August 21, 2020

Dear Xavier Families,

We are excited to have faculty and staff back on campus this week preparing for the start of the new school year.  As we review our preventive measures and safety protocols with our staff this week, we wanted to share some important updates regarding:
  • Daily Screening of Students
  • Orientation Days
  • Test of Emergency Notification System on Tuesday, August 25 at 2:30pm
  • Guidelines for the Prevention, Investigation, and Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks in K-12 Schools in Wisconsin

Daily Screening of Students:
To ensure the safety and well-being of our students and staff, we are implementing daily screenings of students. These daily screenings have two important elements:
  • daily home screening of students by parents/caregivers before leaving for school
  • daily temperature checks for students as they enter our school buildings
Based on guidance from the CDC, Wisconsin DHS, the Diocese of Green Bay and the Appleton Health Department, we've developed daily screening questions to assist families with determining if a student can attend school. We want to stress that students should not attend school when they are sick. Our screening procedures are intended to assist families with making this determination and to limit the instances of students attending school with symptoms of COVID-19 and having to be sent home.  
As part of our daily screening, each morning parents/caregivers need to screen each Xavier student based on the following questions:
  • Temperature 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or higher?
  • Sore throat?
  • New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (for students with chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline)?
  • Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain?
  • New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever?
  • Has your student been in close contact with anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 or was diagnosed with COVID-19 in last 14 days?
  • Has your student been diagnosed with COVID-19 by a health care provider in the last 10 days?
The daily screening questions are not intended to diagnose a student with COVID-19 and/or replace the guidance of health care professionals. They are intended to assist our families and to prevent ill students from attending school. To assist families, we've developed Xavier's Daily Home Screening for Students    checklist to provide an easy to follow listing of the screening questions. Click here for a graphic illustrating more of our Reopening Procedures and FAQ.

Another element of our daily screening procedures at each campus will be daily temperature checks for students as they enter our school buildings. Once again, daily temperature checks are not intended to diagnose a student with COVID-19 and/or replace the guidance of health care professionals. They are intended to assist our families and school personnel with preventing ill students from attending school. During Orientation Days at each campus, school personnel will educate students about procedures for entering school each day. 

Please note in our screening procedures that our benchmark temperature reading is 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. This is consistent with protocols used in the past in the Xavier System and our overall philosophy of taking an abundance of caution in dealing with this pandemic. We also recognize that many factors can impact temperature readings and we, once again, want to avoid having ill students attend school and having to send students home.

We ask you to please review our daily screening questions and continue to stay updated on information about COVID-19 from the CDC and Wisconsin Department of Health Services.  Based on guidance from the Appleton Health Department, we will adjust and modify the daily screening procedures as needed. Families will be notified if there are any changes to our daily screening of students.    


Orientation Days

What are Orientation Days? When are they taking place?
To ensure the effective implementation of policies and protocols, each campus will designate Orientation Days during the first week of school to educate students about preventive measures and assist with our transition to the new school year.

Orientation Days: Xavier Elem & XMS
August 26        A Day (Family Last Name:  A-K)
August 27        B Day (Family Last Name:  L-Z)
August 28        All students

Orientation Day: XHS
August 24        Grades 10, 11 and 12
August 25        Grade 9

Contact your student's campus for more information about Orientation Days.


Test of Emergency Notification System on Tuesday, August 25 at 2:30pm 
           
For the past five years, the Xavier System has used SwiftK12 for our emergency notification system. This notification system allows us to contact our families in the event of a school emergency or closure. The program allows parents to personalize contact information and identify the most efficient way for you to receive alerts. 

To ensure parents' contact information is accurate, we always test our system at the beginning of the school year. With this in mind, on 
Tuesday, August 25 at 2:30pm, we plan to test our emergency notification system. We encourage you to review and update (if needed) your preferences in Swiftk12 prior to the test. Details about how to review and update your contact information are included in:

If you do not have access to PowerSchool or have any questions, please contact your student's school office. 


Guidelines for the Prevention, Investigation, and Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks in K-12 Schools in Wisconsin

Throughout the summer, our planning teams developed protocols and preventive measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, families and employees. As part of this work, we have contingency plans in place if we have a case of COVID-19 in our schools and/or we need to close a campus and/or campuses. To assist schools when determining when to close a campus, the Wisconsin Department of Health recently released Guidelines for the Prevention, Investigation, and Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks in K-12 Schools in Wisconsin. In consultation with the Diocese of Green Bay and the Appleton Health Department, we'll use this information to guide notification of families and staff of cases of COVID-19 in our schools and to determine the necessary steps to mitigate the spread of the virus. We encourage families to review DHS's guidelines as well as our Reopening Information on our website. Just as we have contingency plans for school closures, it is important for families to develop their own contingency plans if their student is ill and/or during a school closure. Please know that in those situations, we'll work hard to communicate with families and work together to support our students. 


In closing, we began our inservices this week by celebrating Mass and asking for the Lord's blessing on our students, families and staff during this challenging time. As we review our reopening plans and protocols, we are reminded that we don't do this work alone. In the Xavier System, we are so fortunate to have dedicated leaders, teachers, staff, families, pastors and parishes who support our schools. Most importantly, we are reminded that we are all children of God and as Psalm 23 tells us:

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil;             
for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.

We encourage you to stay in contact with your principals for campus specific information about our reopening. In addition, feel free to contact us with any questions.

God Bless,

Phil Riley
President

John Ravizza
Superintendent