St. Francis School – Letter to Parents – August 21, 2020

August 21, 2020

Dear Parents,

I would like to compliment you on preparing your children to return to school.  They have been wonderful!  They have worn their masks and have been very careful to follow all of the expectations that we have for them for social distancing and washing hands. They have been coming into the cafeteria to eat lunch (when it is their turn) and have been so very respectful and cooperative.  I am so very proud of them!  Please thank them again for me, and thank you for guiding them on this new path that we all must follow.

As mentioned in my Safety Plan to all of you this summer, as directed by our Diocese, we are following the guidelines of the Adams County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health.  Often, the information that we receive changes frequently and I have done my best to pass that along to you as well.  If we have any questions about a health situation or even a concern, we have a direct contact at the Health Department who has advised us to what steps are appropriate to take to keep us all safe.  If there is a need to contact you, we will do so.  We are monitoring our students very closely and even taking extra temperature checks throughout the day.

Our Distance Learning Protocol is in place if a child needs to stay home because of an illness or an illness in your family, and we will provide you with further directions for your individual child, if need be.  According to the COVID-19 Exclusionary Guidance from the ACHD and IDPH which was dated 8/20/20, if a student or teacher tests positive for COVID-19, they should “stay at home for at least 10 calendar days from the onset of symptoms AND for 24 hours with no fever (without fever-reducing medication) AND improvement of symptoms.”  The ACHD will conduct contact tracing to determine who was in close contact with the individual who tested positive for COVID-19 and provide direction for quarantine.  “If an individual has been identified by public health for quarantine or knows they are a close contact to a case, the 14-calendar-day quarantine must be completed.” Therefore, we will follow the direction for each quarantine from the ACHD for each individual case regarding whether an entire classroom will be considered close contact.

Thank you again for your support of our teachers and our school.  We are so happy to see your children here and we are honored to have the opportunity to teach them.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Lori Shepard, Principal