Dear Spartan Community,
I want to begin by telling you that we have treasured the time we have had so far this year with each of your students. While inside the building, students have been full of joy and excitement, I also realize many of you carry questions, concerns, and frustrations given the current Covid-19 conditions in San Antonio. Many of you have had to pick up students who have been close contacts of positive cases, you have positive cases in your home, or you know someone suffering from COVID at the moment. We sympathize with all who are suffering because of the spike of cases here in San Antonio. I am also happy to report that I, myself, am on the mend and look forward to being back on campus on Monday.
In addition to the Covid-19 mitigation measures we previously communicated, all Great Hearts San Antonio campuses are now layering additional measures to further protect our scholars and staff. These additional measures will be in place until we see an improvement in the COVID-19 conditions in our community.
Let me begin with a core point: we strongly encourage students, faculty, and staff to wear face-coverings. While they remain a choice, we know that mask-wearing will reduce the number of students who are deemed close contacts, allowing us to keep more students and teachers on campus rather than entering quarantine.
Here are the temporary additional mitigation measures that will be implemented on our campus starting Monday, August 23rd:
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Required 7-10 day quarantining of unvaccinated close contacts (no longer optional)
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A “close contact” requiring quarantine is defined as an unvaccinated person who is within 6 feet of an infected individual for a cumulative duration of 15 minutes in a 24-hour period if either of the individuals were not consistently and correctly wearing a mask.
- Note: mask-wearing will reduce the number of students who are deemed close contacts, allowing us to keep more students and teachers on campus rather than entering quarantine.
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Reduced lunch-room occupancy with options for outdoor/distanced dining
- K-3 students will eat in their classrooms and lunchroom on a rotating basis
- 4-8 students will have more seating made around the gym indoors and outdoors in an effort to allow students to spread out
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Increased emphasis on classes being conducted outside, when possible
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Using consistent seating charts to support contact tracing if needed
- K-8 students currently move about in cohorts, and we are asking that they use the same seating charts from class to class as much as possible (ex: specials)
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Halt to all large indoor assemblies
- All House meetings not contained to cohorts will be conducted outside
- Any House activities will be conducted in our large gym space or outside
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Reduced traffic in hallways, where possible
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Socially distanced faculty meetings
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No parent/grandparent lunch visitors, except those volunteering to help with lunch service
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Daily updated COVID counter on the GHWH website
These additional mitigation measures will be in place until further notice. Other measures already being taken will continue to be in place, including daily use of disinfectant machines, access to hand sanitizer in classrooms, and reliance on upgraded MERV 13 air filters that increase airflow.
Thank you for your patience with us as we daily monitor the current COVID situation. I also want you to know that we are still actively committed to helping your student flourish this year as they grow in the habits of the body, mind, and character. We are committed to this partnership with you; thank you for trusting us with your children at GHWH, where every day is a great day to be a Spartan!
Sincerely,
