News
January 20, 2020 Board Meeting
David Walker is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: January 2021 Board MeetingTime: Jan 20, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom...
Holiday Travel
As we see the escalating impact of COVID-19 across our state and the nation, we recognize that friends and families are looking for ways to connect and to maintain...
November Board Meeting Video
The November 18th, 2020 school board meeting video can be viewed at this link location: https://5il.co/n760 Or by navigating from the RSU34 website Menu to Documents »...
Events
LIVE FEED
David Walker
Dear RSU #34 Community, The purpose of this message is to provide an update about where we currently stand with community transmission of COVID-19. At the time of this writing, while we do have students and staff who are not attending school as they have either confirmed exposure, symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19, there is no known school-based transmission of COVID-19 in RSU #34 schools. Although this is concerning, it is not surprising coming back from the holiday break. Community transmission has increased statewide and we are continually assessing our status to keep our students and staff safe and support our families who are afflicted. To this point, in the entire school year, there has been one known incident of school-based exposure, related to an extra-curricular event at Old Town High School during the holiday break. We do not yet have any evidence of actual transmission occurring from this exposure, and are hopeful that the safety protocols in place at that event will have prevented transmission. All of those close contacts who were potentially exposed were immediately notified when this came to our attention, and have been participating in school remotely since we resumed school on Monday. Additionally, we shared community-wide notification of the exposure at www.rsu34.org and on our social media page. If a person in any of our buildings were to test positive, we would immediately reach out to all of the families of students/staff who have been in close contact with that person to notify them. If you do not receive a phone call, you would have no reason to be concerned. We greatly appreciate the efforts of staff, students, and the families of all for working so hard to follow our protocols and keep our schools safe and open. Beyond our schools, as you know, the spread of COVID-19 has been greatly increasing in Penobscot County, in Maine, and beyond. Our school nurses and COVID hotline have been busy this week as we assist with contact tracing for those exposed to COVID-19 outside of school. Much like the now-famous Millinocket wedding on August 7th ultimately led to many cases beyond those who attended the wedding, our contact tracing has identified single incidents attended by members of our school community that have spilled over to result in positive cases for people who were not present at the events. Again, these known transmissions have occurred outside of school, not in our care and not following the safety protocols we have in place at school. RSU #34 schools remain open, and we continue taking great care with daily symptom screening protocols, hand hygiene, social distancing, and mask wearing. Our students and staff are doing a wonderful job following these protocols. Over the course of the summer and fall we implemented many facilities modifications such as Plexiglas barriers and ventilation system upgrades to further reduce the chance of school-based transmission. The data have supported, in Maine and across the world, that with such precautions in place school-based transmission is unlikely. If you have questions regarding exposure times or clearance back into the building due to travel, illness, or exposure call our school nurses for guidance or email them. School nurses can assist you with return dates to school for all Covid-19 related scenarios. We continue to urge all members of our community to follow the recommendations of disease experts in slowing the spread of COVID-19: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/coronavirus-resources (simple summary: stay home with any COVID symptoms, wear your mask, wash your hands, keep your distance). Thank you for your efforts! General Information: As always, please remember to conduct daily screening, and use our COVID hotline when you learn of a positive or likely case of COVID-19 in our school community. The web hotline can be accessed through www.rsu34.org, or you can call 827-7171 and choose option zero. For general Covid-19 questions, please dial Maine’s helpline at 211 or 1-866-811-5695. You can also text your zip code to 898-211 or email info@211maine.org. Please call your healthcare provider with questions about symptoms. More information can be found at www.maine.gov/dhhs/coronavirus or www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. Covid-19 is a respiratory illness that may range from mild to severe. Some people may be asymptomatic (no symptoms at all,) but may still test positive. Covid-19 may be more severe in adults 60 years and older and anyone with underlying health conditions. The virus mainly spreads through droplets and aerosols, such as when an infected person coughs or sneezes and an uninfected person breathes in the virus. Signs and symptoms of Covid-19 may include: Fever or chills, new or uncontrollable cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, and nausea/vomiting/diarrhea. The Maine CDC recommended preventative measures to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. This includes: · Wearing a mask in public. · Washing your hands with soap and warm water after using the bathroom, before and after eating, after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. · When soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. · Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands and avoid close contact with people who are sick. · Cover your cough or sneeze and disinfect your hands afterwards. · Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaner or wipe.
