Important Events:

A. January 3^rd – Students Return to School from Holiday Vacation

B. Pandemic Response Advisory Committee, Wednesday, January 5^th 4:00-4:45 p.m.

Recognitions:

Helping Hands & Athletic Leadership Council- On Monday Dec 13 and Friday Dec 17, the Helping Hands Committee, led by Adam Graves, Dan Miner, and Amber Richardson, held "donation basketball games." Fans brought in non-perishable food items and all money collected went to the Holiday Basket Program. Over $400 was raised and enough food was brought in to feed 25 families that may need a little extra help this time of the year. Thank you to all who donated over the past 6 weeks to the Helping Hands fund. Also, a thank you to Paige Sulda, Nik Martin, Owen LaValley and Emily Young for volunteering their time to help at the games and to put the baskets together. The baskets were delivered on Wednesday Dec 22^nd.

Turners Falls High School Music Performances - On Friday December 17^th, the Turners Falls High School Band and Chorale Ensembles performed at Gill and Sheffield Elementary Schools. Thank you to the high school musicians, who received many compliments on their performance and the class and dignity with which they represented the school community. Also, thank you to Music Director Alyssa Comeau for putting together events this year that have allowed our music students to reconnect with the community.

Required Pool Testing GMRSD Extra-Curricular Activities:

In collaboration with the district’s Pandemic Response Advisory Committee and health personnel, we asked the School Committee to approve the policy below in order to best monitor the presence of COVID-19 among our student groups and teams. The School Committee approved the policy below which mandates that all students participating in athletics and extra-curricular activities participate in their school’s pool testing program (Routine COVID Safety Checks). This policy takes effect on Saturday, January 8, 2022. A link to register for the program is below the policy and can also be found on the district website, under the pink “COVID Information” banner.

Policy JLCF: Required Pool Testing GMRSD Extra-Curricular Activities:

All Gill-Montague Regional School District students participating in athletic and extracurricular activities, as identified by the Principal, will be required to participate in the school’s COVID-19 pool testing program also known as the “Safety Check Program.” Students who do not register in the pool testing program will not be allowed to participate. The school will take all necessary steps to help parents/guardians register students.

• Students may be exempt from this policy due to special behavioral or individualized needs as determined by the Special Education Director or the District Nurse Leader.

• A written note from a physician is required for a requested exemption. Parents/guardians may not excuse their child from pool testing requirements by signing a waiver.

This policy will take effect beginning January 8, 2022, and will remain in effect for the duration of the 2021-2022 school year or until amended or rescinded by the Gill-Montague Regional School District School Committee.

Approved: December 22, 2021

Online Registration for Routine COVID Safety Checks (Pool Testing):

Parents/guardians can register their students for pool testing (Safety Check Program) by accessing the forms through the following link:

CIC Health Consent Portal - Sign up through this portal for BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen COVID testing and Routine COVID Safety Checks (formally referred to as Pool Testing)

Weekly COVID Public Health Report COVID Data- December 23, 2021:

Town/City- Risk Status Cases Last 14 days % Positive Tests

Bernardston 10 3.95

Erving 15 6.82

Gill 26 7.81

Greenfield 166 5.68

Leverett 15 3.02

Montague 75 7.00

Northfield 14 3.50

Orange 67 8.14

Sunderland 36 4.96

Warwick <5 2.56

Wendell <5 1.67

State 65,835 5.66

Update from State/Commissioner/COVID Safety Protocols:

• The CDC ranks the risk of transmission for counties across the country in one of four categories: Low, Moderate, Substantial or High. Franklin County has been rated as HIGH risk of transmission by the CDC, as of Monday, December 27.

• The Town of Montague implemented the following policy on December 22nd, with regard to masks: Masks MUST be worn in any building open to the public in the Town of Montague, regardless of vaccination status.

Successful Vaccine Clinics:

We are happy to report that our district had three very successful COVID vaccine clinics recently:

• The December 16 clinic at Hillcrest provided 75 COVID vaccines, of which 35 were given to children. 18 flu vaccines were also given.

• The December 17 clinic at Gill Elementary provided 69 COVID vaccines, of which 42 were given to children. 10 flu vaccines were also given.

• The December 20 Vax Bus clinic provided 150 COVID vaccines, of which 70 were given to children.

Close to 300 people received their COVID vaccines at these clinics. Thank you very much to Nurse Leader Melissa Bednarski for coordinating the clinics.

Food Service Updates:

We are fortunate to not have had disruptions in food service so far this year. There have also been few changes made to menus as a result of supply issues.

• Jan. 3 - Students return from December Recess

• Jan. 11 - School Committee Meeting, 6:30 p.m., virtual

• Contact Information for Each School

• GMRSD COVID Information: Find all the district COVID information on this webpage, which includes details on upcoming vaccine clinics, COVID resources, testing, safety protocols, and COVID reporting.

• School Lunch Menus: School lunch menus are posted on Nutrislice. Due to supply chain issues, menus will be posted two weeks at a time. Nutrislice also has an app that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

• 2021-2022 School Year Calendar