McGovern News!

Happy New Year! I hope you are all starting the new year in good health. We are thrilled to still be in school, full time and each day that we are in person is a gift!

There are some important updates below. Have a wonderful weekend.

Best,

Amy McDonald, Principal

Please see the below message from Dr. Pires regarding an update on the close contact definition.

DESE recently updated their guidelines to reflect an updated definition of a close contact. The new definition is An individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.

An important caveat to this definition is that multiple brief or transitory interactions (less than a minute) throughout the day are unlikely to result in 15 minutes of cumulative contact and do not meet the definition of close contact.

This change will certainly make the definition of close contacts more challenging and will likely lead to more close contacts being identified. It is important that all staff are aware of this definition and take active steps to ensure that we are not unnecessarily creating close contacts, particularly with other staff.

Hello families, the Chromebooks are here! Hip hip hooray!

I would like to make a request that you please do not change your child's landing/home page from Clever. This is incredibly important when we are working on technology in the classroom, as it ensures a smooth classroom flow and helps build a child's independence when navigating their Chromebook.

Thank you so much!

Mrs. Fogaren

As many of you are aware, Massachusetts now requires that all students, pre k - grade 12, receive an influenza vaccine. The deadline has been extended to February 28, 2021. The only exceptions allowed are for medical or religious reasons.

Please provide this documentation to me as soon as you are able. It may be sent to school with your child, scanned and emailed to pmckay@medwayschools.org or faxed to 508-533-3263.

Feel free to contact me with any questions at the above email address or at 508-533-6626 x5354. I am at school every day and available to meet with parents to discuss health concerns, develop health plans, and receive medications and paperwork. Be aware that, at this time, all in-person meetings will take place outside of the building. I am also available to speak with you on the phone or communicate via email.

Thank you and stay healthy!

Penny McKay, Nurse

As a reminder, if a snow day is called by Dr. Pires, students will follow the snow day remote schedule on your child's clever page.

We request that all families complete the beginning of year packet [Online Registration] in the parent portal to ensure we have the most up to date information for you and your child. To access OLR in the portal, login and choose MORE > Online Registration. Please follow the prompts to complete this information. If you are new to Medway or in need an access code to create an account, please email support@medwayschools.org.

We are only at an 18% completion rate and it is critical that all families update their information so that we have the most up-to-date contact information.

To provide families with the latest information and resources related to COVID-19, we have created a COVID-19 information hub, which can be accessed here, and by visiting our district’s homepage. Please visit this site for information about school/community COVID-19 health data, positive test reporting, student protocols, and local testing sites.

In order to ensure confidentiality and begin Contact Tracing as soon as possible, the District has established lines of communication if ever you need to report a positive COVID Test.

Report a student positive COVID test results by either emailing or calling the hotline below:

• covid@medwayschools.org
• 508-321-4779

In order to ensure that children’s nutritional needs are satisfied during this period of remote learning, we are offering any Medway resident under the age of 21 the opportunity to access free school meals every day of the week and/or food to prepare meals at home. For more details about these offerings and to sign-up for remote meals please click here.

Please be sure to dress your child in layers. Students go out for recess daily for 25 minutes. In addition, students may have music or wellness classes, which are also taught outside for 40 minutes.

Here is a helpful graphic to ensure that students are arriving to school with the best layers and apparel as we transition from warmer temperatures to the crisp cooler air. What is also hard is weather like this week and have a 23 degree morning on Thursday as compared to a 46 degree morning on Friday. Please remember that we keep windows open on the bus and in the classroom to increase air flow. When it is really cold outside, teachers will have one window that is cracked. Even this can increase the air flow throughout the classroom.

Finally, on snowy days, students will need boots, snow pants, a hat, mittens, and winter coat. Flexibility... the key word to this year! Students can always take a layer off if they are hot, but the same can't be said if they are cold.

If you are not receiving email communications from the district or the schools, we are here to help. Please email parent@medwayschools.org and a team will work to ensure that you are connected.

Calling all Artists! Participate in the 2021 Shamrock Shuffle Logo Design Contest! The Medway Elementary PTO is looking for logo design submissions for the 10th Annual Shamrock Shuffle. The winning logo will be featured on the official 2021 Shamrock Shuffle t-shirts and the winner will receive a $25 giftcard to the Muffin House! Entries should be relevant to both St. Patrick’s Day and the race; please include your name and age upon submission. All entries must be sent to MEPTOshuffle@gmail.com through January 31, 2021. Good luck!

The 10th Annual MEPTO Shamrock Shuffle is going virtual!

The pandemic can’t stop us – please join us for the 10th Annual MEPTO *VIRTUAL* Shamrock Shuffle in March! Details can be found here.

Jan 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No School

Jan 20: Virtual School Material Pick Up

Jan 27: School Site Council, 3:15 pm

Feb 5: No Preschool classes

Feb 15-19: No School, Vacation Week

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