Quarantine Update 11/8/21 for MCS
News you can use and just released
Hello Norwich,
I am sharing some info that I received from the principal of the MCS school regarding a COVID Quarantine update for today 11/8/2021.
Quarantine Update 11/8/21
Shawn Gonyaw via spe.schoolmessenger.com
3:07 PM (36 minutes ago)
Dear MCS Families,
First, I am extremely appreciative of MCS families. As a parent, I know how difficult it is to receive news that your child is not able to attend school. Even with that stressful news coming your way, connected to positive COVID cases at our school, each and every correspondence that has come my way is positive and supportive. You are a fantastic group of people. We have been working tirelessly to look for options to get your children back to school earlier than the 14 day quarantine period. Thankfully, there are some viable options!
Option #1 - PCR Test administered on day #7
One option we have is to have students take a PCR test on day seven after exposure. With a negative test result, students are able to come back to school. We have set up our school surveillance testing to occur on Wednesday of this week, at day #7 for students who are in quarantine. We will set up a testing station near the Church Street parking lot for families to bring their child(ren) to test. If you are already signed up for weekly testing, then bring your child on Wednesday from 7:45AM to 8:30AM. If you are not signed up for weekly testing, to take advantage of this option, you will need to sign up. To participate in the program, you must sign this consent form.
Option #2 - Test-to-Stay Program
The Test-to-Stay program is designed to allow students to take a daily test prior to the start of the school day. If the rapid antigen test results are negative and students are symptom free, then the student stays for that day of school. After 7 consecutive days of negative tests students return to school as normal. To take advantage of this option, you will need to complete this permission slip and scan it back to the school ASAP. Please email forms to jessicaliddy@hanovernorwichschools.org or fax to 802-649-3640. Please note that we have calls in to the Agency of Education and are awaiting word from them about the availability of the rapid antigen tests. As soon as we get the tests to administer, we will set up a daily testing station on the Church Street side of MCS and inform those who send back the permission slips about how to participate. Here is some information about the program for those who wish to know more, Test-to-Stay Information. This option is not yet available to our school. Once we are approved by the AOE, have your completed permission slips, and have the test on site, we will let you know.
Option #3 - 14 Day Quarantine
Some of you may be reluctant to do the PCR testing or the Rapid Antigen testing with your children. That is okay. In these cases, students will need to do the full 14 days of quarantine. This period starts on the first day of exposure and ends on day 14. Please see this link for more information about When to quarantine. With this option students can return after 14 days if they are symptom free. Please note that we will not be able to provide remote learning for this option, as I suspect the majority of students will choose one of the above options and be in school.
Option #4 - Fully vaccinated
The final option at this time is to have your children vaccinated. According to the Vermont Guidance, close contacts who are fully vaccinated are not required to quarantine. In these cases, we will continue to do the surveillance testing to monitor for positive cases.
Please note that this letter is going out to all families, whether or not your child is in quarantine at this time. This will allow us to have all the information put in place for when/if the next positive case comes our way. For families who have children in quarantine, please reach out if you need any assistance or have questions about the above mentioned options.
Lastly, a huge shoutout to Robin Steiner, our Covid Coordinator, for her guidance and support all weekend and today. Thanks to Nurse Jane, Jessica Liddy, and Greg Bagnato for helping with contact tracing and parent communications. Thanks to the MCS teachers who came to school today excited to figure out remote learning for students for as long as is needed. These individuals, paired with amazing parents have made this process manageable.
Take care,
Shawn
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