December 30, 2020
To our Westlake Academy family,
I’m hoping you’re all enjoying a very restful and joyous holiday vacation with your loved ones. It’s certainly been a trying year which makes times like these so special. As we begin to wrap-up our time away from work and school, it’s important for us all to remember that the health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff remains our top priority.
Thus, we must all continue our safety precautions to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. That’s why we’re asking each of you to notify us via email at COVIDquestions@westlakeacademy.org or nurse@westlakeacademy.org regarding any close contact you have had with those who have tested positive for the virus, or if you are experiencing symptoms or have tested positive yourself. This will allow us to implement our COVID protocols and correctly calculate a date for you and/or your student to return to campus.
In January, we plan to phase our 9th and 10th-grade students back onto campus 5-days a week. With the exception of our remote learners, this will be the first time in the 2020-2021 school year where we will have all of our students together again on campus. In order to facilitate in-person learning on campus in January and beyond, we can all help do our part by wearing a mask, washing our hands regularly, practicing safe social distancing, and staying home when we’re feeling ill.
You may recall that we implemented the remote learning option for our MYP and DP students shortly before the break. This was due to the impact the virus had on our teaching staff and the available personnel in the substitute teacher pool. Our COVID response team continues to monitor the case count and the number of available staff to teach. The highest transmission rates are generally coming from within households and one case can have a tremendous impact on a family’s health and the duration of the quarantine period. Should we need to utilize the remote learning option in the next half of the school year, we will notify you as soon as possible.
We so appreciate your support through these difficult times. With your help, we can return to some semblance of normalcy soon, but it will take a total team effort. Together, we will come out of this year stronger than when we began!
Wishing you all a very safe and healthy new year,
Amanda DeGan
