RBS Principal’s Notes
November 20, 2020
Parent Resources
K-8 Hybrid Calendar Daily Health Screening for Students
RBS Hybrid Parent Guide Quarantine Protocols/Flowchart
RBS Remote Parent Guide RBS Welcome & Orientation Video
Bedford Reopening Plan COVID-19 Schools Dashboard
Monthly Friday Schedule
December 4: Group B (L-Z)
December 11: Group A (A-K)
December 18: Group (L-Z)
January 8: (A-K)
PROCEDURE TO REPORT COVID CASES
If you need to report a case of COVID-19 over the weekend or during off hours, please fill out THIS FORM.
IN THE NEWS:
A Shift in Contact Tracing
NH DHHS has informed us that they are no longer able to do contact tracing for positive COVID cases that originate outside of school. It is now up to schools to assist with the tracing and set the return date for students in these cases. As such, we are relying heavily on parents/guardians reporting positive cases of family members or others with whom their child has had close contact to our school nurses. We greatly appreciate you working with us to keep our schools a safe place to teach and learn.
Governor's Mask Order
Yesterday, the Governor issued a mask order for NH. Click HERE to see that order. While K-12 schools are considered exempt from that order, the Bedford School District will be adhering to it in the areas where we had not been before. The rationale behind this decision is two-fold. 1. An added layer of mitigation is prudent given the rising cases of Covid and transmission rates around us. 2. This additional measure supports our ongoing effort to keep our schools open. Thank you for your support during these challenging times.
Hybrid through the Holidays
The Bedford School District will remain in our hybrid model of education through the holiday season. Our layered approach to mitigate Covid has proven successful since the start of school. While we have seen many individual cases throughout the district, we have not experienced transmission, clusters or outbreaks. Bedford would consider a move to fully remote learning under 3 conditions:
1. Governor's Order
2. Transmission in a school or schools that we are unable to contain
3 Lack of staffing to keep a school open
Holiday Travel
The CDC recently recommended that families DO NOT TRAVEL for Thanksgiving. Please keep in mind that individual decisions made by all members of our community can have a direct impact on one another. The Bedford School District humbly asks that each of us do our part to stay safe, flatten the curve, and maintain open schools.
School Nurses
Our School Nurses are working around the clock to keep our schools safe and open. When they call you, please respectfully engage with them. The questions they are asking are required and part of their job. Let’s make their work easier by engaging kindly in what we know are frustrating conversations.
School Work for Travel
Teachers may not be able to provide advance work for students who knowingly travel outside of New England and must quarantine. Even though students are in a hybrid model, their teachers are not. Teachers are fully engaged each day with students each day. They are already working to engage the students who are actively having to quarantine. The capacity to provide advance work may not be available.
Change in Meal Pick Up Site for Distance & Remote Learners
Our drive through meal pick up site has moved to the high school concession stand (building outside by the football field) and will no longer be at the high school gym entrance. It's open every school day from 9am-12pm. Meals are all FREE for any children in the community ages 2-18.
Enrichment Riddle of the Week
Ms. Babine will post a new riddle each Friday (below) and reveal the answer the following Thursday. Families are encouraged to think together and come up with as many creative solutions as possible, and can submit responses through the Google Form link included on my website.
PTG News and Information
HANNAFORD COMMUNITY BAG PROGRAM: During November, the PTG will receive a $1.00 donation for each purchase of the Community Reusable Bag (cost of bag is $2.50) at the Hannaford store located on KILTON ROAD.
AMAZON SMILE: Make a purchase on Amazon and support the PTG! Visit AmazonSmile, and select "Bedford NH PTG" as the organization that you wish to support or simply go to Bedford PTG's unique link HERE. Bookmark this unique link as only purchases made at smile.amazon.com are eligible for donations. Now every time you shop at Amazon a percentage of your purchase price is donated to the Bedford PTG!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE PTG: We wish you a Wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! We are thankful for the amazing support we receive from families, staff and the community.
REMINDERS:
Toys for Tots at RBS
Ms. Pennington and the RBS Music Department will kick off our annual TOYS FOR TOTS collection starting next week. TOYS FOR TOTS is a well-known charity run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. We will collect toys between the dates of Monday, November 16th and Friday, December 11th. RBS students can deposit new, unwrapped toys in any of our 4 boxes, which are located outside of our music room and in the office hallway. Through our generosity, the holidays will be filled with happiness for children who need our help!
RBS Clothing
You can order Riddle Brook School clothing and other items online! Please go to www.bedfordwear.com. They have a variety of colors and styles. An order typically takes 7-10 business days to be delivered. 10% of profits come back to the school.
Contact Tracing through NH DHHS
It has been our experience lately that NH DHHS is very delayed in contacting families with contact tracing information, and as a result, it’s possible that students come to school without knowing they have been in close contact with a COVID positive person (and should be quarantining). Please know that if your child has been contact traced as a result of contact within school, you will be called by the school (most likely, Michele Ouellette, our nurse) rather than wait for DHHS. However, if the contact happens outside of school, we will not know about it. My ask is that if your child tests positive, you contact the parents/guardians of any child who has been contact traced as a result of outside of school activities, so that the child can quarantine and/or get tested in a timely fashion. Hopefully, things will slow down soon at DHHS. Thank you!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
November 25-27 – Thanksgiving Break
December 10-18 – Happy Hanukkah!
December 14-18 – Ellis Island Week (Grade 4)
December 24-January 1 – Holiday Recess
December 25 – Merry Christmas!
January 15 – End of Quarter 2
January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance
January 22 – Report Cards Released Online
February 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day!
February 22-26 – Winter Vacation
March 9 – District Workshop Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
March 27-April 3 – Passover
April 2 – End of Quarter 3
April 2 – Good Friday
April 4 – Happy Easter!
April 9 – Report Cards Released Online
April 26-30 – Spring Vacation
May 31 – Memorial Day Observed – NO SCHOOL
June 11 – Tentative Last Day of School
