HRSD HIGHLIGHTS
November 19, 2021
DISTRICT TIDBITS TO KEEP YOU IN THE LOOP
We'd like to wish everyone a wonderful, peaceful Thanksgiving! I am encouraging all administrators and staff to electronically shut down from Wednesday's dismissal until Monday morning (November 24 dismissal- November 29 am). While I appreciate everyone's hard work ethic and dedication to our students, our administrators and staff really need some downtime with their loved ones. If parents and caregivers email anyone within the HRSD community, please know that your email will not be addressed until Monday at the earliest.
HRSD Logo Contest!!
The Hampshire Regional School District is in need of an official logo! We are looking for students to submit their best ideas for a logo that can be used for the whole district. Logos should be representative of all of our district schools: HRHS, Anne T. Dunphy (Williamsburg), New Hingham (Chesterfield/Goshen), Norris (Southampton), and Westhampton Elementary. Multiple submissions per person are allowed. Students of all ages are welcome to participate. Prizes will be given to the winner and to the runner-up! Submissions are due on December 23 by 11 am. Middle and high school submissions should be emailed to Mrs. Hotz (lhotz@hr-k12.org) and elementary school submissions should be emailed to Ms. Emerson (remerson@hr-k12.org) in Central Office.
SPIRIT WEAR IS A PERFECT GIFT FOR THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS!
Please use this link for information on ordering spirit wear for the William E. Norris Elementary School: Norris Spirit Wear
Upcoming dates to keep in mind for the next two weeks:
- November 24: Half-day
- November 25-26: Happy Thanksgiving! No school
- December 1: NHRES School committee 5:30 pm
As you may have seen, COVID cases in elementary school-aged children have increased nearly 70% in November and are a major cause of the overall case increase in Massachusetts: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/11/19/nation/covid-case-rates-jump-among-children-mass/ More testing in schools is a key way to stop the rise in cases - even if we are able to effectively stop COVID from spreading within the school. It's a great way to protect grandparents during the upcoming holidays.
Weekly COVID safety checks at Anne T Dunphy and Westhampton Elementary went well this week. We had zero positive pools!
For those who are participating, please note that no news is good news. Individuals will only be contacted in the event of a positive pool.
Weekly COVID safety checks will begin at Norris on Tuesday, November 30th.
Consent can be completed for staff and students at https://www.cic-health.com/consent/ma?district=Hampshire. Please make sure to choose the appropriate school from the drop-down menu.
*A reminder that anyone who has tested positive for COVID in the last 90 days should not consent for COVID safety checks until 90 days have passed.
For Norris families who have registered, please talk with your children over the upcoming week so that they are prepared for our first day of testing on 11/30. Similarly, anyone who consents for their child to participate at any point at ATD or WES, please speak with your children about this. Below is a short video from Boston Children's Hospital that you can show your child to teach them about how the nose swab will work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNOKh_JkXTE
Our COVID protocols have been updated to include Test & Stay information, as well guidance for exempt close contacts that develop symptoms within 14 days from last exposure. Please see our district website for the updated COVID protocols.
Reminder about drop-off location at HRHS
I'd like to remind everyone that visitor parking spaces are located at the beginning of the parking lot in designated spots. Please do not park in administrators' parking spaces, even after school hours. When an administrator comes for an evening event, they shouldn't have to hunt for a parking space.
COVID-19 VAX CLINICS CAME TO TOWN:
We held 3 COVID vaccine clinics across the district this week, and over 200 people attended! There was a mix of 5-11 year old students and adults receiving boosters.
Thank you to our AMAZING school nurses for volunteering their time to support these clinics!
We anticipate receiving confirmation for 2nd dose clinics soon, and will send out registration links as soon as able.
We want to profusely apologize to anyone who registered for an appointment at our vaccine clinic at Norris yesterday, and was either turned away or did not come after receiving the message about the supply shortage. A third party vendor manages registration and then communicates to the MA Dept. of Public Health how many doses to bring to each clinic. They grossly underreported the amount that was needed to fulfill the demand. As soon as this was communicated to our Nurse Leader, she began reaching out to local health departments to supplement inventory. Northampton Health Dept generously transferred some of their supply to the clinic for the last hour so that nobody else had to be turned away. We recognize that many parents reorganized their schedules, left work early, found childcare for their younger children, and some people drove far distances to get to this clinic. This is completely unacceptable, and we have followed up with those responsible for the miscommunication.
If you are someone who had registered for an appointment and were turned away, or were deterred from coming after receiving the supply message, please contact Mike Costa, mikec@yankeeline.us, phone #617-268-8890. He has assured us that they would be happy to provide a special accommodation for these individuals immediately.
HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE VACCINATED IN EACH GRADE IN EACH SCHOOL?
HRHS
Grade 7: 85 students, 68.55%
Grade 8: 89 students, 67.94 %
Grade 9: 68 students, 66.02%
Grade 10: 74 students, 76.29%
Grade 11: 77 students, 77.78%
Grade 12+: 99 students, 77.34%
TOTAL= 492 students, 72.14%
We will begin reporting elementary students by grade the first week of December.
COVID-19 AND FLU VACCINATION RESOURCES:
- Webpage about vaccinations for children ages 5-11: Parents are encouraged to contact their health care provider for an appointment or visit VaxFinder.mass.gov.
- Booster Eligibility Graphic and COVID-19 booster frequently asked questions for information about boosters.
- Reorganized “Trust the Facts, Get the Vax” website and resources
- Flu shot facts
DISTRICT & COMMUNITY COVID NUMBERS IN REVIEW:
Cases are on the rise across the state and Hampshire County. The case count for the state over the past 14 days increased from 17,738 to 22, 403, which is quite significant. Westfield, Amherst and Northampton have seen an increase, as well but on a much smaller scale. Our communities continue to have low case counts- Worthington, Williamsburg, Westhampton, Chesterfield and Goshen each have less than five; Southampton's case count increased by 8 cases to a total of 23.
For additional town data pertaining to Covid-19, please use the link below:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BY SCHOOL:
Chesterfield-Goshen:
We did not have any new confirmed positive cases in the New Hingham Regional School community this week. The positive individual that was still isolated last week has since been released. One close contact remains quarantined appropriately.
Williamsburg:
We did not have any new confirmed positive cases in the Anne T. Dunphy School community this week.
Southampton:
We had four new confirmed positive cases in the Norris School community this week who all remain in isolation at this time. None of these individuals were in school while potentially infectious, therefore, no close contacts in the school community have been identified.
Westhampton:
We did not have any new confirmed positive cases in the Westhampton Elementary School community this week.
Hampshire Regional:
We did not have any new confirmed positive cases in the HRHS community. The positive case that was still in isolation last week has since been released by the BOH contact tracer.