Author: KDemmons

2022-2023 BUS SCHEDULES

Dear Students, Staff, and Parent/Guardians,

The Calais School Board has asked us to survey all students, staff and parents/guardian on the school’s current mask mandate. Please note, if you have more than one child attending a Calais school, please fill out a survey for each child.

This survey is an opportunity for you to help the school by sharing your opinions. Your opinions are important and the school wants to hear them. We appreciate your feedback and honest answers which is why your answers are anonymous. The data collected through this survey will be used to help make an informed decision. This data will be shared with the School Board at their meeting on March 2, 2022.

The following links are to the Maine DOE Standard Operating Procedure that is currently being followed by the Calais School Department as well as updated memos made by the DOE. These links will show information pertaining to both mandatory masking and optional masking. Please feel free to review this information prior to submitting your answers.

https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/files/inline-files/School%20SOP%202.16.22.pdf

https://www.maine.gov/doe/covid-19/toolkit

We at the Calais School Department appreciate your time and opinions greatly. Please access the survey at the link below.

https://forms.gle/Fd391BjVokfE8H3C7

Calais Middle/High School

Calais Elementary School

St Croix Regional Technical Center

Calais Alternative School

To Parent / Guardian and Employees;

At Calais School Department we seek to maintain a safe environment for employees, students, families, and the community. To support those goals, we have partnered with Concentric by Ginkgo to provide an optional and free pooled testing program https://www.concentricbyginkgo.com/.

But first, we need your help! We are requesting each family to participate in this program to help safeguard the wellbeing of our entire school community. Please sign the consent request below and read the attached overview from Concentric to answer some questions you may have.

A paper consent form is available upon request. Please contact your child’s school.

To get started, please fill out the consent form with your permission to perform a COVID-19 pooled test for your student at Calais School Department. This process should take no more than 5 minutes to complete using a computer or a smartphone.

1. First, click here (https://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com/minor-consent).

2. Then, enter this access code:

   1. **Calais Middle/High School code [UHLIUC] (That is a capital i, not an L or 1)

   2. **This is the code only for our Cobscook Experiential Program Site in Trescott [CCLCII] (Those are capital i, not an L or 1)

   3. **Calais Elementary code is different [CES2021]

   4. ** Calais Alternative code is also different [CAS2021]

3. Finally, enter your child’s information, and you’re done!

Note: If you need to provide consent for more than one child, please complete the process once for each child.

“Our school is using a rapid antigen test to provide “quick tests” for any individual in a positive pool.”

What is pooled testing?

Pooling can test 25 people using one test. All students in a class, pod, or cohort swab their own noses and place their swabs in a single tube (that’s the pooling step). The samples in that tube are then run as a single sample, using one test. See it in action here.

https://www.concentricbyginkgo.com/how-it-works/

Why pooled testing? Why should my student participate?

You know the old saying: “knowledge is power.” Tools like pooled testing empower us to make great decisions. Without knowing the specific prevalence of COVID-19 in our school, it’s tough for us to make informed decisions about safeguarding our school community, returning to school, or continuing in-person learning.

Only students with completed consent forms are able to participate in testing. If you do not want your family to participate, your student will not be included in the testing program. Though, we hope you do!

Testing empowers us to make these informed decisions about in-person learning and allows students, teachers, and staff to come to school with peace of mind.

To learn more about pooled testing, watch this video from another school using this service. http://concentricbyginkgo.com/#salem

For more information, visit Concentric by Ginkgo’s website https://www.concentricbyginkgo.com/ or reach out to your child’s school.

Thank you,

Mary Anne Spearin