Returning to School After the Holiday Break
HPS Principals and School Nurses have some tips on safely returning to school following the Holiday Break.
The health of our school community is a collaborative effort. We appreciate everything that our students, families, and staff did during 2020 to make our schools as safe as possible so that we could continue learning in person as long as possible. As we prepare to come back in 2021, we want to take this opportunity to provide you with some important reminders.
It is important to complete a daily screening before you leave for school each morning. If you have a cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, or have lost your taste or smell, please stay home from school. Additionally, if you have any two of the following symptoms, please stay home from school: temperature of 100.4 degrees, chills, muscle aches, sore throat, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, congestion or running nose, headache, or fatigue.
Please take the additional step of notifying the school of the reason for your absence including the symptoms you are experiencing and when those symptoms began. We also encourage you to follow up with your Primary Health Care Provider.
If you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or you have tested positive yourself, there are a few important steps to follow. It is important to let your child’s school principal know that you have tested positive or been in close contact with someone who has tested positive. School staff members are often able to serve as a connection to the local health department for questions about COVID-19, quarantine, testing, and return to school protocols. If you need to quarantine due to a close contact, please make sure you stay at home for the duration of your quarantine. As a reminder, the definition of ‘close contact’ is fifteen or more total minutes within six feet of a COVID-positive person over a 24-hour period.
And, as always, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to quarantine or isolate, take care of yourself! We want you, your family, and friends to feel well and return to school healthy.
Do not worry about absences related to truancy. COVID-related absences will not count against you. We will also work with you, so that you are able to keep up with your classes even if you can’t attend in person.
Holland Public Schools has established a COVID-19 hotline to report positive cases and quarantine information over the holidays. Even though school is not in session, school officials are in close contact with the Ottawa County Department of Public Health, so that we have a full picture of the impact COVID-19 is having on our school population. If you need to report information to the school over the holiday break, please call 616-494-2005 and leave a message. This voicemail will be monitored regularly over the holiday break and information will be shared with all affected buildings.
You may have heard that the guidance on the length of quarantine has changed recently. The Ottawa County Health Department has reviewed this guidance and adapted it to the case counts and testing availability that we have locally. In most cases, student quarantine length will be reduced from fourteen to ten days. The Health Department may, however, maintain a fourteen-day quarantine if they feel your case meets certain criteria.
Another local guideline from the Ottawa County Department of Public Health includes no reduction in quarantine from ten to seven days, even if you test negative for COVID-19.
If you have any questions about quarantine, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s principal or school nurse.
As you prepare to come back to school we want you to remember to do these things:
- Please bring back your device fully charged ready to learn, as well as your charging cable.
- Please send back any school supplies that were sent home with your child over the holiday break.
- Please remember to bring a mask with you to school. Our safety protocols will still include the required wearing of an approved mask for all school events/activities.
- Remember to socially distance and follow all CDC guidelines throughout the holiday break and when you return to school
Thank you for your time in watching and sharing this video. Additional information can be found on our district website at www.hollandpublischools.org/return-to-school/ We look forward to seeing everyone on January 4, 2021 prepared, safe, healthy, and ready to learn!