January 12, 2022
Dear Smithfield Staff and Families,
After reviewing revised guidance issued to districts, we have made adjustments to our quarantine protocols, explained in the following flowcharts. Additionally, we are adjusting our testing protocols and eliminating a second test day for certain sports. More information about each of these changes will be further explained in the end of the week report though we thought it important to provide this interim report as well. We feel strongly that the new rules provide a good balance that both contributes toward our health and safety goals and our goal for keeping our students and staff in school.
We have had more COVID positive reports this week so far (and it’s only midweek) than we have had thus far in this pandemic. This is concerning on several levels. First, although the probability is small for a severe response to the virus, with increasing numbers, the chance for this issue to affect a member of our community is increased. Second, our continued ability to adequately staff our schools is an ongoing challenge. Last, although the majority of individuals, especially those that are vaccinated, have no or mild symptoms, we must remember that this is a public health crisis. Therefore, it’s not simply about whether or not we or our children experience severe symptoms but about how this virus is affecting others and whether or not our healthcare system can handle the cases it receives. We certainly don’t want to contribute toward a community member’s inability to have life-improving elective surgery (i.e. hip replacement) because the hospital is overrun by COVID patients.
We hope for the best for your family’s health. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s school nurse or to a member of our COVID team (Melissa Moroni, mmoroni@smithfield-ps.org or Kerri Dailey (kdailey@smithfield-ps.org).
Sincerely,
Judy Paolucci, Superintendent
*Monitor to Stay will replace Test to Stay, beginning on Tuesday, January 18th.
(see this link: https://bit.ly/3rduktF for the flow charts.)