January 28, 2021

Greetings,                                                                                                                    

As you may know, Gill-Montague Regional School District will be participating in a COVID testing project led by the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health and Elementary and Secondary Education. Starting with our students’ return to in-person learning, all schools will be able to conduct a rapid antigen test using the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 test. Students or staff will be eligible to receive this test only if they begin to show symptoms of illness AFTER arriving at school.

Please refer to the COVID-19 Daily Home Screening tool before sending your child to school each day. Students who show symptoms of COVID-19 at home are NOT to be sent to school for testing. Please continue to keep your symptomatic child home when sick and follow up with your pediatrician. 

In the event a student does become sick or symptomatic during the school day, they will be seen by the school nurse to determine if the symptoms are in line with those of COVID-19. If deemed appropriate, this optional test can be performed at school with the nurse.

The test consists of an anterior, shallow nasal swab, rather than the deeper nasal swab used in many PCR tests. Results of the BinaxNOW test are available within 15 minutes, and are considered over 90% accurate.

This test is free but does require that families give consent for their child(ren) ahead of time. Students will not be tested if authorization is not provided. The consent is for the administration of the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 test and authorization to automatically communicate results to DPH. (In the state of Massachusetts all residents tested for COVID-19 are required to have labs reported to the DPH.) As always, your child’s test results will be kept confidential and handled according to district policy. 

Registration is quick and easy.   Tips and FAQs for COVID-19 testing registration.  

Each student and employee will need to be registered using their school’s code, listed below.

To register a TFHS student, click  HERE . Please be sure to put your Child’s name, and their School Code.

School Code:  FQKAFF

To register as a TFHS employee, click  HERE  . Please be sure to put your  name, and their School Code

School Code:  TQSQNG   

To register a GFMS student, click  HERE . Please be sure to put your Child’s name, and their School Code.

School Code:  ZEQXZN   

To register as a GFMS employee, click  HERE  . Please be sure to put your  name, and their School Code

School Code:  FGXBTM  

If you have already created an account for a child attending another school in the district, use that account and register each additional child by clicking “Create Profile”. Enter the second child’s School Code, and that child’s information under another profile.)

The BinaxNOW testing program enables us to identify positive cases and take steps right away to protect our school community health.

If a child’s test result comes back positive, the student’s parent/guardian will be notified that they need to pick up their child. Children who test positive will NOT need a follow up test to confirm. Parents/Guardians will be given information and are asked to follow up with their child's PCP.  Close contacts of a positive student will be identified, parent/guardian notified, and close contacts will also be dismissed to follow protocol.

If the BinaxNow test result is negative, the student’s parent/guardian will be notified to pick up their child and to follow current district policy related to illness before returning to school. Parents/Guardians will be given information and may need to follow up with their child's PCP. The student will need a negative PCR COVID-19 test result or to stay home for 10 days before returning to in person learning.

If you have questions, please contact Pandemic Nurse Response Coordinator and Hillcrest School Nurse, Melissa Bednarski, at melissa.bednarski@gmrsd.org, or contact your school nurse.

Thank you.