District Newsletters & Recordings of Meetings

4/1/21 Please refer to your school website for recent school-based newsletters.

6/1/21 Superintendent's Newsletter

June mask guidance
Looking forward to 2021-2022
Returning school equipment
Summer nutrition program

5/20/21 Superintendent's Newsletter

end of year events
new mask guidance

4/29/21 Superintendent's Newsletter

new quarantine information
mask wearing
no cost meals extended

4/13/21 Superintendent's Newsletter

3/31/ QMS Newsletter

Travel Information
Bell Schedule
New Dismissal Procedure

3/31/21 Jordan/Jackson Newsletter

Spirit Week
Q&A Presentation
Travel Information

3/30/21 Superintendent's Newsletter

3/29/21 MHS Newsletter w/ Link for Return to In Person Meeting

3/26/21 Robinson Newsletter

3/26/21 MHS Newsletter

3/26/21 QMS Newsletter

3/25/21 Robinson Newsletter w/ Link for Return to In Person Learning Meeting

3/24 QMS Newsletter w/ Link for Virtual Return to In Person Learning Meeting

3/22/21 Jordan/Jackson Return to In Person Learning Virtual Meeting

3/22/21 Robinson Newsletter

3/19/21 Robinson Newsletter

3/19/21 MHS Newsletter

3/12/21 Robinson Newsletter

changing cohort reminder

3/11/21 Robinson Newsletter

changing cohorts
parent meeting

3/10/21 Jordan/Jackson Newsletter

changing cohorts
parent meeting

3/10/21 QMS Newsletter

changing cohorts
parent meeting

3/10/21 Superintendent's Newsletter Return to Full In-Person Learning for Grades 1-8

3/10/21 Slides from School Committee Meeting

3/9/21 QMS Newsletter with Learning Model Change Information

2/2/21 Kindergarten Return to Full In Person Learning Presentation

1/29/21 Newsletter to Families from Superintendent Murphy (SLT and Kindergarten Return to Full In Person Learning)

Newsletter January 29, 2021

11/19/20 Newsletter to Families from Superintendent Murphy (Technology Update, COVID Communication, Contact Tracing)

Newsletter November 19, 2020

11/18/20 4:30 PM Technology Update # 2 - Email to all Families

Dear Families and Staff,

Earlier today Comcast confirmed that Mansfield Public Schools was hit with a DDoS attack (Distributed Denial of Service). A DDoS is a malicious and illegal attempt to disrupt normal traffic on a network by sending a flood of Internet traffic. It can be compared to an unexpected traffic jam preventing regular traffic from arriving at its destination or to a crowd of people trying to enter a home through a single door which prevents the owner from getting in.

The DDoS attacks began on Monday, November 16 and have continued intermittently since then.

Comcast has implemented mitigation services to help manage this to identify and block malicious traffic and allow regular traffic to flow through.

While this attack is certainly not good news, now that the problem has been identified we can begin to move forward. We have worked with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) today and have learned that Mansfield is not the only school district in Massachusetts to have experienced this type of technology attack in the past few weeks.

Again, I know that this disruption has been a challenge and has caused stress for our students and staff. Our entire team is working closely with Comcast and the DESE to resolve this.

We are planning for a regular school day (Cohort A in-person, Cohort B remote) on Thursday, November 19. Comcast will continue to monitor and support our system and we are hopeful that the intermittent internet issues will be resolved. If needed, we will provide updates tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Teresa Murphy

Superintendent

11/18/20 Newsletter to Families from Superintendent Murphy (Thanksgiving Travel and Snow Days)

Newsletter November 18, 2020

11/17/20 Email to Jordan/Jackson Families

Dear Jordan/Jackson Families,

We are writing to inform you that a schoool member at Jordan/Jackson Elementary School has tested positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been notified. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6-feel of distance of the COVID-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation, and will notify families if any additional action need to be taken. Please continue to monitor the Returning and Learning Website for current information about the district’s positive cases and numbers of individuals in quaratine.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

11/12/20 Email to MHS Students and Families (3:00 PM):

Dear MHS Students and Families,

I am writing to you today with 3 important pieces of information:

1. I am happy to report that Mansfield High School will resume their Hybrid Schedule starting Monday, November 16. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we dealt with our staffing shortage. (Students will begin with their Period 2 class on Monday morning.)

