Mason County Central School District - Our Actions Will Inspire and Equip Students to Excel

December 21, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, today, January 9, 2021 we learned about 2 School Associated Cases of COVID-19 in the Upper Elementary. Both are students. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of these School Associated Cases. Any students or staff that have been identified as a close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

December 21, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the afternoon of December 21, 2020 we learned about 2 School Associated Cases of COVID-19 in the Upper Elementary. One in a staff member and another in a student. These cases are not connected to each other. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of these School Associated Cases. Any students or staff that have been identified as a close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

December 15, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the morning of December 15, 2020 we learned about 3 additional School Associated Cases of COVID-19 at Scottville Elementary. One is a confirmed positive staff member, another is a probable staff member (having symptoms and was a close contact to a positive case) and the third is a positive student. All three of these cases are associated with the current Scottville Elementary outbreak and were quarantined due to previously identified close contacts. We do not anticipate needing to notify any further close contacts to these cases as they had been quarantined during the contagious phase to minimize further spread. At this time, our current program at Scottville Elementary of providing remote learning for our 1st and 2nd grades for the remainder of this week will continue as it will help prevent any further spread. The kindergarten WILL continue with face-to-face instruction as this outbreak has been contained in 2nd grade with a slight possibility of some close contacts in first grade. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify any further possible... but unlikely, close contacts of these School Associated Cases and any students or staff that have been identified as a close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

December 13, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, late in the morning of December 13, 2020 we learned about 2 School Associated positive Cases of COVID-19. One in a staff member and another in a student in Scottville Elementary School. In addition, we are also closely monitoring 2 probable cases that are also connected to the same outbreak. Most of these recent cases are isolated in the second grade but due to some close contacts in our first grade that require quarantines, we will need to shift to remote learning for the week preceding Christmas Break for both our first and second grades. Please note: Kindergarten will not be impacted by these cases. For our 1st and 2nd grade parents, Scottville Elementary Staff will be in contact with you to guide you and your child through the shift to remote learning that will be taught by your student's classroom teacher. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of these School Associated Cases. Any students or staff that have been identified as a close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

Haven't had your Flu Shot yet? Here's a couple of locations and times happening tomorrow, December 12th, right here in rural Mason County. Curbside Flu Shots. No cost. No hassle. Provided by Northwest Michigan Health Services partnering with Mason County Eastern (8 -10am) and Mason County Central Schools (11am to 1pm).

December 10, 2020 Attention: This is the third notification sent today... Each of these positive cases are unrelated to each other. At this time, there isn't any apparent spread within the school district. These are community spread cases that could result in close contact quarantines and/or classroom cohorts needing to move to remote learning. Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the afternoon of December 10, 2020 we learned about a School Associated Case of COVID-19 in another staff member at Scottville Elementary School. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of this School Associated Case. Any students or staff that have been identified as a close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

December 10, 2020 Attention: This is a second notification sent today... The first was for a COVID positive Middle School Student and this notification is for a Scottville Elementary COVID positive Staff Member. Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the afternoon of December 10, 2020 we learned about a School Associated Case of COVID-19 in a staff member at Scottville Elementary School. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of this School Associated Case. Any students or staff that have been identified as a close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

December 10, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the morning of December 10, 2020 we learned about a School Associated Case of COVID-19 in a student in the Middle School. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of this School Associated Case. Any students or staff that have been identified as a close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

Dear MCC School Community, This afternoon (December 7, 2020) Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon extended the current 3 week "pause" order through December 20th. For Mason County Central, this simply means we stay the course with our current programming: In-person learning will continue for our Pre-school through 8th grades while remote learning will continue for our High School students. K-12 athletics (practice and competition) and extra-curricular activities continue to stay suspended through the 20th. We will keep you posted with any further updates as they develop. Stay Healthy and Strong Spartans!!

December 7, 2020 Dear MCC School Community: As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the afternoon of December 7, 2020 we learned about a School Associated Probable Case of COVID-19 in a staff member at Scottville Elementaryl. For your information, a "Probable" Case is when someone has learned of an exposure to a known positive case AND has COVID symptoms. Therefore, they are treated as a positive case until proven otherwise (Negative COVID Test). Having said that, we do NOT anticipate any further close contacts and quarantines of MCC students or staff from this case. To be thorough, we are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of this School Associated Case. While it is unlikely any Scottville Elementary Students or Staff will be identified as a close contact, if so, they will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent COVID-19

Click/touch the picture for the latest wellness blast from the MCC SADD group.

