PUMA NEWS
12/10/21
After School Plans
Reminder that students are not allowed to stay after school unsupervised and wait for the basketball games. Students are allowed to leave and return for the game to cheer on the teams. Plans must be made by the start of the day to avoid end of day confusion.
Net and Wall Activities in Mr. Silegy's PE class.
Note from Kimberly Saunders (Previous E-mail)
Good Afternoon,
In ConVal we seek to maintain a safe environment for students, employees, families, and the community. To support this goal, we will be providing access to rapid antigen testing in school. The test itself is a lower nasal swab, and results are generated in about 15 minutes. As COVID 19 continues, the District recognizes that asking students, staff, and families to quarantine and/or self isolate is problematic for many, and that the pursuit of testing through local sites can be time consuming. Additionally, waiting for results can take multiple days. Often, each of those days is a day missed in school. To help alleviate this, we are pleased to share with you the opportunity that we have to provide rapid testing for COVID 19 in schools with parental consent.
This testing will allow us to limit those we are asking to quarantine and will alleviate the need for parents to obtain testing for the return to school. Our goal is to decrease the number of days students and staff need to be out of school related to symptoms that are consistent with COVID 19 symptoms but are not actually COVID 19.
Instructions for electronic permission to test will be sent to you through your child’s principal. A separate permission is necessary for each student at each school. The time involved in the school receiving consent is about 24 hours following the electronic permission, so it is important that if you want to participate you fill it out before it is needed as we will not be able to accept permission over the phone.
Here is an overview of how the testing protocol will work:
ConVal School District COVID-19 Testing Protocol
- ConVal School District is able to perform diagnostic testing for students and staff. Diagnostic rapid antigen testing will be used to rule out COVID-19.
- Instructions for electronic permission forms sent to all parents/guardians and district staff via email.
- In order to be tested, staff must have permission form completed in the online portal.
- In order to be tested, students must have permission form completed by parent/guardian in the online portal.
- All families and staff are strongly encouraged to complete the online permission form.
- Permission forms will be available from the school nurse if unable to access online portal due to connectivity issues.
- Student or staff assessment presents with at least one new or unexplained* symptom on the list of COVID-19 symptoms per NH DHHS and CDC.
- Symptoms of COVID-19 include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Symptoms of COVID-19 include:
* Students who have documented medical reasons that result in the symptoms will not be tested unless they present new or unexplained symptoms that are inconsistent with their documentation.
- School nurses or trained staff members will confirm permission for testing on file via portal.
- Parents /guardians will be contacted by phone to discuss current symptoms and notify parents of testing.
- If the parent is unable to be reached but permission is already on file, a test will be performed.
- If parent or staff member has consent on file, school nurse or trained staff member will perform rapid antigen test.
- Elementary schools - Staff members will swab students.
- Middle schools - Students may self-swab with supervision, if able. If not, staff members performing the test will swab students.
- High school - Students will self-swab with supervision.
- Staff - Will self-swab with supervision.
- If the test result is POSITIVE,
- parents will need to pick up students and will be referred to a physician for further guidance.
- Documentation will be provided to parent/staff.
- School nurses or trained staff members will review current return to school protocols with staff/parent/guardian.
- If the test result is NEGATIVE,
- discuss with parent or staff member what actions the symptoms warrant,
- individuals may return when fever free >24 hours without fever-reducing medications and symptoms have improved.
- Documentation will be provided to parent/staff.
- Parents/guardians will continue to be asked to keep students home when they are exhibiting any new or unexplained symptoms of COVID-19,
- will have the opportunity to contact their school nurse to notify of symptoms and arrange testing at school.**
- You will be able to call and make an appointment with school nurse or designated staff member
- For example, students or staff would come to the door, swab, nurse would bring swab into the building and either have them wait for results or call parents later.
**We cannot offer testing to individuals who do not attend school in our district
Thank you for taking the time to read through this. You should receive an email today from your child’s principal with the necessary information to register and provide consent. This is a voluntary program provided to alleviate days missed from school, no student or staff member is required to participate. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions at ksaunders@conval.edu.
Thank you for your patience as we roll the testing program out. Testing empowers us to make more informed decisions and allows students, teachers, and staff to come to school with peace of mind. We anticipate that the first date that testing will be able to take place will be Monday, December 6th, 2021.
Rapid Antigen Testing
To get started, please fill out the consent form with your permission to perform a COVID-19 test
for your student (or yourself as a staff member) at South Meadow School. This process should take no more than 5 minutes to complete using a computer or a smartphone.
1. First, click here (https://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com/minor-consent).
2. Then, enter this access code: C9FA7Q
3. Finally, enter your child’s information, and you’re done!
Note: If you need to provide consent for more than one child, please complete the process once
for each child using the code sent from the principal where your child attends.
Only students with completed consent forms are able to participate in testing. Testing empowers us to make these informed decisions about in-person learning and allows students, teachers, and staff to come to school with peace of mind.
Thank you,
Timothy Conway
What's Happening at SMS?
3D Design!
Amazing Creations in IAT
Battleship!
Mrs. Norby's Class Engaged in the Process
Real Owls at Lab Girls!
-----News you Might Already Know-----
What is Advisory?
Your students advisor is your point of contact for communication at South Meadow School.
Description of Advisory
Advisory is an uninterrupted 35 minutes after lunch and recess that happens everyday.
The purpose of advisory is to establish a small community of learners (8-14 students and staff) that can serve as home base for your student at SMS.
Promotes collaboration, positive climate, student learning, communication, and social skills.
Key Features
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for all students.
Supports academic readiness, builds student to student affiliation, and strengthens student and staff relationships.
Community News
About Us
Email: tconway@conval.edu
Website: https://sms.convalsd.net/
Location: 108 Hancock Road, Peterborough, NH, USA
Phone: (603) 924-7105