Covid-19 update

From the Superintendent's Office April 9, 2021 Good afternoon families and staff, The District has received notice of a number of positive Covid-19 cases. STUDENTS A BMS student, grade K, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the school on April 2. Contact tracing was not required. A BMS student, grade 4, who had been quarantining, tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the school on April 2. Contact tracing was not required. A BMS student, grade 4, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the school on April 5. Contact tracing is underway. An RMS student, grade 6, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the school on April 2. Contact tracing was not required. An RMS student, grade 6, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the school on April 6. All contact tracing was completed. An RMS student, grade 8, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the school on April 2. Contact tracing was not required. A CHS student in remote learning, grade 11, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently at a school activity on April 3. Contact tracing was not required. To my knowledge, these cases have not yet been posted on the State dashboard. There is currently no evidence of transmission within the schools. The District will respect the confidentiality of staff members, students, and their families. Please continue to follow safety protocols at home and in school, including mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing, to limit the spread of this virus! Sincerely, Kathleen A. Murphy Superintendent   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Friday, Apr 09 2021

Remote Meal Delivery Ending

A Message from  Food Service  FROM THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL NUTRITION SERVICES REMOTE MEAL DELIVERY SERVICE ENDING Due to CSD schools returning to in-school learning five days a week, April 16, 2021 will be the last day for remote meal deliveries. This includes the weekend meal deliveries as well.  Breakfast and lunch meals will continue to be free for all students in school, through the end of the 2020-21 school year.  If you should have any questions, please call the School Nutrition Office at 603-225-0823 or email  dreynolds@sau8.org  or  libennett@sau8.org .  We sincerely appreciate your support throughout this ever-changing Covid situation.  38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301  |   (603) 225-0823  |   Food Service Dept  

Friday, Apr 09 2021

Covid-19 update

From the Superintendent's Office April 8, 2021 Good afternoon families and staff, The District has received notice of a positive Covid-19 case. STUDENT A CHS student, grade 12, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on April 1. Contact tracing was not required. To my knowledge, this case has not been posted on the State dashboard. There is currently no evidence of transmission within the schools. The District will respect the confidentiality of staff members, students, and their families. Please follow safety protocols at home and in school, including mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing, to combat the spread of this virus! Sincerely, Kathleen A. Murphy Superintendent   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Thursday, Apr 08 2021

Update on returning to 5-day-per-week school on Apri...

From the Superintendent's Office April 8, 2021 Dear Parents and Students, By now, many of you have heard that Governor Sununu has ordered that all schools reopen to students on April 19th. The Executive Order ( Link here to Executive Order # 89 ) directs school districts to provide 5 days of in-person learning for all students. The order does allow for the continuation of remote learning for those who choose that model. In order to accommodate the Governor’s directive, the District is working on a number of issues to ensure that we maintain the safety protocols recommended by the CDC and NH Public Health. Transportation: The District is grateful to the families who are able to transport their children to school each day. This has been a huge assistance in getting everyone to school on time. While on the buses, riders must maintain a 3-foot social distance protocol. Siblings and members of the same household are allowed to sit together. This adjustment may cause delays in the pick-up and drop-off times for students due to double runs to accommodate the number of students using bus transport to and from school. More information will be provided in the coming days. Food Service: This protocol will remain the same for students and staff. While having breakfast, lunch, or snack, students must maintain a distance from one another of 6 feet. Schools are setting up areas for students to have their breakfast and lunch each day, to support this distancing. Classroom: Principals and building staff are working together to rearrange classroom furniture to accommodate students while still maintaining the 3-foot social distance recommendation. In some cases, given student enrollment and square footage of a classroom, the location of the classroom may be changed to allow for all students to be physically present. In some cases, spacing may be tight in classrooms and will require some classroom adjustments. Remote Learning: This option will continue to be offered in the District. Families who choose to remain in a remote model may do so. Parents who wish to send their child back to full in-person must reach out to their child’s Principal for placement. Especially in the elementary schools, we believe there may be an overall advantage for students to remain with their remote teachers for the last 8 weeks of school. The downside for returning elementary children to in-person learning is that it is likely that they will not be able to remain with their current remote teacher and will be assigned to another teacher. There may also be gaps or overlaps with curriculum. Spring Sports: The School Board has approved the plans submitted by the Athletic Departments from the middle and high schools. The proposal has been posted on the District website for your review. We are all very appreciative of your support for the past 13 months. The District is preparing for the arrival of many more of our students into the buildings on a full-time basis, having them together and engaging with their teachers, the staff, and especially their classmates. As we make this shift, we ask that you be especially mindful of the state of your children’s health. If your students have any symptoms related to Covid-19, please do not send them to school. I have been asked recently about plans for Concord High School Class of 2021 graduation, scheduled for June 17th. Students and staff are now in the early stages of planning for all the activities associated with graduation, and I am sure information will be shared by Principal Reardon. Finally, I have provided a Q & A attachment that addresses many specific questions you may have regarding the reopening of schools in Concord. Please feel free to reach out to my office should I be of further assistance to you and your family. Best regards, Kathleen   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Thursday, Apr 08 2021

