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Vaccinations, Remote Learning and Safety Updates

 

Dear parents, guardians, and members of the Newmarket community,

It has been a very busy and productive week; vaccines, remote learning at the recreation department, and safety for all.

Vaccination Update. Last Friday, we were able to complete step one in the vaccination process! Sixty-eight percent (68%) of our staff received their first vaccine at our clinic including coaches, substitutes, and bus drivers; twenty percent (20%) were already vaccinated. In addition, we were able to offer vaccines to a significant number of community members. In total, 512 vaccines were administered at our clinic. The second clinic will take place on Friday, April 9th. This means by Friday, April 23rd, eighty-eight percent (88%) of our staff will be vaccinated. We would like to thank the SAU staff, our Town Emergency Management Team, the Walgreens clinic workers, and our regional public health workers for all their work to bring this to our community and making this a positive experience for those who participated.

What does this mean for our future? Will our safety protocols change? We are very fortunate to have been able to open our schools, offer some athletic and co-curricular opportunities for students, and keep our schools open for in-person learning for much of the year. This was possible because we all agreed to put safety, based on science, as our guiding tenant and were able to overcome endless obstacles along the way. COVID related safety protocols will be part of our reality for the foreseeable future. That said, with staff being vaccinated, we are convening a taskforce to review current safety protocols and define the safety standards we will follow for the remainder of the year. This taskforce will provide a recommendation to the School Board for consideration on April 15th. We are looking for two parents to serve on this taskforce. If you are interested and available to participate as a member of the task force, please forward your name, phone number, and email address to Patty Banfield (banfieldp@newmarket.k12.nh.us ) by noontime on Tuesday, March 30th. Meetings will take place after school. We will have our first meeting next Friday at 2:00 PM and hold at least two or three additional meetings after that but before April 15th.

Remote Learning Option for NES Students at the Recreation Department. The recreation department is very excited to announce that the Remote Learning Program will be operating the week of March 29 - April 1, 2021.  The program opens at 8:30 am and closes at 2:30 pm, drop off begins at 8:15 am.  Remote learning begins at 8:30 am, participants must be seated and ready to learn by 8:30 am. Lunch and breakfast will be provided. If you are interested, click here to register for the Remote Learning Program, 3/25 - 4/1/21 .

Safety for all. Last week we learned of the tragic killings of eight people, including six Asian American women in the Atlanta, Georgia area.  The Newmarket School District is deeply troubled by these killings and the impact they have had on our community, particularly on our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members.  Nationally, members of the AAPI community have experienced increasing incidents of hate speech and violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.  This week, we lost an additional 10 American lives in a mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado. As a district, we commit to providing a safe, inclusive, nurturing environment where all students and staff feel welcome. We seek to inspire all members of our learning community to develop their individual potential to become life-long learners and actively engaged citizens in our diverse and changing world. We strive to be an inclusive and diverse organization and as such, we strongly condemn all acts of violence, discrimination, bullying, hate, and bias against all people.

For more information and resources about diversity, equity, and inclusion, please visit United Against Hate
For more information on how to take action and support the AAPI community, please visit
Stop AAPI Hate.

Susan K. Givens, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

 

 

 

 

 

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