31 Aug, 2020
Hello MSD Families,
We are eager to welcome students back into the buildings and have been working hard to ensure a safe learning environment for all. We are excited to move into our Yellow Stoplight from our Back to School plan. As a reminder from Monday, August 31 – Friday, September 11, students will come to the classroom two days a week and have three days of eLearning from home. Students were grouped into two Cohorts: A and B, for the purpose of having only 50% of students in buildings at once. This to ensure safety for our students and MSD team.
Monday, August 31 – Friday, September 11
Students in Cohort A
Students in Cohort B
On days when students come to school, bus service will be provided*, and breakfast/lunch will be available as students are back in the classroom. *If a student is considered a walker, bus service is unavailable.
Families, if you have questions about which Cohort (or group) you student is in, please log in to Skyward, click your student’s schedule. Either an A or B will be listed in the Course or Description column. Please reply to this email if you have Skyward questions.
+
COVID PARENT SCREENING INFORMATION
Last Friday, August 21st, we released our mask policy for the start of the school year. The mask policies aim, along with many of the measures we have taken, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as much as possible. Also, in cooperation with the Indiana State Health Department of Health (ISDH) and the Morgan County Health Department, we will follow contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation guidelines that have been established by the Centers for Disease Control and the Indiana State Department of Health. These are NOT optional guidelines for school districts. Health professionals have the same expectation for all school districts in Indiana. For this reason, it is important for families to have a plan in case their student is in a position where they are identified as someone who was in close contact with someone with symptoms, needs to quarantine or must isolate due to having any Covid symptom(s) themselves. Students who are mandated to quarantine or isolate will continue their lessons online through eLearning until they are cleared to return to school. Additionally, we ask that each day you review the daily symptom checker prior to sending your student to school. The more each family does their part to prevent the potential infection of others the safer our schools will be.
We have implemented numerous precautions in an effort to prevent the spread including:
Families, we pledge to work together to stay safe. We created a structure for student learning this year with our Stoplight system: red, yellow, green. This year may be a challenge at times but no matter which color we are on your children will be educated by talented, dedicated professionals who want to see your children succeed…and have some fun.
Our schools have been busy creating videos and communications to welcome students back to school and to help prepare families for this school year. To learn more, please visit our website, msdofmartinsville.org, then click your student’s school Or follow us on social media at Facebook/ MSD of Martinsville and Twitter/Instragram/ MSDMartinsville.
Thank you, families.
Respectfully,
Jayne BurkeDir of Community RelationsMSD Martinsville
_________________________________________________________________
Today, four students have been placed in quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19. We immediately began health and safety protocols set forth by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Please take a moment to review our Mask Policy, Daily Parent Screening and Return to School information from the ISDH and CDC on our website: https://www.msdofmartinsville.org/2020-2021-back-to-school-plan/or visit msdofmartinsville.org -> Back to School Plan, on the homepage.
Families, due to privacy laws including HIPAA and FERPA, we are unable to disclose the names of the students. Our focus is to implement solutions that the district and each of us can do on a daily basis, empathize by not blaming or gossiping about students, and work together to keep everyone safe.
If and/or when cases develop, those impacted will be contacted directly by either our school district or the local Morgan County Board of Health. If your student hasn’t been contacted, then they are unaffected.
It is imperative that students and families exercise as much caution outside of school as we will during school hours and athletics events to minimize spread. And, we will continue to clean our buildings and buses regularly, social distance and wear masks while we engage students in their education.
We’re all in this together.
Dr. Jay Arthur_________________________________________________________________
3) Sunday, August 30, 2020
2. Quarantine Protocols
In a situation when a student/staff member is asked to quarantine, what that specifically means is that they have been identified as in Close Contact (been within 6ft of somebody for 15 minutes or longer) with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. Close contacts must quarantine for 14 calendar days from the date of exposure. This does not mean that they have Covid-19, will get Covid-19 or are contagious. This is guidance given by the Centers for Disease Control and the Indiana State Department of Health that all schools in Indiana are required to follow.
