Dear Fenwick Students and Parents,
As Covid-19 cases continue to rise locally and nationally, we are acutely aware of the continued stress and anxiety this is placing on everyone in the Fenwick community, especially students and their families, faculty and staff.
Schools continue to remain exempt as essential service providers from the advisory stay-at-home orders that have been issued for the city of Chicago and suburban Cook county, and there remains no definitive evidence that Covid-19 cases are being readily transmitted in schools, nor at Fenwick. We continue to follow the health and safety guidelines of the CDC, the Illinois Department of Public Health and local health authorities. With due consideration for all of our stakeholders, Fenwick will continue with our hybrid learning schedule through next week.
This is based on what we know as of 4:00 p.m., on Friday, November 13. This could change at any time, even before Monday’s expected in-person learning for the A group. We will continue to monitor this situation very closely and you can expect to hear from me no later than Friday of next week, but please be on the lookout for further communication at any time.
As of noon today, since our adaptive pause on October 28, Fenwick has been alerted to 35 positive confirmed cases. Another 9 students are symptomatic and probable. Another 102 are awaiting test results and/or are quarantining as a result of contact tracing. Contact tracing has been completed in all cases, and there is no further need for quarantining at this moment.
The vast majority of positive cases are linked to social gatherings and family contacts. We continue to need your cooperation! We all want as much safe, in-school learning as possible for our students. That can only be achieved with your cooperation.
Next Friday is an e-learning day and the following week there is no school for parent/teacher conferences and the long Thanksgiving weekend. Let’s do our best to stay as safe as possible through next week. Follow all health and safety guidelines: wear masks, maintain social distance, no large gatherings, wash hands frequently.
We look forward to seeing the students next week. Have a blessed weekend.
