FMA Community Letter: January 4, 2021
Posted on 01/04/2022
Translations available in:
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Dear FMA Community,
I hope this email finds you well and that you and your children were able to find some laughter and rest over this winter break as much as possible. We here at FMA look forward to welcoming your scholars back to school on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
I am writing to inform you that during our Winter break, 11 individuals in our school community have reported that they have tested positive for COVID-19 since the last day of school on December 23rd. This includes the cases reported in the schoolwide Covid notifications on 1/2/21 and 1/3/21. This number does not include the results of any tests conducted by CPS on Monday, January 3. If your student was tested Monday at a CPS site, please know that due to the high volume of testing the district does not expect results until Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning at the earliest. Families of students who test positive will be notified; if you receive no notification that means your student was negative in Monday’s pool PCR test.
We recognize that anxiety around the Omicron variant and COVID transmission is high. I want to assure you that we will continue with our covid safety protocols, which have served us well thus far.
For your part, please notify the school if you or your scholar tested positive for COVID 19 during the break or is a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID. We ask that you please continue to monitor yourself and your scholar for symptoms, and keep your child home if they show any symptoms or are not feeling well.
Many of you have inquired about the 10 or 5 day protocols for quarantining. We are still using the 10 day rule - 10 days from the date of the positive test is how long your scholar will need to be quarantine from school. They may return to school on the 11th day. The CPS quarantine protocols will be reviewed with the new guidance from the CDC and the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) with the Cambridge Public Health Department early next week. In the meantime, we are operating under our current protocols.
Cambridge has increased the amount of PCR testing offered in the City. Information about community testing sites is linked here. If you have chosen to get your child vaccinated, please upload the vaccinated information into the Family Portal HERE.
If you have not signed up for our school routine COVID safety check program, sign up here:
COVID-19 Testing Student Consent Form
We are committed to continuous communication with and support of our families. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact Nurse Nadine Marsan or Dr. Rounds at 617.349.6588. Thank you for your continued support.
Thank you,
Dr. Maisha Rounds, Principal
Fletcher-Maynard Academy