Due to the increase in positive COVID cases at Oakland Mills HS, staff and students at our school are being asked to participate in weekly health screening. The next one will take place Friday, January 14, 2022 as directed to do so by the Howard County Health Department. Screening helps to identify unknown cases so that measures can be taken to prevent further transmission. Additional testing dates may be needed. Staff from MAKO Medical, which has handled COVID-19 diagnostic testing for HCPSS students and staff since April, will be on-site to manage polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specimen collection. Participation in screening testing is voluntary but strongly encouraged to help to ensure the health and safety of our community. As Dr. Martirano noted in his communication, our goal is a system is to maintain in-person instruction and this mitigation measure is another strategy to help us do so. 

Please note the following:

• Students who registered for the screening previously do NOT need to re-register.
• COVID-19 Screening is only for students and staff who are in school on Wednesday. Please do not send students who are at home for testing positive for COVID-19 and/or currently quarantining.
• You do not need to register again for your child if they are already participating in the student-athlete COVID-19 testing program. 
• If you tested positive for COVID in the past 90 days, you do not need to get tested.

Parents/guardians should use this link to register their child for MAKO’s screening testing program, and follow these instructions:

Parents/guardians of students under the age of 18 must select “Dependent Registration” and students age 18 and older must select “Self-Registration” when signing up

1. Complete patient information fields
2. Complete terms of acceptance and notifications consent options
3. Select Submit

Students will report to the GYM during their English class for their test. They will check in with their English teacher first, then head to the Gym based on the created schedule. The testing process is quick.

Our health services staff will be notified automatically of the MAKO testing results so you do not need to contact our school to share this information. If your child receives a positive test after participating in the screening program, please keep your child home. And, as always, please keep your child(ren) home if they are experiencing symptom(s) associated with any communicable disease, including COVID-19, and conduct daily at-home health checks before your child(ren) leaves home.

Thank you for registering your child for the testing program at your earliest convenience and helping us to keep our school community safe. 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Jeffrey Fink, Principal
​​​​​​​Oakland Mills High School