2. A school member at Mansfield High School has tested positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been identified and notified. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6-feet of distance of the COVID-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation, and will notify families if any additional action needs to be taken. Please continue to monitor the Returning and Learning Website for current information about the district’s positive cases and numbers of individuals in quarantine.

3. I hope you have had the opportunity to read Principal Watkins’ email from earlier today regarding the online intruder. As Ms. Watkins stated, this was an extremely upsetting situation for our students and staff and the comments made by the intruders were offensive and run contrary to our values. As a district, we denounce the racist statements and apologize to the students and staff for this distressing situation.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

11/8/20 Email to QMS, Jordan/Jackson, Robinson and Roland Green Families:

Dear Families,

The schedule for the week of November 9, 2020 is as follows:

Roland Green, Robinson, Jordan/Jackson and QMS:

Hybrid schedule with no school on Wednesday, 11/11 in observance of of Veterans Day.

Mansfield High School:

Full Remote schedule due to a staffing shortage of key personnel, not due to a high number of COVID cases.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

11/8/20 Email to MHS Families:

Dear MHS Families,

I am writing to inform you that Mansfield High School will switch to a FULL REMOTE SCHEDULE for the week of November 9, 2020. This is due to a staffing shortage of key personnel at MHS and is NOT a reflection of a high number of COVID positive cases. All MHS students will engage in remote learning, including students in the daily cohort.

Students will receive an email in their student Gmail account with additional information regarding their schedule.

As a reminder, next week is a 4-day week. There is no school on Wednesday, November 11 in observance of Veterans Day.

This closure only impacts Mansfield High School. All other schools will remain on their current hybrid schedule. Please know that it is my goal to increase in-school participation at all levels; going remote is a short-term solution to an immediate problem.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

11/8/20 Email to MHS Families:

November 8, 2020

Dear MHS Families,

We are writing to inform you that a schoool member at Mansfield High School has tested positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been notified. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6-feel of distance of the COVID-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

Sincerely,

Teresa Murphy

Superintendent

11/8/20 Email to Jordan/Jackson Families:

November 8, 2020

Dear Jordan/Jackson Families,

I am writing to you today to make you aware of two important issues.

First, on Friday afternoon, November 6, an email was inadvertently sent to all Jordan/Jackson student Google email accounts with the following content:

I am writing to inform you that a school member at Jordan/Jackson School has tested positive for COVID-19 today. Close contacts have been identified. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6-feet of distance of the Covid-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation, and will notify families if any additional actions need to be taken. Please continue to monitor the Returning and Learning Website for current information about the district's positive cases and numbers of individuals in quarantine.

Later that evening, the same email was sent to parents and guardians. We apologize for this error and for any anxiety, confusion and questions that may arise from our mistake.

If you feel the correct action is to log into your student’s email account and delete the email, we encourage you to do so. Mr. Nieratko, Ms. DaGraca and Ms. Perreault are also aware of the situation and will be working with staff to address this with students on Monday morning.

Again, we apologize for the error. Our student’s well-being is always our top priority.

Second, I want to inform you that another school member at Jordan/Jackson has tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. Close contacts have been identified and mitigation efforts are being implemented.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

11/6 Email to Jordan/Jackson Families:

November 6, 2020

Dear Jordan/Jackson Families,

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation, and will notify families if any additional actions need to be taken. Please continue to monitor the Returning and Learning Website for current information about the district's positive cases and numbers of individuals in quarantine.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

11/6/20 Email to Roland Green Families:

November 6, 2020

Dear Roland Green Families,

I am writing to inform you that a school member at Roland Green has tested positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been identified. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6-feet of distance of the Covid-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

11/4/20 Email to Jordan/Jackson Families:

November 4, 2020

Dear Jordan/Jackson Families,

I am writing to inform you that a school member at Jordan/Jackson has tested positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been identified. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6-feet of distance of the Covid-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation, and will notify families if any additional actions need to be taken. Please continue to monitor the Returning and Learning Website for current information about the district’s positive cases and numbers of individuals in quarantine.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

