Superintendent's Message
March 31, 2022
Dear Families:
With great appreciation to everyone involved, I share the news that Eloa was located safely. Please see the details below in the Carlisle Police Department’s press release.
Best,
Laurie
Carlisle Police Department
John Fisher,
Chief of Police
41 Lowell St,
Carlisle, MA 01741
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 31, 2022
Contact: Robert Mills
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: robert@jgpr.net
*UPDATE* Carlisle Police Report Missing Girl Found Safe
CARLISLE — Chief John Fisher is pleased to report that Carlisle Police and law enforcement partners have located a missing 15-year-old girl after a nearly two-week search.
The girl was located early Thursday morning in Fall River by Fall River Police. She had been missing since March 18.
Due to evidence indicating the girl did not intend to stay in the Carlisle area, police worked with local, state and federal law enforcement partners to expand the search across the state and to areas she was thought to have ties.
Carlisle Police would like to thank their law enforcement partners from Fall River Police, Concord Police, Framingham Police, Braintree Police, Malden Police, Arlington Police, Norwood Police, the Middlesex District Attorneys Office, the FBI, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Massachusetts State Police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for their invaluable assistance.
“Our law enforcement partners were crucial to this search effort, and I want to express the gratitude of the Carlisle Police Department,” said Chief Fisher. “I also want to thank all of the community members, people across the Commonwealth, and media outlets who assisted our search. This was a true team effort, and it led to a member of our community being located.”
A message from the Carlisle Police Department
Distributed By:
John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC
8 Prospect St.
Georgetown, MA 01833
617-993-0003
March 28, 2022
Dear Families:
I neglected to include this last night but it is special enough to warrant its own email. We congratulate Captain of the USA National Amputee Soccer Team, Mr. Nico Calabria of Concord Middle School, on the success of the team and the upcoming World Cup tournament this fall.
CMS Principal Cameron below outlined an opportunity to see a New England Revolution game this weekend where Mr. Calabria and his team will be honored and play during half time.
Congratulations!
Best,
Laurie
March 27, 2022
Dear Families:
I hope you enjoyed this early spring weekend. I see the flowers starting to bud which is very hopeful!
In the Spotlight
At Tuesday’s School Committee meeting, several of the World Language teachers presented an overview of the program from Kindergarten through CCHS. It was an interactive and thorough presentation that I hope you will take the time to review. The slides are found here.
Cooler Concord Sustainability Series
Cooler Concord Sustainability series, which includes many worthwhile events to attend. CCHS student groups are helping host two events in the series.
CCHS Sunrise Hub is the co-host for Dr. Kerry Emanuel of MIT’s keynote talk on Climate Change on Wed. April 27 at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center and the CCHS Green Team is helping host the Cooler Concord Climate Festival held on Sat. April 30th on the Concord Main Library Lawn. There will be free tree seedlings provided to celebrate Arbor Day on April 29th and at the Cooler Concord Climate Festival on April 30th.
Ongoing Search for Eloa
We all share concerns for Eloa’s well-being and safety. We are in close contact with the Carlisle Police Department regularly and know that many agencies are working around the clock. I will certainly provide information as I have it.
COVID
In good news, last week we dropped dramatically to 34 COVID cases across all of the schools with the Peabody surge behind us. We do watch for any clusters and will respond accordingly. Our COVID Dashboard is updated every evening and is found here.
Have a great night.
Best,
Laurie
March 25, 2022
Dear Families:
I write to share updates about the ongoing search for Eloa. The Carlisle Police Department press release is posted here:
https://jgpr.net/2022/03/25/update-carlisle-police-continue-to-search-for-missing-15-year-old-girl/
Have a good weekend.
Best,
Laurie
March 20, 2022
Dear Families:
Thank you for your ongoing engagement in recent days, as we experienced several significant events simultaneously. I am very grateful for everyone who supports us. I want to recognize the work of the Concord health leaders and Concord and Carlisle Police Departments and the tireless work they do to keep children safe. That was never more evident than over the past week.
COVID Updates, Especially for Peabody Parents
We continue to see cases decline at Peabody, which began on Friday after 51 positive cases occurred last week. Below is a summary of our plan for this week in consultation with local leaders, DESE, and the state epidemiology office:
- Masks will be required for all sixth graders on Monday and Tuesday.
- Pool testing occurs tomorrow at Peabody. Assuming symptomatic and pool testing results remain low, we will return to mask optional on Wednesday.
- All positive students need to remain masked on days 6-10 following the 5 day quarantine period.
- This weekend, we changed all of the filters and reinstated the electrostatic sprayers in addition to our regular cleaning practices and opening the school to the fresh air. We will continue to spray for another week and ensure fresh air flows often.
We are not reducing capacity limits on audience sizes which were just increased. For this week only, we ask that any large audiences at all school events mask until we have a bit more time behind us with this surge.
The COVID dashboard remains active and is updated daily, usually after 3 pm.
Search for CCHS Student
Under the leadership of the Carlisle Police Department, we are fully cooperating in the search for Eloa, who was last seen at CCHS on Friday afternoon. It has been a very busy weekend. We remain hopeful for her safe return. If you or your child has any information, please contact the Carlisle Police at 978-369-1818. Please also contact the counseling staff if you or your child require any support.
Thank you for the ongoing collaboration and partnership. Enjoy this beautiful first day of spring.
