Prospect Park School District

TRANSLATION

CLICK on the accessibility button to translate this newsletter. HAGA CLIC en el botón de accesibilidad para traducir este boletín. এই নিউজলেটারটির অনুবাদ করতে অ্যাক্সেসযোগ্যতার বোতামটি ক্লিক করুন।

انقر فوق زر الوصول لترجمة هذه الرسالة الإخبارية.

A Message From Our Superintendent Dr. Reels

Greetings Prospect Park School District Community,

We are excited to welcome our staff and students back into the building on Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

This pandemic has proven to be difficult and at times very challenging. The last two years have caused us to shift in many ways but we never gave up, and we rose above the adversity to provide our students with quality and effective instruction, whether virtually or in-person. We are determined to work with all stakeholders to promote a safe and healthy school environment.

We are following guidance from the New Jersey Department of Health, and taking the necessary precautions for a safe return. Governor Phil Murphy declared a new public health emergency which allowed him to mandate masks in New Jersey schools. Masks must be worn indoors by staff, students, and visitors. In addition to wearing masks, the below measures will also be followed:

Social distancing
Hand washing
Routine cleaning and disinfecting
Parental Symptom Screening
Response to Symptomatic Students and Staff

The New Jersey Department of Education is committed to providing school districts with the guidance and resources necessary to address the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of our school community. We are committed to working with our students and families to make sure that we return to a safe, enriching and engaging learning environment.

Please read the guidance and information that has been provided in our newsletter.

Remember that the district is closed on Monday, January 17, 2022, in honor of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We look forward to seeing you all back on Tuesday.

Thank you

Dr. Tyeshia A. Reels

COVID Information

The New Jersey Department of Health has provided multiple documents regarding safety during the Omicron surge over the last few weeks. We wanted to provide you with an update on this new information and provide details on how the district will be following several of these new guidelines:

We ask that if someone in your house has COVID 19 or your child who comes to school has COVID 19, that you communicate this information to our school nurse, as soon as possible: nurse@prospectparknj.com AND follow these guidelines:

If your child has symptoms of COVID, they MUST have a negative COVID test to return to school. If they have a negative test, they can come back the next day they are feeling better.
If a child was exposed to COVID 19 (and IS NOT vaccinated) they must quarantine for a Full 7 days and receive a negative COVID test on days 5-7
If a child has COVID 19, they must stay home for a full 10 days
If someone in your household has COVID, your child must remain home for 7-10 days after their LAST exposure with that person.

All children who do not attend school because of COVID will be marked absent, unless they come to school VIRTUALLY.

At this point, we are not using the new CDC guidance for a 5 day quarantine for COVID 19. We cannot separate students during the periods of breakfast, lunch and snack (prek/K) from the rest of the classroom. Therefore, all students with COVID 19, must fulfill the entire 10 day quarantine. This will be revisited when our region has moved from Red to Orange and again when we move to the Yellow CALI score.

Vaccination Clinic AND COVID TESTING

We will be holding a vaccination clinic on Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

Location: School Gymnasium 3:20-6:00pm

Who: Students (5+ years old), families and teachers are welcome

Vaccine type: Pfizer pediatric (provider can also offer Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J for parents/staff)

COVID Testing:

We will be having weekly COVID testing. If you signed up once, you do not have to do it again. Please come to the school cafeteria with your child after school at 3:20 p.m. each week. This is for students and staff only at this time.

To sign up, CLICK HERE for our testing information.

Vaccination Card

Please send us a copy of your child's vaccination card. If the school is unable to determine the vaccination status of individual students or staff, the student will be considered not fully vaccinated.

According to the Department of Health, a student is considered vaccinated if they have received a primary series which consists of 2 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

If you were traveling?

Travel Guidelines For Upcoming Breaks

The school must follow all travel guidelines according to the CDC. As Christmas and winter recess have just passed, please note that students MUST quarantine when they come back from travel. If your child is fully vaccinated, your child DOES NOT need to quarantine.

If your child is not fully vaccinated: After you travel:

Get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after travel AND stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days after travel.
- Even if you test negative, stay home and self-quarantine for the full 7 days.
- If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.
If you don’t get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days after travel.
Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days, whether you get tested or not.
Self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms; isolate and get tested if you develop symptoms.