St. Paul Catholic School works closely and meets regularly with the Colorado Springs Principals and Diocesan Health Department to continue to develop an action plan in regards to COVID-19 (as of December 2021.)
We recognize that this is an evolving situation and as more information and research is made available, this plan may be revised accordingly. The Diocese of Colorado Springs is committed to the safety and health of our students and staff.
In collaboration with the Diocese of Colorado Springs Catholic Schools office and health department, we will continue to notify parents/guardians if your student is exposed at school. If your family is not specifically contacted by the school, your child has not been identified as a close contact.
As part of this public health investigation:
The person diagnosed is being kept home from school until they are no longer infectious.
The people who live in the home of the person with COVID-19 are instructed to stay home from school. This is quarantine. If siblings are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic they do not need to quarantine and can attend school with a mask for 10 days.
Many students are in masks and several students have been vaccinated. At school students’ desks are separated, and stay in cohorts throughout the day in class rooms and common areas. Students/teachers wash hands frequently and disinfect high touch surfaces in classrooms several times during the day. Staff disinfect the school in the evening. Masks and hand sanitizer are provided by teachers for student use.
As soon as we are informed about a COVID case, we contact and follow the Diocesan health department requirements. We have been transparent about each situation and inform all the parents in a specific class if a situation has occurred that might affect their child. We are bound by HIPAA guidelines not to release personal information about which parent/student/teacher is involved but we have released incident information.
How You Can Help We ask parents to follow normal guidelines and keep their child home if they do not feel well and to contact their primary care physician if they show a major symptom or two minor symptoms of COVID-19. Major symptoms include: fever or chills, new uncontrolled cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or difficulty breathing. Minor symptoms include: fatigue, muscle or body aches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, new onset of severe headache, especially with fever. If anyone in your household develops symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19, they should isolate and call your physician. If you have questions, contact Diocesan Catholic School’s nurse Tara Cuccinelli directly at [email protected].