Best,
Laurie
March 19, 2022
Dear Families:
Last night, we learned that a CCHS student was unaccounted for. Eloa is a ninth grader who lives in Carlisle and has not been seen since yesterday. The Carlisle Police ask that you share any information that you have.
The posting below is found via the link at the Carlisle Mosquito.
Thank you so much for your help.
Best,
Laurie
March 19, 2022
Dear Families:
We are cooperating with the Concord Police Department in their request for any information regarding two incidents of pellet gun shootings at vehicles yesterday. Please see the details below and contact them if you have any information.
Best,
Laurie
*UPDATE* Concord Police Department Investigating Second Incident of Person Being Struck by Pellet
MARCH 18, 2022 BY BENJAMIN PAULIN
Police Believe Incidents May Be Related to ‘Orbeez Challenge’ on TikTok
CONCORD — Chief Joseph O’Connor reports that the Concord Police Department is investigating a second incident today where a person was struck by a pellet, believed to have been shot from an air-powered pellet gun.
Approximately 6:45 p.m. today, Concord Police were called to the intersection of Sudbury Road and Thoreau Street for a report of a teen that was struck by a pellet. The teen was not injured. A black Range Rover may have been involved in the incident.
A water gel pellet was recovered and collected as evidence by police.
Concord Police now believe that this incident may be related to a recent TikTok trend called the “Orbeez Challenge,” where small circular water gel pellets are shot from air-powered pellet guns at people or property. Several incidents of the “challenge” have been reported throughout the country in recent weeks, with some leading to people being injured. There have also been several arrests made as a result of these incidents.
Chief O’Connor would like residents to know that they are taking these incidents seriously and anyone caught may be arrested or face criminal charges.
“These incidents could cause serious injury and we’ve seen cases in other parts of the country where innocent people have been hurt,” Chief O’Connor said. “Anyone caught engaging in this reckless behavior could be charged with assault and battery or assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.”
Earlier today, around 4 p.m., a driver reported to Concord Police that she was struck in the face by a projectile that she believed was from an air-powered pellet gun. The reporting party said she was driving north on Sudbury Road near Oxbow Lane, and was passing a dark-colored sport utility vehicle when she was struck in the face.
Police believe that these incidents may be related and are continuing to investigate.
Anyone with information on this incident, or anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area, to call police at 978-318-3400, or to call the Concord Police anonymous tip line at 978-318-3407.
March 17, 2022
Dear Families:
I write to share updates on the current COVID status in the schools. As you know, we have been watching an outbreak at Peabody in grade 6. All other schools continue to have low COVID counts, including Sanborn. Today, we had another 8 cases at Peabody, bringing the total this week to 44.
In addition to the COVID cases, we have been carefully watching attendance rates as well. There are small upticks or no changes in the K-5 schools, Sanborn, and CCHS. Today, we faced a 30% absentee rate at Peabody. Regardless of what illness (i.e.flu, or stomach virus) caused that rate, we would be reviewing where we are at and what makes sense next.
I spent the morning communicating with local public health officials and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Following those discussions, it was decided to close Peabody just for tomorrow to allow for a chance for ill students to recover, instruction to occur consistently, and to reduce any remaining virus transmission. Given that it is a school closure, there will be a half-day makeup day in June. Again, we would react the same if it were a flu or stomach virus outbreak that grew to this extent. We expect to be fully operational at all schools on Monday.
We are very grateful that all ill students and staff with COVID have mild flu-like symptoms. In addition, all grade 6 students and staff have been provided antigen tests to test at home on Monday morning or if they become symptomatic. Out of an abundance of caution, we will thoroughly clean the Peabody building tomorrow.
All other schools will operate normally and remain mask optional tomorrow. No one can quite explain why these events are occurring in such an isolated way so far. Clearly, exposure at school played a role. We will continue to work with health officials and DESE to determine any other necessary mitigation steps.
We are available to answer your questions or concerns and, as always, appreciate your support and patience as we continue to face unexpected situations.
Best,
Laurie
March 15, 2022
Dear Families:
I wanted to share a brief update as to the COVID cases today. We had 12 additional students test positive at CMS Peabody and continue to see very low case counts at the other schools. The middle school will do a second round of pool testing tomorrow (Peabody) and Thursday (Sanborn) in addition to distributing more antigen tests.
Have a great night!
Best,
Laurie
March 14, 2022
Dear Families:
As of this email, the Peabody building of Concord Middle School had 18 students and 1 adult test positive since yesterday. There are NO new cases at Sanborn.
As best as we can tell, exposure occurred at school and at the community event on Saturday night, which possibly served as a contributing factor. Either way, we ask that everyone carefully attend to symptoms this week at all schools since it is impossible to determine exposure sites definitively.
We consulted with the local health officials and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education late this afternoon. Given those discussions, the following protocols are in place and will be reviewed as the week continues:
- All grade 6 students and staff attending Peabody will mask for the remainder of the week.
- All Concord Middle School students will mask on the buses for the remainder of the week.
- A reminder that anyone symptomatic should get tested and stay at home until symptoms subside.
- We encourage everyone to participate in pool testing and engage in the at home antigen testing program, which can be used before Friday if symptoms develop. We will likely repeat pool testing at Peabody later in the week.
The COVID Dashboard remains active and indicates the currently very low case counts at all of the other schools right now.
We will continue to provide updates as we have them, and thank you for your cooperation in what appears to be this newest phase of the pandemic.
Best,
Laurie
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