COVID-19 Health and Safety Parent Letter

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The Catholic Academies and Parish Schools of the Diocese of Brooklyn remain committed to opening the academic year on time, in person, for every student. The Administration, Faculty and Staff of our Catholic Academies and Parish Schools are committed to doing everything possible to support the education, faith formation and health and safety of every member of our school communities.

The New York City Department of Health’s (NYC DOH) “Core Four” and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended layering of preventive strategies at this time is an effective way to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and the Delta variant. Everyone is reminded of the following in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the Delta variant.

NYC DOH “Core Four”

1. Stay home if you are sick. Anyone experiencing Covid-19 or Flu like symptoms should stay at home until their healthcare provider clears them to safely return to school.
2. Physical Distance: Maintain social distance. Where possible maintain a social distance of 3-6 feet while on school property.
3. Wear a Face Covering: Protect those around you. You can be contagious without symptoms and spread the disease when you cough, sneeze, or talk. Face coverings help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Do not provide face coverings to children 2 years of age or younger and carefully supervise pre-school age children when they are wearing face coverings. (NYS DOH: Effective August 27, 2021, in accordance with the Commissioner’s Determination issued pursuant to 10 NYCRR 2.60, any person over the age of 2 (including all students, personnel, teachers, administrators, contractors, and visitors) must wear masks at all times indoors in school buildings, regardless of vaccination status.)
4. Practice Healthy Hand Hygiene: Wash your hands often with soap and water or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available; clean frequently touched surfaces regularly; avoid touching your face with unwashed hands; and cover your cough or sneeze with your arm, not your hands, and help your child to do the same.

CDC Layered Approach of Preventive Strategies:

• Promoting Vaccination
• Consistent and correct mask use
• Physical Distancing
• Ventilation
• Handwashing and respiratory etiquette
• Staying home when sick and getting tested
• Contact tracing, in combination with isolation and quarantine
• Cleaning and disinfection

 

COVID-19 Vaccinations: Office of the Superintendent ~ Catholic School Support Services strongly encourages all eligible individuals to get vaccinated except for individuals with documented medical exemptions. For individuals with documented medical exemptions layered preventive strategies will be implemented. Due to privacy concerns individual vaccination status is not made public. At this time there is no New York State Vaccine Mandate for school faculty or staff. If or when New York State issues a vaccine mandate, updated information will be shared with the school communities.

The COVID-19 vaccination does not guarantee that avaccinated individual will not get COVID-19 or spread the virus it is however a critical tool in protecting you and your school community from severe COVID-19 illness, hospitalization, and death. COVID-19 vaccines are proven safe and are now protecting millions of vaccinated New Yorkers from COVID-19.

 

We appreciate your support and cooperation with thesehealth and safety guidelines intended to ensure in person instruction and protect our school communities. These guidelines will be monitored and updated as city and stateguidance continue to evolve.

 

May God continue to bless all our Catholic Academy and Parish School communities!

 

Thank you.