Snow is a Comin'

Don't let this wonderful fall weather fool you ... winter is on its way! Just the other day, I saw some snowflakes during a brief rainstorm. Last year we used the ALERTNOW notification system to communicate school closures, delays (2-hr.) and dismissals and we will continue this practice this year. Once a decision is made to close or delay school, I will notify staff beginning @ 5:00 a.m. and parents/guardians of our students beginning @ 6:00 a.m. Early dismissals will only be used in extreme situations. If a decision is made to dismiss school early, we will notify parents/guardians as soon as possible in order to give time to get home from work or make arrangements for supervision of their children. Please make sure that your Primary Emergency Notification telephone number is accurate. This information was collected/updated at the start of the school year, but if you have changed residences or telephone numbers, please contact your school's secretary to update this information.

In addition to using the ALERTNOW system, we will be posting school closure/delay/early dismissal notices on the following radio and television stations:

1. WZID/WFEA
2. WGIR
3. WBZ-TV/Channel 4
   
4. WMUR/Channel 9
   
5. WHDH/Channel 7
6. BCTV

The current school calendar has our last day of school for students as Friday, June 11, 2010. As required by NH Department of Education (DOE) regulations, we include in our school calendar ten (10) additional "make-up" days to be used in case of closures for weather or other emergencies. These additional days are from June 14 to June 25, 2010. All NH school districts are required by NH DOE regulations to have 180 days of school. You can review the 2009/10 school calendar by clicking here.

Let's hope for a mild winter!

Bullying Prevention

The Bedford School District had a team of administrators, counselor and parent attend the NH Summer Bullying Conference this June sponsored by the NH Department of Education. This two-day conference focused on ways schools and districts can reduce bullying. One step that all districts were encouraged to take included surveying students to identify what bullying behaviors they are experiencing or observing in their schools and where/how often these behaviors are occurring.

Our district's team has continued to meet since this conference and has developed three student surveys designed to gather important data on bullying behavior in Bedford schools. The voluntary surveys will be administered during the school day in grades 3-12. Three different surveys will be used: one for grades 3/4; one for grades 5/6; and one for grades 7-12. If a student does not wish to participate or a student's parent/guardian doesn't want their child to participate, we ask parents/guardians to contact their child's school's office via email or telephone. To view the surveys click on the links below:

• Grades 3/4 Bullying Survey
• Grades 5/6 Bullying Survey
• Grades 7/12 Bullying Survey

The surveys will be administered mid-November in all schools and the results will be posted on our district and each school's website in December. We plan to use the results of these surveys to help design a second survey to gather student feedback on possible prevention strategies.

Flu Information Contact 2-1-1

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services is announcing the activation of New Hampshire’s H1N1 Flu Public Inquiry Line. DHHS is urging residents with questions about the H1N1 influenza virus, the H1N1 vaccine, and any other questions related to H1N1 to contact 2-1-1 NH by dialing 2-1-1.

“People have questions about the H1N1 virus and the status of the supply of H1N1 vaccine. We are activating the public inquiry line because we want to be sure people have access to good information, are getting answers to their questions and are taking the proper steps to prevent the spread of the virus, which is why we are activating the public inquiry line,” said Gov. John Lynch.

“We understand that people are concerned about H1N1, particularly with the delay in vaccines being made and shipped from private manufacturers. But we want to assure the public that the vaccine will be coming,” said DHHS Public Health Director Dr. José Montero. “We want to encourage everyone, in the absence of the vaccine, to take common sense preventative measures to avoid becoming sick with H1N1 or any other illness. This includes washing your hands frequently, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and staying home from work or school if you are sick.”

DHHS has been working with 2-1-1 NH, (a program of United Ways of NH in partnership with Public Service of NH, The State of NH and Exeter Hospital) to be ready to respond as the State’s public inquiry line for all questions regarding H1N1 influenza. Initially the public inquiry line will be open for H1N1 related questions from 8 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday.

For more information on H1N1 flu, visit www.dhhs.nh.gov or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu.

H1N1 Update

This past week we have experienced an increase in the number of students absent from school. Some of these absences were due to students who presented flu like symptoms. Public health officials are telling us to expect that student and staff absenteeism will increase as we progress through the flu season. We continue to take steps to reduce the spread of flu in our schools. As you probably know, flu can be easily spread from person to person. We are working closely with the NH Department of Health and Human Services Communicable Disease Control Section to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning schools.

