Dear Parents/Guardians and School Community:

Happy New Year! 

We look forward to welcoming our students back to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. During the past month, there has been an increase in COVID-19 cases nationwide due to the Delta and Omicron variants.  As we continue to live through this ever-changing pandemic, we are committed to keeping our schools safe and open for in-person instruction. However, moving forward, it is possible that short-term closures of classrooms or individual schools will be necessary due to the transmission of COVID-19 variants.   

It is important that we all remain flexible as the pandemic evolves in our communities. New Brunswick Public Schools is working with local health departments, monitoring COVID-19 cases, and using data to make decisions. We are prepared to adjust as needed. 

Health and Safety
Parents are strongly encouraged to monitor their children for signs of illness by completing a daily health symptom screening. Furthermore, it is imperative that we all work toward ensuring the following:

• Keep your children home when sick and when someone in the household has COVID-19 compatible symptoms or COVID-19.
• Consider vaccinating your child when eligible, which is the best protection against serious illness caused by COVID-19. 
• Take advantage of frequent COVID-19 testing opportunities and/or order a free at-home COVID-19 test kit. 
• Remind your child about proper mask wearing in school, on the bus to and from school, hand washing, and social distancing. 
• Be sure your child brings home their laptop device and charger every night.

City of New Brunswick Testing and Vaccination Resources
Frequent COVID-19 testing is a critical strategy to identify infected individuals to help prevent further person-to-person transmission. The following links provide COVID testing and vaccination information in New Brunswick. 

• Testing Information
• Vaccination Information

Updates to Quarantine & Isolation Guidance
We are aware of the recent CDC announcement that changes the recommended quarantine and isolation period from 10 days to 5 days. We are currently determining how this impacts schools during the very high transmission rate in Middlesex County. For the time being, we are continuing to follow our existing guidelines regarding students who test positive for COVID-19 or are identified as close contacts. (Students considered close contacts who are fully vaccinated or who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 90 days will not be required to quarantine while they are symptom free).

Return Guidance for Students with COVID-19 and Close Contacts to School Related Exposures
Students who are COVID-19 positive or close contacts to school related exposures are able to return to school when ALL of the following criteria are met:

For isolated students: 

• Student completes the required isolation period from symptom onset for symptomatic students OR since testing positive for COVID-19 for asymptomatic students; AND
• Student is fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication; AND
• Student provides a doctor’s note  with the expected return date to their attending school nurse.

For quarantined students: 

• Student completes the required quarantine period from in school related exposure, remains symptoms free, and provides a negative test result administered on day 7 of quarantine.
• The school nurse will provide guidance to be followed in the case of an out-of-school related exposure. 

Athletics
Athletic practices and events will continue, following our existing vaccination and testing requirements. However, individual teams or events may need to be paused for the safety of all participants.

Thank you,