Welcome back! I hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving even though it was probably very different from the ideal. The start of the week was eventful with the storm, power and internet outages, and fallen trees. Fortunately, for K to 8, the remote instruction proceeded as usual on Wednesday, even though some teachers were snowed in and had to work from home. The preschool classes resumed as usual on Wednesday.
Thank you for your generosity on Giving Tuesday! The donations to Communion of Saints School were more than double last year’s contributions. The faculty and staff feel very blessed for this wonderful community we serve.
On Monday, December 7, we plan to return to in-person instruction. Please review the symptom check list that was sent at the beginning of the year before delivering your child to school. For those of you planning to study remotely until the end of the second quarter, please be sure to follow the guidelines in the Distance Learning Agreement. Most importantly for our learners at home, you must be on time, in uniform, have a dedicated distraction free workplace, and have your cameras on for the entire class in order to be marked present. When your camera goes off, you will be marked absent.
These next two weeks we will have even stricter guidelines for safety. We ask that all grades do not bring anything from home to play with at recess. We are trying to limit germ transmission by avoiding any materials that will cause students to gather and touch surfaces. Playground balls and toys need to be left at home at least for the next two weeks.
Students must wear a clean mask which completely covers the nose and is sealed at the chin. As younger students tend to get their masks wet around their mouths during the day, it would be a good idea to send a clean spare. Bandanna masks should be replaced as they leave a large opening at the mouth and chin. Evidence suggests that gaiters are not effective, so I ask that your child be masked instead. As I walk through the classrooms, I notice a few students here and there who consistently do not have their noses covered. For the safety and well-being of the teachers and fellow students, we will no longer give multiple reminders to pull the mask up. Instead, we will call you and send your child home with materials to continue learning remotely until the end of the second quarter. The practice of wearing a mask is so important that we cannot waiver on this.
Please use the time over the weekend to see how your child wears his/her mask, find a mask that fits, and decide whether your child is capable of wearing it properly for an entire day.
As of today, there are no new reported cases of Covid-19 in addition to the five that were present before Thanksgiving. Our goal is to keep it that way during the next two weeks!
Please continue to have those in the medical field and those affected by Covid-19 in your prayers.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Whiteley
