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Dear Families and Members of the Newmarket Community,
We hope you are enjoying the first days of summer! It has been an unusually warm and sunny June for New Hampshire, which will hopefully allow us to enjoy our chilly coastal waters before the leaves begin to turn once more!
Just prior to end of the school year, the New Hampshire Department of Health Services released new guidance related to the relaxing of COVID protocols, and that guidance was instrumental as we worked to develop our Safe School Opening Plan. This plan was developed by the Newmarket Safe Schools Reopening Task Force, which was composed of staff, parents, and members of the school board. The plan was approved by the school board on Thursday, June 22 and went into effect immediately. While the plan recommends that masks be optional for staff and students, both indoors and outdoors, federal law currently still requires that masks be worn on public transportation, which includes school buses. For that reasons, students will still be required to wear masks on school buses for now. We anticipate that this guidance will be revised in the fall. The full reopening plan is attached to this correspondence and is available on the district website!
Finally, the New Hampshire Department of Education wants to hear from families and community members. The 603 Bright Futures Survey has been created by the NHDOE and is available for your response until June 30th. This is not a survey developed by the district or stakeholder groups.
The family surveys are in part how schools will gather their Special Education Family data to support the NHDOE's requirement for reporting for Indicator 8 (parent involvement). The first half of the survey is for all families to provide feedback, and the second half is for parents and guardians of students with IEPs.
Survey Link - please click on the appropriate survey.
- Families in K-12, Preschool, and Private Schools: bit.ly/nhdoefamily
- Community Members*: bit.ly/nhdoecommunity
* Please note that "Community Members" are those who do not have students enrolled in New Hampshire public schools. Those who do should complete the family surveys instead.
Please take this time to enjoy the glorious weather and long days!
Susan K. Givens, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools