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Dear NDB families,
Greetings and Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a joyous and restful holiday break, with opportunities to enjoy time with your loved ones. As we prepare to start the second semester, I wanted to warmly welcome you all back, and share some important updates.
As you know, in order to provide additional time for COVID testing after the holiday, NDB proactively planned for the first two days of classes to be online this Thursday and Friday, January 6 and 7. Students will access their classes online on these days following the regular schedule, using the Zoom links provided in Schoology. We will then return to classes on campus as usual, starting on Monday, January 10.
As we also announced before the break, all students, faculty and staff will need to provide a negative COVID test result before returning to the NDB campus. A reminder of testing options, dates and times provided free of charge by NDB can be found here.
We would also like to take a moment to provide you with a current COVID update. As you are likely aware, the omicron variant has greatly contributed to an increase in COVID cases nationally and locally over the last 2 weeks. Our community at NDB has been no exception:
- San Mateo County saw a 200% increase in COVID cases in the last 14 days, and is now back in the Red (or High) tier.
- 33 NDB student cases were reported over the break.
To address this situation, NDB is putting in place some additional measures, as a temporary supplement to its highly effective COVID Safety Plan. The guidelines listed below will be implemented at least through the end of January, at which time we will reassess the situation and share any updates: `
Additional Free Testing
During the month of January:
- All community members who are fully vaccinated will be tested weekly.
- All community members who are not fully vaccinated will be tested twice a week.
- The January testing schedule is as follows:
- Mondays, 8 am - 4 pm: All students (except basketball players and Cheer/Pom)
- Tuesdays, 9 am - 3 pm: All staff and faculty, basketball players, Cheer/Pom, and any students who missed testing on Monday.
- Thursday, lunch time: Any student or staff who are not fully vaccinated will be tested a second time.
Anyone who does not test during the week, will be required to test in the community over the weekend and submit their results to [email protected] by Sunday evening at 7 pm, before they will be permitted to return to campus the following week.
Important: Please note that if you have tested positive in the last 90 days, then you must be added to the do-not-test-for-90-days list. You must also communicate with Nurse Bridget if you get any symptoms during the time that you are on the list.
Mask Restrictions
- Students, staff, faculty, parents and all visitors are required to wear a mask at all times while on campus, both indoors and outdoors.
- Masks can be removed to eat, but must be put back on as soon as the individual is finished eating.
- This applies to all events that are conducted on campus.
Quarantining
You may have heard that the CDC has revised the length of time an individual should quarantine if they test positive. The CDPH has adopted the recommendation and has added that the individual’s symptoms must have improved and that they must have a negative antigen test in order to leave isolation on day 5. The San Mateo County Office of Education has not revised the Framework Recovery Plan and therefore NDB will continue with the 10 quarantine, until SMCOE has made this change.
Learning Support for Student Quarantine
Given the requirement for all students to test before returning on campus - and the recognition that some students have already informed Nurse Bridget of positive test results over the break - NDB is committed to ensuring continued access to learning during a mandatory quarantine. More information about the NDB Quarantine Learning Protocol will be shared in a separate email.
Instructional Support for Faculty Quarantine
In the event that a faculty member must quarantine, a substitute will be assigned. If a faculty member tests positive, but is feeling well enough to teach, then arrangements will be made for them to conduct their classes via Zoom, with a substitute assisting in the classroom.
Student Activities
NDB recognizes the vital importance of student activities, and is committed to ensuring that they can safely continue, as far as possible. We will therefore continue to evaluate each scheduled activity on an individual basis, taking into account a number of factors such as the following:
- Current COVID case status in San Mateo County
- Nature of the activity (indoor vs outdoor, degree of exertion, etc.)
- Students who are participating (number and vaccination status of students, etc.)
- Time of year (such as proximity to exams or breaks)
Again, NDB is committed to providing a rich and full school experience for our students, in a safe environment. We are very excited to welcome all of you back to a wonderful Spring semester.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We look forward to seeing all of you soon!
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