September 7th, 2020
Dear Parents and/or Guardians:
This letter is to notify you that a student or staff member at Parkside School has tested positive for COVID-19. We have worked closely and quickly with the Waushara County Health Department to properly identify, notify, and quarantine any students or staff identified as a close contact. If you are contacted by the health department, please assist them with the interview process.
The Wautoma Area School District has also contacted other families who will need to have their children participate in Virtual Learning until we receive further test results back.
Parkside School is in session on Tuesday, September 8th for all other students and staff not contacted by the Waushara County Health Department and/or the Wautoma Area School District. The Wautoma Area School District will not release Personally Identifiable Information in these cases as all necessary families and staff members have been contacted in person.
COVID-19 is caused by a new Coronavirus that was first identified in late 2019. It is spread from person to person through droplets produced by coughing and sneezing. It causes mild symptoms in most people but in some it can cause more severe illness. COVID-19 can cause a variety of symptoms. Some COVID-19 symptoms can seem like a common cold, others are more severe. Some people have no symptoms that develop but are carriers of the virus. Symptoms to watch for are cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever (100℉ or greater), vomiting, diarrhea, congestion or runny nose, chills, sore throat, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue.
The following guidelines will help to prevent further spread of illness at our school:
Stay home from school if you are ill
Encouraged good habits: frequent handwashing, hand sanitizer use, covering coughs and sneezes, use of facial coverings, physical distancing
Notify the school if your child is diagnosed with COVID-19
Notify the school if your child had close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
Again, a public health official has contacted all confirmed close contacts of this case.
Tom Rheinheimer - Wautoma Area School District Administrator
Cari Pronschinske - Wautoma Area School District School Nurse