Seekonk School News

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Archives for November 2020

Seekonk High School to Conduct Remote Learning Ahead of Thanksgiving Break

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Superintendent Rich Drolet reports that Seekonk High School will temporarily transition to fully remote learning beginning tomorrow and until Monday, Nov. 30.

The district learned today of three new reported positive cases of COVID-19 at Seekonk High School. These cases follow two positive cases of COVID-19 that were reported to the district on Friday, Nov. 13.

As a result, Seekonk High School will temporarily transition to fully remote learning beginning tomorrow, Nov. 17, through Tuesday, Nov. 24. Students at SHS will return to their hybrid learning schedules on Monday, Nov. 30.As a reminder, Wednesday, Nov. 25 is a professional development day for staff so students will have no school the day ahead of their Thanksgiving break.

“At this time, none of our positive cases are tied together and there is no evidence of any clusters or spread in our Seekonk schools,” Superintendent Drolet said. “In this instance, our shift to remote learning is due to an abundance of Seekonk High School teachers and support staff being under quarantine in accordance with district protocols, some of which are due to cases outside of our schools.”

To date, Seekonk Public Schools has had 16 total positive COVID-19 cases since the first positive case was reported on Oct. 25. To the district’s knowledge and through contact tracing, all of the 16 positive cases were from transmissions outside of Seekonk Public Schools. Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 self-isolate in accordance with MA Department of Public Health (DPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocols. Under state and federal privacy laws, no further information is available about these individuals.

Pre-K through grade 8 at the Martin Elementary School, Aitken Elementary School and Hurley Middle School will continue to operate in their normal in-person learning schedules as part of the district’s current hybrid model.

The district has been working closely with the Seekonk Board of Health Agent to follow COVID-19 guidance and to support the identification of all close contacts of positive individuals. Those who have been identified as close contacts are being instructed to quarantine. If you have not received a call from the school department, this means you have not been identified as a close contact and you are not required to quarantine.

In accordance with the district’s reopening plan, all schools are thoroughly cleaned each day and high-touch areas are disinfected multiple times throughout the day. The district will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue hybrid learning.

To prevent further spread of the disease in the community, the Seekonk Public Schools asks that students, families and staff take the following precautions to prevent the spread of the disease:

  • Stay home if you have a fever or are not feeling well.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
  • Avoid close contact with others. When outside your home, please adhere to social distancing guidelines and keep a distance of at least 6 feet between yourself and others.
  • Wear a cloth face covering that covers your mouth and nose to protect others when in public areas.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

Additionally, if you or your child are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, such as a fever, chills, respiratory illness, aches or change in taste and smell, or believe you have been exposed to someone who has contracted COVID-19, get a COVID-19 test and stay home until you receive your results. Testing can be done either through your primary healthcare provider or at one of the testing sites located throughout the state.

To view the district’s current COVID-19 statistics, visit the district’s new COVID-19 daily dashboard here.

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Seekonk Public Schools Launches COVID-19 Daily Dashboard

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Superintendent Rich Drolet is pleased to announce the launch of Seekonk Public Schools’ new COVID-19 daily dashboard that will keep community members up-to-date with the district’s latest statistics regarding COVID-19 positive cases.

“With the use of this daily dashboard, we will be able to keep our community members up-to-date with our latest COVID-19 cases and close contact numbers,” Superintendent Drolet said. “We hope that this new dashboard will help to assuage any concerns our students and their families may have in regard to our COVID-19 numbers.”

The COVID-19 dashboard, which will be updated each time a new positive case is reported, can be viewed here. Community members can also access the daily dashboard on the homepage of the district’s website.

The dashboard will include data that indicates whether or not there are any positive COVID-19 cases within the district, which school the positive cases occurred at and how many close contacts were identified through the district’s contact tracing process.

Data from previous weeks will be accessible on the dashboard webpage for community members to review as well.

The dashboard does not include any data regarding individuals who have to self-quarantine as a result of possible exposure from an individual outside of the school community.

 

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Seekonk’s Hurley Middle School to Host Annual Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser

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Superintendent Rich Drolet and Hurley Middle School Principal Alexis Bouchard are pleased to announce that Hurley Middle School will host its annual Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser next week.

The Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser will take place on Monday, Nov. 16 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria. Tickets, which cost 25 cents to dunk a teacher and 50 cents to dunk an administrator, will go on sale during school lunches and all proceeds will be donated to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Once students purchase their tickets, the tickets will then be entered into a drawing for the opportunity to participate in the dunkings. Names will be pulled on Friday, Nov. 13 and those chosen will have the option to either come to school that Monday to attend their live remote sessions and participate in the dunkings at lunch, or they can get dropped off during the lunch period.

On the day of the event, lunch will be provided for any student or teacher that participates in the dunkings.

All students and staff members will receive a Zoom link to watch the live dunkings from their homes if they wish to do so. 

History of the Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser

The Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser was started by Dr. Kevin Hurley in the early 1990s at the Seekonk Intermediate School with the goal of raising money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Students purchased raffle tickets with the hope of being chosen to pour buckets of icy water over their teachers’ heads. 

During the next several years, the cause remained close to the heart of the building as Dr. Hurley battled through cancer himself. After Dr. Hurley’s passing in 2004, the Intermediate School was renamed as the Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle School, and then Assistant Principal Alan “Thiv” Thivierge took over the coordination of the fundraiser. Thivierge, who also battled cancer, continued to donate the proceeds from the fundraiser to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. 

When Thivierge passed away in 2009, his daughter Keri Thivierge, who is now a teacher at the Hurley Middle School, continued the tradition in Hurley and Thivierge’s memory. Nearly 20 years later, students at the middle school continue to buy raffle tickets during Spirit Week (the week of Thanksgiving) for the thrill of dumping water on their teachers and administrators.

“We are pleased that despite the ongoing pandemic, we still have the opportunity to host a fundraiser that supports a cause that is near and dear to the heart of our school community,” Principal Bouchard said. “While this year’s fundraiser may look a little different, we encourage all of our students and faculty members to join us in raising money for Dana Farber while honoring Hurley and Thivierge’s memory.”

 

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Seekonk Public Schools Shares District’s Snow Day Protocols

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Superintendent Rich Drolet would like to share with the community Seekonk Public Schools’ remote learning plan in the event of inclement weather conditions this year.

In the event that winter weather conditions result in dangerous and unsafe travel conditions, the district will close school buildings and operate on a remote learning day model that will mimic the current Monday remote learning schedule.

School principals will send out reminders of the day’s remote learning schedules to staff, students and families in the morning should this happen any day(s) this school year.

By operating under this model, Seekonk Public Schools will not have to make up any snow days at the end of the school year according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

If a major power outage occurs in the town as a result of inclement weather on a remote learning snow day, the district will not participate in remote learning and that day must be made up at the end of the school year in June.

“This will allow us to continue with our hybrid learning model despite inclement weather,” Superintendent Drolet said. “Any family experiencing problems on days designated as a remote learning day due to weather concerns should contact their school principal(s) so they can attempt to alleviate any issues that may arise.”

 

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