The Edgewater Eagle
January 2022
Volume 1 Issue 5
Edgewater Elementary School
Email: kvermerris@aacps.org
Website: https://www.aacps.org/Page/4298
Location: 121 Washington Road, Edgewater, MD, USA
Phone: 410-222-1660
Twitter: @EdgewaterAACPS
From the Principal
Happy New Year!! As we enter a new year, this is a great reminder to take care of you and your family. I am extremely optimistic about what 2022 will bring to our Edgewater community.
Our EES awesome staff will continue to work with students and families on growing our students in all areas. Encourage your child to work on i-Ready at home as well as First In Math. Our students (and staff) are very competitive and love to display the FIM trophies in their classrooms.
As we continue into the winter months, please check your child for any symptoms each morning prior to sending them to school and please communicate with our office. We are taking every measure possible to keep our students healthy and in school. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kim VerMerris
Principal
Contact Tracing Updates
Please follow the new guidelines from the CDC as it pertains to quarantine and isolation. Use the AACPS Protocols link for updated information.
Prior to break, you received a letter this week outlining changes in our contact tracing process. The decision to implement changes was made recently by our Board of Education. These changes do not change the way cases are traced in the community, so I wanted to ensure I explained the difference and provided clarification for the future parent notification you will receive.
- As you know, the case rate is increasing daily. The use of home rapid tests is encouraged; however, our school system continues to only accept rapid and PCR tests that are assessed by a medical professional.
- When our school receives notice of a positive case, we will no longer contact trace and identify close contacts. That means the parent notification will not be individualized as it has previously. In the case of a positive Covid19 case, we will notify an entire grade level at one time. The reason for this is because we will not be tracing students who might move classes for Foundational Literacy (grades K-2) and Math (grades 3-5), who sit by various students in the cafeteria or who they play with at recess. Without the contact tracing process we have no way of providing individual notifications. No close contacts will be identified and no students will be quarantined for positive cases at school.
- If your family has a positive case or your EES student has been identified by the Health Department as a close contact due to sports or other activities, that is considered a community case. We still ask that you notify us. It will be necessary for your child to quarantine as the rules set by our Board of Education do not apply to community cases in Anne Arundel County. I will continue to support families in setting quarantine dates for EES community close contacts so we can ensure they receive virtual instruction/support while they are out.
- Our school will continue to be hypervigilant in the new year by distancing students when possible, continuing to use seating charts to support limited student contact, and monitor student mask wearing. While the changes have been made to contact tracing, our efforts to practice Covid protocols in the school setting will not change.
It's Concert Time!
The Edgewater Chorus Concert has been rescheduled for January 20 at 6 pm in the cafeteria. Our Band and Strings Concert has been postponed and a new date will be shared soon.
Student attire is nice or dressy. No jeans or tennis shoes if possible. To ensure that we do not surpass room capacity, each concert student will be given 6 tickets (5 guests and 1 for the student). Only people with tickets will be allowed to enter the building. Families must sit together and will be socially distanced from other audience members. All audience members must wear a mask while in the building. Please contact Ms. Womble with any questions at nwomble@aacps.org or Mr. Stinchcomb at dvstinchcomb@aacps.org.