Embedded Files
Updated DESE isolation and quarantine guidelines: 2/15/2022
**Please click the following link to a slide deck with information about our updated Covid Testing, Isolation and Quarantine Protocols.
Health Advisory emailed home to NA School Community-5/9/2022
Dear North Attleboro School Community,
We are writing to inform you that we are seeing an increase in various medical illnesses, Covid, as well as the onset of seasonal allergies throughout our district. We want to make families aware and to remind their children to wash hands frequently, especially before and after eating and when they cough or sneeze.
Although masks are optional, be thoughtful of others and consider having students wear a mask until their symptoms subside.
If you notice your child having any of the issues in the emojis below, please keep them home from school. District nurses will dismiss students if they present in school with any of the following.
The following is a link to the district Coronavirus Website. The District Guidance page has the most recent Covid Testing, Isolation and Quarantine Protocol document. Please note that this is subject to change, and we will communicate any modifications and improvements in a timely manner..
Each day we take steps to keep the children in our district schools healthy. Routine classroom, bathroom, and toilet cleaning is occurring with increased frequency, especially common-use bathrooms and high touched surfaces.
We appreciate your patience, kindness, and cooperation as we work together to navigate through this school year. Please also know that our collective efforts are designed to ensure that students and staff remain safe and healthy.
Thank you,
Melissa Langille-Badger RN
North Attleboro School District Nurse Leader
mbadger@naschools.net
and your District Nursing Staff
I NEED TO STAY HOME IF…
I am ready to go back to school when I am.....
If your child has strep throat or another bacterial infection, they should stay home until the antibiotic has been given for at least 24 hours and your health care provider has given permission for your child to return to school. We encourage you to seek medical attention when your child is sick and to follow your health care provider’s recommendations about returning to school and other activities.
Email to staff and parents from Supt.-February 10, 25 and 27, 2021: DESE Mask Mandate
Dear North Attleborough School Community,
Elimination of Mask Mandate / School Busses
First, I want to remind you that, effective Monday, February 28, masking will be optional for all students, faculty, and staff, regardless of vaccination status, in all North Attleborough Public School buildings. I am personally looking forward to seeing some smiling faces on Monday! While masking will be optional, I want to be clear that any community member may choose to continue to wear a mask based on their personal comfort level, and all of our faculty, staff and students will be fully supported in that decision.
The CDC has announced that it is no longer requiring that masks be worn on school buses for K-12 students. In keeping with our practice of adhering to state and federal guidelines, effective Monday, February 28, masking will be optional on all North Attleborough Public School buses.
Please note that there are circumstances where masks will still be required even after February 28. Specifically:
Masking may be required in the nurse’s office.
Masking is required on the 5 days following an individual’s 5-day isolation from a positive COVID case.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
John J. Antonucci
DESE Close Contact Guidance-updated Feb 15,2022
Individuals will no longer be identified as close contacts by school health professionals.
Individuals may still be identified as close contacts outside of school settings (e.g. as a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19 in their household). In these cases:
While in school settings (including for sports and extracurriculars), asymptomatic vaccinated individuals may return to school.
Individuals should closely monitor for symptoms and follow Protocol C if they experience any Covid symptoms.
Unvaccinated individuals who are identified as close contacts outside of school settings should stay home and follow Protocol B below prior to returning to school
Covid opt in Testing 1/27/2022
The at-home testing opportunity is voluntary and only those who opt-in will receive tests.
Please fill out the online opt-in form for students and staff to participate in this testing option.
Test kits will go home every two weeks on Thursdays.
Testing is done every Sunday evening even if you are not experiencing symptoms.
If a person has tested positive for covid in the last 90 days, it is the recommendation of DESE to not participate in the opt in program.
The district will discontinue Test and Stay and contact tracing for in-school close contacts.
If a child is a potential contact in school, they may continue to come to school and do not have to quarantine.
Out of school close contacts need to quarantine at home for 5 days, returning on day 6 of exposure
Symptomatic testing at school for those at school continues
We can now test vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals
Test Results
Staff and students are not required to provide proof of negative results.
When an individual tests positive on an at-home antigen test, they will be asked to inform their school of the positive result and isolate at home:
Positive Students: If your student tests positive on an at-home antigen test, the parent will inform the student’s school nurse of the positive result.
The school nurse will go over the dates the student can return to school.
It is strongly recommended that parents inform the student's healthcare professional of the positive result.
Positive Staff: If a staff member tests positive on an at-home antigen test, they will inform Melissa Badger and their building administrator of the positive result.
Melissa will go over the dates the staff member can return to school.
It is strongly recommended that the staff member informs their healthcare professional of the positive result.
New Testing Protocols-1/24/2022-Email sent to parents
Dear North Attleborough Community,
This is a follow-up to the email we sent on Friday about the new Covid testing protocols that are effective next Monday, January 31, 2022. We ask that you read this message carefully and, if you are interested in having your student(s) participate in the new program, fill out the online opt-in form as soon as possible. Please see more information below.
In accordance with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Public Health (DPH), we are updating our COVID-19 Testing Program, effective the week of January 31, 2022. We are opting into an at-home testing program that will increase testing of our participating students and staff, regardless of vaccination status.
This new at-home testing opportunity is voluntary and only those who opt-in will receive tests. We strongly encourage you to fill out the online opt-in form by Tuesday January 25, 2022.
As part of this shift in the program, we are discontinuing Test and Stay and contact tracing for in-school close contacts. This means that if your child/staff is a potential contact in school, they may continue to come to school and do not have to quarantine.
In addition to this new at-home antigen test option, we will continue with symptomatic testing at school during the week. If you have not yet signed up for our at-school symptomatic testing option, please click here to fill out the online consent. Parents/guardians will always receive a phone call prior to any test being done at school even if consent is on file.
Overview: At-Home Rapid Antigen Testing Program
About the Test: iHealth is a 15-minute at-home FDA-approved rapid antigen test. This test is administered at home, not at school. For instructions on how to administer the test, click here for a full “how to” written guide in various languages, or here for a video of an individual self-testing.
How does my student get the test kits?: Every two weeks, on Thursdays, an iHealth at-home rapid test kit will be sent home from school with each student who is on the opt-in list. Each kit contains two individual tests, which is a two-week supply.
When do I test? Testing should be done weekly on Sunday evenings, even if you are not experiencing symptoms. By opting in, you will agree to review the training materials for test administration, administer the tests according to North Attleborough guidelines, and report positive test results to your student’s school nurse.
What if my student tests positive?: If your student tests positive on an at-home antigen test, you will inform the student’s school nurse of the positive result. The school nurse will go over the dates your student can return to school. The school will keep the results confidential and will not make individual results public. In addition, it is strongly recommended that you inform your healthcare professional of the positive result.
Once again, if you are interested in having your student(s) participate in the new program, please fill out the online opt-in form as soon as possible. If you have further questions, please contact Melissa Langille-Badger, District Nurse Leader, at mbadger@naschools.net.
DESE weekly report of Massachusetts School District Covid Cases
Across Massachusetts, all positive cases of school aged students and school staff are to the Department of Education daily. A report comes out each week, at the end of the day on Thursdays with the total number of covid cases numbers from each district. The link to this information is here. This data is also posted in our Covid dashboard on this website.
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