Dear Saint Paul School Community,
This year our food drive collected 1163 items! Unfortunately, we missed last year’s total by 187 items. Thank you to Grade 3 for counting and Mrs. Naughton and her committee for delivering!
This week there were two updates/changes regarding COVID19 and schools. Saint Paul School has been and will continue to abide by any changes. We are fortunate that we have already exceeded theses recommendations! You will see that I have made some comments that specifically pertain to our school
The first came from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education - Frequently Asked Questions, Week of November 2nd, 2020
As the weather grows cold, what is the guidance for ventilation in classrooms?
Schools and districts should continue to ensure effective implementation of the five most important core mitigation strategies for reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 as specified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): masking, physical distancing, hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting, and contact tracing. Additionally, the CDC recommends that schools and districts adopt secondary mitigation strategies, such as maintaining building ventilation systems, to the extent feasible.
While the guidance on ventilation released this fall is still applicable to schools, DESE is providing these additional considerations for schools without operable HVAC systems or Unit Ventilators (Univents), especially as it may not be feasible to keep windows fully open due to cold weather:
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Open windows and doors to the extent the building’s design permits. On cold weather days, keep windows open at least a crack to provide some supply of fresh air. This is the only change to previously released guidance.
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Communicate with your school community that increasing outside air will affect schools’ indoor temperatures. Encourage families and caregivers to send their students to school with plenty of warm layers in winter, as classroom temperatures could fluctuate throughout the day. Students are reminded to be in Saint Paul School uniform.
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Consider using portable HEPA air purifiers in occupied spaces. Saint Paul School has been using since school started!
As stated in our Fall Reopening Plan:
Saint Paul School DOES NOT HAVE a facility-wide HVAC system.
Every room has a univent air intake system.
The first floor classrooms have exhaust fans. This means it is pulling air out of the room to the
outside. The second floor classrooms do not have that ability. They have univents and ductless
split AC units. This means there are no ducts to clean. Instead it has filters mounted to the
ceiling that get cleaned regularly.
The second was a Response to questions about Governor Baker’s November 2 revised executive order on masks via Commissioner of DESE
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has received questions about Governor Baker’s Revised Order Requiring Face Coverings in Public Places, COVID-19 Order No. 55, issued on November 2, 2020. In particular, school districts are asking whether and how this Executive Order – which generally requires all persons over the age of 5 years old to wear a mask or cloth face covering when in a public location – applies to schools. In response, DESE provides the following information:
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The Executive Order provides a few exceptions based on sector-specific COVID-19 safety rules, including rules issued by DESE. As a result, public school districts in Massachusetts should continue to follow DESE’s requirements on masks, as set forth in the Initial Fall School Reopening Guidance on June 25, 2020. Specifically,
o Students in grade 2 and above are required to wear a mask/face
covering that covers their nose and mouth.
o Students in kindergarten and grade 1 should be encouraged to wear a mask/face
covering. At Saint Paul School, Kindergarten and Grade 1 students wear masks while
in the classroom and throughout the school.
o Adults, including educators and staff, are required to wear masks/face coverings.
o Exceptions to mask/face covering requirements must be made for those for whom it is
not possible due to medical conditions, disability impact, or other health or safety factors.
o Mask breaks should occur throughout the day. Breaks should occur when students can
be six feet apart and ideally outside or at least with the windows open.
o Masks/face coverings must be worn by everyone on the bus during school bus
transportation.
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Consistent with the Executive Order, if a student who is participating in in-person learning is unable to wear a mask or face covering because of a medical or disabling condition, the school may require documentation to verify the condition. Similarly, the school may require documentation from an employee or other worker who is required to wear a face covering and requests an accommodation due to a medical or disabling condition.
THANK YOU….
We have AWESOME families at Saint Paul School and cannot thank you enough for keeping the faculty and staff well fed.
The Walsh Family - Jack, Hadley, Claire (2) and Finn (PK) – Thank you for a delicious lunch on Wednesday – just what we needed during conferences!
UPDATES and REMINDERS…
As the holidays approach I remind our families that Massachusetts continues to have travel restrictions. Students will be required to provide a negative test 72 hours before return to Massachusetts and/or quarantine for 14 days. More information can be found on the mass.gov website.
If you are planning to travel over the holidays, I ask that you please use the following link to complete a short survey. This is for the safety of our students AND faculty.
Feedback from “Better than a Suggestion Box” ….
My children are so happy and joyful in their return home today from a week or fun, Halloween activities. The staffs’ efforts and PTO contributions have been so wonderful and so appreciated. My kids are loving school, their friends and their teachers. Thank you so, so much.
Loved the Halloween balloons, pumpkin and faculty/teacher spice girls!
TEAM SPS: Embarking on a new adventure together!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Principal
