Chaminade College Preparatory School

Chaminade’s approach to COVID-19 has been to implement various mitigation strategies to prevent the spread of the virus in our school community. The primary mitigation factor this past year was staying home when symptomatic, which we facilitated with a daily health screening check at the entrances.  Masking, social distancing and hand sanitizing were also key mitigation factors we employed.

For 2021-22, the combination of vaccinated individuals in our school community and low transmission rates in the broader community will allow for less disruptive or restrictive mitigation strategies to keep our community healthy.

Our approach will continue to look at cases and contacts in our school community as a measure of our need for various mitigations. With an increase in vaccinated students there will be less need for contacts to quarantine, and fewer cases requiring contact tracing. The same holds if we experience low community transmission rates.  However, if the community transmission rate increases at points during the school year, certain mitigations may need to be implemented. 

Depending on the number of cases, community transmission rate and number of vaccinated students, one of the following conditions will be in place for each day, potentially adjusting, as necessary, to address the current risk factors at a given point in the year.

Masks Optional: on these days, students may choose to wear a mask for all or part of their daily life at Chaminade. 

Masks Required Situationally: on these days, all students will be asked to wear masks for specific situations: for example, when working in small groups or as lab partners, when facing each other closer than six feet, etc.

Masks Required: all students and adults, vaccinated or not, will be required to wear masks throughout the day.

Regardless of the vaccination numbers or community transmission rates, we anticipate still being required by the St. Louis County Department of Health to contact trace any positive case at school. This means knowing who a student has been around for more than 15 minutes, closer than 6 feet either unmasked or closer than 3 feet both masked. Students will need to participate in the process of generating potential contacts should they develop COVID-19.

Vaccinated individuals who are contacts do not need to be quarantined unless they develop symptoms.  They will be notified of their contact status during the contact tracing procedure.

Unvaccinated school contacts who were masked during exposure (both case and contact)  will have a modified 10-day quarantine where they can attend school if asymptomatic but are still restricted from all other activities, including extracurriculars.

Unvaccinated school students who were unmasked during exposure (either case or contact) will have a 10-day quarantine where they can neither attend school nor participate in extracurriculars.

Depending on the number of cases, community transmission rate and number of vaccinated students, one of the following conditions will be in place for each day, potentially changing to address the current risk factors at a given point in the year.

No imposed restrictions in the classroom or activities. Unvaccinated students are responsible for their own social distancing mitigation.

Partial restrictions: for example, assigned seating, smaller gatherings, front-facing classrooms.

Full restrictions: assigned seating, eliminated or adjusted events, lunch in the classrooms, one-way stairwells, etc.

Depending on the number of cases, community transmission rate and number of vaccinated students, one of the following conditions will be in place for each day, potentially changing to address the current risk factors at a given point in the year.

Students will eat in the cafe during a divisional lunch shift.  Students will sit at one table and participate in recording which table they were at for contact tracing purposes.

Students will eat by class: some in the classroom and some at assigned tables in the cafe.

Students will eat by class in the classrooms. Lunch offerings will be modified to accommodate.

All students should stay home (and a parent call them in absent) should they exhibit symptoms of illness.

Depending on the number of cases, community transmission rate and number of vaccinated students, one of the following conditions will be in place for each day, potentially changing to address the current risk factors at a given point in the year.

Students stay home when they are sick. The daily screening app does not need to be completed.

Students stay home when they are sick. The daily screening app should be completed.

Students stay home when they are sick. The daily screening app should be completed and shown to the adult moderating the door before entering school.

The vaccination rate of our school community will directly impact our ability to offer the fullest Chaminade experience for all and the mitigation strategies that will need to be in place.  Additionally, individual students who are fully vaccinated will not be required to quarantine for 10 days if considered a close contact. When the CDC initially released guidance for quarantine after vaccination, they only gave a reprieve for 3 months. Now, there is no time limit.  So, as it stands now, you do not need to quarantine after vaccination regardless of how long it has been (as long as it has been at least 2 weeks from the final dose). This will prevent students from missing classes, sporting events, and other school activities.

At this time, all children ages 12 and older qualify for the vaccine in the state of Missouri. In order for a student to be fully vaccinated by the start of the school year, the first dose needs to be administered by July 9. 

Once a student is fully vaccinated, a picture of his card should be submitted to school nurse, Sue Rozier, to have on file for contact tracing purposes. You can submit this information using the link below.

As the number of students currently vaccinated and those planning to get vaccinated will influence the administration’s ongoing preparation for the coming school year. Please complete the anonymous survey related to vaccination intentions for your son to help guide our decision making.

Chaminade will not require vaccinations for enrolled students and respects family decisions related to this topic. As vaccination will impact both individuals and our community as a whole, we are inclined to share and request information regarding it. 

COMPLETE THE SURVEY

With the state of Missouri currently allowing anyone age 12 and up to be vaccinated, we understand that a majority of our 6th grade class will not be old enough to have the opportunity to get vaccinated before the start of the school year. Keeping this in mind, we are prepared to put in different mitigation strategies specifically for the 6th grade class to keep them safe while at school.