Covid-19 update

From the Superintendent's Office April 7, 2021 Good afternoon families and staff, The District has received notice of a number of positive Covid-19 cases. STUDENTS A BMS student, grade 5, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on March 18. No contact tracing was required. A BMS student, grade 5, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on April 1. Contact tracing was conducted by school nurses, and families of any students who may have been exposed were notified. Any staff members who may have been exposed were also notified. A CHS student, grade 9, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on April 6. Contact tracing was conducted by school nurses, and families of any students who may have been exposed were notified. Staff members who may have been exposed were also notified. A CRTC student tested positive for Covid-19. Contact tracing is underway. The CHS girls lacrosse team has been asked to quarantine and can return to classes and activities on April 17. Contact tracing was conducted by school nurses, and families of students who may have been exposed were notified. Staff members who may have been exposed were also notified. To my knowledge, these cases have not been posted on the State dashboard. There is currently no evidence of transmission within the schools. The District will respect the confidentiality of staff members, students, and their families. Please follow safety protocols at home and in school, including mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing, to combat the spread of this virus! Sincerely, Kathleen A. Murphy Superintendent   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Wednesday, Apr 07 2021

Covid-19 Update

From the Superintendent's Office Good afternoon families and staff, The District has received notice of two positive Covid-19 cases. STUDENT A BGS student, grade 4, cohort A, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on March 29. Contact tracing was conducted by school nurses, and families of any students who may have been exposed were notified. Any staff members who may have been exposed were also notified. STAFF A staff member at BMS who tested positive for Covid-19 was last in the building on April 2. No contract tracing was required. To my knowledge, these cases have not been posted on the State dashboard. There is currently no evidence of transmission within the schools. The District will respect the confidentiality of staff members, students, and their families. Please follow safety protocols at home and in school, including mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing, to combat the spread of this virus! Sincerely, Kathleen A. Murphy Superintendent   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Monday, Apr 05 2021

