Dear Menaul School Community,
Because of measurable Covid spread on campus, we are going to stay online for two weeks, actually 17 days, from our last known contact and come back for Mask-to-Mask Learning on April 26. I am disappointed that we are back to online learning, but I should remind you of several items:
- Our school has functioned in-person beautifully for the majority of the year, and the 25 weeks we did in person were greatly beneficial to the physical and emotional health of our students and community.
- Every case and contact has been handled with an abundance of caution, our number one priority is the safety and education of our community. We continue to work with the DOH and PED to report every case.
- Another commitment has been offering the online synchronous option for the entire year to ensure families were never stripped of making the best health and wellness choices for themselves.
- Our community is thriving, and we love having the kids here. The amount of risk in class was worth in-person classes, and of course, we will continue to treat cases with caution.
- As Dr. Baker taught me early about this pandemic and school that it has always been about managing risk. We have largely removed the risk to our adult community with vaccines. We have followed best practices to reduce Covid spread but unfortunately some spread is predictable.
- There are two different quarantine guidelines: PED recommends 10 day. DOH recommends 14 days. We are staying away 17 days to get a great restart for the end of the school year together.
- While we encourage you to get tested if symptoms present themselves, the CDC does not recommend that everyone get tested (See below).
- I will host a Zoom meeting for Menaul School families tomorrow at 4 pm to discuss some of what we have learned from this event. We have done a thorough review of cases and have some interesting insights.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87600094847?pwd=bkcxTy9JNnNveUV4UnlhUVBlbGtyZz09
CDC Recommendations — Who should get tested for current COVID-19 infection?
- People who have symptoms of COVID-19.
- Most people who have had close contact (within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period) with someone with confirmed COVID-19.
- Fully vaccinated people with no COVID-19 symptoms do not need to be tested following an exposure to someone with COVID-19.
- People who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 3 months and recovered do not need to get tested following an exposure as long as they do not develop new symptoms.
- People who have taken part in activities that put them at higher risk for COVID-19 because they cannot physically distance as needed to avoid exposure, such as travel, attending large social or mass gatherings, or being in crowded or poorly-ventilated indoor settings.
- People who have been asked or referred to get tested by their healthcare provider, or state, tribal, localexternal icon, or territorial health department.
CDC recommends that anyone with any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 get tested, regardless of vaccination status or prior infection. If you get tested because you have symptoms or were potentially exposed to the virus, you should stay away from others pending test results and follow the advice of your health care provider or a public health professional.
Here is a statement and helpful visual from PED about how you should act if you are informed that you have had a “close contact.”
Menaul School is working with the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) and New Mexico’s Department of Health (NMDOH) because a staff member at our facility or a child who attends our school has tested positive for COVID-19. A “close contact” is defined as being closer than six feet for more than three minutes to a person who is positive for COVID-19 and all staff and students who were in the same classroom or on the same bus as the infected individual.
All students and staff who were in “close contact” with the infected individual are encouraged to be tested seven to 10 days after close contact exposure to the positive COVID-19 individual. Close contacts must self-quarantine at home for 10 days, regardless of the test result. Household members do not need to quarantine unless your child tests positive for COVID-19 or your household members are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 individual.
Areas of the school (including buses) in which the COVID-19 positive individual spent time will be cleaned and disinfected and those who were close contacts of the positive case will be notified.
Here is a good visual…
I hope to see you on Zoom tomorrow!
Peace and Blessings!
Mr. Lindsey R. Gilbert, Jr.
President and Head of School