“Restore All Things in Christ”
- This week’s message will focus on Covid 19 at St. Pius X High School. If you have been listening to the news, you know that Covid 10 Delta variant cases are increasing in Albuquerque and the state. You are no doubt aware that many schools in the Albuquerque area are experiencing positive Covid cases on their campuses St. Pius X High School is no different. There are about 60 schools in the area that are on the Covid 19 watchlist-- public, charter and private schools, K-12.
- To date, we know of four students who have tested positive. These students have remained at home to isolate and recover. Through contact tracing, there are approximately 20 students in various stages of quarantine and waiting for test results as of this writing. Some students are vaccinated and some are unvaccinated. Two of the students who are positive are vaccinated, break through cases.
- Two St Pius X High School teachers are at home in isolation waiting for their test results.
- In the mornings, students may go to their lockers to collect books and get ready for the day but they should not be congregating inside in groups.
- Students are doing fairly well during the school day masking up. Classrooms continue to be cleaned and sanitized daily, hand sanitizer is available in all rooms as well as disinfectant wipes to clean individual desks between classes. However, many students fail to wear masks after 3:00pm, especially in the gym after school. They are also lax about wearing masks at inside games such as volleyball. If students or adults are on campus after 3:00pm and in a building, they are required to wear a mask.
- To help accommodate athletes, students do not have to exit the parking lot until 3:30. Athletes, and only athletes in season, may enter the gym area, with masks on, to change for their sport and immediately leave the gymnasium. Students may not hang around in the gym lobby. Pre-season workouts have been suspended.
- Parents, we know you and your students are happy to be back on campus, however, the increasing number of positive cases is worrisome to all of us. In the school, we are reducing any events that include a large gathering of students or faculty in hopes to minimize the spread of Covid-19. But, we need your help. Please encourage your students to wash or sanitize their hands frequently and to wear masks any time they are within 6 feet of someone outside of their household, even when outside and even when vaccinated. Frequent hand washing and mask wearing limit the spread of many illnesses, not just the spread of Covid-19. What students do outside of school can affect what happens at school. Be sure you know where your students are, what they are doing and with whom they are socializing. Help us keep the Covid-19 spread under control and aim for elimination.
- No one wants to go back to online learning. Last year the schools had guidelines to follow. There are no guidelines for closure this school year. If the rise in positive cases and quarantines continue, the administrators will have to make the best decisions we can to keep everyone safe and everyone learning, including going back to online learning. In the event we go to online learning, all sports, athletic events and other activities will be discontinued until further notice. Please make sure your student is following the Covid-19 guidelines, as we do not want our students to lose out on any more life experiences during this school year.