Dear St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School Families,
Thank you to all who were able to join us Wednesday evening at our first virtual General Parent Meeting. During our time together, we reviewed our finances and discussed the impact of COVID-19 safety procedures and protocols for this school year. In addition, our Covid Coordinator, Mrs. Nieto, shared information on the current status of our school as it pertains to new mandates for mask wearing and our school's COVID-19 statistics. Below is a short summary of the information that was discussed.
Finance Update:
While we forecasted a deficit close to our budget for the 2019-2020 school year, through responsible stewardship, cost cutting measures, and generous support from our families, we finished in the black. This year, as we faced preparation for opening the school in a pandemic, we forecasted lower enrollment of 510 students resulting in a $270,000 deficit. We are currently enrolled at 528 students which has greatly contributed to the slow reduction of the projected deficit. Through the generosity of our families, we anticipate our fundraising additionally supporting the good work we do on campus.
COVID-19 Statistics:
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our school has been guided by national, state, and county guidelines for schools, established by infectious disease experts and agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CDPH, and Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA), the Diocese of Orange. To date, these agencies continue to profess that schools are effectively combating COVID-19 due to health and safety mitigation strategies and have made recommendations for schools to remain open. At this time, our numbers of positive cases on campus remain very low and there is no evidence of on-campus transmission.
We thank Mrs. Nieto for her heroic efforts in electrostatic spraying the school daily at 6 am, throughout the day cleansing of surfaces, and collaborating with me to contract trace and maintain a safe and healthy campus.
Mask Wearing:
This Monday, February 1st, we will be updating our Reopening Plan to reflect the changes mandated by the California Department of Public Health. One important change that affects all Kindergarten through Second Grade students is that they must all wear masks on our school campus. The update will read (per the CDPH guidelines):
Face Coverings:
Students in all grade levels K-12 are required to wear face coverings at all times, while at school, unless exempted.
All staff must use face coverings in accordance with CDPH guidelines
● CPDH recommends disposable 3-ply surgical masks, which are more effective than cloth face coverings
● For staff, bandanas, gaiters and similar face coverings are no longer acceptable.
● In limited situations where a face covering cannot be used for pedagogical or developmental reasons, a face shield with a drape can be used as long as the wearer maintains physical distance from others.
Shared Responsibility Reminder:
We once again request that students, employees, and families continue to diligently screen for symptoms of COVID-19 at home before arriving at school each and every day. Employees and families must report detailed information of all student symptoms to our Covid Coordinator. This includes anyone with a fever of 100.4° F or greater within the past 24 hours as well as cough, difficulty breathing, loss of taste/smell, congestion/runny nose, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, sore throat, headache, and fatigue/muscle or body aches.
Thank you for your diligent support as we all work together to provide the very best education for our community and keep our school open!
Be safe and be hopeful,
Jeannette Lambert
Principal