Our school district has taken the following steps to reduce the transmission of the flu in our schools and/or address its impact on our students, staff and programs:

• Staff are regularly reminding students of good health and hygiene practices including regular hand washing and coughing/sneezing into the elbow.
• Soap/water and alcohol-based hand rubs are readily available in our schools.
• Any student who is presenting flu like symptoms is being dismissed to their parent/guardian. If students have a cough, we have them wear paper masks while they are in the school health office awaiting their parent/guardian to reduce potential transmission.
• School nurses are reporting student and staff absences to the NH Department of Health and Human Services from each school on a daily basis.
• We have suspended attendance related recognition programs until further notice.
• Principals have the flexibility to modify homework and class assignments as a result of student absenteeism.
• We are reminding students and staff that when sick, they should remain home and not to attend other functions and/or visit highly populated areas.
• Students/parents should monitor their child's Teacher Notes and/or teacher web page for information relating to assignments and class activities.

For now we are doing everything we can to keep our school district functioning as usual. Here are a few things that parents/guardians could do to help:

• Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. You can set a good example by doing this yourself.
• Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or utensils.
• Teach your children to cover up their coughs or sneezes using their elbow, instead of their hand when a tissue is unavailable.
• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
• Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.

For more information visit our web site http://www.sau25.net/ and use the Quick Links to the District web page on H1N1 information and/or visit the government web site http://www.flu.gov/ for additional information. We will continue to use my blog to notify the Bedford school community of any additional changes to our district's strategy to prevent the spread of flu.

H1N1 Update

The school district continues to have ongoing conversations with state and local health officials to keep informed in preparation of the upcoming flu season. We are encouraging students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine through their primary care physician; we remind parents to keep ill children home until they are well, and children with fever (100 degrees (F) or greater) should be kept out of school until the fever has subsided for 24 hours without the aid of fever reducing medication; and (3) we continue to remind everyone to practice good hand hygiene and cough etiquette to help reduce illness transmission. Our school nurses are monitoring student and staff absences and are reporting this data daily to the NH Department of Health and Human Services. To aid in this data collection/reporting, if you are keeping your child home for flu like symptoms, please mention this to the school nurse or secretary when calling your child in sick.

School district officials are working in conjunction with its regional public health partners to be prepared, if needed, to offer H1N1 vaccine via community-based clinics or Points of Dispensing (PODs) later this fall after those in the highest risk groups have been vaccinated and the supply of vaccine becomes readily available. I will continue to use my blog to update the Bedford school community.

A Defining Moment

As I prepare my remarks for Monday's school board meeting about the opening of the 2009/10 school year, a recent event has made a lasting impression on me. On a warm September 4th evening, I was a spectator at the Bedford High School home football game versus Milford. What I witnessed made me proud. The crowd in attendance was estimated to be in excess of 3,000; the spectators were well behaved and displayed good sportsmanship; the BHS Band and Color Guard performed a wonderful halftime program; and the BHS football team earned its first varsity win in school history defeating Milford 20-6.

It was a defining moment in the development of the Bedford School District. I heard from many that evening that this was the kind of event that they envisioned when they were supporting Bedford having a high school. The school would become a community center to which we could come together for various activities, both of school and community interest. There will be many more celebratory events in our district this year and beyond ... however, this was one I'll remember for a long time.

President's Message

I received an email from Arnie Duncan this week informing me of a national address that President Obama plans to make to students on Tuesday, September 8th @ 12:00 p.m. The description of the President's message I received from Mr. Duncan is as follows...

"In a recent interview with student reporter, Damon Weaver, President Obama announced that on September 8 – the first day of school for many children across America – he will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of education. The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens."

After receiving this notice, I spoke with the majority of the building principals concerning this broadcast and concluded that as a practical matter, given the time of day (lunch time), logistical, space, and technology limitations, and the fact that we will be in our 9th school day on September 8, that it would not be possible to share the president's message with all students in the district. I have directed all staff and building administration to conduct a normal day of programming for Tuesday. However, if there was time in a teacher's schedule and this broadcast "fit" their plan for the day, they were free to show this broadcast to their class. They were directed to use their teacher notes or web page to communicate to parents today (Friday-September 4) if they would be showing this broadcast just like they do other assignments and curriculum topics.

I have also directed faculty who plan to show the broadcast to provide an alternative activity for any students whose parents request they not observe the President's broadcast. Additionally, if a parent chose to observe the broadcast with their child, this would be permitted as well.