May 9, 2022
Greetings;
As we enter the last stretch of the school year, there has been an increased number of students participating in after school activities. The Athletic, Music, and Theater Departments have seen high student interest and engagement. Other school sponsored groups, such as National Honor Society, continue with their timeline for selection and induction. At the lower grade levels, families are registering children for Kindergarten and may continue to do so as we head into the summer months.
There has been a steady uptick in positive COVID cases and overall illnesses across the district. The numbers are not presenting as high as the last “surge” MSAD #60 experienced in the winter, but a concerning trend is that different departments and schools have a very high number of staff out. To date, administrators and school staff have done a commendable job coming up with creative ways to address the high number of staff absences, but should there remain a steady increase in staff absences it may become necessary to close a school/grade/department down for a short period of time. We know it places an increased burden on families when school isn’t physically in session so this would be a last resort, but we need to ensure we have enough staff to run programs and classes in a meaningful and safe manner.
We wanted to make certain to communicate this concern with families sooner than later in order for everyone to have the opportunity to think about family plans, should we, in fact, need to have remote learning occur for a school, grade level, etc. prior to the end of the school year. We aren’t out of the woods yet.
Please note that graduation is scheduled for Friday, June 10th. We are hoping for clear skies allowing graduation to be held outdoors.
The last day for all Kindergarten through eleventh graders is June 15th. As is tradition, this will be a half day. More information will be forthcoming from each school.
For planning purposes, the 2022-2023 school calendar is attached to this correspondence.
Sincerely,
Audra Beauvais
Superintendent of Schools