Dear Families,
Keeping the school open and safe these past 10 days has been a herculean effort on the part of faculty, staff and parents. We are continuing to see COVID-19 cases make their way onto our campus, specifically in the Lower School. To say Omicron is testing our resolve and commitment is an understatement. We know that some of this is expected and inevitable, however, we hope to suppress transmission as much as possible. Wearing masks, maintaining social distance, and curtailing social events and travel are part and parcel to keeping students healthy and school open. With the three-day weekend coming up I want to urge the community to lay low and be as safe as possible. This surge is predicted to be short lived, but the spread at the moment is intense. Our ability to teach in person relies on the cumulative effort of these vital, daily personal decisions as well as our communal effort and commitment to a safe, vibrant learning environment.
Here at school we have worked to reduce the chance of transmission by focusing on the following mitigation strategies:
Masking: Beginning next Tuesday, all students, faculty, and staff need to wear KN95 or surgical masks while on campus.
Testing: We will begin Rapid COVID-19 testing our Preschool and Pre-K students (who are not eligible for the PCR Pool testing on Wednesday mornings). Thus, everyone on campus will be tested at least twice a week. Additionally, we are rapid testing any group of students who have recently had a positive COVID-19 test in their classroom.
Distancing and Ventilation: We have adjusted our lunch/recess schedules so that students are able to distance more effectively while eating. Inside classrooms we have reinstituted distancing guidelines and increased ventilation.
As always, please keep your child home if they are not feeling well. If your child is sick or has tested positive for COVID-19, please keep them home. We ask that you contact us and we will help you navigate when and under what conditions your child can return to school.
Health Attestation: Every weekend you will receive a health attestation email. Please continue to fill it out for each student indicating that they have been tested for COVID-19 and were negative.
CLAS is canceled for the next few weeks. Hopefully we can resume CLAS in February, provided transmission rates have improved.
CDPH has updated their guidance for schools. See summary below:
- Vaccinated students who are exposed may continue to attend school under modified quarantine guidance.
- Students (vaccinated and unvaccinated) who are exposed at school but with all parties masked may continue to attend school under modified quarantine guidance.
- All students who contract COVID-19 may return to school after 5 full days of isolation, IF symptoms are improving and there is no fever for 24 hours, AND a negative antigen test is completed on or after day 5. Otherwise, students can return to school on day 11.
- Unvaccinated students who have a close contact with COVID-19, when both parties are not masked, must quarantine. Home quarantine can end after day 7 if a test collected on or after day 5 is negative for COVID. If testing is not available, students can return to school on day 11.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Be safe,
David
