Maine School Administrative District #4 -

PCES Food Service Staff going above and beyond to make things special for our students!

SPORTS PHYSICALS: Northern Light, Northwoods will be here on 10/29 to offer free sports physicals to 5th-12th graders. If you receive a notification from Mr. Gallant, then we do not have an updated physical on file. Please fill out the permission form and questionnaire attached to his robocall/email notification and return it to the school by the 28th. If you are unsure if your child is up to date, please email or call Mrs. Viera (wviera@sad4.org/876-4633). Forms will also be available in both offices. Let's hope for a winter sports season!!!

PCSS is doing PSAT testing next Wednesday the 14th. Practice booklets have been handed out in English classes. If you have not gotten one please contact the guidance office at 876-3577. If you have any questions please let me know either through email (dmcphail@sad4.org)

SAD4 will be holding its annual flu clinic on Friday 10/16 at both schools. If you returned a permission form your child will automatically receive the vaccination. Please let Mrs. Viera know if your child has already received the vaccination elsewhere. If your child is currently learning remotely, please contact Mrs. Viera to set up a time for your student to come into the school on Friday. wviera@sad4.org or 876-4633

Clarifying the Covid Spectator Policy for Athletic Contests. Each athlete gets two tickets. PCHS admin does not monitor who gets the ticket. We ask the families and athletes to give their tickets to local family or friends. If a person has a ticket at the gate we let them in.

ATTENTION SAD4 Parents. The CDC has alerted our schools due to the proximity of this restaurant in Rockwood. If you have eaten here (or close family members have) between September 16-22, please contact your family physician. If the Hepatitis A vaccination is given within 14 days of exposure, it is preventable. To: Medical Providers, Clinicians, Hospitalists, Health Care Facilities, Physician Practices, Corrections and Veteran Agencies, School Health Care, Emergency Services From: Dr. Nirav Shah, Maine CDC Director Subject: Acute Hepatitis A Case in a Food Service Worker in Rockwood, Maine Date / Time: Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 5:10pm Priority: High Message ID: 2020PHADV032 ACUTE HEPATITIS A CASE IN A FOOD SERVICE WORKER IN ROCKWOOD, MAINE The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) has identified a case of acute hepatitis A virus infection in a Rockwood, Maine, food service worker. The case handled food while infectious from September 2, 2020,through September 22, 2020. Epidemiological assessment of the employee’s illness is determined that restaurant patrons may be at risk for hepatitis A infection. Maine CDC is recommending that anyone who may have eaten food prepared at or worked at The Birches Resort Restaurant in Rockwood on September 16, 2020, through September 22, 2020, receive hepatitis A vaccine within 14 days of their potential exposure as there is a 14-day window during which prophylaxis is effective after exposure. This recommendation includes anyone who may have had dine-in, take-out, delivery, or curbside pickup of food from the restaurant. Anyone who visited the restaurant from September 2, 2020 through September 15, 2020, is outside the window for which prophylaxis is recommended, but are advised to watch for symptoms and seek medical attention should they develop symptoms. Health care providers are encouraged to remain vigilant for hepatitis A infection in persons with consistent symptoms and should ask individuals with such symptoms about consumption of food from this establishment during this period. Background: Hepatitis A virus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route, commonly through consumption of contaminated food or water. Persons will begin to exhibit symptoms 15-50 days after exposure to the virus. A person is considered infectious approximately two weeks prior to symptom onset until one week after onset of symptoms. Exposed persons can receive post-exposure prophylaxis up to 14 days from exposure, after which, the treatment is no longer effective. Prophylaxis includes hepatitis A vaccine. Immunocompromised individuals or children under 12 months old should consult their health care providers about receiving hepatitis A immune globulin (IG). Recommendations: Health care providers should consider testing for hepatitis A if patients present with any of the following symptoms: Fever, jaundice, nausea, clay colored stool, dark urine, malaise, abdominal discomfort, anorexia, or vomiting. Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2020PHADV032 - Acute Hepatitis A Case in a Food Service Worker in Rockwood, Maine 2 Testing includes an acute hepatitis panel (should include hepatitis A IgM) and liver enzymes. Health care providers should review their patients’ vaccine records and offer hepatitis A vaccine to those who are eligible. Reporting: All cases of suspected and confirmed hepatitis A infection should be reported by phone to the 24/7 disease reporting and consultation line at 1-800-821-5821. For More Information: • Maine CDC Hepatitis website http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/hepatitis • Federal CDC’s Hepatitis A website http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HAV/index.htm • ACIP Hepatitis A vaccine recommendations: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/vacc-specific/hepa.html

