Submitted by Mr. Ethan Sickels,

Rock Port R-II Superintendent

The school year continues to roll by, and I hope you are looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends. Our students and staff continue to do great work both inside and outside of the classroom, which is one thing I am truly thankful for!

Last week we had our largest number of COVID quarantines with 52 students out of the building, the majority from the elementary end. While this number is at least 30 less than it was this time last year, it still raised our concerns about students missing school. We have a new option that will allow us to keep non-symptomatic close contacts in school. This option has just recently been pushed by DHSS and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and is called the “Test to Stay” option.

Let me be clear . . . from my personal viewpoint and opinion, school personnel and educators should not be in the position to be testing students and staff for COVID. However, if it keeps those students and staff in school who truly do not need to be absent, then I hope it is worth the hassle. Like everyone else over the past 20 months, educators have been taking on more work and duties due to the pandemic. If this helps lessen the amount of virtual/distanced education both our staff and students must prepare for, then the testing sacrifice should be worthwhile.

Permission slips were sent home with all students this past Friday, with the intent to begin this program on November 17. Under this voluntary program, unvaccinated students and staff members who are deemed close contacts of a COVID-19 positive individual would not have to quarantine if certain protocols are followed. Protocols would include:

• Properly wearing a mask for seven days

• Receive a negative COVID test at least three times over a seven day period

• Monitor for symptoms for 14 days

• After school athletic and activity participation would be allowed with additional, specific protocols.

Tests would be administered by a trained staff member. This program may currently only be utilized for students and staff who are deemed close contacts at school, not for those contacts outside of the school building. As well, this is only for non-symptomatic individuals. If your student is sick/showing symptoms, please keep them home and only get them tested at one of our local testing facilities.

If you did not receive a permission slip, or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact either our Elementary or JH/HS office. We are hopeful this will reduce the number of students and staff who miss school and who are not showing symptoms.

I hope this holiday season is a special one and finds everyone in your family healthy and happy. Please stay safe, and as always, I leave you with three important words . . . GO BIG BLUE!