Friday, February 5, 2021
Hello MSD Families,
Happy Friday! We hope you have had a wonderful week. Below are four projects that we are excited to share and one update from Governor Holcomb and the Indiana State Department of Health. Remember, we’re all in this together!
1) On Wednesday in his weekly press conference, Governor Holcomb announced upcoming procedural changes for school districts concerning COVID. We felt it important to share what that would mean for our students and staff. Please see the below info:
Current Contact Tracing Guidelines
- All individuals within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer of a positive individual 48 hours prior to symptom onset or a test date if asymptomatic are identified as close contacts.
- Identified close contacts are advised to quarantine for 14 days from the last day they had contact with the positive individual.
- Close contacts may return to school and all normal activities after they complete their 14-day quarantine assuming they do not develop symptoms or test positive.
- The 7-day and 10-day quarantine options were not supported by the Morgan County Health Department and/or Indiana State Department of Health
In-School Contact Tracing Guidelines Effective 2/8/2021
- Schools are no longer required to quarantine if the students and staff are socially distanced at least 3 feet and are wearing a mask at all times. This applies to classrooms only.
- This change does not apply to lunch, bus, athletics, PE, band, choir, orchestra, or any school setting where students may gather, nor does it apply to any school setting where students have removed their masks or have a mask exemption allowing them to use a face shield only. In these cases, close contacts will be defined as anybody within 6 feet of the positive individual for 15 minutes or longer. Additionally, community close contacts should continue with the 6 feet for 15 minutes rule.
- Identified close contacts will have the option of following the traditional 14-day quarantine OR the new 10-day quarantine outlined below:
- Student may return to school after 10 days from last interaction with the positive individual as long as they have not developed any symptoms or tested positive. The student should however continue to monitor for symptoms through day 14.
- Student must wear their mask at all times upon return to school.
- Student will eat lunch 6 feet away from all other individuals due to their mask being removed.
- Student may not participate in any extracurricular activity until day 14 unless they can be masked and remain 6 feet away at ALL times.
- At this time the Morgan County Health Department does not support the 7-day option.The Indiana State Department of Health also announced that each school will receive additional hand sanitizer, KN95 masks for staff, and additional children’s masks.
Schools also will receive BinexNOW rapid antigen tests to more quickly identify and isolate positive students and staff. In the coming weeks, the MSD of Martinsville will be exploring policies and procedures prior to using these tests. Students will not be tested without parents first signing a written consent form.
Due to the above changes, our MSD of Martinsville Quarantine/Isolation Guidance and Indiana State Department of Health Guidance will be updated soon.
Families, we hope this helps to clarify our next steps in keeping our MSD family healthy and safe.
2) Parents/Guardians of Bell, Wooden and MHS Students
We are pleased to offer a 2-night online workshop on Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TBRI). We have implemented TBRI in our schools to support our students with their social-emotional health. Everyone from bus drivers to teachers and administrators has participated in the program to ensure we offer ways for students to feel healthy and safe while in school. This is an opportunity for families to learn about the program, to create a strong connection between social-emotional learning and support that is taking place in the schools.
Thursday, February 25 and Thursday, March 4th
6pm – 8pm
Zoom Workshop
To register, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoFLRUH8TnglbG9qdQO5DccRMQ7JVYB2I3AT1NFlyhLmuuRQ/viewform
(If you are unable to access, please visit our Facebook page/MSD of Martinsville.)
3) Kindergarten Fair
Families, know a sweet kiddo that begins kindergarten in the fall? Join us for our free 2021 Kindergarten Fair! Learn about our unique elementary schools plus bus, food, family and special services options… and enroll. The Fair will offer everything you’ll need to prepare for your kindergartner’s first day of school. Also, student vaccinations will be available*. Prizes and more!
Wednesday, February 24
11am – 1pm, 2pm – 4pm, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Thursday, February 25
5:30pm – 7:30pm
Location: Central Education Center
*Vaccinations available on Wednesday and Thursday between 5:30pm – 7:30pm.
Due to our current health and safety guidelines, the event is by appointment only. To comply with guidelines, appointments are reserved for one student and one parent/guardian only.
4)New Student Enrollment
We are excited to announce that we are enrolling new and transfer students for the 2021-2022 academic year.
To enroll, please visit our website, https://msdofmartinsville.org/enrollment/
5) New Bus App
Our amazing transportation dept has been working on a bus app for the district. Mr. Mills, transportation director, and his team have been dedicated to this project to ensure families feel safe, especially now with all the I-69 construction. The app is called Zonar My View and is ready today for you to download.
To learn more about the app and download, please visit our website, https://www.msdofmartinsville.org/transportation-and-safety/
Families, enjoy your weekend. Please stay safe and warm!
Respectfully,
Jayne Burke
Director of Community Relations
MSD of Martinsville
