Dear WMS Community,

I would first like to thank all of our Washington Market families for your ongoing effort and support in helping us keep our school safe and remain open.

Before schools opened in September, many of us spent countless hours researching and reading all the scientific data available about COVID-19. We worked tirelessly collaborating with one another to ensure all the guidelines needed were in place to open our schools safely. Through hard work and dedication our school has been able to remain open without a hitch. Many other schools have not been so successful. Unfortunately, my son’s school has remained closed for in-person classes since March.

As the holidays approached we heard many health authorities warn us of our “second wave”. I for one was optimistic as our numbers and infection rate remained stable. But here we are, now facing two new strains in our community and an infection rate climbing to a current rate of over 7%. As many of the health authorities have stated, “increased testing is the key”, so just as we did when we were faced with the tremendous task of re-opening, we will continue to find new strategies to help us keep our school safe and remain open.

With that being said I would like to address a few of the concerns I have been hearing in regards to our new weekly pool testing strategy. The nasal sample is a non-invasive swab taken from the lower nasal area inserted no more than 1-2 cm into each nostril and rotated. I know some children have experienced the more invasive nasopharyngeal collection sample which can be quite uncomfortable, however I feel after a few swabs they will be less resistant to this much more gentle technique.

The test is quite accurate and stated to be identical to the FDA approved individual PCR tests which are the “gold standard” for COVID-19. Of course no test is 100%. There are some factors which can affect the results of the test such as the timing of the collection in regards to the stage of infection or the actual integrity of the collected specimen itself.

Please click for frequently asked questions from JCM Analytics, as well as our previous sent letter regarding our new pool testing strategy.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any additional questions and concerns.

Happy and Healthy 2021!

Nurse Cheryl
nurse@wms-nyc.org