Information on Penquis Youth Hockey

The PCSS Virtual Open House in now available at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WQzrir99Q_mACEJ9MdlhKb8YETgSiczpuOPpsEj8208/edit?usp=sharing

Click on the link below for important PCHS yearbook information. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N-4pqSq6Vf0YnqYZdEWUBslAqJbURU4A/view?usp=sharing

If your child texts/calls you and asks if you can dismiss them due to an illness, the student MUST see the nurse before they are released. I hope you can understand that we need to be absolutely safe with an Covid symptoms and track those symptoms if necessary.

The Virtual Open House for PCSS is experiencing some technical issues. As soon as these are resolved we will send out the link for you all to meet your child's teachers virtually. Sorry for the delay.

For PCSS - Remote learners and 1 parent should be at PCSS at 8:00 am on Wednesday 9/9/20. A student can come alone, but will stay all day. TCTC students who are remote with PCSS will get bussed to TCTC after the orientation. Masks and social distancing required.

For PCSS - tomorrow is for remote learners to get their devices and run through their schedule. There is no reason for In Person Learners to be here. Next Wednesday is the start of Wednesday RTI support for In Person students to get work done.

School lunch and breakfast is free for the near future. Check you email for more details.

Gold Day TCTC bus leaves at 8:05 sharp. We have bells that are working today HOPEFULLY. Great job with Social Distancing and masks so far!!! Don't forget that lunch requires you to stay in lunch until the end. “You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

PCSS Daily announcments. Thursday, September 3, 2020 Blue Day No Blue 2 or Blue 1 Welcome Back to all students today. As you have already seen there are so many new changes and expectations this year. We will go through all of these at our Morning Muster at 8:15 am today. here is TCTC today. However TCTC students need to stay in the first class until the Muster is over. At that time we will send the bus. We did not get a chance to. pass out the freshmen T SHirts yesterday at Freshmen orientation. We will be doing that throughout the day. Mr Gallant will talk about the Sports today at Muster since there are lots of questions. "Change is the only constant in the universe". Anonymous

Don't forget about 5th grade rental night tonight at 5:00pm-6:00pm in the elementary school cafeteria! Hope to see you there! eviera@sad4.org

PCSS Daily Announcements Wednesday September 2, 2020 Gold Day Welcome Back!!!! And Welcome to your new school. Even though school will feel so different this year you should all know how excited the staff here at PCSS is to have you back. Today is designed to give you all a chance to get used to the new building before the older students get here tomorrow. Tomorrow we will start with a Zoom assembly talking about all the things you need to know about how school will operate in the pandemic. So today you will here a little abut the stickers and everything but tomorrow we will go through it in detail. If you have any paperwork that needs to be returned please turn it into your teachers this morning and they will bring it down to the office. Freshmen, After announcements you will be coming to the gym for a short introduction to all the high School teachers. Today the bells do not mean anything so please disregard them. We will catch up on all Student birthdays since March 13 throughout the rest of the week. The quote of the day “And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that never were.” —Rainer Maria Rilke

There was some confusion on whether TCTC students should go to TCTC today, September 2 if this is their TCTC day. They are not required to go, but we will send a bus if anyone shows up here this morning. TCTC for PCHS formally starts tomorrow after the opening day assembly.

I am very excited for school tomorrow; it has been too long! I have 3 important things to share. #1 Very Important: If you have not returned the Self Check Agreement, send it with your student tomorrow. #2 We only need 1 bus run, so the routes and times should be the same as last year. #3 Pick-ups for students in grades K-6 will start at 3:00 after the busses have left the loop. Students will be waiting for you outside. Just pull up and your student will get in. For safety reasons, no students will load from the lower parking lot. Thanks in advance for your patience!