As a reminder, there is no school this coming Monday, January 17th, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.
In addition, Saint James School will have a 12:05pm dismissal on Thursday, January 27th (aftercare will be in session on the 27th).
Saint James School will be resuming extra curricular activities effective tomorrow – Saturday, January 15th.
For basketball, please note that players, coaches, and spectators must be properly masked at all times. If a player does test positive, contact tracing may need to be implemented. We ask that parents please do a thorough health screening on their children before every practice/game and err on the side of caution if there are any symptoms of illness.
The Archdiocese of Hartford invites students who will be freshmen or sophomores during the 2022-2023 school year (and will be attending a Catholic school within the Archdiocese) to participate in an essay contest about the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. The author of the winning essay will receive a $1,000 tuition grant.
The Essay deadline is April 1, 2022
Detailed contest information can be printed HERE.
If your family ordered an SJS Yeti 20oz Tumbler or 14oz Mug, those will be coming home with students today. The 32oz Chug Bottles are unfortunately still on back-order and will be filled as soon as possible.
For the SJS Spiritwear items that were ordered in December, many items are now being printed and will be shipped/available for pick-up at the school later this week. Unfortunately, however, some items are still on back-order from the manufacturers and will be filled as soon as possible.
Thank you again for your patience.
As a reminder, remote learning is only for K-8 students in the following situations:
– After receipt of a Covid-positive test (either for the student personally or for someone in the home)
– Unvaccinated individuals who have been in close contact with a Covid-positive individual
– Vaccinated individuals who has been in close contact with a Covid-positive individual and are experiencing symptoms.
If any of the above conditions are met, please call the school nurse, Mrs. Vignati to discuss quarantine days and a date for remote learning to begin.
Please note the following from the Remote Learning Guidelines Section of our Covid/Health Info Page:
The Saint James School HSA (Home & School Association) will hold their monthly meeting this evening – Thursday, 1/6 – from 7:00-8:00pm via Zoom. We encourage all of our SJS parents/ grandparents to attend to learn about the many fun (and fundraising!) events that will be happening here at school over the next few months and throughout the year.
Here is the link to the Zoom meeting:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 842 3430 5574
Passcode: 510498
And here is the agenda for this evening: HSA Agenda January 2022
Hope to see you there!
If you will be utilizing your Epiphany Home Blessing Kit today, tomorrow, or this weekend, we would love for you to send a picture of your student/family with the sign to possibly share with our community. You can send that to your child’s teacher or aguenther@saintjamesschool.net. Thank you to those who have already sent in pics!
January 5, 2021
Dear Parents,
With the current surge in Covid-positive cases in our area and the CDC’s recently-updated guidance, we want to share another update regarding our policies here at Saint James School.
Quarantine Policy
At this time, we are maintaining the 10-day quarantine policy for any students and staff who are Covid-positive and for unvaccinated individuals who have been in close contact** with a Covid-positive individual. This policy has served us well as we strive to prevent in-school transmission of the virus.
We will reevaluate this policy when cases in our area begin to decline.
** Please note, close contact is defined as:
Outside of a school setting: 6 feet, or less, from an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period;
Inside a school setting: 3 feet, or less, from an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
Health Screenings
Parents should continue to do a daily health assessment of their child before they come to school to monitor for symptoms of illness (see below). If your child has any Covid symptoms, please keep them home and notify the school. We ask all families to continue to err on the side of caution during this time.
Signs and symptoms of Covid can include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhea, vomiting or diarrhea, and skin rashes. A full list can be viewed here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care-quick-reference.html.
Contact Tracing
Based on guidance from the State Department of Education, Saint James School is discontinuing the contact tracing portion of our protocol effective immediately. The guidance from the state, and our subsequent adoption of this change, is based on the fact that even in times of high community transmission, classroom mitigation strategies have successfully prevented in-school spread. In addition, the state is encouraging schools to move their health staff away from the investigation of relatively low risk in-school exposures and toward the identification, early isolation, and clinical management of student cases.
Extracurricular Activities
At this time all school-sponsored extracurricular activities, including basketball practice and games, will be suspended through January 14th. We will reevaluate next week and will communicate the update via email.
Thank you again for your patience and support as we navigate what is hopefully a short-lived increase of Covid cases in our area.
Sincerely,
Bridget Zorger
Principal