch, etc.) or if masks are not worn by both persons at the time of the exposure.

• All other close contacts must follow the standard protocol for when a close contact may return to school.

• When an individual can return to school can be found at this updated link: Return to School

• Notifications via email will be sent to families and staff members if considered to be a close contact (within a 3-6 foot distance of a COVID positive individual); however, they will not need to quarantine themselves under the updated guidance.

• Individuals who are fully vaccinated do not need to quarantine or get tested if they are a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19, as long as they do not show any symptoms.

• Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson).

• We will continue to enforce that if an individual is testing for any reason that individual must remain out until test results are received and provided to the nurse.

• Please notify your school nurses of any pending testing to get guidance on returning to school

We may still face scenarios that are not easily decided by the prescribed guidance. We will continue to work with local boards of health and state officials for decision making purposes in these situations.

We understand that these new guidelines are confusing. In summary:

A student identified as a close contact does not have to quarantine if:

· They were 3-6 feet from the positive individual while masked inside the classroom or on the bus

A student identified as a close contact does have to quarantine if:

· They were under 3 feet from the positive individual while masked in the classroom or on the bus

· They were under 6 feet from the positive individual while masked outside the classroom or bus

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we finish this school year.

Sarah DelConte Cosentino

Megan Talarico

President: Hansika Kommanavancha

Vice President: Morgan Barton

Secretary: Lilia Rosadini

Treasurer: Paulie Michel

Top three fundraising teams last week for Relay for Life are:

#1) Walking Bass Line - $6164

#2) Sawyer Stars - $1445

#3) Our Gang - $1211

Keep up the good work!