Monroe Messages
A Newsletter of Monroe County Schools
Monroe County First Lego League Robotics teams MCMS 7/8 Cargo Canines, MCMS 6th Robo Dogs, HES Techno Tigers, and TGS Cargo Cubs attended the Super Regionals Tournament at the Museum of Aviation. Cargo Canines won the Championship Award, guaranteeing a trip to the State Tournament at Georgia Tech!

Robo Dogs won 1st place for Robot Design, HES Techno Tigers won 1st place for Core Values, and TGS Cargo Cubs won Gracious Professionalism. Congratulations to all of these teams!
11 Social Media Red Flags Parents Should Know About
It can be hard to keep up with the latest apps that kids are using. Just when you've figured out how to talk to your kids about Instagram, they're begging to download Snapchat and TikTok. But here's the deal: Even when new apps come along, adding new features such as the ability to disappear or track your location, they're often not that different from other apps. And if you know what to look for, you can help your kid avoid some common social media pitfalls such as drama, cyberbullying, and oversharing. Full article here.

Source: Common Sense Media
4-H News
4-H Community Service Opportunities

For February 4-H will be cleaning and repainting the Little Libraries to move to new locations. To help, join them February 14th at the 4-H Office from 3:30-5pm.
Monroe County Schools Adjusts Covid Protocols

January 6, 2022 – The Monroe County Board of Education approved the following Covid-19 protocols at its called meeting on January 6, 2022.

 
  • Recommend masking for staff and students in school settings
  • Recommend that unvaccinated staff and students 5 years and older receive the Covid-19 vaccination and work with DPH as needed to set up vaccination schedules for willing staff and students
  • Contact trace exposures within 3 ft. for 15 minutes in the school setting, allowing parents the option to quarantine their child 
  • Use social distancing as needed to help reduce exposures
  • Visitors/Volunteers will be allowed in the school settings. Masking will be recommended for volunteers and visitors  
For Positive Test Results (Isolation)
 
  • Students and staff with positive test results (PCR or Rapid/At-Home Test) should isolate for 5 days
  • If after 5 days, the person is asymptomatic or his/her symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting others
  • Students/staff can choose to isolate for a full 10 days, and may return on the 11th day without a fever
  • If students/staff have a fever, continue to stay home until the fever resolves 
For Exposure to Positive Case (Quarantine)

As a parent/guardian you have the option to quarantine your child. No mandatory quarantines will be required by the school system unless your child lives in the same household of a positive COVID-19 case and is unvaccinated or 90 days past receiving the final vaccine dose. 
 
If you choose to quarantine, the options are below:
 
  • Quarantine at home for 5 days. After 5 days of quarantine, return to school and continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days (if asymptomatic/fever free for 24 hours) 
  • Quarantine at home for 10 days. After 10 days, return to school on the 11th day (if asymptomatic/fever free for 24 hours)
  • If you develop symptoms during your quarantine, get tested and follow appropriate protocols 

These protocols will be reviewed again as needed based on the community spread rates in our area.
For more information on Monroe County Schools' COVID protocols & resources click here.
Click here to access the updated spreadsheet for COVID numbers. Browse through the tabs at the bottom of the sheet to get to the most recent data.