Manchester Superintendent Issues Back-To-School Reminders

MANCHESTER, NJ — When Manchester Township students start school on Sept. 7, students will be back in classes five days a week, for full class days.

Superintendent David Trethaway issued some reminders to parents, staff and students ahead of that return, including about the mask mandate issued by Gov. Phil Murphy for the start of the school year.

"It was our hope that this school year we would be able to return to a normal setting with full in-person instruction for everyone," Trethaway wrote. "While this looks like many things will return to normal there are unfortunately still some issues that will continue due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"Executive Order 251 from Governor Murphy clearly mandated the requirement for all staff, students and visitors to wear a mask during the school day with a few exceptions," Trethaway said. The state Department of Education's Road Forward document explains in more detail about mask requirements.

Some of the exceptions for not wearing a mask are during lunch, outside activities, and indoor activities with physical exercise such as physical education class where social distancing can be maintained.

"While I understand the extreme difficulties associated with wearing masks such as health, stress, and academic issues, there is also a concern for health and safety due to a definite upswing in the number of positive cases including school-age children," Trethaway said. "Regardless of personal feelings, this is a mandate and must be followed. We cannot accept parent notes for exemption of students wearing a mask."

"We cannot allow students to attend school without a mask. While I understand and respect the different concerns of our parents and staff, please do not put your child or the district in a position where we need to exclude anyone from school," Trethaway said. "Of course, this is an ever-changing situation and we may be able to adjust procedures if the situation changes and if this order is lifted or revised in any way."

Read more: Back To School: Manchester 2021-22 School Calendar

Here is additional information:

• All students will receive in-person instruction and there is no remote option for students this year. There is one exception and that is if students are required to quarantine due to being identified as close contacts either through school or a medical doctor or if a student receives a positive test. This option is not available for any other absences.
• All schools will return to a normal full schedule. This includes kindergarten, which will be a full day.
• Lunch will also be served in school. This includes hot meal options as well as cold. Breakfast will also be available.
• A health questionnaire will still be required and temperatures will be taken before entering the building.
• Hand sanitizing stations will continue to be available.
• Social distancing of 3 to 6 feet will be stressed but will not be possible in all cases.
• Students will be required to wear a mask on the bus.
• Contact tracing will continue and students may be required to quarantine if identified as a close contact.

Trethaway said there have been updates to the district's transportation software to determine busing assignments. If there are problems with the bus assignments, which were posted Thursday, they can be discussed with the transportation office. More information on the bus passes is on the district website here.

"I ask that if a situation is different from previous years, that you wait for the first two weeks before any requests for changes are made," he said. "However, if there is a serious concern, you can address this with our transportation office."

Back-to-school information for parents can be found on the parent portal.

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