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Welcome back everyone! Hopefully your Thanksgiving break was peaceful and filled with family, love and restoration. I am grateful to be the principal of such an incredible community. Together our staff, families, and students show each other grace and encouragement every day. Over the past two years, I have been continuously impressed at how well we have worked together to take good care of one another.
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As we return to the building from the Thanksgiving holiday, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of continuing to care for one another by adhering to our COVID safety protocols. Below are a few reminders:
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- Complete the Ask, Ask, Look protocol every morning. Students should not come to school sick or with COVID-like symptoms. Please err on the side of caution when sending your student to school for the safety of everyone.
- Unvaccinated individuals who travel outside of the DC-Maryland-Virginia area are recommended to self-quarantine upon return. Three to five days after returning, individuals should get a PCR COVID-19 test. If the test is negative, the self-quarantine can end after the seventh day. If no test is performed, unvaccinated individuals should self-quarantine for 10 days.
- We continue to asymptomatically test 20% of our student population every week. A student's vaccination status does not impact whether or not they are eligible for asymptomatic testing. This continues to be one of the layered mitigation efforts we have in place in the building.
- If you have been identified as a close contact due to an exposure outside of school, please email the attendance line at lafayetteattendance@gmail.com. Quarantine is an excused absence.
- Students are considered “fully vaccinated” 14 days after their second dose. DCPS has not established a mechanism to collect vaccination status for students under the age of 12. If it changes, we will let you know! No need to send us students' vaccination cards just yet!
- If your student is identified as a close contact at school, the following guidance remains in effect:
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- Fully vaccinated individuals do not need to quarantine, but should be monitored for symptoms.
- Unvaccinated individuals must quarantine for at least 7 days. A PCR Covid test can be taken on Day 5 or later, and a student may return to school after day 7 if the test is negative. Otherwise, the individual must quarantine a full 10 days.
**The big difference for our students is that now some of them may be fully vaccinated. If/when you are notified of identification of close contact, you can share that information then.**
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As a reminder, fully vaccinated individuals can still contract and spread COVID 19. We also still have students in our building who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated (PreK 4). We must continue to be vigilant and supportive of one another as we weather the indoor nature and travel of the upcoming seasons.
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Thank you in advance for your continued consideration for a safe return to school and the care our community continues to share toward one another. Here’s to a great and safe winter holiday season.
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