Dear Common Ground Families & Students,
Thank you for your patience these past few days as we revamped our safety measures in light of the COVID-19 surge and new CDC guidance. You have been at the forefront of our thoughts and planning these last few days. We hope you are spending this week productively and safely, using this time to catch up on missing assignments and end the first semester strong!
Please read this email in full as there are important updates to prepare for our safe return to school.
- Please note these important dates:
- Common Ground will remain closed on Friday, January 7, 2022.
- Regular in-person classes will resume on Monday, January 10, 2022.
- There will be early dismissal at 12 Noon on Thursday and Friday, January 20 and 21, 2022.
- The last day of classes for the fall semester will be Wednesday, January 26, 2022.
- School will be closed on Thursday & Friday, January 27 & 28, to prepare for the start of the second semester
- Semester two classes will begin on Monday, January 31st.
- The CDC recommends that schools focus efforts on symptom identification and isolation. This means that we will be asking all members of the community to report symptoms immediately upon onset, whether or not you believe it may be COVID-19. Quarantine periods will be based on the date symptoms started and not the date of a positive test.
- The school community, including families, will be informed whenever a positive COVID-19 case is identified; however, students and staff will no longer be asked to quarantine based on exposure to a positive case in school. Quarantine will be only be required in two instances:
- Students are actively displaying symptoms COVID-19 symptoms. If your child develops symptoms while at home, it is important that you do not send them to school.
- If a member of a student’s household tested positive for COVID-19. An electronic form will be shared with students, staff, and families to inform the school of symptoms or positive cases.
-
Proper mask usage will be of paramount importance. All staff and students are required to keep masks on at all times. Students will be sent home if they fail to adhere to these guidelines.
- Test kits will be provided to students who are sent home to quarantine and have difficulty scheduling a test. These are in limited supply and will not be administered by the school nurse. Families should contact the school to indicate their need for an at home testing kit for students in quarantine.
- With this switch to "symptom tracing" we anticipate a higher than normal rate of student absences.
- Students in quarantine will be marked present for attendance per CDC guidelines if they continue to complete assignments online. Teachers are asked to place all assignments on BUZZ with resources to help students understand each lesson.
- Lunch time provides the greatest risk of COVID-19 transmission as students are unmasked while eating. Our lunch procedures have been adjusted to provide greater distancing. Lunch waves have been updated to balance numbers, and students will be spread across more eating areas (indoor and outdoor spaces will be available).
-
All students will go outside after completing meals to allow time to clean and sanitize spaces. Please ensure that students are appropriately dressed to be outdoors during these winter months.
I know this is a lot of information to process and you'll undoubtedly have many questions. Feel free contact the main office at (203) 389-4333 or via email if you seek clarity on any of these points. As always, we thank you for your patience and cooperation in helping our community stay safe and hopefully prevent any further disruptions to the school year. We are really looking forward to being back together as a community next week, and to working together to keep everyone safe and thriving.
Sincerely,
Cherry Pacquette-Emmanuel
School Director
