A Few BITS from Ridgefield Public School Superintendent Dr. Susie Da Silva
Board of Education Meeting
We had our Board of Education meeting on Monday evening. You can find the link here. Some of the topics discussed during the meeting were: summer facilities projects, District Priorities, Board of Education goals and Spring standardized testing results.
Health and Safety
Linked here is the Governor’s Press Release on Executive Order 14 which went into effect immediately and is effective through February 15, 2022. This Executive Order includes provisions of Executive Order 13A, which provides the authority for requiring masks in schools.
The town of Ridgefield has lifted its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated individuals; however, per the Governor's executive order a mask mandate remains in place inside all public and private schools in Connecticut, including RPS.
RPS follows quarantine guidelines from the Connecticut Department of Public Health. These guidelines can be found here in Addendum 5. Fully vaccinated individuals are not required to quarantine after an exposure to COVID-19 as long as they remain symptom free.
COVID-19 can incubate for up to 14 days after exposure to a positive individual. The CDC and CT DPH have shortened the length of quarantine for unvaccinated individuals after exposure to 10 days based on studies that show only a 1.4% residual risk of infection between the 10th and 14th day. 98% of cases will appear by day 10. With a test on day 5 and monitoring of symptoms through day 7, the quarantine period can be further shortened to 7 days with only a 4.0% (PCR test) to 5.5% (antigen test) residual risk of infection between day 8 and day 14.
In all cases individuals exposed to COVID-19 should continue to monitor their symptoms until day 14. This information can also be found in this guidance document from the DPH. Per this DPH guidance, If your child is unvaccinated and has been exposed to COVID-19, RPS allows them to return to school on the 8th day after exposure with a negative Antigen or PCR test from day 5 or later, as long as they are free of symptoms.
School employees who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are eligible for a booster dose 6 months after their 2nd dose. To find a provider visit this website. The CDC said this week that a timeline for Moderna and J&J boosters will be announced in the coming weeks.RPS is now in full compliance with the Governor’s executive order 13G requiring all staff to be fully vaccinated or receive a weekly COVID-19 test. Our contractors Chartwells, First Student and Securitas are also in compliance.
We met with Quest diagnostics today and are getting closer to beginning PCR screening testing for unvaccinated K-6th graders. Instructions to opt K-6 grade students into the program will be sent to families next week.
Linked is DPH’s “Updated Guidance for the Operation of Interscholastic Youth and other Amateur Sports Activity during the Covid-19 Pandemic”, you can find it here.
Teaching and Learning Updates
The RPS Art Department has spent time together this fall studying art together as artists and beginning to set long and short term goals for their department. They enjoyed the exhibits at the Aldrich together and were able to engage in professional learning about the connection between art instruction and mindfulness. In order to continue to inform the community and students about the department, they have started an instagram account called at: ridgefieldpublicschoolsk12art
Take a look at all of the art that is going on at RPS!
Food Service
Happy October! Chartwells’s October promotion will be Seed to Table. Seed to Table promotes locally grown fruits and vegetables in recipes during the month. Chartwells is delighted to share that many of your locally grown fruits and vegetables are purchased and used in the foods prepared for students' enjoyment. For more information see attachments here and here.
RPS News found here!
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Twitter: @RPS_DaSilva
Instagram: rpssuper
Rumor has it that the Tiger Talk Podcast will be back very soon….