6th Grade families received an email from Mr. Twellman on Tuesday, June 22. CLICK HERE to read that email.

We will share specifics as our plan is developed closer to the beginning of school.

Chaminade will continue an 8-block schedule for 2021-22.  Seventh and Eighth Graders will take their Fine Arts classes and their STEM course in the same block over the course of the year, similar to this past year.  

Classes will be 80 minutes in length on a regular class day and 70 minutes on any of the special schedule days (Liturgies, House Meetings, Assemblies, Late Starts).

The school day will begin at 8AM and conclude at 2:55PM with Mentor Group taking place after the first block of the day. A 30-minute Academic Lab period has been attached to the lunch block for all students (Juniors and Seniors taking less than 8.0 credits will have an Academic Lab as part of their schedule).

We will continue to alternate between Red Days (Blocks 1-4) and White Days (Blocks 5-8) and rotate the periods throughout the day.

See a snap shot of the daily schedule.

The return of Academic Lab was one of the major requests of students and families after the necessary 9 to 8 block schedule adjustments were made this past year. While we will remain in the 8 block schedule, we have been able to build Academic Lab in for all grade levels. 

All students will have a 30 minute Academic Lab everyday.  During the third block of each day, students will have their scheduled class, lunch, and Academic Lab. Academic Lab will take place in the classroom and with the teacher for that scheduled block. 

Academic Lab time will be coordinated by grade level and used for quiet study, meetings with teachers/counselors/learning consultants, making up assessments, etc. Occasionally, this time will be used for grade level meetings or could be shortened/eliminated to accommodate special schedules.    

In the event of an unanticipated absence (illness, family emergency, death in the family), a student’s parent must inform either the middle school office (grades 6-8) or high school office (grades 9-12).

In all circumstances, students will be marked either present or absent from school. Virtual learning opportunities are reserved for students that are subject to quarantine.

In the event that a student is required to quarantine for 10 days, the student is expected to be present (participate in required classroom activities remotely, submit homework and classwork at the time it is due, attend each class via Zoom) unless the student is too ill to attend and the appropriate office is notified by a parent.

A student's absence is considered unexcused if the appropriate school office is not notified by a parent and a student is absent, either from school or from classroom activities, if quarantined. 

Students who test positive for COVID and unvaccinated students who are considered close contacts will be required to quarantine for 10 days. During that time students will be required to attend all classes via Zoom and complete course work through Canvas. Assessments may be completed online or upon return to school at the discretion of the teacher.

Quarantined students will log on to Zoom at the start of each block.Students who are quarantined and not present via zoom will be marked absent. Quarantined students are expected to participate in class discussion/activities and complete required assignments throughout the class period. Teachers will determine if tests/quizzes should be taken from home or held until a student’s return based on the assessment format.

Upon return from quarantine, students can schedule time during AcLab to meet with teachers to make up assessments and review any other important content to feel caught up. 

If a quarantined student is ill and unable to participate in classes via Zoom and/or complete required coursework, parents must call the office at the start of each school day to report the absence.   

Chaminade will operate with in person learning for the 2021-2022 school year. In line with our mission, we believe that we can create the most quality school experience through the community we build here on campus. With vaccine developments and a solid understanding for effective mitigation strategies, we are confident in our ability to create a safe learning environment for all students.

If your family has an extenuating medical situation that you would like to discuss, please contact the administration.   

Our goal for the 2021-2022 school year is to resume our House System activities as normal.

The goal of our House System is to build community and foster positive relationships among our students and faculty. It is obviously much easier to do this when our students can gather with each other in large groups with fewer restrictions.

The planning of our House System events will be in line with the mitigation strategies currently in place at our school at the time of these events. As we saw during the 2020-2021 school year, even with restrictions in place, our House System can still be successful. As such, we will be prepared to adapt and change any House System events when necessary.

We are excited to be able to plan for a fairly normal year of our Experiential Education Trips.

Our 6th grade class has plans to attend their trip to the Tetons from April 23-April 30.

Our 7th grade class has plans to attend their trip to Chicago from September 28-October 1.

Our 8th grade class has plans to finally be able to take their trip to the Tetons from April 30-May 7. We are exploring options for an optional trip to Washington DC for our 8th grade class. We are also looking at ways to safely be able to continue with our England Exchange Program for our 8th graders.

Our 9th grade trip to Dayton, OH is being planned for November 9-12.

Our 10th grade Road to Freedom trip is also being planned for November 9-12.

More specific information regarding all of these trips will be communicated directly to the families as the trips get closer.

Chaminade’s Campus Ministry will return to its traditional liturgical, service, and retreat programming for 21-22. 

Off-site retreats and service experiences will implement mitigation strategies as required by the facilities we are using. 

On-campus events will be modified, if necessary, in accordance with any mitigation factors in place for the school as a whole.

The St. Louis County Department of Health has made no updates to Youth Sports guidelines since April 9.

This section will be updated as we receive the guidelines for Fall sports. 

Per the guidelines from the St. Louis County Department of Health, on campus visitors that are fully vaccinated are not not required to wear a mask. A mask is required for those that are not fully vaccinated. This applies to all on-campus buildings.

Masks are not required at outdoor events.