Dear R.H. Conwell Families,
Welcome back after the Thanksgiving recess. It was so wonderful to hear students talk about family traditions and what they were grateful for this year!
MindUp for Families: The district uses MindUp in the classrooms, and the program just announced that they are offering a series of modules exploring the MindUp concepts that students are learning in the classroom. Please follow the link if you are interested in learning more.
Photo of the week: Storyteller, Davis Bates, came back to Conwell this week. Mr. Bates brings a mixture of family, Native American, international and regional songs and stories. Mr. Bates brings a style of song and storytelling that empowers and encourages audiences of all ages to join in the fun.
Parent Virtual Zoom: Please join me on December 16th at 7:00 p.m. for our monthly parent zoom. Please send any topics you are interested in discussing NO LATER than December 10th.
Nurse Sam Update:
- We successfully completed our first run through of after-break Covid-19 testing in school. All together, 115 Covid tests were performed on both students and staff this week. I am very happy to report that all 115 tests came back negative! This after-break testing program is a great mitigation strategy to ensure our school community remains safe after time with those outside of our immediate families and friend groups. If you would like to include your child(ren) in the next round of testing after our winter break, please let me know. I will send an additional reminder home prior to our next break.
- I want to give a quick shout out to Nurse Meg who stepped in for me this past Monday and Tuesday and initiated our after-break testing program while I was finishing up my own quarantine. I am so grateful for her help and support with getting this testing program up and running.
- We have officially reached a 50% vaccination rate in the building, including both students and staff that are regularly in the building on a daily basis.
- Friendly reminder, DESE has released that if schools can reach an 80% vaccination rate in the building, they may apply to have the mask mandate removed. In order for us to reach this number, we would need approximately 29 additional students to get vaccinated. We will discuss this further at the School Committee Meeting this coming Thursday December 9, 2021.
- Finally, for those who attended our 5-11 year old Covid-19 vaccination clinic on Saturday November 20th – we will be hosting a second dose clinic on Saturday December 11th from 9-12. I have also been informed that any student who wishes to receive their first dose will also be welcome to attend, and will receive their second dose 3 weeks later at the Huntington Health Center.
| Covid-19 Data Dashboard | |||
| This Week (12/3/21) | Last Week (11/26/21) | Changes from last week | |
| Positive Cases at R.H. Conwell | 0 | 0 | — |
| Internal Close Contacts | 0 | 0 | — |
| External Close Contacts in Quarantine | 1 | 0 | ↑1 |
| BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen Tests Conducted | 115 | 1 | ↑114 |
| Positive Cases in Worthington (last 7 days) | 2 | 1 | ↑1 |
| Positive Cases in Hampshire County (last 7 days) | 532 | 459 | ↑73 |
| Positive Cases in Massachusetts (last 7 days) | 33,430 | 29,741 | ↑3,689 |
Upcoming Events:
December 9, 2021: School Committee Meeting beginning at 6:30
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/99322495477?pwd=Y09QaElsOW1Cd3l0M010enZ5L01EZz09
Meeting ID: 993 2249 5477
Passcode: 251052
One tap mobile
+16468769923,,99322495477#,,,,*251052# US (New York)
December 13, 2021: Noon Dismissal
December 16, 2021: Virtual Zoom with Parents (link will be sent the Tuesday before the meeting)
December 23, 2021 – January 3, 2022: WINTER Recess (students return on January 4, 2022)
Have a wonderful weekend!
Gretchen Morse-Dobosz
Superintendent/Principal
Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
413-238-5856
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org