8/13/21 - Friday Forget-Me-Nots by Jim Silcott

Photo Caption: Mr. Silcott’s new bike (just to keep your minds off of COVID!).

Dear Our Lady of Peace Family:

Superintendent Adam Dufault’s letter about the protocols for Diocesan schools regarding the continuing COVID situation is attached to the email that brought you this newsletter.

 I want to use this space to let you know what Our Lady of Peace School is doing specifically in this regard:

-As Mr. Dufault mentions, there will be no mandatory mask mandate for the Diocese with the exception of our bus riders which is a federal requirement. However, as he states, it is “strongly recommended” for unvaccinated people especially children under 12 years of age. He also gives local schools the ability to make decisions specific to our needs for keeping our students and staff healthy.

-Given the fact that we simply cannot maintain three feet of separation in our classrooms unless we go back to the extreme measures and changes that were made in rooms last year, I am following Mr. Dufault in strongly recommending that all parents have their students wear masks in the classrooms. We will continue to monitor and make changes when either necessary or prudent to do so.

-Masks will be mandatory for all students and staff at the following times:

-When riding a school bus (see above)

-Friday Mass at 8:15am

-Any all school assemblies inside the building

Therefore we ask everyone entering our building, students, staff and visitors to have a mask with them.

-Students will not be required to wear masks outdoors or in the cafeteria. There will be three lunches rather than the traditional pre-covid two lunches to cut down on numbers in the cafeteria. At lunch, students will sit with their grade and students and there will, for the time being, assigned seating at lunch.

-Middle school students will be changing classes this year and music and art will go back to going to those dedicated classrooms. Desk surfaces in those rooms will be wiped down before a new class enters the room.

-We will continue to have hand sanitizing stations at every classroom as well as cleaning materials for cleaning surfaces. The air purifiers purchased by Home and School last year will continue to operate in all rooms and they all have new filters.

-Unfortunately, at least for the first semester we will not have classroom buddies or family groups again this year.

-Parents are allowed to enter the building and can resume volunteering in the lunchroom, at recess duty and in other places specified by teachers, but everyone will have to log in and out in the office before proceeding anywhere in the school.

-We will continue to insist that students and staff who are sick stay home and parents need to make arrangements to pick children up quickly if a student experiences symptoms at school.

-Drinking fountains will continue to be turned off. Last year we gave away over 2,000 cups for students to have water. Please provide your student with a water bottle and have them bring it to school every day so that we may cut back on waste.

-We will continue to accommodate students who are home sick or who are quarantined.

-Vaccinations are not mandatory for either students or staff but are strongly encouraged for everyone who is eligible to receive one. 

-Please note that in the School Handbook there is an acknowledgment of risk that everyone who enters our building must be aware of. If you do not feel comfortable with any of the above procedures and policies you certainly have a right to choose a different education option for your child. Just as last year, Our Lady of Peace School and Parish, its faculty and staff will continue to do everything that we can to offer a safe learning environment. 

I wish so much that my opening letter to you would be about something other than this damned virus but so it goes. We have many exciting new things happening this year which I will be talking about in next week’s newsletter and at the Meet the Teachers’ events but we need to get this out front to all of you so that you know what to expect when school begins in a few weeks.

As always I am happy to answer any questions or address any concerns.



Jim Silcott