I know you are probably sick of me writing it, but the reality is clear that we are not normal yet and it is likely that we will have to adopt a new normal for the long term. With another case identified today, we are reminded that the prevalent nature of potential infection is always with us. There were major milestones that hit around the world in recent days and yet many questions remain unanswered. We are trying to understand something that may not be understandable. We are struggling to do our best and harness the odds.
I fear we will now find ourselves in a constant cycle of identifying new cases and doing our best to minimize exposure to the rest of our community. There is no one solution that is possible, but it is clear that the path of infection is impossible to predict. Thus far, we have stopped further spread in its tracks and our protocols on that front are working. But, the odds that we would see nine infections by this point in the year were low. This means that community spread is higher than what is reported and there is risk that exists around us. Our learning from recent cases is not crystal clear.
Some were certainly travel related, either by a relative or a family member. Travel increases risk, that much is clear. With some planning trips even this coming weekend, I can only offer a word of caution and note again the stipulations of our rules adjudicated through our survey. October Break brings another layer of challenge to this and we are hopeful of your attention to these parameters.
Some of our infections were simply community exposure. As we move about, we need to be thoughtful about risk in the general public and avoid outside activities that bring potential harm to the community. We can never be sure about where this might emerge. The government announced changes to address this by lowering the number allowed in public gatherings from 150 to 100 – an attempt to limit these vectors of potential exposure. Our OK4School app is about informing and educating you on these potential lines of concern so that you can protect yourself.
At school we can’t avoid risk entirely. We stated that at the outset and students are here in these hallways through informed consent, with parents understanding the risk.
On the long weekend, we will be making updates to the OK4School application and will communicate these tomorrow after final checking. It will tighten some areas and make some parts easier for you to address. We are growing as a community in our response and our thoughtfulness. Step back to assess as numbers climb and understand the difficult task we face of unifying around a new normal of consistent practice and holding our families and our community close and protected.
Recent Evening Events All Successful!
Want to thank everyone for their participation in key orientation events provided by both the Upper School and Elementary, the traditional Back-to-School. Many thanks to the teachers for their creativity and energy in delivering this content in a new format and to the administrators, coordinators, and counselors who all had a hand in making it memorable and relevant. As always for virtual events of this nature, many thanks to the IT folks in the background working hard to make all of this function effectively! And, thanks to parents for your interest and your partnership again renewed.
Remember that the side benefit of doing these virtually includes being able to watch this content over and over again in the video archives. Please ask if you don’t know where to find it or check eNotes in the relevant sections below for guidance.