Hi, everyone. Happy Thursday!

We have had a number of COVID cases over the past 2-3 weeks and across several classes. As a result, we have received some good COVID-related questions. Here is some info and answers, as briefly as possible. Feel free to send along questions to Health Coordinator Laura Motaweh or me or another administrator.

Overview
First of all, right now we are seeing more general illness and allergies as well as more COVID cases, including in some clusters (several cases in a building, for example), and including some employees. While it can be disconcerting or even a little unnerving, to see this many cases, with a more transmissible variant and individuals and communities letting go of mitigations, we expected more cases. It has been reported that in most cases symptoms are mild/nonexistent to moderate, and not even like a bad flu. But COVID hits different people differently. And there are other nasty bugs circulating, too.

General Mitigation
Staying at home when sick or symptomatic or having tested positive continues to be a key mitigator. Good communication, masking (both mandatory and voluntary), and testing when symptomatic each also are preventing bigger outbreaks and more missed school or work.

We continue to require masking where we see an outbreak or potential outbreak. Several classes have been asked to mask indoors, from a few days up to five days or more, because we had a few cases simultaneously – or consecutively – or there was exposure such that it made sense to ensure we did not have a big outbreak.

Also, we have had a good bit of optional masking, which we’ve normalized. More vulnerable folks and their family members and concerned others are electing, without stigma, as best we can see, to continue to wear masks, or to wear them situationally, as they’re comfortable — again, just as planned. Maintaining excellent classroom ventilation and working outdoors as possible also is a good strategy while we’re still in this uptick in cases. Larger, cross cohort indoor gatherings, for now, will be masked. We will have the 8th-grade musical, for example, next week as a masked event.

Communicating about Cases
Laura will investigate all absences. We’re resuming sending a simple letter to each class when there’s a known COVID case, regardless of whether there may have been exposure or attendance at school, and we can share additional general updates with the community as needed. Please continue to share any relevant info you have, in order to support us in having centralized up-to-date information.

Cove Trips
The Cove spring season is here! The first trip left today! Because the Cove itself is open air (even on Cove buses and in dorms there is pretty great air circulation) and run by cohort groups who already are mixing all day, every day here on campus, including indoors, our strategy for preventing outbreaks and managing worry is a) to remind parents that they and their kids should stay home if they have any doubts about whether they are well, and b) to remind everyone that any of us can choose to mask in any parts of school and Cove trips where we prefer to be masked. We are not requiring tests prior to the trips because a negative test today could be a positive tomorrow, and we want people not to rely on a test that could be a false or temporary negative but instead want them to be most thoughtful about observing for symptoms and possible exposures away from school!

Campus Testing
At this point, unless we see a huge outbreak, we are not looking to reinstitute a required PCR testing for all students and employees on campus. Although we have had higher absences recently, some was related to travel, family issues, and non-COVID illness. Where there’s been doubt or a question we’ve encouraged PCR testing or presumed COVID, as when household members have had it.

At present, COVID is making its rounds and we’re not convinced that testing alone will have much impact for us, as we’ve seen little certifiable internal spread. We do realize there’s a reasonable inference that with more cases amongst our community there’s a higher likelihood that there has been or will be at least a little more transmission among us, and we’re watching closely. We hope we’re keeping the risk down, even to minimal spread at all, if we don’t let down our guards and are thoughtful and stay home when sick.

Final Word
Please again, most of all, stay at home when sick/testing positive, and continue to mask when we feel vulnerable or when we feel it’s appropriate.

Thank you!
Jeff

Head of School