Congratulations to our 2022 Spelling Bee Champion, Cassandra Mercado. Way to go Cassandra. She will now move forward to the next level of competition. Alan Castaneda was the runner-up in a thrilling competition that lasted 10 rounds! Alan will serve as the alternate. Great job Alan! Congratulations to all of our competitors. Our students represented their schools with dignity and class. Thanks to our Spelling Bee Master, Principal Vaughan, and the Spelling Bee team that worked behind the scenes to make it all happen. You can watch the entire competition on our YouTube channel here. Best wishes to Cassandra as she represents Alvord at the County-level. Go Cassandra!!!

Anyone who tests positive should use the second test to test again 5 days after the initial positive test and before returning to school. For everyone who does not test positive, the second test should be used in the future if symptoms are present or if exposed to a positive case.

Thank you in advance for choosing to participate in our screening testing program.

Cases were down for the second consecutive week. That's great news! Our attendance has now improved to 90%. Under normal conditions, our daily attendance is about 95%. We will be there soon, as California's COVID transmission rates continue to improve and so do the rates in Riverside County. There are many reasons to remain hopeful and be optimistic in anticipation of a normal end-of-the-school-year with all of the festivities and events that make it so special and memorable.

Total Positive Cases This Week:

• 142 students (down from 252 last week and 927 the previous week)
• 17 staff members (down from 52 last week and 84 the previous week)

Students Identified Through Contact Tracing:

• 142 cases required contact tracing
• 450 students were placed in quarantine (ranging from isolation to modified quarantine)

Overall, as of Friday, February 4, including the first semester, we have had 373 staff members and 3,050 students report a positive test for COVID-19. Stay current with our case rate by regularly tracking our COVID-19 Data Dashboard and FAQ here. Cases recorded on the Dashboard are confirmed by Riverside County Public Health officials and remain on the Dashboard for 14 days.

This past week in Riverside County, there were 2,771 new cases (0.5% increase), equating to 125.4 cases per 100K (7-day average), no new deaths (0.0% increase), and a 19.8% test positivity (7-day rate), a 6.5% decrease from the previous week. Since many people are now testing at home with antigen rapid tests, the positivity rate is estimated to be much higher since all cases are not reported. There are currently 780 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 52 fewer patients hospitalized from the prior day total (6.3% decrease).

This data is as of February 5, 2022, as reported on the State's tracking web site.

On behalf of your Board of Education, thank you in advance for participating in our screening testing program. It's a great example of how we can all come together to slow the spread in our schools and our community.

Have a great upcoming week and a safe and peaceful President's Week break the following week, starting on Valentine's Day. School resumes on Tuesday, February 22.

Be well. Test weekly. Stay healthy.

Sincerely,

Allan Mucerino

Our two after-school programs are HALF-Time (K-5) and PRIME-Time (6-8). They are available M-F from school dismissal until 6:00 PM. The programs provide FREE academic support, homework assistance and enrichment activities like art, crafts, music, sports and STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, and Math) along with a nutritious meal. Please register your Kindergarten through 8th grade students soon as space is limited. Sign up here in English and here in Spanish.