This week Mrs. Kerth, our Math Instructional Coach, and I were able to start a very exciting opportunity with the Brown's Family Foundation of Kansas City (BFFKC). The University of Notre Dame has started a new program CAtholic School Teacher LEadership (CASTLE) and has selected Holy Cross to participate in a two-year program that utilizes math instructional coaches to enhance Catholic school math programs. We visited Saint Teresa's Academy and kicked off the program with a visit from Dr. Trinter and we were able to collaborate with a few surrounding Kansas City Catholic schools. We are truly blessed to be part of this highly acclaimed program and cannot wait to learn how we can better serve all of our students' academic needs.
This week presented a few challenges in regard to Covid. Please know that we are following the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment guidance and that includes communication to families. If there is a low-risk exposure in a classroom, you will receive a letter from the nurse's office. If there is a high risk, you will receive a phone call. Again this is the guidance from JCDHE. As always, we are working on improving our procedures and have had some minor adjustments that will reduce the number of quarantines that we have had over the past two weeks. In the event that your child is asked to quarantine, these are the choices for families.
Quarantine Guidelines for Holy Cross as guided by the JCDHE:
Currently there are 4 options for quarantine. If a staff member or student needs to quarantine then all options and procedures will be explained to them at that time.
1.) Quarantine for 14 days at home. Email with your child's teacher to make arrangements for picking up school work.
2.) Quarantine at home for 10 days after exposure (last day of contact is Day 0, the next day is Day 1.) If no symptoms, then may return on day 11 post-exposure. Continue to monitor for symptoms through Day 14.
3.) Complete a shortened quarantine at home, which requires a PCR test (these are the most accurate tests) on Day 6 post-exposure. With a negative PCR test result, the student/staff may return on Day 8 if they are still asymptomatic.
4.) Sign consent for your child to have a rapid antigen nasal swab performed daily for 7 days (not weekends) post-exposure as part of the "Test to Stay and Learn" plan offered by KDHE. The antigen test is not as accurate as of the PCR test but the thought behind it is to hopefully catch a positive on one of the 7 days tested. At this time, we are figuring that the tests will be done in the courtyard outside the gym beginning at around 8:20 each morning. The parent will administer the swab to their child and the nurse will run the test which takes 15 minutes to get the result.
One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is patience. The entire school community has not only displayed patience, but also flexibility. Please remember that our number one goal is to keep our students and staff safe and protect the learning environment. This year is proving to be more challenging than last and we are working diligently to ensure everyone feels safe at school. Although we are all experiencing pandemic fatigue, please continue to make good choices to help keep the entire community safe and healthy.
