FHS Varsity Student Athletes / Performers, Parents / Guardians, and Staff,
We know that these past few days have been frustrating with the disruptions to the anticipation of both hybrid school as well as games / performances.
Understanding that out of doors events have been determined as safe by our health and safety officials, we are writing with a solution to allow for games / performances to begin on November 9, 2020.
FHS is in the process of looking to team up with a local healthcare provider to allow for large scale Covid-19 tests to be administered on site at Franklin High School. We are aiming to hold this on Saturday, November 7, 2020. Plans are still developing with the idea that students will be given the opportunity to take the test and upon receiving a negative test result would then be cleared to play / perform in upcoming scheduled events.
Because we are still working on the feasibility of this, the workaround (in order to get testing accomplished in a timely fashion -- Rapid Test results are back within 1-2 days and PCR tests take 4-5 days), student athletes/performers may obtain Covid-19 tests independently. Upon proof of testing negative, they would be cleared to play/perform in next week’s scheduled events.
We will also ask that players/performers complete one additional step of filling out a survey each day of play to assure ourselves and others that everyone is safe. This survey screens players/performers about Covid-19 symptoms and exposure to the virus, as well as asks participants to attest that they did not attend any large gatherings over the 10/30 - 11/1 weekend that did not practice social distancing or wearing of masks including the Halloween party that resulted in the 2 week cancellation of events.
All school handbook rules regarding participation in extracurriculars still apply.
Here is a link to COVID testing sites in MA (if unable to attend 11/7/20 or if we are unable to host a testing site on the FHS campus) https://memamaps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=eba3f0395451430b9f631cb095febf13
We wish we could offer testing to all of our students in order to return to school in hybrid instruction. At this time, it is not feasible to test approximately 600 students each week. Additionally, the outdoor nature of these activities is being considered as compared to the indoor nature of school and other clubs and activities. We sincerely hope that more robust testing is available in the future in order to facilitate as much in person teaching and learning as possible.
We wish to extend our regret that the golf tournament was held on Monday and that the timing of the event did not facilitate participation of those players. Many aspects of managing through this pandemic are out of our control and require additional time for us to develop novel responses.
We wish to extend our sincere condolences to the students who had been scheduled to play and acknowledge this loss of experience for you and your families.
Sincerely,
Tom Angelo
FHS Athletic Director
Sara Ahern
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| FHS Path to Return to Play/Perform |
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