The middle school will have a Covid protocol change beginning next week. Starting next Tuesday, all class periods will begin and end with the bells at their normally scheduled times. This differs from the staggered releases we have had in place for the first semester, where some classes were dismissed 5 minutes early and some classes were dismissed 2 minutes early to reduce traffic in the hallways during passing periods.
Over the course of the semester, we have found that passing periods have not been a risk factor for Covid-19 transmission, and students who are next to other students at their locker are highly unlikely to have 15 minutes of close contact with the person next to them during the course of the school day. By returning all classes to the bell schedule, a number of classes will have a few more minutes for learning during the course of the day.
We will continue to stagger students as they go to the lunchroom and return to the lunchroom as we have this school year to prevent students from being close contacts to one another in the lunch line. Students will learn more details about the staggering of lunch times later this week.