Superintendent's Message
On behalf of the South Orange and Maplewood School District Board of Education and our Administration please accept our best wishes for a safe, restful and rejuvenating Thanksgiving. While we have all experienced and witnessed what has truly been an inexplicably challenging time, we have also seen how innovative, resilient and empathetic our human spirit is.
This time of year normally allows for a pause that allows us to be reflective of how fortunate we are..both singularly and as a collective. However in November of 2020 our 'pause' and 'reflection' take on a deeper meaning. We have lost more than we could have fathomed, while also still having so much to be thankful for. We have been unimaginably restricted from things that we took for granted, but we now (perhaps) value more than ever what we know means the most. As we enter this natural break in our calendar, please know that we value our District family and are thankful for You.
Educationally yours,
Dr. Ronald G. Taylor
Message from School Nurses: Understanding Contact Tracing
Understand Contact Tracing and help the Department of Health keep your family safe from COVID-19 spread
WHAT IS CONTACT TRACING? Contact Tracing is the long-standing Public Health practice used to identify those who come into contact with people who have tested positive for many contagious diseases; for example, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and - recently of course - COVID-19. Contact tracing is a little like detective work: trained staff interview people who have been diagnosed with a contagious disease to figure out who they may have recently been in contact with. Then, they call those close contacts* and encourage them to quarantine to prevent spreading the disease. Think of it as part of public health work, part investigation.
If a resident of South Orange or Maplewood tests positive for COVID-19, contact tracing begins:
The local Department of Health (DOH) officers recommend that the COVID-19+ resident inform their close contacts of their positive result. *Close contact is defined as being within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
The local DOH officers and/or trained professionals will:
- Call that COVID-19+ resident to determine close contacts to whom they may have spread the virus; then they will get in touch with those close contacts
- Give instructions about next steps, such as self-isolation for the COVID+ individual and quarantine for close contacts
- Maintain confidentiality of the COVID+ individual
- NOT ask for your Social Security Number, bank account or salary information, money, or credit card numbers.
We encourage you to answer the phone – the DOH may be calling you!
Be well. Be safe. Be part of the solution to keep your family and friends safe from COVID-19 spread.
Parenting Center: Weekly Parenting Center Support Group
SOMA Shares: Free Book Day, Sat., Nov. 29
2020 Holiday Toy Drive
The School District of South Orange and Maplewood
Email: communications@somsd.k12.nj.us
Website: www.somsd.k12.nj.us
Location: 525 Academy Street, Maplewood, NJ, USA
Phone: 973-762-5600
Twitter: @SOMSDK12