Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School has canceled extracurricular activities, including sports and clubs, for the week after students at the school gathered at parties over the weekend.
In an email to parents, MVRHS Principal Sara Dingledy said the behavior of some students put everyone in the school community at risk. Along with canceling extracurricular activities, Dingledy said some in-person meetings would have to be moved to Zoom.
“The situation that occurred this weekend, coupled with the spike in COVID cases over the last week, gives us pause. While we understand that not every one of our students attended these parties, this behavior puts everyone in our MVRHS community at risk. Having students attend school in-person requires a commitment on everyone’s part to follow the health and safety protocols of wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, washing hands, keeping gathering sizes small, cooperating with contact tracing protocols, and not taking unnecessary risks,” Dingledy wrote. “Please, for the sake of our community, do your part.”
The letter came as the MVRHS school committee met to discuss moving to a hybrid model with more in-person instruction. The school committee ultimately approved the plan.
In her letter, Dingledy urged families to talk about what occurred. “Parents and teens, this is the right time to have difficult conversations about safe behavior and consequences,” she wrote. “At this time, with a COVID spike happening in our small community and quarantine rules in effect for the state of Massachusetts, it is vital we all adhere to the rules, look out for one another, and act responsibly.”
She said to students “engaging in behavior that could jeopardize our school and our Island community, please stay home.”
