Dear Parents-
Monday was the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. Such a fascinating feast as the Chair reminds us of the unity of the universal Church, and the feast celebrates the authority given by Jesus to Peter to lead and guide the Church in Jesus’ place. This authority is passed on to the popes, who take on the role of the supreme teacher and authority of the Church on Earth. The feast of the Chair of St. Peter celebrates the unity of the Church, united in one faith.
Our second grade students made their first penance today, and although not accompanied by family and friends, our students did an awesome job, reverently and humbly. Our students were able to visit the church ahead of time and Ms. Buonocore and Father Tom explained to the students how to receive the Sacrament--COVID style.
Our COVID-19 update this week shows a decline in the total number of cases nationally, down from a January 8 high of over 300,000 new cases in one day (7-day average of new cases over 256,000) to our current 7-day average of 69,770 new cases. So we celebrate that hopeful trend, bearing in mind that on August 26, when school opened, we had a national 7-day average of 42,145 daily new COVID cases.
Closer to home, Fairfax County has a current 7-day moving average of 7.8% positivity rate, averaging 245 cases per day over the last seven days. Neighboring Loudoun County has a positivity rate of 7.7%, and in Prince William County the 11.5% positivity rate remains unchanged. Fairfax and Loudoun Counties are experiencing significant downturn in positivity rates! Notably, though, there are 11 known cases of the UK B.1.1.7 COVID variant in the Commonwealth.
Students who registered to return to school for in-person learning for T3, should continue to plan for the March 15 start date, unless something occurs to change that.
Last Wednesday it was announced on ABC news that Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested a sense of normality could return in the fall, while President Joe Biden said Christmas. As to wider distribution of the vaccine, you might get the shot in June. Or July. Hopefully by fall. And all children are definitely returning to school soon, maybe.
Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, February 24, and join us at the PTO meeting. Link and agenda highlights provided below. Also, consider joining us for our next book club meeting on Wednesday, March 3. Additional information provided below as well.
Please let me know if you have any questions, or if I can be of any assistance.
Go to Joseph
(Gen 41:55)
Denise Rutledge
Principal
Building Wisdom and Faith Through Service to God