MARQUETTE — Gwinn Area Community Schools is moving to full remote learning for two weeks with an anticipated return to in-person learning on Nov. 30, the district announced Thursday.

“We are taking this proactive measure to provide two full weeks of distancing between all students and staff and help prevent any spread of COVID amongst our school and community families,” district officials said in the announcement. “Though we have had only a few cases brought into school, we do now have others out waiting on test results and more students in quarantine due to being identified as a close contact. As previously stated, when we have more students in quarantine and start to get tight with staffing, it’s time to move to remote learning.

“Please keep your children and yourselves social distanced from others and continue to wear masks when out and about. We do not need COVID to spread in our neighborhoods and brought back to school in December.”

Teachers are preparing students today for learning at home, which the district has been practicing all year with its “Flipped Fridays,” officials said.

Lessons will continue through Seesaw and Google Classroom as they have for the Flipped Fridays.

Students should take Chromebooks, student items, etc., home for the next two weeks. If your child forgets something at school, school officials ask that you call your child’s school to make arrangements for pickup.

For more information, contact Superintendent Sandra L. Petrovich at 906-346-9284 or Sandra.petrovich@gwinnschools.org

MAPS designates virtual learning days

Marquette Area Public Schools has designated Nov. 23-24 as virtual learning days to help its staff catch up and “get over the hurdle of staffing shortages due to quarantine,” MAPS Superintendent Bill Saunders announced in a letter posted at mapsnet.org Thursday.

“Over the past few weeks, a small MAPS committee has looked at our strengths and areas for improvement and determined what MAPS teachers really need is time,” Saunders said in the letter. “Due to ongoing quarantining of staff and substitute shortages, many teachers have sacrificed prep time to fill vacancies. This prep time may have been used to share successful strategies and ideas, get more acquainted with purchased curriculum and hone new teaching methods. We’d like to give some of this lost time back so staff can focus on these areas.”

Each MAPS school will communicate further details to parents to ensure families have the necessary resources to engage in online learning those days, Saunders said.

Distribution of school breakfast and lunch will continue on these days, with more information forthcoming.

In his letter, Saunders pointed out that students, teachers and staff have been working hard to adapt to the many changes that have come with this school year.

“Our teachers and staff, like our students, adjusted to these new circumstances and are managing quite well,” Saunders said. “It’s also important to point out that a rollout of this magnitude would normally take a year or more, and our teachers had just three (professional development) days. MAPS teachers have all gone above and beyond, working extra days this summer, long hours after school and have given up valuable time on weekends to educate themselves and keep up. This sacrifice has been epic and it’s one of the reasons our educators are so outstanding.”

He also noted that MAPS faculty and staff “see many students flourishing, whether that be in face-to-face, hybrid or online learning platforms.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of the resiliency of all our students who have made adjustments and sacrifices to be successful,” Saunders said.

Eastern U.P. health departments urge residents to limit gatherings

With a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the eastern Upper Peninsula over the past few weeks, the Chippewa County Health Department and the Luce-Mackinac-Alger-Schoolcraft District Health Department are asking residents to avoid gathering with people outside of their household, the health departments announced in a joint news release issued Thursday.

“This may be the most difficult thing we have asked you to do, but we need you to limit your gatherings — whether it’s deer camp or Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve or a game night — to just those in your immediate household,” officials said in the release. “We do understand the importance of these events and the coming together for tradition and enjoying time with loved ones, but we need you to get creative and find other ways to hold on to these traditions without risking spreading or getting COVID-19.”

Health department officials recommending using virtual tools such as Zoom or FaceTime for holiday celebrations, as well as using porch delivery, to give holiday meals to relatives who are not in your household. They also suggest sending handwritten holiday cards and letters.

“We also know that (when) gathering with friends and family who do not live in the same household, it is easy to feel safe in those situations and forget the things that need to be done to protect yourself and others from COVID-19,” officials said in the release. “Unfortunately, through recent case investigations, those comfortable gatherings with a few friends or family from more than one household have ended with multiple cases of COVID, and some who are now very ill and in hospitals.”

Chippewa County Health Department has reported a 100% increase in cases over the last 12 days, officials said. As of Wednesday, only 98 of 402 cases reported in Chippewa County are considered recovered, which means the person is still alive 30 days after onset of symptoms or referral date, officials said.

In the LMAS district, there has been a 30% increase in total cases — from 472 to 614 — over the last 12 days, officials said in the release. Around 50% of these cases are considered recovered.

“Until a vaccine is available, we need your help more than ever to protect lives, help schools remain open, and keep our hospitals and public health able to care for all in our area — whether they have COVID or other medical or prevention service needs,” health department officials said in the release.

Beyond avoiding gatherings with people not in your immediate household, officials ask that people take the following steps:

≤ Wear a clean cloth face mask which covers your mouth and nose

≤ Maintain at least 6 feet of distance between yourself and people not in your immediate household

“The bottom line is, we need your help. We need you to stay home when you don’t feel well. We need you to be diligent in doing each of these small things every time you leave your homes. Only with your help and commitment will we start to bring these numbers down.”

For more COVID information, visit Michigan.gov/coronavirus, LMASDHD.org and ChippewaHD.com.

NMU announces holiday travel recommendations for students

Northern Michigan University officials have announced recommended actions for students who are returning home for the holidays amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

These recommendations come from a Tuesday meeting among Michigan’s 15 university presidents, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, some of her staff and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services officials. They discussed the upcoming holiday travel that university students will take part in, as well as the 5,790 university-affiliated individuals who have become ill with COVID-19.

MDHHS recommended actions for students returning home for the holidays are:

For the two weeks before leaving campus:

≤ Self-quarantine away from others — i.e., leave only for class, work, to get food and medical appointments — and always wear a mask while around others.

For the two weeks after

departing campus:

≤ Wear masks at all times around anyone you weren’t living with on campus, even around family

≤ Where possible, stay 6 feet apart from everyone, including family, particularly if anyone must remove their mask, such as during meals.

≤ Where possible, avoid physical contact with others (for example, avoid hugging elderly relatives or others in high-risk groups).

≤ Do not attend gatherings outside the home. For example, do not meet up with high school friends in town.

≤ Monitor for symptoms twice a day, check your temperature and review a symptom checklist.

≤ Get tested if you become symptomatic at any time, and if possible once at five to 10 days after departing campus.

Students are asked to review the recommendations and develop an individual plan.

“Your actions this week and next will positively or negatively impact the health of the people with whom you will spend Thanksgiving, the other upcoming holidays, and your semester break,” NMU President Fritz Erickson said in a letter to students. “Be proactive in protecting the people you care about.”

The full MDHHS recommendations document is available on NMU’s Safe on Campus website.

Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center hires 160+ employees

The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center announced Thursday it has hired 163 employees in the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin area since March 29 to care for veterans and non-veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we recognize Veterans Day during these unprecedented times, Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center is proud to hire qualified personnel to care for our nation’s veterans and support our community in response to COVID-19,” Director Jim Rice said in a news release. “(The) VA has the most noble of missions, to provide high-quality health care to America’s veterans.”

Oscar G. Johnson VAMC has hired registered nurses, nursing assistants and pharmacists, and currently has opportunities in a variety of positions, including police officers, licensed practical nurses and providers.

VA employees are actively involved in strategic efforts and hands-on assignments to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said in the release. Visit www.vacareers.va.gov for more information.