Gill Elementary School February 26, 2021 Newsletter

Friday, February 26, 2021

Dates to Remember:

  • Wednesday. March 3- ALL SCHOOL Meet- (A link will be sent out on Monday)
  • Tuesday, March 9- School Committee Meeting- 6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, March 18th & Friday, March 19th -- Early Release Parent Conferences

Dear Gill Families, Caregivers, and Staff,

This was an absolutely wonderful first week back in person! It was so joyful to see the students laughing and playing together. They were so incredibly happy to be back and to see their teachers in person as well as their classmates. Thanks to those of you who donated water bottles and paper towels!

A gentle reminder, we ask that families not park below to walk up and drop off/pick up their student. We ask you to please line up in the driveway, unless you have an extraordinary circumstance. Thank you for your patience in advance as we continue to streamline drop off and dismissal.

We will begin practicing fire drills next week for cohort B, and the following week cohort A. Please talk to your student regarding these, as some children do get anxious. Teachers will be practicing fire drills with their classes in advance of the Fire Department Fire Drills.

If you have NOT already signed your child up for the BinaxNOW Covid-19 test, please see below:

As you may know, Gill-Montague Regional School District is participating in a COVID testing project led by the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health and Elementary and Secondary Education. Starting with our students’ return to in-person learning, all schools will be able to conduct a rapid antigen test using the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 test. Students or staff will be eligible to receive this test only if they begin to show symptoms of illness AFTER arriving at school.

Please refer to the COVID-19 Daily Home Screening tool before sending your child to school each day. Students who show symptoms of COVID-19 at home are NOT to be sent to school for testing. Please continue to keep your symptomatic child home when sick and follow up with your pediatrician.

In the event a student does become sick or symptomatic during the school day, they will be seen by the school nurse to determine if the symptoms are in line with those of COVID-19. If deemed appropriate, this optional test can be performed at school with the nurse.

The test consists of an anterior, shallow nasal swab, rather than the deeper nasal swab used in many PCR tests. Results of the BinaxNOW test are available within 15 minutes, and are considered over 90% accurate.

This test is free but does require that families give consent for their child(ren) ahead of time. Students will not be tested if authorization is not provided. The consent is for the administration of the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 test and authorization to automatically communicate results to DPH. (In the state of Massachusetts all residents tested for COVID-19 are required to have labs reported to the DPH.) As always, your child’s test results will be kept confidential and handled according to district policy.

Registration is quick and easy. Tips and FAQs for COVID-19 testing registration.

Each student and employee will need to be registered using their school’s code, listed below.

To register a student, click HERE . Please be sure to put your Child’s name, and their School Code.

Gill School Code: HDETRN

To register as an employee, click HERE . Please be sure to put your name, and their School Code

Gill School Code: TQSQNG

If you have already created an account for a child attending another school in the district, use that account and register each additional child by clicking “Create Profile”. Enter the second child’s School Code, and that child’s information under another profile.)

The BinaxNOW testing program enables us to identify positive cases and take steps right away to protect our school community health.

If a child’s test result comes back positive, the student’s parent/guardian will be notified that they need to pick up their child. Children who test positive will NOT need a follow up test to confirm. Parents/Guardians will be given information and are asked to follow up with their child's PCP. Close contacts of a positive student will be identified, parent/guardian notified, and close contacts will also be dismissed to follow protocol.

If the BinaxNow test result is negative, the student’s parent/guardian will be notified to pick up their child and to follow current district policy related to illness before returning to school. Parents/Guardians will be given information and may need to follow up with their child's PCP. The student will need a negative PCR COVID-19 test result or to stay home for 10 days before returning to in person learning.

If you have questions, please contact Pandemic Nurse Response Coordinator and Hillcrest School Nurse, Melissa Bednarski, at melissa.bednarski@gmrsd.org, or contact your school nurse.Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,
Lisa Desjarlais, Principal