I know everyone is excited for the shortened week and holiday break.  Given the current high level of community spread in Iowa and other communities, the CDCis recommending against travel and gathering with others outside your household.   If you do plan to gather with others this holiday week, please take steps to keep everyone safe.

The CDC recommends:

• Anyone who is ill or in isolation/quarantine should stay home
• Wear a mask and maintain physical distance of 6 feet
• Limit shared utensils and family-style passing of bowls
• Have households sit together, preferably at separate tables
• Open windows and use an exhaust fan (or box fan) to increase ventilation by pulling more air in and pushing more air out
• Click here for more information.

If you have any symptoms of illness in the 7-14 days after gathering, be sure to stay home and get tested for COVID-19.  We typically see an increased number of cases after each holiday.

While we are temporarily in the virtual mode, please continue to notify the school when your student is feeling ill.  We would all like to return to hybrid learning when conditions improve, but it’s important we maintain a healthy environment for our students and staff to return to.  In order for this to happen, we need to know if:

• Your student is feeling ill or being tested for COVID-19
• Your student tested positive for COVID-19 and has been told to isolate
• You have a positive COVID-19 case in your household
• Your student has been exposed to a positive COVID-19 person or has been identified as a close contact and told to quarantine

Please call attendance at 242-8220 or email molly.meek@dmschools.org.

If you have questions about how long to isolate, quarantine, etc., please ask to have the nurse call you.  You can also reach out directly to our nurses by email at jasmine.lester@dmschools.org or robin.delury@dmschools.org or by phone at 242-8220.

Thanks and be well!

Nurse Jasmine and Nurse Robin