Dear Families:
I hope you had a chance to enjoy the long weekend and honor the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His legacy is one of hope and it is certainly much needed in our country today.
I know I long for a time when I don’t have to think or talk about Covid and I know you do too. I often wonder if I am sharing too much information on the number of cases, as it seems, daily, I am emailing families about another case in the school. But, to put it in perspective, we are doing well compared to many schools. Since our return from Christmas break, we have had a total of 11 student cases and 4 staff cases. Through contact tracing, we are finding that a majority of the cases are non-school transmissions. If you have a positive case within your family and that person is not 100% quarantining (no shared bathroom, utensils, spaces etc.), please consider keeping other family members home, even if they are vaccinated.
At our School Commission meeting last Wednesday the consensus of the members was to over-communicate when we are made aware of a case. I asked the Commission if I should move to a weekly re-cap rather than reporting each time a student or staff member is diagnosed as positive. Overwhelmingly, the group is in favor of notification sooner rather than later. I will continue to email individual classes and the entire school each time I learn of a case. With any luck, the transmission of omicron will ease and there will be a reduction in the number of emails.
We are awaiting 10 dozen rapid antigen tests through the state “Return to Learn” program which will allow us to administer Covid tests (with parental permission) to students at school. These will also be available for symptomatic family members to test for positive cases. The test should arrive within the next week. I will keep you posted.
We are compiling a FAQ document to post under “Covid Information” on the front page of our website. If you have questions you would like addressed, please send them my way and we will try and address them.
And my final words on Covid – Please make sure that your child has a well-fitting mask. As the CDC director says, “A good fitting mask that can be worn all day, is the best mask.” Studies show that the KN95 and surgical masks provide the highest protection against omicron. And, remember, if you are on campus for anything, you must be masked, even outside. We require this of all of our students and staff. Please do your part in reinforcing this practice.
Thursday evening, January 27th we will be holding a virtual PreK and Kindergarten Information Night. On Wednesday, January 26th interested families will be sent a link to videos from me, Ms. McDougall and Mrs. Thole, giving information similar to what we typically do in-person, each year. On Thursday evening, parents can log-on to a live zoom call where we will be available to answer questions. Please encourage anyone you know who is interested in enrolling for PreK or K next year to contact Jennifer Hazzard, if they have not already done so, to make sure we have contact information.
Have a great week!
Mary
