1.8.2021
Dear Brewer Schools’ Families and Staff,
This letter is to inform you that an individual associated with Brewer Community School (BCS) has recently tested positive for COVID-19.
As a result there are some students and staff members who will quarantine over the coming days. All close contacts (and, with students, also their parents and guardians) have been identified, called, and sent written information to help with next steps.
Other than students (and their families) and staff who have already been identified as a close contact and reached by phone and/or email, no other BCS student or staff member is affected. The school will remain open and on its regular schedule next week, and Brewer High School is not affected and so will also remain open and on its regular schedule.
BCS will have a bag lunch available for those students who are quarantining. Here is the lunch request form. Families can pick up the lunch by driving up to the front entrance at Brewer Community School between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on the day the lunch is needed. Please submit your form by 9:00 a.m. of that day.
As always we continue to ask families to monitor students for any symptoms. The same is true for Brewer School Department staff. Individuals should call a health care provider if they develop symptoms. It is important to call a healthcare facility before showing up in person if symptoms appear.
People should stay home when they are sick. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that ranges from mild to severe. It can be more severe in adults 60 years and older and in those with underlying conditions. The virus mainly spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes and an uninfected person breathes in the virus. Signs and symptoms include the following:
• fever or chills
• cough
• shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• fatigue
• muscle or body aches
• headache
• new loss of taste or smell
• sore throat
• congestion or runny nose
• nausea or vomiting or diarrhea
Please keep in mind that many things can cause respiratory illness, so students and staff should be up-to-date on influenza and routine vaccinations.
A negative test result does not get an individual out of quarantine. Maine CDC recommends prevention measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We have incorporated these into our Keys to Safety in the Brewer Schools.
Cases do not spread inside a school setting at the same rate as in the general public due to diligent observance of masking, distancing, and other safety practices. We remain vigilant about our safety plans and are taking every precaution in the actions outlined above. Our excellent custodial team fully disinfects the entirety of all our schools every single evening.
These are anxious times, and we are your partners in taking deliberate, safety conscious steps based on guidance from the epidemiologists at the Maine CDC in order to keep our community safe and our schools open.
Questions for the school should be directed to BCS school nurse Carol Warmuth RN, BCS principals Allison Kahkonen and Jason Richards, or assistant principal Sam Pangburn, all at 404-5702; or high school nurse Cathy Sherman RN at 989-4140, or superintendent Gregg Palmer at 989-3160.
Sincerely,
Gregg Palmer, Superintendent of School
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