Superintendent letter to families and staff

From the Superintendent's Office April 2, 2021 Dear Families and Staff, The School District faces numerous challenges as we gather data as well as guidance from our public health officials and the CDC in order to make decisions about our school model for the spring. I have heard from many of you offering suggestions and thoughts about next steps. I appreciate hearing from you as recommendations are formulated to present to the School Board at its April 5th meeting. The presentation to the Board has been posted on the District’s website ( https://sau8.org/school_board/monthly_board_meeting_agenda_packet ). This will give you an opportunity to review the recommendations prior to the meeting. I also want to thank parents for the over 2,800 survey responses that were received about the District’s plans to finish out the 2020-21 school year.  Recently, several guidance documents have been released by the NH Division of Public Health Services that I would like to share with you about travel, quarantining, and social distancing in schools.  As you know, Governor Sununu has ordered that all New Hampshire public schools return to in-person learning five days per week starting April 19. There is a continuing remote option. Last week, the Board Instructional Committee voted to recommend to the full Board a proposal to open our schools full-time and in-person. They also endorsed the plan to keep the current remote model available to families until the end of the year. In addition, the Committee endorsed a full spring athletic program for students at the middle and high schools.  There are many details to be decided upon as we prepare to return to school. On March 21, better than half of the staff received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Last weekend, on March 27 and March 28, more staff members were vaccinated using the Pfizer vaccine. (Approximately 650 staff members in total were vaccinated.) Recently, the NH Division Public Health Services and the CDC provided guidance relative to social distancing in schools. The State of New Hampshire continues to recommend that 3–6 feet distancing is acceptable in a closed school environment, and the CDC has recently revised its guideline to support this distancing as well. The additional protocols, i.e., masking wearing, hand washing, screening, and air quality must continue to be in place. Given this new guidance, the District is preparing classrooms and support areas to meet the new order from the Governor.  On March 16, the NH Division of Public Health Services updated its guidance on travel and quarantine. The District has consistently followed State guidelines on travel, and will continue to do so with the revisions. The new travel guidance no longer requires quarantine upon return to New Hampshire after domestic travel (regardless of Covid-19 vaccination status); this includes domestic travel to U.S. territories. People who travel internationally or on a cruise ship are still required to quarantine upon return to New Hampshire, unless diagnosed with Covid-19 in the prior 90 days or are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.  The guidance from New Hampshire and the CDC continues to warn of the risks of travel given the continued spread of Covid-19, and concerns associated with virus variants around the country. It is still recommended that travelers wear well-fitting face masks, practice social distancing, and get tested 3–5 days after travel.  Those who travel are asked to be very vigilant upon return. Assessing yourself and your children for symptoms is more important than ever. Please stay home if any new or unexplained Covid-19 symptoms are present.  New Hampshire’s Covid -19 Travel Guidance, updated on March 16, 2021, can be found at the link below. NH COVID-19 Travel Guidance link Best regards, Kathleen   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Friday, Apr 02 2021

Covid-19 update

From the Superintendent's Office April 2, 2021 Good afternoon families and staff, The District has received notice of two positive Covid-19 cases. STUDENTS An MBS student, grade 2, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on March 26. No contact tracing was necessary. A CHS student, grade 9, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on March 23. No contact tracing was necessary. To my knowledge, these cases have not been posted on the State dashboard. There is currently no evidence of transmission within the schools. The District will respect the confidentiality of staff members, students, and their families. Please follow safety protocols at home and in school, including mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing, to contain the spread of this virus! Sincerely, Kathleen A. Murphy Superintendent   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Friday, Apr 02 2021

Covid-19 update

From the Superintendent's Office March 30, 2021 Good afternoon families and staff, The District has received notice of three positive Covid-19 cases. STUDENTS An BGS student, grade 5, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on March 11. No contact tracing was required. A RMS student, grade 6, who tested positive for Covid-19 was most recently in the building on March 8. No contact tracing was required. An CHS student, grade 10, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently in the building on March 23. No contact tracing was required. To my knowledge, these cases have not been posted on the State dashboard. There is currently no evidence of transmission within the schools. The District will respect the confidentiality of staff members, students, and their families. Please follow safety protocols at home and in school, including mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing, to combat the spread of this virus! Sincerely, Kathleen A. Murphy Superintendent   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Tuesday, Mar 30 2021

Covid-19 update

From the Superintendent's Office March 29, 2021 Good afternoon families and staff, The District has received notice of two positive Covid-19 cases. STUDENTS A CMS student, grade 4, who tested positive for Covid-19 was most recently at school on March 25. No contact tracing was required. An ADS student, grade 1 cohort B, who tested positive for Covid-19, was most recently at school on March 19. No contact tracing was required. To my knowledge, these cases have not been posted on the State dashboard. There is currently no evidence of transmission within the schools. The District will respect the confidentiality of staff members, students, and their families. Please follow safety protocols at home and in school, including mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing, to combat the spread of this virus! Sincerely, Kathleen A. Murphy Superintendent   38 Liberty Street, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 225-0811 concordinfo@sau8.org

Monday, Mar 29 2021