September 22, 2021
Dear YES Families,
The YES pooled testing pilot on Monday went smoothly and we are excited to expand pool testing next week. We will begin school-wide testing on Monday 9/27/21 for students who have signed consent. There will be additional nursing staff on hand while we get this program underway. The plan going forward will be to test each Monday morning.
Below are some additional facts and reminders on pooled testing:
- Pooled testing is optional; your child will not be required to participate even if they are consented.
- Testing will happen in the child's classroom.
- Support will be available to educate and assist children - including hand-over-hand assistance, as needed.
- Our goal is for children in the pool testing program to become independent and self swab.
- The swab is a small q-tip and is only interested into the nose 1/2 inch; you can practice using a q-tip with your children at home.
- You may sign your student up for testing at any time, even after the program has started.
Follow Up after Pooled testing:
- No news is good news. If you do not hear from the school, you can assume your pool was negative.
- The school will contact you if your student is a close contact of a positive case or if your student's follow-up test is positive.
For reference, the video link below provides an example of a child demonstrating how to swab his nose:
Please reach out to Alison Thomson, YES nurse, with any questions or concerns at 207-846-3391 or alison_thomson@yarmouthschools.org.
Thanks,
Ryan Gleason, YES Principal & Molly Kilpatrick, YES Assistant Principal
.jpg)