Protocols for Illness and/or Exposure to COVID

Click here for COVID-19 Guidance & FAQ's for Families>>

To report student illness, please call or email us at COVID19@carondelet-mpls.org and Jeanne Phenow (Upper Campus) or Holly Barborak (Lower Campus). Please refer to the Department of Health’s Guidelines for Schools if someone in your family is showing any symptoms of illness or may have been exposed to someone with COVID.  

Students and siblings should not return to school after an illness until they've been cleared for return by the school office. 
 

When must my child stay home?

Your child (and all siblings) MUST stay home if they have are showing ANY symptoms of illness consistent with COVID, including: 
 Fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
 New cough, or a cough gets worse
 Difficulty or trouble breathing
 New loss of taste or smell
 Sore throat          Nausea     
 Vomiting             Diarrhea
 Chills                     Muscle pain
 Excessive fatigue (being very tired)
 New or severe headache
 New nasal congestion or runny nose
 They've been exposed to someone who tested positive to COVID

If student reports one symptom from above list, they will need a COVID test or alternate diagnosis such as strep or influenza. 

If a child must stay home because they have symptoms, the other children living in the house need to stay home from school or child care, too (quarantine). This means they must not take part in activities outside of the home for at least 14 days, unless a COVID-19 test, a doctor, or some other health care provider finds that the child does not have COVID-19 due to alternate diagnosis such as strep or influenza. (Please note, the school may require additonal documentation or testing prior to return). 

When can my student and/or their siblings return to school if they have symptoms of illness?
A student with symptoms of illness (and siblings) is not cleared for return to school until they are symptom free, and test negative for COVID or a health care provider finds they do not have COVID due to alternate diagnosis such as strep or influenza. Documentation must be provided to school prior to return or they must wait 14 days. Students must be cleared for return by the school office as well. 

Your child must stay home if they test positive for COVID-19, but show no symptoms.
 They must stay at home and stay away from others in the home for 10 days (isolation), counting from the day after they were tested or developed symptoms (whichever was first). Students must be cleared for return by the school office as well. 

Your child must stay home if they have close contact with anyone who tests positive for COVID-19.
 Children who have close contact with someone with COVID-19 must stay home for at least 14 days (quarantine). They must stay home even if they do not have symptoms of COVID-19. Close contacts may include everyone they live with and people outside of the home, such as grandparents; aunts and uncles; or other children or adults at school, in the neighborhood, at church, at sports or social activities; or at any other place.
 Your child must stay home for 14 days (quarantine), even if they test negative for COVID-19, because they could develop COVID-19 for up to 14 days. Your child must stay home if someone who lives in their house has symptoms of COVID-19 infection and is being tested.
 Children must stay home until test results are known.  ​​Students must be cleared for return by the school office as well. 

2020-2021 SCHOOL PREPAREDNESS PLAN: 

(Updated March 2021)

PK-Grades 6 On-Site; Grades 7-8 On-Site Mon-Thurs. (distance learning on Fridays)

Students in grades PK-6 will be on campus daily, Monday through Friday, as scheduled. 

Students in grades 7-8 will be on campus Monday-Thursday and distance learning on Fridays when school is in session

• Friday will be a distance learning day for students in grades 7-8 with a combination of synchronious and asynchronious learning. 

All students will stay within their classroom cohort for on-site classes with limited movement throughout the building. Specialist classes will be taught within a classroom or outside space. 

Students who are unable to attend on-site classes for an extended period of time due to health concerns will have the option of full time distance learning. All families will have the option of requesting full time distance learning in the family survey below. Our goal is to have live classes daily for these students. 

Distance Learning: Families have the choice to register for full-time distance learning for each trimester. Distance learning accommodations will also be given to students in extended quarantine due to COVID-19.