Dr. Jon Doty
Our latest issue of Community Connections is off to the printers! Many thanks to the staff and community members who shared pictures and articles. Here's a link: https://5il.co/oswv view image
Dr. Jon Doty
Dear RSU #34 Community, On Friday Maine updated the COVID-19 School Health Advisory System. Statewide evidence continues to indicate lower transmission of COVID-19 in schools relative to the general population. We greatly appreciate the hard work of our staff, students, and community to follow our screening and safety protocols! Please be sure to continue the habit of daily home screening; the screening questions are on our COVID-19 page at rsu34.org (http://rsu34me.apptegy.us/o/rsu-34/page/covid19--2). Our quarantine requirements are posted at the same page, along with the weblink to our COVID hotline (you can also call 827-7171, option zero). Please don’t hesitate to use the COVID hotline to let us know of positive or suspected cases of COVID-19 in our school community so we can take appropriate steps. If you need general guidance, please call the state of Maine’s help line at 211, or email that helpline: info@211maine.org THANK YOU so much for your tremendous hard work to keep our students, staff, and schools safe! Direct link to screening questions: https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/files/inline-files/Pre-Screening%20Tool_11.pdf view image
Dr. Jon Doty
Dear RSU #34 Community, On Friday Maine updated the COVID-19 School Health Advisory System. Statewide evidence continues to indicate lower transmission of COVID-19 in schools relative to the general population. We greatly appreciate the hard work of our staff, students, and community to follow our screening and safety protocols! Please be sure to continue the habit of daily home screening; the screening questions are on our COVID-19 page at rsu34.org (http://rsu34me.apptegy.us/o/rsu-34/page/covid19--2). Our quarantine requirements are posted at the same page, along with the weblink to our COVID hotline (you can also call 827-7171, option zero). Please don’t hesitate to use the COVID hotline to let us know of positive or suspected cases of COVID-19 in our school community so we can take appropriate steps. If you need general guidance, please call the state of Maine’s help line at 211, or email that helpline: info@211maine.org THANK YOU so much for your tremendous hard work to keep our students, staff, and schools safe! Direct link to screening questions: https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/files/inline-files/Pre-Screening%20Tool_11.pdf view image
Dr. Jon Doty
Re: Opt-Out of Maine’s Sara Alert System Good morning, This is a proactive message sent to all RSU #34 families and staff, regarding the ability to opt out of Maine’s Sara Alert system. Please see information below about the purpose of Sara Alert, and what to do if you would like to opt out. -- If you are a staff person or a student identified as a close contact of a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 at school, you will be notified by the school through a phone call or email and provided initial guidance on next steps, including quarantining and testing. Once you have received notification from the school, the Maine CDC’s Sara Alert system will begin sending you follow up guidance via text messages. Sara Alert is an automated system that uses daily text messages to help people who have been identified as close contacts to monitor for symptoms after exposure. All students and staff will be enrolled in Sara Alert if they are identified as having been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person while at school. There is nothing required of you to be automatically enrolled in this service. If, however, you would like to opt out of Sara Alert, please complete this brief form by January 15: tinyurl.com/y3ayqxsw. If you do opt out of the Sara Alert system, and are later identified as a close contact to a positive case, you may receive follow up phone calls to confirm you have opted to not receive the automated text messages from Maine CDC. Additional assistance is provided to Maine residents who have been identified as a close contact of a COVID-19 positive person, and need support during quarantine. You may request this assistance by using this online form: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/form/covid-19-referral-form Additional information about community care and social support is available here: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/coronavirus-resources/support-for-isolation-quarantine, or you can send an email to dhhs.covid.socialsupport@Maine.gov On behalf of our RSU #34 team, thank you for your hard work to help keep the spread of COVID-19 slow!