Our new faculty and staff cohort joined us on Tuesday and we have some wonderful additions to our team. I am excited for you to meet them (click here to learn more). Today, all of our colleagues came back to campus to work in divisions, grade level teams and departments to prepare for the academic year ahead. All of us have at least three important things in common: we are wearing face coverings, washing our hands, and are excited to welcome the students back to school. Everything feels new, even if we have been gearing up for opening days for decades—this is a new environment, and all of us will be learning and caring for one another. Following our four W’s (wear a face covering, wash hands often, watch your distance, and wellness check each day) will make a tremendous difference for our community. I have spoken to our representative at the Department of Public Health as well as several physicians, and everyone agrees that these protocols are hugely important and not debatable.

We have made some updates to our Preparation Plan, so please do review it again. Notable changes have been made to the protocols in place when symptoms or a positive case occurs. Medical guidance is not to “test-out” of quarantine, but rather to continue to follow the time protocols put in place. We are also sharing some metrics for closing a homeroom, grade level, division, or the school, based on concurrent cases. We will be partnering with the DPH, and more importantly, the data from the PikMyKid app will give us real information to track and to help guide us. Please be sure to download the app and register now, and please be vigilant in taking temperatures and completing the app each day. It is simple and easy, but it only works if people are engaged in this important wellness check. Please read to the end.