January 3, 2022
Good Evening William Penn High School Parents/Guardians and Students:
This is Ms. Brewington, School Principal. Happy New Year!!! We hope you all had a wonderful and restful Winter Break and that you were able to enjoy the added extra day from today’s snow day event!!!
I wanted to reach out to provide you with a few important updates about the return to school from Winter Break and our Covid-19 protocols/procedures:
This week:
● Monday, January 3rd, 2022: Snow Day
● Tuesday, January 4th, 2022: Professional Development Day for Staff (No school for
students.)
● Wednesday, January 5th, 2022: A- DAY – First Day of the return to school for
students from Winter Break
Mask Wearing:
Please discuss with your child the importance of wearing a mask appropriately at all times. Masks need to be worn over the nose and mouth at the bus stop, on the bus and while in school.
Students are also required to wear an appropriate mask for school. Ski masks should not be worn in the school setting or on buses. Mask wearing is essential in stopping the spread of Covid -19 and it is a required school mandate.
Daily Health Self Screening:
Each morning, please review the online health self screener with your child prior to sending them to school. The self screener can be located here: http://www.colonialschooldistrict.org/coronavirus-information/self-screening/
If your child is not feeling well or if your child cannot pass the screener, please DO NOT send them to school. If your student is experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, please visit https://coronavirus.delaware.gov/testing/ or go to https://curative.com/ to schedule a test. Please keep in mind that Covid-19 testing is in high demand, so it may take a few days in order to get testing scheduled.
In-School Covid-19 Testing at William Penn:
Colonial School District and Quidel continue to offer free weekly testing at William Penn High School for students and staff who are not experiencing Covid-19 symptoms. We highly encourage all students to sign up for this free service. For information on how to sign your student up for weekly testing, please visit https://my.primary.health/l/colonial-schools to register. Testing at William Penn is every Wednesday. Students will receive an appointment pass through E-Hall pass.
What to do if your student tests positive or if your student is identified as a close contact:
If your child tests positive for COVID-19, has been identified as a close contact to a positive COVID-19 case or is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, your child must not report to school. Please contact our school nurses to let them know your student’s status. Any COVID-19 test results for your student should also be shared with our nurses as soon as possible. They can be reached at:
Nurse Erin Miller: Erin.Miller@colonial.k12.de.us
Nurse Latoya Furrowh: Latoya.Furrowh@colonial.k12.de.us
Nurse Kay Currier: Catherine.Currier@colonial.k12.de.us
Please do not wait to share this information, as it has an impact on the health and wellness of everyone your child has been in contact with.
Test to Stay Program:
In addition to weekly COVID-19 testing, Quidel now offers free, daily testing for students and staff who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 to allow them to remain in school during their quarantine period, but ONLY if they continue to test negative daily for the virus. To be eligible to participate in the “Test to Stay” Program, students must meet the following criteria:
● Be currently registered with Quidel for weekly COVID-19 testing. If your student is not registered, you can enroll by visiting https://my.primary.health/l/colonial-schools.
● Show no symptoms.
● Correctly wear a mask indoors when in school, on the bus, etc.
● Test negative daily as part of the “Test to Stay” Program.
● Continue to quarantine when not at school.
NOTE: Only test results from Quidel’s Test to Stay Program will be accepted. Results from other locations will not be accepted.
If you have more questions about the test to stay program, please contact our school nurses.
Just as a reminder:
● If your student becomes ill at school, it is your responsibility to come to school and pick up your student as soon as possible. We do not send students home who are sick on the bus or via ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft.
● At no time are students permitted to order or receive food delivered to William Penn. All food deliveries for students will be discarded. We also will not call students out of class to pick up food orders. Students may not leave campus or to pick up food orders.
We are looking forward to welcoming students and staff back to school on January 5th for the 2nd half of the school year!!!!
Have a great evening!!!
Ms. Brewington
School Principal
William Penn High School