Dear Families,

St. Francis School seeks to bring the presence of God into our midst. Despite the pandemic, we have endeavored to acknowledge beauty, goodness, and truth, and to inspire each student to grow in their personal relationship with Christ. Ultimately, it is His Love we share with others when we give witness to the great joy of being loved first by Him (1 John 4:19). 

Without question, the most important measure that we can take as a school community to prevent the spread of any illness, including Covid-19, is to be diligent in keeping our children home if they are sick. We must allow sufficient time for the body to rest and recover before returning to school.

If students have any of the following symptoms, they are required to stay at home:

1. Temperature over 100 degrees.
2. Fever in the last 48 hours, including feeling feverish, chills, or shaking.
3. Flu like symptoms without apparent cause, or diarrhea.
4. Changes in sense of taste or smell.

Please note that students who are ill at school will be assessed by their teacher and the front office. Parents will be contacted and a decision will be made. Parents must have an emergency pick-up plan in case their child becomes sick.

It should be said that our Safety Plan for the 2020-2021 School Year, which was put in place in an effort to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, was flexible and reasonable, and allowed us to successfully hold in-person learning for all students with no cases of school-based Covid transmission. In fact, to the great joy of many, we were able to lift most of the restrictions by the end of the school year.

Following guidance from the Diocese, the State, and our safety committee for the 2021-2022 School Year, the following policies will be in place for the coming school year:

• Parental authority will be respected in healthcare decisions concerning their child. 
• St. Francis School will preserve the confidentiality of medical information. 
• Per the State and Diocesan guidelines, due to the extremely low incidence of school-based transmission, St. Francis School will not conduct contact tracing, nor require students who were in close contact at school (with an individual who tests positive for Covid-19) to quarantine.
• St. Francis School will alert parents if school based transmission has happened. A cluster is defined as 3 or more individuals confirmed with COVID-19 who are part of a related group of individuals (e.g., classroom) who had the potential to transmit infection to each other through close contact. 
• St. Francis School asks families to err heavily on the side of caution by staying home if students have flu-like symptoms.
• Face coverings will be optional for students and employees.
• Hand sanitizers will be readily available throughout the building.
• Ventilation will be a key mitigation strategy: open windows and fresh air.
• Health screenings will not be required, and visitors may enter the building.
• St. Francis School will continue with the same cleaning protocols and tighter recess cohorts that proved successful for the 2020-21 School Year. 
• Spacing in the classroom will be according to what is reasonable, practical, and always at the teacher’s discretion.
• Per New Hampshire State guidelines, if students either test positive for Covid-19 or have been in close contact with someone living at home with Covid, they will be required to quarantine at home. 
• Parents are asked to let our secretary know if their child has allergies, migraines, or other chronic health conditions as these will not prevent the student from attending school. 
• St. Francis School continues to maintain the right to revise and adapt our School Safety Plan as prudence directs and as new information becomes available. After their eternal well-being, the physical safety of your children remains our top priority. 

If you have any questions regarding these policies, please feel free to reach out directly to me.

God bless, 

Principal Schwerdt