Hello, JFK Families.
Happy New Year! As we enter the new year, I want to thank you for your continued support of our school. We are so grateful to you for the trust you have placed in us to provide your children with a quality education.
As we look ahead to 2023 and all of the exciting moments it has in store for us, we must also face the reality that our school is entering a high-risk period with the spread of COVID-19 variants, the flu, and other respiratory viral illnesses. We need your support to ensure that all students and staff have an environment that is safe and healthy and ensures that learning can continue uninterrupted.
As you may already know, Superintendent Skipper recently shared protocols on safety measures to reduce the risk of respiratory viral illness transmission, which asks and expects everyone to wear masks temporarily from January 4th through January 13th. Masks will be available at our school for anyone who needs one, and no one will be disciplined or sent home if they refuse to wear one. We hope all community members support this request, which will last eight school days, to ensure students and staff can be fully present and participating in school.
Additionally, please see the following safety measures to promote sanitary practices at our school:
- Wash your hands–Perform frequent hand washing and cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
- Don’t come to school if you’re sick–use our home health checklist to monitor your symptoms.
- Get vaccinated and boosted! Visit the City of Boston’s Vaccine Clinics or your medical provider.
- Wear your mask indoors! Wearing your mask is always a safe bet!
- Use your free Covid-19 rapid test before you go to school–Use the free rapid antigen test provided to each student. Test even if you’re not experiencing any symptoms.
- Call your student’s school to report a Covid-19 positive case–If your student tests positive for Covid-19, please report it immediately.
- Refrain from sharing food and/or drinks with others.
We understand that these changes may not be what we envisioned for our return to school, but we are confident that these efforts will ultimately benefit our students and our school. Please see a Frequently Asked Questions document for your reference relative to the temporary advisory.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the BPS Helpline at 617-635-8873 or via email at helpline@bostonpublicschools.org. The Helpline is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm.
We thank you in advance for your support as we work together to make this year the most successful year our school community has seen yet!
Respectfully,
Dr. Copeland