An exciting announcement…
The Mahoney Family Event Fund hosts Kids Count in Our Community: the Pandemic Hits Home, April 7, 2021, 5:30-7pm EST.
This free webinar aims to mitigate the traumatic impact of the pandemic on kids and families by offering paths to insight and immediate tools and resources. Expert panelists will address the ongoing stressors that kids and parents are experiencing during the Covid 19 pandemic. Each will offer resources and answers to pressing questions about preventing difficult events at home. Parents, families, caregivers, educators and community are invited to attend to find support and reassurance.
Too many people are feeling continuous levels of toxic stress that are damaging to well-being and complicating daily life. Too many families are overwhelmed, under-equipped and unraveling. The panel below is guided by two concerns: How can we reduce stress for parents and caregivers? How can we reduce stress for our children?
Dr. Nancy Rappaport, Child/Adolescent Psychiatrist, Harvard Medical School, speaking on pandemic stress and nurturing the family;
District Attorney Marian Ryan, Middlesex County, reporting on the effects of the pandemic from her justice enforcement perspective and providing support resources;
Koa Goode, LSW Supervisor, Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, addressing effective tools for parenting during stressful times;
Tammy Bernardi, Prevention Specialist, Children’s Trust, Boston, talking on child safety and abuse prevention;
Fiona Jensen, Executive Director of Calmer Choice, providing easy meditation tools to promote well-being.
The Mahoney Family Events Fund raises both awareness and money for frontline organizations dealing with youth in crisis, trauma and violence. Past recipients include: United Teen Equality Center; Alternative House; Center for Hope and Healing; the Michael B. Christensen Center; Strongwater Farm; Tewksbury Police Department Domestic Violence Unit and Notre Dame Academy.
The Mahoney Family Event Fund is a fiscally sponsored partnership with the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF). Please consider your most generous support of this event by going to the GLCF website at https://glcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?funit_id=1410
Lowell Telecommunications Corporation is our technical partner for this event. Register on their website homepage or at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dCLWDaA_SQOvojpVC6qnIg
For information please go to our webpage at www.mahoneyfamilyfund.com or contact Event Fund founder Maureen Mahoney at mahoney.maureen@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Dr.HughRuthandJohnMahoney for weekly updates.
Wishing you and yours good health and safety during these challenging days.
Thank you from the Mahoney Family Event Fund Committee: Maureen Mahoney, Peg Shanahan, Maura Sullivan Norton, Judy Lalime, and Barbara Dunsford.
Upcoming Webinar...Kids Count in Our Community: The Pandemic Hits Home
COVID-19 Housing Resources:
Assistance with Utilities:
Two individuals in our Drury High School community have tested positive for COVID-19 as reported to the district on Sunday, March 21, 2021. These individuals were tested outside of the pooled testing program and identified for an exposure through contact tracing.
These new cases impact Drury High School and require all students and staff to move to remote learning for this week beginning on Monday, March 22, 2021 through Friday, March 26, 2021 for quarantine. Students and staff can return to the hybrid instructional model on Monday, March 29, 2021.
The three elementary schools do not have any reported cases at this time and will remain in the hybrid model with regular transportation and food service.
Remote students will be able to obtain a “grab and go” meal service at Brayton and Colegrove Park Elementary Schools on Tuesday and Friday from 11:00 to noon. There will NOT be a food service site for remote students at Greylock Apartments or Mohawk Forest for this week.
Please see the detailed COVID-19 data report for March 18, 2021.
North Adams Mobile Food Bank on Friday morning, March 19th, from 10:00 to 11:00 at the Brien Center parking lot. All are welcome!
Dear Staff, Students, and Parents/Guardians,
I am writing to inform you that an individual in our Drury High School Off Campus Programs community has tested positive for COVID-19 as reported to the district on Wednesday, March 17, 2021.
This new case impacts the Drury Off Campus programs located at the Armory and requires all students and staff assigned to those programs (formerly E3 Academy and NBA) to move to remote learning for the remainder of this week and Monday, March 22, 2021 for quarantine. Students enrolled in the off campus programs at the Armory can return to the hybrid instructional model on Tuesday, March 23, 2021.
All other students at Drury High School are able to remain in the hybrid instructional model.
Our first responsibility is to keep our students and staff safe. We have been planning for this scenario as part of our COVID-19 surveillance testing program and have a comprehensive plan in place to sanitize the facilities at the Armory, inform staff and families whose students were at risk of exposure or in close contact, and support the affected family as they navigate this stressful experience.
Though we cannot provide specific information about the individual who tested positive, North Adams Public Schools has implemented our protocols for notification, disinfection, and quarantine for staff and students who may have been exposed. Staff and students identified through contact tracing were notified by School Nurse Leader Lauren Gage regarding testing. Parents of students who were in close contact with the individual were notified privately. We are also following all Department of Health protocols, including collaborating with our local board of health to complete contact tracing. Additionally, we are asking those parents whose students are tested for COVID-19 at their health care provider’s office or at the Stop the Spread Center located at 97 Church Street, North Adams to please report the results to the school nurse.
