Email sent on Saturday, January 8, 2022
Updated COVID-19 Guidelines
Dear Caregivers,
First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity to welcome you back to campus for the 2nd semester of the 2021-2022 school year. We are excited to have our students back in the classroom and are looking forward to the months to come.
Secondly, I want to apologize that there has not been communication sent out earlier concerning COVID and the rising case counts, changing policies, etc. These past few weeks have been filled with updates and guidelines, and at times, contradictory information. For this reason, Prince of Peace has been patiently waiting for things to settle down with some consistent guidelines from the Salt Lake County Health Department as well as taking into consideration the new information coming from the CDC and Utah State Health Department.
In short, Prince of Peace will abide by the new mask mandate that went into effect this morning and goes through February 7th. Outside of this change, we will continue with the protocols in place to this point, which have been highly successful and also fall under the “Best Protection” category of new guidelines provided by Salt Lake County Health Department. This includes keeping the quarantine period at the 10-day mark with a test-to-return option at day 7 if symptoms are not present. Additionally, I want to remind all our families of the best way to mitigate the spread of COVID at Prince of Peace and keep our student body healthy and in person:
Feel sick, stay home - To ensure mitigating the spread of COVID, school parents must ensure their student is healthy enough to be in school that day. Our best line of defense is to not have COVID enter our school building. Students who have COVID-like symptoms should stay home from school. Having symptomatic individuals stay home will significantly reduce our need to quarantine students. Likewise, if an individual begins showing symptoms while at school, they will be isolated and sent home. This decision will be at the school’s discretion. Additionally, anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will not be permitted at school during their isolation period.
In closing, I want to reassure you that Prince of Peace is continually monitoring the ongoing COVID pandemic and also want to thank you for your unwavering support of YOUR school and the decisions that we have made to this point. May God continue to watch over us and bless us as we move forward together in a spirit of Christian love and understanding!
Blessings on your day!
- Mr. Paulsen
RESOURCES:
Utah Coronavirus Home
Salt Lake County Health Department – https://slco.org/health
CDC site – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/index.html
US Department of Education – https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus?src=feature
American Academy of Pediatrics – https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/