Nate Heath, a Physical Education Teacher at Kearsarge Regional Middle School, displays his vaccination card. (Photo Courtesy Kearsarge Regional School District) -
Science Teacher John Geary said “I feel great!” after receiving his vaccination. (Photo Courtesy Kearsarge Regional School District) -
Food Services Director Melina Cochran said vaccinations mean that her students are now safer. (Photo Courtesy Kearsarge Regional School District) -
Bus Driver Lionel Clark shows off his vaccination card. (Photo Courtesy Kearsarge Regional School District) -
Merry-Lynn Paradie, a Para-Educator at Simonds Elementary School, said the vaccination will make everyone feel safer. (Photo Courtesy Kearsarge Regional School District)
NEW LONDON, N.H. — Superintendent Winfried Feneberg is pleased to inform the public that the District held a successful COVID-19 vaccine for its employees today in partnership with Greater Sullivan County Public Health Network.
“I’m proud of how our District staff rose to the challenge of public education during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have really given their all,” Superintendent Feneberg said. “These vaccinations will make a tremendous difference in our schools. We thank the Greater Sullivan County Public Health Network for their collaboration to make this clinic possible.”
Some District staff were vaccinated under Phase 1A or Phase 1B of the state’s distribution plan. The district’s nurses had the opportunity to begin receiving the vaccine in January. Other staff became eligible for vaccinations under Phase 2A on Friday, March 12.
Approximately 325 District employees signed up for the clinic, held on Friday, March 19 at Kearsarge Regional Middle School in North Sutton, where they received the Moderna vaccine. Kearsarge staff are not required to be vaccinated.
March 19 was a professional development day for the District, so teachers did not miss class time.
District staff members say they are grateful to the District and Greater Sullivan County Public Health Network.
“This is just fantastic because now we are really able to push forward with the kids and get the schools fully reopened,” said John Geary, a Grade six Science Teacher at Kearsarge Regional Middle School. “I feel great!”
“I feel valued as an educator that the state and school district has made it such a priority to get us vaccinated and to put a clinic together for us and making it so easy. It’s very meaningful,” said Nate Heath, a Physical Education Teacher at Kearsarge Regional Middle School.
“I am so excited to get the vaccine and hopefully it is going to make everyone safer, get the kids back in school, and then I can hang out with family more often,” said Merry-Lynn Paradie, a Para-Educator at Simonds Elementary School.
“It means so much for all of us to be vaccinated so we’re sure our students are safe,” Food Services Director Melina Cochran said.
“I’m just glad to be getting it,” said Bus Driver Lionel Clark. “This is the right move to get all kids back in school.”
The District and Greater Sullivan County Public Health Network will hold a follow-up clinic on April 16, where employees will receive the second dose of Moderna vaccine. On Thursday, March 18, the School Board approved moving a scheduled student workday from home, from April 1 to April 16, to accommodate the follow-up clinic.
The district continues to review its COVID-19 safety plan and make necessary modifications to remain in alignment with prevailing medical guidance offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
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