From the Athletic Director

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Teri Ginsburg in Athletics

COVID POOL TESTING is required for sports and extra-curricular activities

Pool testing is mandated by the school committee and superintendent 

PLEASE NOTE: The warning period has expired. If you miss testing on Monday or Tuesday you will be asked to sit out until the next testing cycle.

Instructions:

  1. Parents sign a consent form through ASPEN (here’s the link!) – if you have a problem signing in, contact your house office for a hard copy of a consent form OR to unlock your parents’ account.

  2. High school students then create an account at JCM (do it here!) for access to a QR code they use to check in their sample. – Any issues? As long as you completed the consent form, show up to the testing site for assistance accessing your QR code.

  3. Don’t forget to scan the Orange QR code on your way out from the testing drop-off. This will act as a receipt for your participation. YOU MUST USE YOUR NPS ACCOUNT.

  4. Again, testing is MANDATORY for ALL Spring Athletes

If you forget that morning, please go to the South Main Office and pick up a new kit.  It’s simple, it’s easy to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our school. Click here for more info and FAQs. 

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Face Covering Guidance Change 

Following the governor’s announcement, on Monday, May 17,  the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) released guidance for school sports. This past Thursday, May 20 NPS started following the guidance issued by MIAA, which indicates the following (among other details):

Outdoor sports

  • Athletes on spring teams in active play outdoors are not required to wear a mask/facial covering.

  •  Athletes when they are on the bench or in a dugout are not required to wear a mask/facial covering.

  • Athletes in low-risk sports when indoors where a distance of at least 14 feet or more is consistently maintained between each participant, are not required to wear a mask/ facial covering.

  • Spectators and chaperones, coaches, staff, referees, umpires and other officials who can social distance while outdoors, are not required to wear a mask/face covering. Please note that some officials will need to wear masks when distancing is not possible.

Indoor sports:

  • Visitors, spectators, volunteers, and staff while indoors are required to wear mask/facial covering.

  • Volleyball is a moderate-risk sport. Therefore, players are still required to wear masks when playing or practicing indoors.

  • Wrestling is a high-risk sport. Therefore, players are still required to wear masks when playing or practicing indoors. Outdoor competitions will follow the site requirements. Masks are still to be used.

  • All athletes participating in high school sports are considered youth and fall under youth guidelines.

Additionally, there are no changes to individual MIAA sport modifications other than the mask/facial covering mandate. As restrictions are lifted, a review of the EEA guidelines will continue through the MIAA governance process guided by the MIAA Sports Medicine Committee. Details on the MIAA guidance can be found linked here.