Eagle Nation News
Weekly Update: August 16, 2021
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!
Happy Monday EagleNation,
I have a couple of things to share with you. First, please continue to send your thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the Cafazza Family as they continue to process this tragic loss.
Second, last week it was great to see our staff and students back in the buildings! It's been such a great feeling to have the kids back in the buildings reminding us daily of our purpose in all the madness happening around us. I'm trying to stay focused on the positive right now both personally and professionally. It was wonderful to see the staff outside welcoming students on the first day back to school, the energy in our buildings was palpable!
We are sharing several items below, so please make sure to check the attachments.
Jill
ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SCREENING INFORMATION FOR ALL STUDENTS
Please see the letter linked below regarding important testing and screening information for your students. If you have any questions, please reach out to the building administrator directly.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bsb11oDVxy9f5EF1iUe44cPzsF-DdF4j/view?usp=sharing
MASK GUIDANCE
In addition, as your superintendent it is my responsibility to share this information with you as it is shared with me. ISBE is taking swift action against districts that are not complying with the mandate.
We received the following email from Superintendent Ayala earlier this week which outlines, towards the end, the repercussions of not falling in line with the mandate.
We realize that there are people on both sides of this issues, and we are just trying to ensure we are sharing information with our families. We appreciate all the support, as always, from our families as we continue to work through this pandemic.
COVID SHIELD SCREENING AND ANTIGEN TESTING
Eagle Nation,
A reminder regarding our testing options for COVID this year.
One is an OPT-IN form for our BINAX Antigen Testing program. This testing option is for students who are symptomatic and we need to know if they have COVID or not. This is the program we used last year. I want to point out that this is an OPT-IN FORM. If you WANT YOUR CHILD TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE FILL THIS OUT AND RETURN IT TO YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL.
The other is an OPT-OUT form for our new SHIELD Screening program. This will be a new program this year. I want to point out that this is an OPT-OUT FORM. SHIELD IL is a COVID screening program designed by the University of Illinois to assist schools in identifying asymptomatic cases and preventing outbreaks. The test is a non-invasive, saliva-based collection that is self-administered at each supervised school site. At the start of the school year, screening will be made available to students once per week and will take approximately 5 minutes to complete the process. Saliva samples are collected, transported, and analyzed by a CLIA-certified lab partner and results are provided in less than a 24-hour period. This screening targets specific COVID (PCR) markers and can be used to detect the presence of COVID for individuals who are displaying symptoms or are asymptomatic. Once completed, all samples that have been collected are permanently destroyed.
If you DO NOT WISH FOR YOUR CHILD TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE FILL THIS OUT AND RETURN IT TO YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL. This is a saliva-based, screening testing option for SHIELD.
If you have questions, please reach out to your child's school directly. You can also stop by and building to pick up a copy of the forms.
WEEKLY COVID NUMBERS
Bethalto Community Unit District #8
Email: return@bethalto.org
Website: https://www.bethalto.org/
Location: 101 School Street, Bethalto, IL, USA
Phone: 6183777200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BethaltoSchools/
Twitter: @BethaltoSchools