December 4, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, late in the afternoon of December 4, 2020 we learned about a School Associated Case of COVID-19 in a staff member in our Victory Early Childhood Center building. Please note: At this time, we only anticipate 2 close contacts and quarantines from this case. To be thorough, we are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify any further Close Contacts of this School Associated Case. if so, they will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the name of the individual with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

Just a reminder to our scottville elementary families that tomorrow, November 30th, is picture retake day. Be sure to send the original pictures to school with your child if you have not already done so.

Reminder to our parents: Mason County Central reminds parents that on Wednesday, November 25, is a half day for students and staff, with attendance in the morning only. Sack lunches will be available for students to take home. Dismissal for Scottville Elementary will be at 11:20 a.m. and all other buildings will dismiss at 11:30. Plan for students who ride buses to arrive home approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes earlier than on a normal day.

November 23, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the morning of November 23, 2020 we learned about a School Associated Case of COVID-19 in a student in the Upper Elementary. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of the School Associated Case. Anyone identified as a Close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. We recommend taking action to help limit the spread of COVID-19, even if staff members or students are not experiencing symptoms: • Wear a mask (covering mouth and nose) while in public places or if people who do not live with you must visit your home. • Practice social distancing (maintaining a distance of 6 feet apart). • Practice frequent hand-washing (using soap for 20 seconds or hand sanitizer with 60% alcohol). • Follow capacity restrictions of social gatherings. • Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or with the inside of your elbow and immediately wash your hands. • Stay home if you are sick; you can also get tested. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the names of the individuals with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

November 22, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the afternoon of November 22, 2020 we learned about a School Associated Case of COVID-19 in a staff person in the High School. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of the School Associated Case. Anyone identified as a Close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. We recommend taking action to help limit the spread of COVID-19, even if staff members or students are not experiencing symptoms: • Wear a mask (covering mouth and nose) while in public places or if people who do not live with you must visit your home. • Practice social distancing (maintaining a distance of 6 feet apart). • Practice frequent hand-washing (using soap for 20 seconds or hand sanitizer with 60% alcohol). • Follow capacity restrictions of social gatherings. • Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or with the inside of your elbow and immediately wash your hands. • Stay home if you are sick; you can also get tested. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the names of the individuals with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

November 21, 2020 Dear School Community, As noted on our COVID-19 Dashboard, the morning of November 21, 2020 we learned about a School Associated Case of COVID-19 in a staff person in the Upper Elementary. We are working closely with District Health Department #10 to identify Close Contacts of the School Associated Case. Anyone identified as a Close contact will be notified by the health department and/or Mason County Central Schools as a part of the COVID-19 investigation process. Please answer the phone if the health department or MCC Schools calls you, as a contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information. We recommend taking action to help limit the spread of COVID-19, even if staff members or students are not experiencing symptoms: • Wear a mask (covering mouth and nose) while in public places or if people who do not live with you must visit your home. • Practice social distancing (maintaining a distance of 6 feet apart). • Practice frequent handwashing (using soap for 20 seconds or hand sanitizer with 60% alcohol). • Follow capacity restrictionsof social gatherings. • Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or with the inside of your elbow and immediately wash your hands. • Stay home if you are sick; you can also get tested. Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the names of the individuals with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your help, we believe we can maintain a safe environment while also providing quality education. If you have any questions, contact District Health Department #10 at 231-845-7381. For answers to your COVID-19 questions, please call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus. Sincerely, Jeff Mount Superintendent

The Mason County Central Board of Education welcomes interested residents of the the District to submit an application to fill a recently vacated board seat. Applicants will be interviewed by the Board during a public meeting in December, and the appointed candidate will begin in January. For more information please visit our website, www.mccschools.org.

The Mason County Central School District WILL continue to provide Face -to Face instruction for our PreK thru 8th grade students until circumstances dictate otherwise. We have been quite healthy and the health department has shared that transmission in this age group is a low risk versus the positive rewards of staying open for our students, parents and community. Per the November 15, 2020 order from MDHHS, on Wednesday, November 18, our 9th - 12th grade students will move to on-line. In addition, all extra-curricular activities will be paused through Wednesday, December 8th. Stay Healthy and Strong Spartans!!

Dear MCC School Family, Just a reminder that the MCC School District does not have school tomorrow for our students as the teaching staff will be participating in professional development. In addition, the Governor announced an Emergency Order issued by the Director of MDHHS that suspends 9-12th grade face-to-face instruction for a 3 week "pause" and shift to remote learning beginning this Wednesday. We are currently evaluating our options for our Pre-School thru 8th grades during this "3 week pause" and will let you know no later than early Tuesday morning what the district has decided. Stay Healthy and Strong Spartans!!