The pooled testing program assists us in determining if there is potential of community transmission of COVID-19. If you would like your student to be tested please complete a consent form. To complete a Pooled Testing Consent Form, go to: https://www.napsk12.org/page/pooledcovid19testing. Testing takes about 5-10 minutes, and testing times would be before school at 7:15AM, and at lunch at 11:00 AM. If you have any questions about the pooled testing program, please email the school nurse Lauren Gage at lgage@napsk12.org.
We will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue in person learning. We are also providing remote learning for all students required to quarantine at home to continue to provide instruction, structure, and an emotional connection to the classroom during a time that we know will be challenging.
For more information on COVID-19 symptoms and testing, visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-covid-19-testing#where-can-get-a-test?-.
Please contact us immediately should you or someone in your home begin to show symptoms. We are committed to continuous communication with and support of our families. If there is additional transmission as a result of this case or a separate case, we will send out another message immediately. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Barbara Malkas, Ed.D.
Superintendent of North Adams Public Schools
Reminder: All North Adams Public Schools parents/guardians of students in grades PreK through 12, must complete the on-line enrollment commitment form by March 19th at 5:00 pm to indicate your student(s) commitment to full in-person or full remote learning. Thank you.
Trust the facts, get the vax!
https://youtu.be/S5yG3ICC3qI
Please see the detailed COVID-19 data as of March 11, 2021.
Upcoming virtual College Planning Webinar.
COVID-19 Vaccines in MA: What you need to know...
Upcoming programming by Roots Teen Center.
Please see the March 4, 2021 COVID-19 Detailed Data Report.
North Adams Mobile Food Bank on Friday, 3/5, from 10:00 to 11:00 at the Brien Center--all are welcome!
Dear Staff, Students, and Parents/Guardians,
I am writing to inform you that an individual in our Drury High School community has tested positive for COVID-19 after becoming symptomatic. Our first responsibility is to keep our students and staff safe. We have been planning for this scenario during our reopening planning process and have a comprehensive plan in place to sanitize the school, inform staff and families whose students were at risk of exposure or in close contact, and support the affected family as they navigate this stressful experience.
Our student body and staff have been closely adhering to the safety protocols including mask wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing. We are grateful to our families for their continued efforts to keep students home at the first sign of symptoms. These measures, taken in combination, greatly reduce the risk of additional transmission.
Though we cannot provide specific information about the individual who tested positive, North Adams Public Schools will be implementing our protocols for notification, disinfection, and quarantine for staff and students who may have been exposed. For this reason, the 7th and 8th Grade Academy classes will be remote for Thursday and Friday, March 4 and 5, 2021. School is expected to resume in the hybrid model for 7th and 8th Grade Academy on Monday, March 8th, 2021. Staff and students identified through contact tracing will be notified by School Nurse Leader Lauren Gage regarding testing, including using the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid results test. All other 7th and 8th Grade Academy staff are to report to Drury High School for remote instruction from their classrooms.
Parents of students who were in close contact with the individual will be notified privately. All close contacts should be tested. We are also following all Department of Health protocols, including collaborating with our local board of health to complete contact tracing. Additionally, we are asking those parents whose students are tested for COVID-19 at their health care provider’s office or at the Stop the Spread Center located at 97 Church Street, North Adams to please report the results to the school nurse.
For those students in 7th and 8th Grade Academy that have not been notified of a potential exposure, pool testing is still available to you this week.
If you would like your student to be tested, and have completed a Pool Testing Consent Form, please email the school nurse Lauren Gage at lgage@napsk12.org and she will schedule you for testing. Testing takes about 5-10 minutes, and testing times would be before school at 7:15AM, and at lunch at 11:00 AM. In your email, please include your student's name, grade and preferred testing time.
To complete a Pooled Testing Consent Form, go to: https://www.napsk12.org/page/pooledcovid19testing
To further prevent transmission of the virus to other staff and students, we have sanitized the school with a focus on those areas frequented by the individual that tested positive. We will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue in person learning in the hybrid model. We are also providing remote learning for all students required to quarantine at home to continue to provide instruction, structure, and an emotional connection to the classroom during a time that we know will be challenging.
For more information on COVID-19 symptoms and testing, visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-covid-19-testing#where-can-get-a-test?-.
Please contact us immediately should you or someone in your home begin to show symptoms.
We are committed to continuous communication with and support of our families. If there is additional transmission as a result of this case or a separate case, we will send out another message immediately. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Barbara Malkas, Ed.D.
Trust the facts. Get the vax!
https://youtu.be/ieT9k83bDaA
Please click on this link to see information on the upcoming Miss Hall's STEM Program: HTTPS://enginmisshalls.Wordpress.com
COVID-19 – Stay the Course: Information from Mayor Tom Bernard and the City of North Adams the things we all can do to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our community and get back to the things we love as soon as we can.
https://youtu.be/SbSt9kZ7f1o