Health & Safety:

Carondelet has extensive health and safety protocols that include:

• Daily temperature checks for anyone entering the buildings
• Face coverings for all students and faculty (further detail below)
• Daily cleaning and disinfection of classrooms, common spaces, and high-touch areas
• Hygiene education 
• De-densifying of classrooms
• Social distancing
• Plexiglass desk shields 
• Health offices on both campuses 
• Limited exposure to others (students will stay within a primary grouping for most of the day using outdoor spaces when possible)
• Restricting parents, volunteers and visitors inside the buildings
• Portable ventilation options for our upper campus classrooms. The Lower Campus renovation plan included an upgraded ventilation system that was installed last year. Every classroom has large, operating windows to improve ventilation. 

Face Coverings: 

Carondelet has received additional guidance in accordance with the Governor's Executive Order 20-81. Therefore, all students and faculty will wear a face covering in accordance with the Minnesota Department of Health. Each family shall provide their own face covering. Children age 5 and under will be required to wear a face mask or shield when entering and exiting the buildings, in common spaces, and upon teacher request. All other students and faculty members will be required to wear a face covering in accordance with the state mandate, summarized here. 

Moving to Full Distance Learning:

There may be situations when Carondelet will need to close the buildings for a short or extended period of time. In this case, students would move to our off-site learning model. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, an outbreak of COVID among the faculty and/or staff (guidelines to be determined) or a state-mandated shelter-in-place order.

Threshold for closing the school building or an individual classroom:

Our plan is built on current data, outbreak trends in our community, and our ability to practice safety measures across our school population. Several factors are taken into account when making decisions about learning models. These factors include, but are not limited to, classroom exposure, a shortage of faculty who are out due to illness, outbreak trends within our community (including positivity rates and number of people in quarantine), and positivity rates within Hennepin County over a 14-day period. Looking at this data collectively, we may decide to implement different learning models.

Class Size & Configuration:

Carondelet is committed to smaller class sizes that better allow for social distancing of 3-5 feet within a classroom. Each grade level homeroom may vary slightly due to differences in physical space. PreK will not exceed 10 students per classroom; K will be 14-15 students per homeroom (3 sections); 1st grade will be 16-17 students per homeroom; 2nd grade will be 15 students per homeroom (3 sections); 3rd grade will be 17 students per classroom; 4th grade will be 20 per classroom (larger classrooms); 5th grade will be 15 per classoom (3 sections). Middle school homerooms average 20-23 students per homeroom, split to 10-12 students when working under the hybrid model. Please note, these numbers may change slightly due to staffing, room assignments and enrollment. All desks or tables will have plexiglass shields when students are facing each other and/or with less than 5 feet between them. 

Technology: 

Each student in grades 1-8 will be given a school-issued iPad or chromebook, for use at school and home. Additional information on parent/student training will be sent home in August. 

Lunch Program:

• Carondelet will continue to offer a lunch program with AgraCulture.

• Students will eat in the cafeteria  or another dedicated space with their classroom, with a designated lunch supervisor, disinfecting between lunch periods. Students will be forward facing and spaced over 6 feet apart, of behind a shield when unable to stay 6 feet apart.

• Students can continue to bring lunches from home, with milk provided.

Extended Day Program: 

• Carondelet will continue to offer extended-day through our Club Saint program for students in grades PK-Grade 4. Since a bus shuttle between campuses may not be an option this year, Lower Campus students will attend Club Saint at the Lower Campus and Upper Campus students will attend extended day at the Upper Campus. We will accommodate older students if space allows. This will be dependent on registration numbers. 

• Pre-K registrants will attend Club Saint in their own designated classroom space.

Athletics/Extracurriculars:

SSYO has made the decision to move fall sports (soccer and volleyball) to the spring of 2021. All other clubs and activities are on hold at the moment.

Large Group Gatherings: 

Carondelet is not planning on hosting any large group gatherings at this time including, but not limited, to our Back to School Open House, concerts, etc. 

School Liturgies: 

Multi-grade, in-person masses and prayer services will be suspended until further notice. These events may be offered virtually.