Notice Letter to the Parents and Staff
January 17, 2021
Dear Parents and Staff,
In keeping with Santa Maria ISD’s practices to respond to COVID-19, we are notifying all student families and staff that an instructional staff member from Santa Maria Middle School was lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 on Saturday, January 16, 2021 and was last present in school on Thursday, January 14, 2021. Due to privacy requirements, we will not be releasing the name of the individual or details that may identify him or her.
Santa Maria ISD is following the guidelines and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Texas Education Agency (TEA), and state and local health officials.
Santa Maria ISD will contact the Cameron County Health Department on Monday, January 18, 2021 regarding this matter. Cameron County Health Department along with SMISD nurse, Candy Kafka, will begin a case investigation and will contact any individuals determined to be in close contact with the affected SMISD staff member. Any student and staff member that came into close contact with any of the affected individual will be directly contacted by Cameron County Health Department. Those that were in close contact will remain off campus for up to 14 days to ensure they do not have the virus, so that there will not be any further spread.
We also ask that you, as always, watch for symptoms of COVID-19.
Any of the following symptoms indicate a possible COVID-19 infection:
o Temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher when taken by mouth;
o Sore throat;
o New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (or, for students with a chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline);
o Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain; or
o New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever
If you begin experiencing any of these symptoms in a way that is not typical, we encourage you to contact your physician. We encourage anyone in the Santa Maria ISD community who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 to please notify our school by contacting Ms. Candy Kafka, SMISD nurse, at (956) 566-5348 or email her at candykafka@smisd.net .
Sincerely,
Martin Cuellar
Superintendent of Schools
Notice in PDF: