October 17, 2020
Dear RSU 71 Students, Parents, Staff, School Board, and Community,
Today we learned of two more cases of COVID-19 in our district, one at the Ames Elementary School in Searsmont and the other at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast. One bus route is affected. All students and staff impacted have been called by a school nurse or administrator today. To ensure confidentiality, we cannot provide additional information. However, Ames school nurse Shannon Robbins and THMS school nurse Robyn Mailloux will be happy to answer general questions about COVID-19 itself. Here are our plans:
Ames Elementary School - We will need to move to remote learning at Ames Elementary School through October 30. A cleaning company will come to school on Monday, October 19th, to do a thorough cleaning and disinfection. Teachers will come to school on Tuesday, October 19, to gather materials for students. We ask that parents, grandparents, and guardians go to the school on Wednesday, October 21, to pick up 1:1 devices and materials. All students will remain in remote learning through October 30, returning to school on Monday, November 2nd.
Troy Howard Middle School - We will need to close the school on Monday and Tuesday, October 19 and 20th, for thorough cleaning and disinfection, and to find substitutes for the staff needing to quarantine. Students in two homerooms and two classes will need to stay in remote learning through October 29th, returning to school on October 30th. All students whose parents did not receive telephone calls today may return to school on Wednesday, October 21st.
Please feel free to contact me, Ames principal Lori Smail, and THMS principals Bruce Bailey and Alta Seekins.
I regret needing to share this difficult news with our community and hope you will join me in rooting for all the individuals impacted by this pernicious pandemic and the chaos it creates.
Sincerely and faithfully yours,
Mary Alice
