Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Families,
We received notifications of five students who have tested positive for COVID. All were instructed to move into isolation and remain there until symptoms have gone away. The students were in second grade, fourth grade, eighth grade, 10th grade and in 11th grade.
Additional areas of exposure include the theater club and the STEM Center for Strength.
Per Jogan Health, outbreaks are determined by school, no longer by grade. This means if a school (Elementary, Middle, High) has five or more connected cases, that school will move into outbreak status. If any case is reported in a school within a 14 day period of another it is “connected” and continues the outbreak. In order to come out of outbreak status, the school would have to go 28 days without a connected case.
Current Outbreaks:
Kindergarten – Exposed 2/1 – Should follow test to stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/1/22)
1st – Exposed 2/4 – Should follow Test to Stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/4/22)
2nd – Exposed 2/11 – Should follow test to stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/11/22)
3rd – Exposed 1/31 & 2/1 – should follow Test to Stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/1/22)
4th – Exposed 2/8 – Should follow test to stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/8/22)
5th – Exposed 1/28 – should follow Test to Stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 1/28/22) *Snow Mountain Ranch Trip
6th – Exposed 2/4 – should follow Test to Stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/4/22)
7th – Exposed 1/28 – Should follow test to stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 1/28/22)
8th – Exposed 2/11 – Should follow test to stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/11/22)
9th – Exposed 2/4 – should follow Test to Stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/4/22)
10th – Exposed 2/15 – should follow Test to Stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/15/22)
11th – Exposed 2/15 – should follow Test to Stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/15/22)
12th – Exposed 2/1 – should follow Test to Stay (Last date of exposure or Day 0 is 2/1/22)
We strongly encourage you to please take a look at our COVID Positive Tracking List for the most up-to-date list of both student and staff cases. Additionally, we’ve added an FAQ section to that page that answers some of the questions we’ve been receiving over the past two weeks.
As a reminder, please do not come to school with any symptoms and please do what you can to help us mitigate the spread of COVID.
If you have been identified as a close contact, or someone who has been exposed to COVID and are unvaccinated, and have no symptoms, you can:
Option 1: Test to Stay
School approved test on Day 5 while still attending in-person, and
Wear a mask for 10 days while monitoring for symptoms, and
If symptoms begin, seek testing and isolate immediately.
Families can voluntarily submit their student’s negative test result using this form.
If your student does test positive, you should email our school nurse at [email protected]
Option 2: Quarantine (parent must call attendance line indicating their student is in quarantine)
Students will quarantine for five days and
Wear a mask for 10 days and
Test on day 5 and
Monitor for symptoms for 10 days and
If symptoms begin, seek testing and isolate immediately.
A school-approved test can be a test that the parents obtain on their own or by visiting a community testing site. While we do have an on-site testing program on Tuesdays, families should not rely on this option as the number of open spots available for testing fills up quickly each week. Symptomatic students and staff should never enter the school for any reason including getting a Covid test.
If you have been identified as a close contact, have been exposed to COVID and are vaccinated, and/or had COVID in the past 90 days and are recovered, you can:
Self-monitor:
Wear a Mask for 10 days, while still attending in-person and
Test on day 5 and
Monitor for symptoms for 10 days and
If symptoms begin, seek testing and isolate immediately.
RESOURCES
When are you considered “fully vaccinated?” – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html
Quarantine and Isolation – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html
How to find testing for Covid-19 – https://covid19.colorado.gov/testing
NOTIFYING STEM OF COVID-19 POSITIVE CASE
If your student tests positive for COVID-19, please contact our School Nurse, Mallory Jimenez ([email protected]) immediately. She will then notify the appropriate STEM Leadership Team members to then initiate our communication process. Ms. Jimenez will then provide instructions on the next steps.
CALLING IN ABSENCES
If your student is sick, in quarantine or you are keeping them home out of an abundance of caution, please remember to call our attendance at 303-683-7836.
At this time, there will be no synchronous instruction that will take place for students who are absent. Students will have two days for every one day they are absent to complete their assignments and check-in with their teachers.
Please note: Extended absences start on the 11th school day that a student is absent. If an absence continues past 10 days, parents will need to complete the Extended Absence Form.
Thank you,
STEM School Highlands Ranch Communications