List of 5 items.

• April 11 - Update

  COVID Updates. Much has happened over the past two weeks in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last Tuesday San Diego County moved to the orange tier, because of the combination of a lower case rate (5.8 cases/100,000 residents per day) and the success of the vaccination program. This tier allows for a relaxation of many restrictions we have become accustomed to over the past several months. Gov. Newsom has set a date of June 15 to end the tiered system in California, assuming that vaccine supply remains steady and the rollout is successful. After June 15, most of the COVID-19 restrictions will be retired, but mask mandates will likely remain. 

  
  

  Beginning April 15, the vaccine will be open to the general population, ages 16 or older. Families with students who fall into this age group should check My Turn California after April 15 to find an appointment. 

  
  

  On-Campus Testing and Contact Tracing. As we look to re-populate the campus this week after spring break, there are several steps that we can all take to help make it successful. Families, please sign up your student to be tested either Monday or Wednesday this week. Also, if your student is feeling sick or symptomatic in any way, please have them stay home. Feel free to contact School Nurse Susie Fournier if you have questions about whether their symptoms may be COVID-19 related. Finally, given that we are increasing the number of individuals on campus over the next couple of weeks, it’s a good time to remember that California has a free contact tracing application. Please take a look at CA Notify and sign up, if you have not done so already. 

  
  

  Updated CDC Guidelines. Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its deep cleaning and sanitizing guidelines to reflect the understanding that almost all transmission of the virus happens via airborne pathways rather than through surface contact. Under the revised guidance, high touch surfaces should be cleaned once a day, assuming that masks are being worn correctly and good hand hygiene is being employed. Given this revision, we will ensure that all high touch surfaces in classrooms will be cleaned daily, rather than after each use. 

  
  

  April Schedule. As we shared before spring break, we will transition to on-campus learning every day for all Bishop’s students beginning on Tuesday, April 20. Below is the School schedule for April. 

   

  

• March 24 - Update

  Dear Families,

  
  

  We have enjoyed seeing more students on campus each day, as the School has transitioned to our 50/50 model of on-campus learning. Our campus feels more “normal,” and we are loving it!

  
  

  As we shared in Knights News on Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidance which recommends at least three feet of distance between students in areas of low, moderate or substantial community transmission. By CDC standards, transmission in San Diego County is moderate, and we are now in the state’s red tier, so we have been planning for our next phase of reopening. Though we have a few logistics to work out we are confident we can increase density on campus in the next few weeks. 

  
  

  Assuming San Diego County remains in the red tier, we plan to transition to on-campus learning every day for all Bishop’s students beginning on Tuesday, April 20. This start date will allow us time to work through various issues (updating classroom capacities, modifying our daily schedule, and refining our meal service and transportation programs, for example) and confirm through testing that our community COVID rates are low following spring break – making it safe to reopen our campus to all students.

  
  

  Please note that students will not be required to attend class in person if distance learning makes more sense for your family. We do, however, ask that students share their plans as far in advance as possible with their teachers, so teachers can plan classes accordingly.

  
  

  As a reminder, we will be in distance learning for all grades on April 12 and 13 to allow students and employees to be tested for COVID-19. We will test students on April 12 and 14 from 1 - 3 p.m. We ask that students in grades 6 - 9 test on April 12, and students in grades 10 - 12 test on April 14. 

  
  

  Thank you for all of your support over the past year and have a wonderful spring break!

  
  

  Best,

  
  

  Ron Kim

  Head of School

  
  

  Michael Beamer

  Assistant Head of School for Internal Affairs

• March 21 - Update

  Students: We Love to See You! On Friday, we had our first day of our 50/50 on-campus learning phase. Grades 6 and 10 - 12 were here, as they will be on Monday, followed by grades 6 - 9 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Grade 6 is on campus every day. We are so pleased to have more students on campus as we get closer to our goal of having every student back every day. Students: On the days that you can come to campus, please do. We love to see you. You also may not be aware that when teachers plan lessons in anticipation of in-person learning, and you do not come to campus as expected, it makes it much more difficult for them to teach what they had planned. An in-person lesson for all suddenly becomes an unanticipated hybrid class. We realize that there are some days when you should not come to campus. You may feel ill, or you may have concerns about the safety of someone in your household. What we ask is that you let your teachers know as far in advance as possible if you do not intend to come to campus. Hope to see you all soon!

  
  

  New CDC Guidance. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidance which states, “students should be at least 3 feet apart in areas of low, moderate, or substantial community transmission.” By CDC standards, transmission in San Diego County, with a case count last week of 6.8, qualifies as moderate. In light of this change, we will update our room capacities and our models for student groupings, which will inform the changes that we will make in terms of density on campus. 

  
  

  Testing update. We tested 296 students and employees last week as part of our surveillance testing program, and all tested negative for COVID-19. This week, we will test Tuesday through Thursday from 2 - 2:45 p.m. on the tennis courts. Students may sign up for testing here. 

  
  

  Return from Spring Break. In order to allow for community-wide testing after spring break, we will move to an all-distance teaching mode on Apr. 12 and 13. We will test students on Apr. 12 and Apr. 14 from 1 - 3 p.m. In order to allow results to be returned in time for class on Wednesday, we ask that students in grades 6 - 9 to test on Apr. 12 and students in grades 10 - 12 to test on Apr. 14. 

• March 14 - Update

  Predictability of On-Campus Attendance

  As we gradually increase the number of students on campus, it is helpful to our faculty members to have some predictability in terms of who they can expect to see in person each day. We do our best work when we can accurately plan for which students will attend in person and which ones will be attending class virtually. In order to help us plan ahead, we ask that students who are changing how they are attending classes (from in-person to virtual or virtual to in-person) communicate with their teachers as far ahead of time as possible. 

  
  

  COVID-19 Testing

  We tested 270 students and employees last week, and all were negative for the virus that causes COVID-19. This week, we will test students on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 2 - 2:45 p.m. 

• March 7 - Update

  On-Campus Schedule. As Head of School Ron Kim and Assistant Head of School Michael Beamer shared in a Zoom meeting Thursday evening and in this email on Friday, the School will be moving to a 50/50 schedule on Friday, March 19. The on-campus schedule through April is below.

   

  

  
  

  Weather next week. A storm is forecast to affect the weather in Southern California mid-week. We will communicate as soon as possible if the rain will impact our on-campus schedule.
  
  

  Vaccines. Now that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being administered nationwide, there is hope that the United States could have enough doses for every adult by May. Since the tier for educators opened last Saturday, many Bishop’s employees have been lucky enough to receive their first dose. 

  
  

  COVID-19 Testing. We tested 262 students and employees this week, and all were negative for the virus that causes COVID-19. This week, we will test any student in grades 6, 9 and 10 on Tuesday 1:30 - 3 p.m. On Thursday, we will test students in grades 11 and 12 between 2- 2:45 p.m.