Dear Parents,
As you may know, COVID-19 transmission has risen sharply in Pennsylvania. I want to share with each of you how the Academy is monitoring and responding to the rapidly increasing cases in our surrounding communities. I also need to ask your help in ensuring that the Academy can continue to offer on-campus learning to our students during this especially challenging period.
Our families come to us from Montgomery, Bucks, and Philadelphia counties. As of last Friday, Montgomery County had a 5.2% PCR positivity and an incidence rate of 106.9 cases per 100,000 residents. Bucks County had a 6.2% PCR positivity and an incidence rate of 106.7 per 100,000 residents and Philadelphia County had an even higher rate of 9.1% PCR positivity and an incidence rate of 164.7 per 100,000 residents. This data currently puts the level of community transmission for the counties of our students in the “substantial” range. The Pennsylvania Department of Education has recommended that public school districts remaining in the “substantial” range for two weeks in a row move to remote learning for all students.
In light of this, many schools are planning to move to virtual instruction the week after Thanksgiving. You should know that this is a potential consideration at the Academy. You should also know that we are regularly consulting with the doctors and other health professionals on our Pandemic Task Force, evaluating week by week our ability to remain on-campus safely. Our consultations with them have made it clear that the Academy’s ability to safely offer in-person instruction during a winter COVID-19 surge is contingent on our families’ willingness and ability to limit the spread of the virus off-campus so that we can limit the opportunities for the virus to come on-campus. With that goal in mind, we are asking every member of the Ancillae community to adopt the following safety precautions:
Athletics:
Athletic activities – even outdoor athletic activities – have become a major vehicle by which the virus is spreading among older students in our area. Close contact on the playing field, in locker rooms, in carpools, in the stands, and in parking lots has led—and will continue to lead—to transmission of the virus as well as precautionary quarantines. We are asking our families to limit their athletic activities – organized sports as well as informal, pickup games – to those they can play with members of their own household or immediate family. If participation in extra-curricular athletics and activities is a priority for your family, we urge you to take advantage of the Academy’s remote learning opportunities in order to protect the health of our community as a whole.
Read the CAL Winter Sports Statement.
Gatherings:
As the weather becomes colder, many of the small gatherings we could safely enjoy over the summer are moving indoors. These get-togethers often include extended family and friends, often without the careful and consistent use of masks, creating the perfect conditions for this virus to spread. The risk is compounded by the fact that college students from around the country are returning home which increases the possibility of viral exposure to members of our community. We are asking every member of our community to make a concerted effort to protect every other member of our community at this especially vulnerable time. Please adhere to masking, social distancing, and quarantining protocols at all times. This holiday season, consider how your holiday plans can be modified to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to keep your friends, families, and communities healthy and safe.
Student get-togethers present a particular threat of viral spread within our community. We have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep our students as safe as possible while they are on campus with us. Off-campus gatherings – even of the same students – are unlikely to observe those same precautions. We ask that you avoid them during this winter COVID surge. There will be a time for organized student parties, sleepovers, and other gatherings; this is not it. Again, if your family does choose to host or attend these types of gatherings, we urge you to avail yourself of the Academy’s remote learning program.
We take this recommendation so seriously that we have just postponed First Communion until the spring.
Health Screening:
Our daily health screening is a vital source of information to our Health Office. Accurate and thorough information about the state of our community’s health is essential for us to adopt and implement the protocols needed to keep one another safe. We expect all families participating in on-campus instruction to complete the screening every day whether or not your child is attending school that day. It is imperative that these screenings are answered honestly, and that parents communicate with the absentee line the reason for a student’s absence.
Travel:
In terms of travel, as stated by the CDC, “Travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.” We ask families to follow the travel guidelines and restrictions established by the CDC and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and delay unnecessary travel when possible. If your family chooses to travel, we ask that you move to remote learning for at least two weeks following your family's return.
So far, we’ve been lucky. We have not yet had a COVID case among our faculty, staff, or students. But given the number of exposures in our community, it is inevitable. The precautions and practices we’re asking you to take are those recommended by the Health and Safety Committee of our Pandemic Task Force. We continue to be guided by them and will promptly communicate with you any decisions about our ability to continue on-campus learning.
As I’ve said so many times, the health and safety of our Ancillae community is our first priority. But, knowing how much our students and staff want to continue learning and being together, keeping our campus open for in-person instruction is our second. We cannot do that without the full-hearted commitment of every member of our community. We feel confident – and blessed – that each of you will join us in this effort.
Sincerely,
Amy Bozzi Lintner '82
Director
