Dear St. Cecilia Families,
With great joy, humility, and hope, I welcome you back to this 2021-2022 school year! I hope this finds you and your families well, healthy and eager to begin a new school year! Here at St. Cecilia Catholic School, we have been working hard all summer to make this next school year the best school year ever! As we look to the start of school on Wednesday, we are excited to share our plans for safely welcoming our students on campus and keeping them safe.
Over the last two weeks, I have worked with our Administrative Team, our Health & Safety Committee, and with Fr. Francis to review the resurgence of Houston’s COVID infection rates due in large part to the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. In doing so, we have considered the latest guidelines and recommendations from our local Harris County Health Department, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Texas Pediatric Society. Our priority is, and always has been, to keep our students and faculty healthy, safe, and participating in in-person learning.
In an effort to protect our students’ health and safety, and to keep our students in school, participating in in-person learning, and with minimal disruption, we are temporarily requiring all students, staff, and visitors to wear masks while indoors.
At this time, we will begin the school year on August 11 as originally planned and communicated, with the following protocols:
- Masks will be temporarily required for all students, staff, and visitors while indoors, for at least one month.
- The mask requirement will be reviewed with any changes communicated by mid-September.
- Parents and visitors are welcome back on campus following the same mask protocols as above.
- Half of the student body will attend Mass in the Church, while the other half will attend in the auditorium. Groups will rotate every week.
- Fully vaccinated individuals will not be required to quarantine if close contact is determined.
- Unvaccinated individuals will need to quarantine for a period of 10 to 14 days if close contact is determined.
We are happy to share the following protocols will remain as they were originally communicated on July 9:
- While outdoors, masks will be optional for all students, faculty, and staff.
- Traditional Face-to-Face School Setting for all students.
- No longer offering Remote Learning options.
- There will be no temperature checks at carpool.
- Hand sanitization and cleaning protocols will still be in place.
- Students will move throughout the day to different classrooms.
- Students will eat lunch either in the Cafeteria or outside at picnic tables.
- Ancillary classes will happen in their respective classrooms (Art, Drama, Music).
- All recess restrictions will be lifted.
- Remove plexiglass dividers, hallway, and stairwell directional signage.
- Lessen distancing measures.
- Water fountains are available.
- Scheduled community events will still happen.
More than anything, we want to keep our students safe and in school. These measures will help us reduce the number of students that may be exposed to coronavirus, and therefore need to quarantine. We are hopeful that this recent spike in positive cases and hospitalizations amongst children will quickly subside and we will be able to return to a more normal school year as soon as possible. We are fully aware that this announcement requiring masks for all students will be unpopular with some parents, and perhaps some students. In times like this, let us join together in our faith and put our trust in God. With your continued support and understanding, we will continue to lean in and lean on each other. We will be St. Cecilia strong and we will exemplify the care, the faith, and the community that makes St. Cecilia great.
Thank you for your support, patience, and understanding.
I look forward to seeing you all back on campus, and at our Annual
Back to School Bash on August 13!
With warm regards and blessings,
Jeff Matthews
Principal
St. Cecilia Catholic School
