Dear Lamoille North Families and Staff,
As you know from last week’s letter, I spent time at Waterville Elementary School and had the privilege of watching the evolution of a beautiful mural that was created by the students, staff, Waterville community and the artists at Juniper Creative Arts. Here is the most recent picture of the mural!
Beginning Monday, April 4, 2022, Hyde Park Elementary School will begin painting their community mural. Stay tuned for pictures!
We have had another busy week in our school district! Just as our weather has taken two steps forward to spring and one step backward to winter, so, too, are we busy working through the back and forth regarding COVID-19 guidelines and the uptick in other viruses such as colds and flu. With the mask optional change has also come a smattering of colds and other viruses. We continue to do well overall. Please continue to wash your hands and stay home when sick, even if the symptoms are mild.
I want to remind everyone that our weekly COVID-19 positive case dashboard will continue to be updated on our website. Please check the dashboard often to help make personal decisions around testing, masking and attendance at work or school. Per State recommendation, we are no longer notifying families of positive COVID-19 cases in our schools.
Per the Vermont Department of Health:
"Schools are not expected to report COVID-19 cases until they are provided with a tool and instructions to do so, which will be in place when students return from Spring Break."
We also received a memo earlier this week from the Vermont Agency of Education (VTAOE) in regards to testing that reads:
"As of April 4, 2022, and as public health conditions in Vermont relative to COVID-19 continue to improve, the Staff Assurance Testing and Test at Home programs will be discontinued in Vermont schools. With the conclusion of these testing programs, staff and student households are reminded that they can make an appointment at an available testing site to obtain up to eight rapid antigen tests or one LAMP test per appointment for their use at home."
This news from the VTAOE indicates conditions have dramatically improved in our schools and communities in regards to COVID-19.
Additionally, the Vermont Department of Health (VTDOH) has published Vermont COVID-19 Vaccination Rates by School District/Supervisory Union. These rates were calculated using student rosters from October of 2021 and data from the Vermont Immunization Registry. The rates are published as a range rather than an exact percentage due to several caveats related to the data that the VTDOH details on their website.
In other news, we want to remind our school community members that our calendar for the 2022-2023 school year can be found on our website by clicking HERE and on our Facebook page. Please refer to the calendar for family and staff planning purposes.
On a final, but very important note, we are pleased to announce our next Community Public Forum. It will be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, from 6:30-7:30 at Green Mountain Technology & Career Center/CEC. We will be partnering with Healthy Lamoille Valley to present resources and facilitate discussion for attendees on substance misuse and available supports in and for our communities. This is in addition to the annual spring opioid forum that will also be hosted at GMTCC. Please see the following information:
As always, thank you for your communication and commitment to our school community. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
My best to you,
Catherine Gallagher, M.Ed.
Superintendent of Schools
Lamoille North Supervisory Union