No School Until Feb. 23, Make the Most of Your Mask, Happy Lunar New Year
Dear CPS Community,
We want to wish you all a happy, safe and fun winter break. We hope you have the chance to enjoy family time, relax and recharge. A reminder that winter break is extended by one day for all CPS students. Monday February 22 will be a planning day for teachers and staff as they ramp up for expanded in-person learning, which begins on March 1. Again, there will be
NO SCHOOL on MONDAY, FEB. 22.
Many people still have questions about the best masks to wear to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We want to thank the Cambridge Public Health Department as well as the CPS Safety & Facilities Working Group for helping us create this helpful guide highlighting the
3 things you should look for in a mask to optimize protection.
1. Fit: Masks should fit securely over both your mouth AND nose. One style of mask doesn’t work for everyone, so you should test different mask styles to determine which gives you the best protection.
2. Filtration: You should aim to find a mask which provides between 90-95% filtration. All masks that CPS provides achieve extremely high percentages of filtration – independent testing found them to offer between 90% and 95% protection. These masks are available for all in-person CPS students, teachers and staff members.
3. Wearability: We know it can be difficult to keep a mask on for a long period of time, which is why it’s helpful to find one that gives you not only fit and filtration, but is comfortable! For young children who have a hard time finding a mask that fits well, the recommendation is wearing a cloth mask with multiple layers of tightly-woven fabric.
And finally, Happy Lunar New Year! The Lunar New Year, an important cultural holiday for millions across the world, begins with the first new moon cycle of the year and months are based on the cycle of the moon orbiting the earth. Today marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox, which some view as symbolizing hard work and serenity.
Enjoy the off week. We look forward to seeing students again on Tuesday, February 23.
Sincerely,
Kenneth N. Salim, Ed.D
Superintendent