Dear Groton Area School District Families,
Welcome back for the spring semester of the 2021-22 school year. As usual, the school year is moving along quickly and turning the calendar page serves as a reminder that in only a short time, we’ll be seeing more hours of sunlight, the conclusions of winter sports, and the ending of yet another school year.
School resumes on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.
Health and wellness are a requisite to flourish academically and in extra-curricular activities. As we prepare for the return of school and a very busy school activities season, it is important to attend to the health and well-being of our children in lots of different ways.
- The forecast for this week looks to be very cold with morning wind chills well below zero. Please make sure your children are leaving the house with appropriate winter clothing – coats, hats, gloves, etc. Buses may be warm when your children board, but it’s wise to be prepared in the event of a breakdown. The same should be considered for all our students driving themselves and their siblings to and from school.
- It is important to continue monitoring your children for symptoms of COVID-19 or any other infectious illness and stay home when showing symptoms. For example, late last fall, we saw several cases of strep throat, and we know that statewide numbers of Influenza and COVID are all on the rise. A decision to keep your sick child home for a day or two, while inconvenient, may help to keep other children and staff healthy and able to be in school.
- The Board of Education will be considering a formal change to our written “Learn On” plan on Monday, January 10, specifically as it pertains to updated CDC recommendations around shortened isolation periods for individuals who test positive for COVID-19 but who remain asymptomatic or whose symptoms resolve or improve before the previous mark of ten days. Hopefully, this will allow yet another mark towards a return toward normalcy and less time away from school for asymptomatic students and staff.
- Don’t hesitate to discuss your children’s mental and emotional health and well-being with them. If things aren’t going well for them, please be in contact with your child’s teacher, principal, or the school counselor so we can help.
We will continue to provide at-home COVID testing options for families until such a time we are unable to get a regular supply of the testing kits. To opt-in or opt-out of receiving tests, please contact either school office 605-397-8381 (MS/HS) or 605-397-2317 (Elementary).
The next few months will be full of opportunities, both in the classroom and in extra-curricular activities whether school sponsored or not. We encourage you and your children to take full advantage and wish you all the very best in 2022.