Current School Year 2022-23 COVID Protocol (From the ARCH)

The following bullets provide a summary of the COVID protocols for the 2022-2023 school year:

  • Individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 or any illness should stay home while sick.

  • Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate from all school activities for five days and report the positive case to their school. Upon their return to school, no masks are required if they test negative on/after day 5.

  • Absent a negative test, recently positive students must mask for days 6-10 and social distance at lunch.

  • PCR tests, professionally administered antigen/rapid tests, and home tests are allowed in any situation requiring a test. Note that PCR tests are not recommended when returning to school post isolation, as their sensitivity will likely result in positive readings post infectious period.

  • Based on data collected since removal of the mask mandate earlier this year, contact tracing is no longer required. Close contacts will no longer be identified, and thus no longer be required to mask, quarantine or social distance at lunchtime.

  • Schools should inform families of all in-classroom, positive COVID-19 cases. Families are encouraged to take any precautions they consider appropriate.

  • When there are three cases in a classroom within a 10-day period, all students in that classroom must mask for 10 days.

  • While vaccinations are recommended to help prevent serious symptoms, there is no vaccination requirement for either students or staff.

What are the COVID19 symptoms to look out for? (This is when you need to keep the sick child and siblings HOME)

  • Fever

  • Cough

  • Shortness of Breath

  • Fatigue

  • Muscle Soreness or body aches

  • headache

  • Loss of taste/smell

  • Sore throat

  • Congestion/runny nose

  • nausea or vomiting

  • diarrhea

If symptoms persist for more than 24 hours, please contact your child’s pediatrician. We will need a negative COVID test OR an alternate diagnosis in writing from a medical professional. If your child is ill, PLEASE KEEP THEM HOME regardless if it is COVID or not. Other illnesses are also contagious.

If your child tests positive for COVID-19, this is what you need to do...

As part of the school handbook and family safety agreement, parents are required to report to school officials when your child has received a positive diagnosis for COVID-19. As soon as you know, please contact the school.

Instructions:

Please copy and paste the questions below, and email these and the corresponding answers to Ms. Rachel Gemo at rgemo@stbenedict.com and school nurse, Heather Perez, at hperez@stbenedict.com.

We will use these answers to complete a report to the Archdiocese COVID Task Force. Then please keep your child home and await further instructions.

We thank you for helping us keep everyone healthy and safe.


Reporting a Positive Case   Please copy/paste and answer the following questions and send in an email:  

Are there any other school community members (such as other students or teachers) living in their household? If so, please list below. Please include if their vaccination status if known.   

Grade Level of positive case  

Classroom Teacher  

Individual’s last date on site at school/school events  

Is the school member you're reporting asymptomatic? 

If the student is not asymptomatic, please provide the date the symptoms began.

Are there any known close contacts of school member? (Has your child been with any other SBPS students, volunteers or staff within 48 hours of testing positive or showing symptoms?)

From whom do you believe the student contracted COVID?

Was the school member tested? 

Date of Test 

Type of Test 

Test result?  

Student Date of Birth

Parent Phone Number

Who is notified of a positive case?

Families who have students in a classroom where there is a positive case will be notified.

We will not be sending community-wide communications about positive cases for a general FYI. (This is something that the Arch has recommended). We will send community notifications if there are a growing number of positive cases as determined by the Archdiocese.