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2021 - Letters from the Superintendent » 2021 - September

2021 - September

 
 
Sep 26, 2021 5:26 PM         
                                           

 

Dear Milford Students, Families, Faculty and Staff, and Community Members,

I hope you've enjoyed this beautiful Fall weekend. On Friday evening, 9/23/21, the Milford School Board voted to revise the Return to Learning Plan due to the increased concern for transmission of COVID-19 in the school setting. The updated plan can be reviewed HERE. 

Data will be monitored and this plan will be reviewed 1x/month at a School Board Meeting.  

Masks will be REQUIRED inside the school building when the school has reached a cluster or 3 positive cases.  Masks remain OPTIONAL, as a personal/family choice, in schools with less than 3 positive cases. The Milford COVID Data Dashboard, shared on the District website, is updated daily with reports of active cases.  

MMS and MHS will continue with required masking inside the school building during school hours and during after-school activities at the school until total cases in school drop below 3. Mask breaks are provided throughout the school day.

Please be aware that medical exemptions from mask-wearing require documentation from a medical provider, and should be submitted to the nurse's office.  Clear shields are available and may be worn as an accommodation.

Schools will continue to notify families of students who MAY have been exposed to a positive case of COVID-19 (.ie: grade level, teams, lunch periods). NH DHHS is NOT requiring direct close contact tracing -  individuals within 6ft for a period of 15 minutes or more over a 24 hr. period.  **Please note this is a change from last year's guidance.  The expectation for individuals who receive this communication is to SELF-MONITOR for symptoms, but should continue to attend school.

To be clear - ONLY HOUSEHOLD members of a positive case MUST quarantine unless the household member is vaccinated.

Masking on busses remains a federal mandate. Please remind your child that correctly wearing a mask is required in order to ride the bus.

Finally, self-monitoring for symptoms is a critical step to limiting the spread of COVID -19.  If your child is experiencing symptoms, please do not send your child to school or allow your child to participate in after-school and social activities. A link to our self-monitoring guidance is located HERE.

Many thanks for your cooperation and for working together during this time. 

Kindly,
Ms. Christi L. Michaud, M.Ed, CAGS

 

 
 



 
Sep 23, 2021 8:38 AM         
                                           
 

Dear Milford Parents and Families,

I'm writing to share an update regarding the network disruption experienced this week. The MSD  Information Technology (IT) and Cyber Security teams have been working diligently to keep our district-wide data protected while also working to bring a clean and secure network back online.  This process takes time and delicate handling, however, progress has been made in the past couple of days. We appreciate your patience, and apologize for the inconvenience the disruption to PowerSchool, etc. has caused for students and families. 
 
Thank you,
Ms. Christi Michaud
 
 
Sep 21, 2021 9:54 AM         
                                           
 

Dear Milford Parents and Families,

I'm writing to inform you that our School District is currently addressing a large network disruption which may cause delays and interruptions in use of technology for students, staff, and families for a day or two.  At this time, we believe that all student, staff, and District data is secure. We are working diligently with cyber specialists to resolve the issues that currently exist. Thank you, as always, for your patience and understanding during this time.
 
Kindly,
Ms. Christi Michaud
 
 
Sep 19, 2021 4:49 PM           
                                           
 
Dear Milford Students, Families, and Community Members,
 
I hope you've enjoyed this beautiful late summer weekend. Following an active week of COVID-19 positive cases and an increase in "related cases" known as clusters, I'm writing to you today to share district-wide data and reminders/information to help limit the spread of the highly contagious variant of COVID.
 
Please see district-wide COVID data in the table below.  Tomorrow, I will be posting this table on the MSD website.  The table will be populated as new cases are identified, and as existing cases are no longer considered "active". 
 
Milford School District - COVID Dashboard : Active Cases
9/19/2021 JMS Heron Pond MMS MHS Total Active Cases
TOTAL # of school cases 1 2 10 4 17
# of clusters (3+ related cases) 0 0 2 1  
Unrelated cases 1 0 2 1  
Targeted Mask Mandate (Due to cluster(s)). No No Yes - ALL Yes - ALL  
Town Positivity Rate 4.90%  
Current School Phase Yellow Yellow Yellow Yellow
 
REMINDERS:
 
* Targeted mask mandates at MMS and MHS will continue until Sept. 29th at MMS and Oct. 3rd at MHS or unless otherwise notified.  If additional COVID cases, clusters, or transmission continues, a longer duration of masking may be required. Your child's school principal and I will alert you.
 
