Dear Needham Public Schools Families:

Allow me to share some brief updates:

• Health and Safety  Since March 7th the district has successfully implemented a "mask friendly" learning environment for all K-12 students and staff; on March 14th we implemented the same protocol at the Preschool.  Our students and staff have embraced the change and are also respectful of those who choose to wear a mask. We know that COVID is still something we will need to manage, and you can expect that, with your cooperation, we will continue to support healthy practices and protocols in our schools:

- Please continue to complete the daily health attestation for each student.  We will reevaluate the need for the attestation later in the spring.

- If you are receiving at home tests, please continue to test on Sundays and another day of the week (e.g., Wednesday).  If you wish to opt out of receiving the at home tests, please email: covid@needham.k12.ma.us

- The district's COVID dashboard is now updated weekly and includes all positive lab tests (PCR) reported by the Department of Public Health and at home test results that parents report to us.

• Student Accolades   The young people in the Needham Public Schools are pretty amazing!  Kudos to the following NHS students for receiving the 2022 Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards:  Victoria Zolotar (Gold Key), Gabriela Diaz (Honorable Mention), Samantha Cai (Gold Key), and Michelle Virovtsev (Honorable Mention).  Congratulations as well to the following NHS seniors who represent five out of the 16,000 high school seniors nationwide recognized as National Merit Finalists: Samuel Billante, Vijay Fisch, Jeremiah Gold, Benjamin Lee, and Drew Winkler. Finally, congrats to the cast and crew of the high school Musical production of Newsies.  The show was a lot of fun, and it was especially meaningful to enjoy a live audience in a full house. Our students' artistic, musical, and academic performance is a real tribute to their teachers, families, and, especially, the individual students themselves!

• School Committee Open House  The Needham School Committee will host its Spring Open House on Saturday, April 30th from 9 until 10:30 a.m. at the high school.  This is an informal opportunity for families and community members to stop by and share ideas and suggestions to your elected School Committee representatives.  They look forward to seeing you!

Have a great week.