Dear Medway Middle and High School families,
We were excited to share with families of students in grades 6-12 that our full return date has been set for April 12. All students in the hybrid model will move to a full, in-person experience beginning on this date. For the week of April 12, students will attend in-person on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Wednesday, April 14, we will continue with a remote learning day as currently scheduled. Upon return from April vacation, beginning Monday, April 26, all PK-12 students will be in a full, five days a week, in-person experience. It is important to note that students who are in the Virtual School model (Cohort D), will remain in the Virtual School for the remainder of this school year.
As was shared last night during our Full Return Webinar for families, the return to school for students in grades 6-12 will require that we reduce physical distances to less than six feet in many classrooms. Due to this, we are strongly encouraging that families participate in the student COVID-19 testing program that is currently underway. The information gained from this testing program will ensure that we understand the prevalence of the virus in schools. Importantly, participation in regular testing, and the identification of COVID-19 positive individuals will likely shorten exposure to others in schools and reduce overall close contacts. This program has been implemented to support our return to school and we are targeting a minimum of 70% participation for our students in grades 6-12. Your child's participation will also have the benefit of being protective to your family and others with whom your children are spending time.
To sign up for participation in the weekly COVID-19 student testing program, please see additional information here: Student COVID-19 Testing and Sign Up Information.
We also wanted to share resources from the webinar in the event you were unable to attend:
- Webinar Recording: Planning for a Full Return - March 9, 2021
- Slideshow: Planning for a Full Return - March 9, 2021
- Additional Study on Physical Distancing in Massachusetts Schools
- Six is Not a Magic Number, Liz Ruark, DVM, covidsafeschools.org
If your child is currently not signed up for “big bus” transportation through the district and you would like to have them participate in transportation, please contact our Director of Business and Finance, Don Aicardi, at daicardi@medwayschools.org.
In addition, we wanted to ensure that you are aware of the building-based follow-up sessions planned. These sessions will be an additional opportunity for you to learn about how the full return will look at our middle and high schools and will be facilitated by Ms. Luizzi, Medway Middle School principal, and Dr. Murray, Medway High School principal as follows:
Medway Middle School
- Friday, March 12: 8:00-8:30 a.m.
- Tuesday, March 16: 6:00-7:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 23: 8:00-8:30 a.m.
Medway High School
- Friday, March 12: 8:30-9:00 a.m.
- Wednesday, March 17: 7:00-8:00 p.m.
- Thursday, March 25: 8:00-8:30 a.m.
Please anticipate a future communication with more information about these meetings. As always, we continue to be appreciative of your support. We are looking forward to April 12 with great anticipation.
Sincerely,
Armand Pires, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools