• Thank you for your continued support as we kick off the 2021-2022 school year. Our priority goal for the year is maintaining in-person learning and minimizing risk to the health and safety of all in attendance. I am confident that our layered mitigation plan will allow us to remain in full in-person operation throughout the year. 

    In addition to masking and cleaning protocols, our plan has three components targeted at minimizing the risk of COVID being spread at school: daily health screening via MyMedBot, testing for students who show symptoms of COVID-19 at school, and test and stay monitoring for students who may have been identified as in-school close contacts but are not showing symptoms.   

    MyMedBot

    The Manchester Essex Regional School District will be continuing its use of MyMedBot to screen MERSD community members for potential COVID symptoms and exposure each school day.  We will begin daily use of MyMedBot on Monday, September 13th.

    • If you participated last year, your account will be reactivated.
    • If you are a first-time user, you will receive an email invitation to set up your account.
    • If you are a first time user or you deleted your app, you can download it using the links below

    PLEASE complete the app at home each morning before you leave the house. 

    Here's what you can expect:

    • Each day you will be prompted to complete a very brief survey prior to sending your child(ren) to school. This should take less than a minute. We strongly encourage you to set a routine for yourself. PLEASE complete the app at home 30 minutes prior to your child’s school start time.
    • If you do not complete the survey, you will receive a reminder prompt.
    • All parent/caregiver emails on file will be linked to each student account, allowing any parent/caregiver to complete the survey. If the survey has been completed on one device, it will reflect in the app for all family members.
    • If you have multiple children to report, they will all be linked in your account and will display together on your conclusion window.
    • If you are told to stay home, please contact your school nurse by phone for further instructions. 

    MyMedBot is FERPA compliant and only the pass/fail results will go to the school nurses for review.  None of your responses will be saved.  You can read more about the app's security measures here (https://www.mymedbot.lu/data-security).

    In-School Testing Program             

    The in-school testing initiative is intended to minimize student and staff absences by providing on-site testing for students who develop symptoms or are identified as a close contact while at school. The testing program is voluntary, and students will need permission from a parent or guardian in order to be tested.

    • Symptomatic testing is used when a student is showing symptoms of COVID-19 during school; students should not come to school if they are feeling sick while at home. Some symptoms of the virus look identical to other illnesses like the cold or flu, and this test tells us whether a symptomatic student has COVID-19 or not. This is a rapid test, and we receive the results of this test within 15 minutes. If a student has minimal symptoms and tests negative, they can remain in school. If a student tests positive for COVID-19, they must quarantine at home for the CDC-recommended ten days since symptoms appeared or ten days since the positive test before returning to school. The student must also be without a fever for 24 hours.
    • Test and stay allows students who have had close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 while at school to stay in school if the student is not showing symptoms. Close contacts are defined as individuals who have been within 6 feet of a COVID-19 positive individual while indoors, for at least 15 minutes during a 24-hour period. Instead of needing to quarantine and miss school, these students will take a daily rapid test while they remain in school as long as they are not symptomatic. Students participate in test and stay for at least five days after they may have been exposed. 
    • School Setting Exempted Close Contacts
      • Asymptomatic, fully vaccinated close contacts: Individuals who are asymptomatic and fully vaccinated are exempt from testing and quarantine response protocols.
      • Classroom close contacts: An individual who is exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual in the classroom while both individuals were masked, so long as the individuals were spaced at least 3 feet apart, is exempt from testing and quarantine response protocols.
      • Bus close contacts: Individuals on buses must be masked according to federal requirements. As such, individuals who are masked on buses when windows are open are exempt from testing and quarantine response protocols.
      • Close contacts who have had COVID-19 within the past 90 days: An individual who has been previously diagnosed with COVID-19 and then becomes a close contact of someone with COVID-19 is exempt from testing and quarantine response protocols if:
        • The exposure occurred within 90 days of the onset of their own illness AND
        • The exposed individual is recovered and remains without COVID-19 symptoms.

    The testing program is voluntary.  Students will need permission in order to be tested, and parents/guardians will be contacted as needed for consent. If an individual or family chooses not to participate, a close contact will need to quarantine at home for at least 7 days from the point of exposure.

    In addition to our mitigation efforts, vaccination is a critical component of our safety plan.  I ask that you please vaccinate your eligible children to help us keep our staff and students safe at school. 

    Thank you for your continued support.

    Sincerely,

    Cyndi Aldrich, Joanne Seaman & Nicole Grasso-Correnti
    Nursing Team

    Joanne Maino, Patricia Puglisi, Jennifer Roberts & John Willis
    Principals

    Pamela Beaudoin
    Superintendent