Dear Rising Tide Families,
As we begin our first day of in-person learning today for students in Cohort A, we want to remind you that a safe return to in-person schooling will require that we consistently adopt and adhere to a culture of health and safety. If you have not already seen the Welcome Video from our Wellness team, please watch it this morning:
Rising Tide Welcome Video with Safety Guidelines
It will be the responsibility of all members of the Rising Tide school community — students, families, faculty, and staff — to abide by all health and safety requirements and to consider the greater good. Each student needs to be checked each morning for symptoms of COVID-19. Students should STAY HOME
if they have any of the symptoms listed below:
- Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills
- Cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough)
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Headache when in combination with other symptoms
- Muscle aches or body aches
- Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
- Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
- Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms
- If students have any of these symptoms, they must get a test for active COVID-19 infection prior to returning to school. A map of testing centers can be found here.
- Please review our Reference Guide for Responding to COVID-19 scenarios developed through guidance from both DESE and the DPH.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either one of our school nurses Lisa Hughes, Upper School Nurse and COVID point person, or Kim Jamieson, Middle School Nurse at (508) 747-2620.
Please also remember the following additional safety guidelines for learning in school:
- Wearing a mask is one of the most effective measures any individual can adopt to contain the spread of COVID-19. Please review this video on how to wear and take care of your mask with your children prior to the start of school.
- Hand washing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. While your child is at school they will be asked to wash their hands immediately upon arriving at school, eating, putting on and taking off masks, and at dismissal. Washing hands with soap and water is the preferred method to remove any germs from hands, but it is not always available. When hand washing is not readily available, students will be asked to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to kill germs on their hands. Hand sanitizer is considered an over the counter (OTC) medication. As such, you have the ability to opt your child(ren) out of using hand sanitizer at school. If you DO NOT want your child(ren) to use hand sanitizer at school, please send an email or written letter to the school nurse indicating this.
- Physical distance greatly reduces the risk of transmission. The MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has established that in classroom/school settings, when all parties are wearing masks, a minimum of three feet of separation is needed; if one or both parties is not wearing a mask, a minimum of six feet is needed. At Rising Tide, all of our seating arrangements are set at the six feet of physical distance.
We are looking forward to seeing students in the building today!
Sincerely,
Shawna Weekly Lisa Hughes RN
Wellness Director Nurse Leader
508-747-2620 ext 513 508-747-2620 ext 115
