Note from the Head of School - most recent COVID testing

This past week, we tested slightly more than 350 students and members of our faculty and staff.  Results show that we had three positive results, all asymptomatic.  We had positive results in Mrs. Luckay’s JK3 class, Mrs. Dunagan’s kindergarten class, and Mrs. Guyer’s second grade class.  Parents for each of the positive students have been notified and these students will quarantine for 14 days.

As you might be able to presume, mask usage in the JK 3 classroom while admirable, is still a bit uneven.  Our teachers have done a tremendous job but we think it best that we quarantine Mrs. Luckay’s entire JK class until Wednesday when they can be re-tested.  A negative result at that time will allow return to the classroom.
 
In both kindergarten and second grade, mask usage and distancing has been excellent.  We have done contact tracing to identify those students that were in close contact with the students testing positive.  These students have been notified and they will also begin five-day quarantine and will be re-tested on Wednesday. 
 
Given that two of the students are siblings, we have only two distinct cases, and they do not appear to have any common contact.  This fact, combined with our entire football team testing negative for COVID after their possible exposure, continues to indicate that we are not seeing viral spread on our campus and that our mitigation efforts are working. 
 
This has been our fourth large scale testing of the school population since the beginning of school and we continue to run low positivity rates.  It is very important, however, to remember that there is nothing routine about our efforts to prevent and monitor the spread of virus on our campus.  We are seeing significant increases in the number of cases in the Commonwealth and experts are concerned about the upcoming winter.  Our continued success at keeping school safe and open depends upon your behaviors at home.  Wear your masks, social distance, and avoid large crowds. 
 
I appreciate all you do.