Hawk

From a recent ALL-CALL

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Dear Hawks, 

Good evening from the Hermon School Department. 

This is Jim Chasse, superintendent of schools with a weather and COVID update. 

We will use the all-call system should our schools not have power in the morning.  Hermon High School has a generator but the middle and elementary schools do not. Let's hope we do not lose power.  

COVID.  Our full AdTeam met today in regard to COVID cases from prior to the Thanksgiving break.  This was to debrief and sharpen our teamwork.  Administrators and our nurses were working over the break on Hermon cases.  Two of the presumed positives have returned as negative, which is great.  This caused a decrease in quarantine days for specific staff and students.  We or the state will inform close or presumed close contacts while maintaining individual confidentiality. 

We do not have any recent new cases.  As you probably know, the virus continues to see a spike in the region. School transmission rates continue to be the lowest and the state encourages in-person attendance if possible, however, we are ready to pivot to remote learning if necessary.     
We continue to team with our nurses, the state medical consultants, and the cdc around any positive or presumed positive cases.  Our positive and presumed cases are all vetted using their guidance.  We are fortunate so far not to have to shut down (3 cases in a building is considered an outbreak) any schools or cohorts as you may have seen with some schools in our area.  The Thanksgiving break provided some natural quarantining but we are watching things closely over the next few weeks

Please continue, as we will, to practice safety guidelines as we return to school.  Please make me or your building principals aware of any concerns.   

Although these are not easy times for schools, there is much to boast about regarding our accomplishments and one day soon we will do this in mass assembly.  

Let's continue to encourage one another to be safe, count our blessings, and to see the light at the end of this tunnel. 

Today we discussed the upcoming winter and how to best serve our students using our highest creativity.  I am looking forward to it. 

We got this!  

This is not my real voice so I have posted this note on the newsfeed of our website should you want to read it instead of listen. 

Jim Chasse