Jan. 8 update from MSD

In this update:

• COVID-19 update: We continue to track on campus and remote cases
• Return to in-person learning: Cases of COVID-19 remain very high
• Board of School Committee: Next regular meeting is Monday, Jan. 11
• Food assistance: Meal options are available
• Buy a bag to support the Bookmobile: Hannaford will make donation
• YMCA sports fitness class: Focused on athletics for teen members

COVID-19 update: Manchester School District remains in remote status, except for some specialized programs. We continue to track cases both on campus and remote. You can find that data on our dashboard. We ask families to notify the school if your student tests positive for COVID-19, even if your student is learning remotely.

Since our last report, the Health Department has confirmed another cluster – this one at Jewett Elementary School.

Return to in-person learning: The number of cases of COVID-19 in the city of Manchester are extremely high. In order to return to in-person learning, cases must drop below the high risk level in our metric. That is a rate of 10 daily new cases – in recent days, Manchester’s rate has been between 65 and 72 daily new cases.

This means that it is unlikely that we will be able to return to in-person learning as hoped on Jan. 19. It remains the goal of Manchester School District to safely return students to in-person learning. We can do that sooner if we all continue to focus on these basic prevention measures:

• To universally wear masks.
• Maintain physical distancing.
• Avoid congregate settings or crowds.
• Do more outdoors, as opposed to indoors.
• Wash hands frequently.

Board of School Committee: The board will hold its next regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11. The meeting is virtual and will be broadcast on Manchester Public TV Channel 22. You can watch a streaming version of the meeting at https://www.manchestertv.org/22.

We will be asking the board to approve a revised COVID-19 metric. The reason for the revision is to bring ours in line with the state. When we created our metric last summer, the state had yet to create one. One key change is to place 12th graders higher on the priority list to return to in-person instruction. You can find the proposed metric change in the meeting agenda packet.

Food assistance: Manchester School District offers meals free of charge to learners in remote status on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We distribute meals by bus and also offer pickup at some schools. You can find the bus schedules and school pickup locations at www.mansd.org/covid-19-resources/food-resources.

Community partners also provide the following meal options:

• Weekend meal bags: Thanks to our partnership with the Granite YMCA, Granite United Way and SNHU, we continue to offer weekend meal bags. You can pick up these bags on Fridays from buses or at school pickup sites. In addition, you can pick up a bag at the YMCA on Fridays (see info below).
• YMCA grab-and-go meals: The YMCA of Downtown Manchester continues to offer grab-and-go meals for youths 18 and younger. Meals are available Monday through Friday. You can pick up meals on the Stark Street side of the building between the hours of 4:30 and 5:30 pm.

Buy a bag to support the Bookmobile: Hannaford has selected the Bookmobile for its Community Bag program for the month of January. For every purchase of a $2.50 reusable Community Bag from the store location on John Devine Drive, Hannaford will donate $1 to the Bookmobile.

YMCA sports fitness class: The YMCA of Downtown Manchester is now offering a sports fitness class as part of its teen memberships. The class includes strengthening exercises that are specific to athletic movements and sport performance. Improve stability with drills that focus on your core and other small muscle groups while building functional strength that will help prevent common sport-related injuries. You can find more information here.