11/2/20 Email to QMS Families:

November 2, 2020

Dear QMS Families,

I am writing to inform you that a school member at Qualters Middle School has tested positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been identified. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6-feet of distance of the Covid-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation, and will notify families if any additional actions need to be taken. Please continue to monitor the Returning and Learning Website for current information about the district’s positive cases and numbers of individuals in quarantine.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

10/30/20 Email to MHS Families:

October 30, 2020

Dear MHS Families,

We are writing to inform you that today two members of the Mansfield High School community tested positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been identified. We can understand how students and families may be experiencing growing concern as a result of the notices from earlier this week, and as we quarantine community members that fall within the CDC guidelines for close contacts.

While we will be keeping an eye on the status of today’s close contacts, to date, there has been no documented in-school transmission. This means that positive cases for both students and adults were contracted outside of the schoolhouse. We also want to assure you that we have not witnessed cases resulting from irresponsible behavior, and emphasize that no one who tests positive or who is quarantined should be subjected to any type of judgment.

You will find data about the district’s positive Covid-19 cases and quarantine on the Returning and Learning website: COVID Data

Students should continue to attend school on their in-person cohort days to receive the full delivery of curriculum as provided by the hybrid learning model. Students who do not physically attend school on their in-person days should complete any required make up work, and send documentation to mhsattendance@mansfieldschools.com per the attendance policy.

There is no single metric that taken alone indicates a school should return to remote learning.

While the presence of four cases this week may cause concern, when taken along with other metrics, there is no need for in-person learning to be suspended at this time. Metrics for Change of Learning Model

With the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Mansfield’s Covid-19 Task Force, we will continue to monitor and analyze the data with vigilance and will notify families immediately if any additional actions need to be taken.

Sincerely,

Teresa Murphy Mary Watkins

Superintendent Principal

10/29/20 Email to MHS Families:

October 29, 2020

Dear MHS Families,

I am writing to inform you that today a school member at Mansfield High School tested positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been identified.

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation, and will notify families if any additional actions need to be taken. Please continue to monitor the Returning and Learning Website for current information about the district’s positive cases and numbers of individuals in quarantine.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

10/26/20 District-Wide Email:

October 26, 2020

Dear Families,

I am writing to inform you that two school community members at Mansfield High School tested positive for COVID-19. Staff and students identified as close contacts are being notified. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6-feet of distance of the Covid-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation, and will notify families if any additional actions need to be taken. Please continue to monitor the Returning and Learning Website for current information about the district’s positive cases and numbers of individuals in quarantine.

Additionally, going forward, I will communicate positive Covid cases to the specific school that is affected rather than sending out a district-wide notification.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

10/15/20 District-Wide Email:

October 15, 2020

Dear Families,

I am writing to inform you that one of our students tested positive for COVID-19. The student has not been in the school. We notified students who have been identified as close contacts to the student and they have been dismissed from MHS. A close contact is defined as one who has been within 6-feet of distance of the Covid-positive individual for at least fifteen minutes.

We are following all Department of Health protocols, will continue to closely monitor the situation and will notify families if any additional actions need to be taken in the near future.

There have been recent updates to the Returning and Learning Website for Health Services, including a COVID Data Table with current information about the district’s positive cases and numbers of individuals in quarantine. That information is updated on Mondays. Please continue to refer to that website for updated information.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy

10/7/20 District-Wide Email:

October 7, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

We are writing to inform you that a person in our school community tested positive for COVID-19. Although we cannot provide specific information about the school community member who tested positive, I can let you know that the individual has not been in the schools but rather is working remotely.

We are grateful to our staff and families for their continued efforts to stay home at the first sign of symptoms. We ask any parents of students who test positive for COVID-19 to report the results to the school nurse. These measures, taken in combination with our in-school mitigation strategies such as frequent hand washing, mask wearing, social distancing, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces, greatly reduce the risk of additional transmission.

As a reminder, please refer to our Returning and Learning Website for current information and resources. Also, Director of Health Services, Christine Dooling, will provide a Return to Hybrid Health Services Update Thursday evening.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Teresa Murphy