Dear Parents,
Thank you for your consistent support and patience as we perform COVID triage as best we can and focus on our top priority: keeping school open for our students’ academic and mental well-being. Together, parents, faculty, and staff are working tirelessly to keep up with the ever-changing guidelines, testing, and communication. You are well aware that this latest COVID variant is highly transmissible and spreading rapidly. We have students in a number of grades and five staff members currently isolating and/or quarantining. (Do review our most recent post regarding current CDC guidelines for quarantine and isolation.)
We continue to implement all mitigation protocols, such as masking and social distancing; however, the rate of transmission of this virus is cause for concern. When identifying close contacts, it helps the school to know if your child has been vaccinated. New guidelines allow for vaccinated students, without symptoms, to remain in the building when and if they are identified as a close contact. Send in those vaccination records to Mrs. Q., please.
Should we be unable to staff a classroom due to faculty shortage, or we experience widespread transmission within the school, we will have to move, temporarily, to the remote model for a class or classes. Teachers have kept their TEAMS and Google classrooms up to date. If we move to the remote learning plan, we will inform impacted families as soon as possible. In some cases, there may be a day of asynchronous lessons as teachers prepare for full remote lessons.
I reiterate we are working hard to continue in-person learning, but we want to proactively communicate our plans in case we need them. We ask you to do your part in the community effort to continue in-person learning: boost up, mask – and mask well – and keep your student home if they exhibit any symptoms of illness (please inform the school of your child’s absence by submitting an attendance form). We can do this! Thank you, lunch volunteers, recess volunteers, and our COVID response team for helping us through this challenging start to the new year.
We wish you a safe and healthy weekend as we celebrate the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his life-long work to promote equality, champion inclusivity, and fight against racism. In his honor let’s recommit to our mission and theme: “Act with Justice, Love with Mercy, Walk Humbly with God.”
Together We Can!
Bernadette O’Leary
