Arcadia This Week 1/18/2022
Hello, Arcadia families, students, and friends,
Here’s what’s up at Arcadia this week, the last week of Quarter 2!
Monday: No School
Tuesday: Day 1
Wednesday: Day 2
Thursday: Day 3
Friday: Day 4 (End of Quarter 2)
COVID Update
Rice County’s COVID-19 case rate for the one-week period ending January 11, 2022 more than doubled since the last reporting period, now at 925.76/100,000. A case rate above 100/100,000 in a one-week period indicates a high level of community transmission. Here is a link to the CDC explaining more about the transmission levels: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/aboutcovidcountycheck/index.html
For detailed information about this area, here is a link to the Rice County website: http://www.co.rice.mn.us/492/Coronavirus-disease-COVID-19-Current-Sit
Here is a link to the CDC’s Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html
Some good news: Our vaccination rate has risen to 82% for students, and we are at 97% for staff! Many students are getting boosters, and most staff have been boosted, as well.
However, two additional cases of COVID in the Arcadia community were reported over the weekend. One of the people would have been able to spread the disease while in the community on or before 1/13/2022, and the second would have been able to spread the disease while in the community on or before 1/14/2022. As usual, we cannot, for privacy reasons, share details about the people. At this time, they have been told to stay home and away from other people (in isolation) until they are well and can no longer spread the disease.
We have worked to identify close contacts, and if you have not been notified, then your child is not considered a close contact, and there is nothing special you need to do.
If you are concerned, and would like your child to test as soon as possible, please contact Gail Setterstrom, our school nurse, or Laura Stelter (executive director) to schedule a CUE test. CUE tests are fast and accurate molecular tests. We complete these at school, and students’ results are immediately reported to us through the associated phone app.
We also have Vault tests that need to be used up this week. These are the tests that involve spitting in a tube and a Vault employee walking you through the process over Zoom. We would be happy to send one home if you would prefer to have your child take a test that sends the results directly to you. Email Gail or me if you would like us to send one home. Note that we will likely not receive the results of the Vault tests until Friday or later, even if we send them Wednesday morning. However, this is helpful for surveillance testing–checking to see if we have any asymptomatic cases, or if the virus is more widespread than we realize.
We also have the BD Veritor tests, rapid tests that can be completed at home, keeping in mind that it requires certain types of phones to be able to scan it. Here is a list of the devices that should work with the app and allow you to use the test: https://www.bdveritorathome.com/en-us/devices
Students, here’s the upshot of this conversation: Wear your highest filtration masks with fidelity, do your best to stay at least three feet apart at all times, and try to limit the time you spend without a mask during lunch.
We continue to plan for in-person school, despite the surge, unless it becomes unavoidably essential to switch to distance learning.
Lunch Orders
Here is the link for the lunch order for 2/7/22 - 3/4/22, which contains the menu calendar: https://forms.gle/TEtuyELN1zA5uLWT9
If Arcadia does move to distance learning, students who order lunch will not be charged for those days.
Attendance Policy Changes
The Board has approved the changes to the Student Handbook regarding attendance. Please review the section entitled “School Attendance Policy, Procedures, and Truancy Information” to see the revisions. The policy is now in alignment with Minnesota Statutes.
If you are interested in the Minnesota Statutes surrounding truancy, here is a link: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/260A
Upcoming Events
Jan. 18, 6:30pm-9:00pm: Arcadia School Board Meeting, in-person at Arcadia and online: https://meet.google.com/buw-nxop-qmd
Or dial: (US) +1 321-465-5002 PIN: 929 499 461#
Jan. 21: End of Quarter 2
Jan. 24: No School (Teacher Prep Day)
Jan. 25: Beginning of Quarter 3
Jan. 28: Asynchronous Learning Day
Feb. 4: Quarter 2 grades published
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
