Dear Serra Parents and Guardians,

We hope that your family has had a restful and relaxing summer. 
 
We wanted to provide guidance as we all look forward to the start of the 2021-2022 school year - in just two weeks! We are all acutely aware that we are emerging from the global pandemic that challenged our lives and Serra’s educational program. This transitional time period continues to present unique challenges. On the one hand, the vaccination rate is extremely high in San Mateo County giving us all reason for hope in resuming activities “as normal.” At the same time, the Delta variant has increased the infection rate, particularly among the unvaccinated, and is resulting in ongoing restrictions that will continue to impact school operations.

The following points will give guidance on the major areas governing our educational program.

School oversight and decision making: Serra leadership will make decisions under the guidance of multiple oversight agencies. Programmatic oversight is subject to the Archdiocese of San Francisco (a message from the Superintendent is attached here, Spanish - here), the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) in conversation with the San Mateo Health Department, and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The local and state health agencies are influenced by guidance from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Serra’s athletic programs are governed by the West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL), the Central Coast Section (CCS) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). Given the multiple jurisdictions governing our educational program, Serra weighs its recommendations and mandates carefully when making decisions regarding our academic and extracurricular programs. Decisions on tri-school activities are made in collaboration with the leadership of our partner schools, Mercy High School and Notre Dame High School.

Guidance for 2021-2022: San Mateo County Office of Education published their school COVID guidance on Friday (here), and will be holding an informational webinar for educators this Friday, August 6. We will update and communicate our plans based on that information. In summary, plans include the following:

  • Facemasks: Facemasks will continue to be required for all students, staff and visitors while in the building. Facemasks will be optional when outside the building.

  • Health Check Screening: Daily self health screening through our Ruvna site will continue. Students with COVID symptoms or other illnesses will be required to stay home. 

  • Health protocols: Hand sanitizers, touchless faucets and touchless water dispensers were installed prior to the 2020-2021 year and will be maintained. Portable air filtration systems with HEPA air filters were installed in all classrooms and offices last year and will be maintained.

  • Physical Distancing: The guidelines do not include recommendations concerning physical distancing when facemasks are being used. However, physical distancing measures will be enforced for indoor dining areas.  

Vaccinations: Junípero Serra High School strongly encourages students and their families to get vaccinated. This action is the most effective step we can take to ensure a safe school environment for all members of our community. Please note that Serra is required to contact trace every case of COVID-19 in our community. Per County guidelines, students who are “close contacts” and are vaccinated will be notified but are NOT required to quarantine.  Students who are not vaccinated WILL be required to quarantine from all activities, including classes and extracurricular activities. We are requiring all students to report their vaccination status to allow us to contact trace. 

Per county guidelines, if a family declines to state their son’s vaccination status, the school will treat him as unvaccinated for the purposes of contact tracing and quarantine assessment. If you have not already done so, please complete the COVID Vaccination Self-Verification form. This must be completed by Friday, August 6.

Academic Program: As we mentioned in a message earlier this summer, Serra plans full in-person instruction this year. We have added class sections to ensure that we could accommodate 100 percent of students regardless of distancing requirements.

Please note that we will NOT be providing a hybrid teaching program with dual instruction for in-class and at-home students. If a student is absent or must quarantine due to COVID-19, he will be expected to maintain learning through our learning management system, Google Classroom and communication with the teacher.  

Families should adjust travel plans to ensure that their sons will not miss class. This is especially important for the weeks of final exams in December and May, since no provisions will be made for students to miss their regularly scheduled semester final exams. If required by local health authorities, we will provide distance learning for the entire school.

Athletic Program: At this point we are planning full implementation of our athletic program. Please note that student athletes who are fully vaccinated do not have to be quarantined if they are a close contact of a COVID-positive case. Students who are not vaccinated will be required to quarantine for 10 days if exposed. 

Parent Webinar Information Sessions: We have rescheduled our parent information sessions to ensure that we have the latest information from the county that will be issued on August 6. The sessions will review logistics related to the opening of school, COVID protocols, drop offs and pickups, and important policies and procedures. Please see the dates time for the parent/guardian webinars here:

  • Freshman Webinar - Monday, August 9, 2021 - 6 p.m.-7 p.m.
  • Sophomore Webinar - Monday, August 9, 2021 - 7:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
  • Junior & Senior Webinar - Tuesday, August 10, 2021 - 6:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.

Ongoing communication: We will update our website with COVID protocol information by Wednesday, August 11, and will keep it updated throughout the year. Please also visit the calendar section of our website for information regarding activities during the first few weeks of school, bell schedules and more information regarding the daily schedules.

We are very proud of the entire Serra community's response to the pandemic. As we messaged in previous communications, we did not experience any cases of COVID-19 transmission on campus during the past 17 months of the pandemic. We attribute this success to the actions of every member of the community in following the health guidelines throughout the year. This incredible response by the community and the professionalism of our faculty and staff allowed us to run our educational program at an extremely high level.  

We plan to do the same this year. We know there will be more unforeseen challenges, and we will adapt with a laser focus on what is best for the students, teachers and community! Let us walk together in the light of faith as we recall the words of St. Junipero Serra, “Siempre Adelante, Nunca Atras!” Always Forward, Never Back!

Sincerely,