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Beginning Monday, January 17 we will not require students and staff to wear face masks at St. Joseph School.
At the beginning of the school year, we implemented the mandatory mask policy. At that time very few of our students had any protection, other than masking, from the COVID virus. Masking helped us reduce the transmission of the virus in our school and helped us continue with in person schooling with limited student and staff absences. Now that all our students over the age of 5 have had the opportunity to be vaccinated, and staff members have had the opportunity to get a booster, those who choose to be protected from the effects of the virus in that way are protected.
St. Joseph School will follow the quarantine guidelines stated below.
-If there is a positive case in school and that positive person is not masked:
-students and teachers who are close contacts of the positive case and who have not been vaccinated will be required to quarantine at home for 5 days after exposure.
-students and teachers who have been vaccinated will not be required to quarantine. They are allowed to stay in school and are expected to wear a face mask and monitor symptoms for 5 days following their exposure.
-If there is a positive case in school and that positive person is masked:
-students and teachers who are close contacts of the positive case and who are neither masked nor vaccinated will be required to quarantine at home for 5 days after exposure.
-students and teachers who are masked and / or vaccinated will not be required to quarantine. They are allowed to stay in school and are expected to wear a face mask and monitor symptoms for 5 days.
The wearing of masks will be encouraged and supported. If you want your child to wear a mask at school, you can be assured that other students, as well as many teachers and staff will be wearing a mask. If you want your child to wear a mask and you are not sure that they will do so without a reminder, please let me know and we will help you by giving those reminders.
As always, it is important that you as parents continue to help us keep the students and staff in school safe and healthy by keeping sick children home. In addition to COVID in our community, I have heard of students with strep throat, influenza, and normal colds. Children with any illness should stay home from school until they are symptom free so as not to spread the infection to others. Your cooperation is important to keeping students and teachers healthy and in school.
Thank you for your help with this and thank you for your support of St. Joseph School.
Jerry Van Dyke, Principal
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