*Since it is not possible for our schools to remain open while also maintaining 6ft distancing, we must alert families of potential close contact (students who may have been within 6ft of a positive case for a cumulative time of 15 mins or more over a 24 hr period). We have begun notifying families of larger groups (ie: class, team, pod, lunchroom, or grade level) as recommended in our consultations with NH DHHS when positive cases come to our attention. 
 
  •  It is IMPORTANT to note the district's expectation when your child has been identified as having possible exposure to a positive case.  For 14 days, it is strongly recommended by NH DHHS to monitor for symptoms, wear a mask in indoor settings, and consider testing after 3-5 days.  This information is provided in the NH DHHS letter shared with you.  (Unvaccinated family members of a COVID-19 positive case MUST quarantine and notify the school.)
 
*School Districts have not been given authority to provide remote instruction unless on a temporary basis such as quarantining.  In the case of quarantine, our teachers are using Seesaw, Google Classroom, and Canvas to post assignments and communications. To clarify, NO phase of our current plan specifies that our school district or an individual school would go into a fully remote model.  
 
* Our School District is considering a program that would allow for Antigen test screening in the event that a student became symptomatic while at school.  For example, a student with a cough could be tested at school with parent permission and return to class with a negative Antigen COVID test.  With the annual cold, allergy, and flu season seasons coming, this could be valuable in determining whether a mild cold were more serious. Our District will continue to research and explore this option with our partners at NH DHHS.
 
*I thank you again for your patience and understanding with regard to late busses.  We are working closely with Butlers Bus and Durham buses while attempting to deal with bus driver employment shortages, quarantined drivers, and drivers in training.  Beginning this week, Butlers Bus will be leasing two 15 passenger vans to assist with routes.  This option does not require a licensed bus driver and will temporarily assist with the 4:15 bus route leaving Heron Pond.
 
*Finally, the United Way of Greater Nashua has recently donated several cases of disposable masks for which we are extremely grateful. They also continue to offer free volunteer-driven tutoring to students who need help in almost any subject. Supervised tutoring is offered to students in grades K - 11 in person at several youth-serving organizations around the area as well as online. Please click HERE for more information.  
 
#MILFORD-TEAMS-UP - we're all in this together. Thank you!
 
Have a great week ahead!  Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or your child's Principal with questions.
 
Most Sincerely,
Ms. Christi Michaud
 
 
Sep 10, 5:06 PM           
                                           
 
Dear Milford Families,
 
TOPICS TO READ ABOUT:
  • Pick up/drop off and Bus Delays
  • Return to Learning - Phase change communication
  • MSD Pumpkin Festival Book Give Away
 
It's been wonderful to have our students back to school. We love seeing all the bright smiling faces fill our hallways and classrooms!  I'd like to take a moment to thank you for your patience and understanding with the delays associated with the pick-up/drop-off procedures and bus transportation. With each passing day, we see some improvements with arrival and dismissal times and the length of bus rides. We hope to see more in the next week.
 
In the event that increased positivity rates lead to a change from the YELLOW to PINK PHASE  in our MSD Return to Learning Plan, please see my action plan for communicating with you below.
 
1) I will monitor NH COVID data dashboard and school-level data by the end of each school day.
2) If data indicates a change in phases, I will communicate with you the next school day.
3) The implementation of the phase change will go into effect the day following my communication with you.
 
Lastly, I'm excited to be working with Mr. Wade Campbell and the Granite Town Festivities Committee to have a presence at this year's 32nd Annual Pumpkin Festival (Oct. 8-10th).  This year, our school district will be at the oval sharing our love of literacy and handing out books to students of all ages!  We can't wait to see you there and hope you will stop by our table to celebrate the MILFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT and our amazing kiddos!
 
Be well and enjoy the weekend.
 
Kindly, 
Ms. Christi Michaud