I’m still here, in November. A bit late, but here’s the progress update after a little over two months of being back in school. New topics on top.
Update, November 25: On November 24, I learned that a fourth student has tested postitive for COVID-19. I hope everyone affected remains safe and healthy through this tough time.
Covid Cases. On October 14, the first student tested positive, as reported last month. Since then, two more kids have tested positive, one on November 10, another on November 18.
Inclement Weather. Back in October, the only bad weather we had was rain. On October 30, we received 5 inches of snow, and school shifted to Zoom that day, following the same schedule we would have followed without the snow. Snow days gone.
The First Shutdown. Effective Monday, November 23, the school will be closed for two weeks and all students will be learning remotely. This shutdown was announced in advance and is due to the higher case numbers and high risk of catching the virus around the Thanksgiving holiday. All students will return to campus on Monday, December 7, with the exception of all students that opted to go remote for quarter 2.
Physical Distancing. Effective Friday, November 6, everyone over the age of 5 in the state of Massachusetts must wear a mask at all times in public, both indoors and outdoors. The school’s reaction: We don’t care. Students are still allowed to not wear a mask while outdoors. Last month, I reported that “For most of us, this eight-minute period outside is just for us to stand outside.” That eight-minute period is now about three minutes because we just don’t care anymore, it’s too cold.
Dress Code. Back in September, the school had set a relaxed dress code, with an update to be communicated to the community by October 1. It is now November 22, and no communication has been sent. Last month’s report: “The school has no known plan for when winter comes and we are all freezing, due to pre-existing bans on sport coats and sweatshirts.” We are all freezing now.
Adjusted School Schedule. Last month, I reported that there “is now a staggered re-entry process. This process is just the assistant principal over a megaphone calling each grade one at a time, in random order. There are currently no known plans to change this process.” The re-entry process has been changed to allow small groups of about 50 students to enter the building at once, all with mixed grade levels. There is waiting time between the groups, and those who arrive at the doors first get to go in the building first.
That’s the end of this update. Next update will be coming around Friday, December 11 and will have updates about the Christmas / New Year’s holiday.
