Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update & Other Reminders – November 20, 2020

Happy Aloha Friday Saint Mark Parents!

I hope and pray you are doing well.  I am writing with the latest updates & reminders.

COMMUNITY CONDITIONS 
After trending higher for a few weeks, the current numbers (which are available on the Hawaii Data Collaborative) have stabilized and moved down a bit this week.  Let’s all please do our part to keep the metrics low as we head toward the Thanksgiving break.

Current Numbers
The 7-day state average of reported daily new cases is 86 (71 on O`ahu) and the 7-day state average of the positivity rate is 1.9% (2.6% on O`ahu).

November 13th Numbers
The 7-day state average of reported daily new cases is 101 (82 on O`ahu) and the 7-day state average of the positivity rate is 2.3% (3.0% on O`ahu).

November 6th Numbers
The 7-day state average of reported daily new cases was 95 (72 on O`ahu) and the 7-day state average of the positivity rate was 2.2% (2.9% on O`ahu).

October 29th Numbers
The 7-day state average of reported daily new cases was 87 (49 on O`ahu) and the 7-day state average of the positivity rate was 2.0% (2.0% on O`ahu).

IMPACT/ALERT LEVELS
The state of Hawai`i is at impact level YELLOW (Act with Care – Minor Disruption) of its Reopening Navigator; the City and County of Honolulu is in TIER 2 (ORANGE) of its Honolulu Reopening Strategy; and Saint Mark is at level GREEN in its Reopening Campus Plan.

COVID COOPERATION APPRECIATED
It’s vital that our school families understand the importance of their cooperation and support as this daily battle is waged to keep our children safe while providing them with an authentic on-campus educational experience.

The way you all have been keeping your children home when ill in addition to your many collaborative communications with the school office (including travel questions, potential close contacts, and other COVID related questions/issues) have been wonderful to observe and are absolutely critical for our systems/protocols to work properly.

Please know how much I and the entire faculty/staff of Saint Mark appreciate this home/school partnership and look forward to working together in the coming weeks and months to safely navigate our way through this persistent pandemic.  Thank you!

THANKSGIVING GUIDELINES (From the CDC)
As we head into the Thanksgiving break the CDC is reporting that United States has over 1 million newly reported COVID-19 cases in the past week alone.  With that, the CDC has created guidelines for safely celebrating Thanksgiving this year.  Many of the recommendations should be familiar; however, they are nevertheless a great reminder of what we need to do to help stay safe over the Thanksgiving break.

10th ANNUAL TURKEY TROT
We are excited to be having ALL of our students (PK-8) participating in the 10th Annual Saint Mark Turkey Trot next Tuesday.  In addition to encouraging the children to have fun while being active with their friends, we also want to challenge our students to be aware of the less fortunate this holiday season and are requesting that each student bring in one or more canned goods to donate to our very own Saint Mark Church Food Bank. 

PTC FLOWER FUNDRAISER
A big mahalo goes to our PTC for organizing the Mele Kalikimaka Flower Fundraiser to help support Saint Mark and our local farmers.  As was shared earlier this week, the Saint Mark PTC in collaboration with Mynah’s Farm in Kahaluʻu, Oʻahu, is offering the opportunity to “shop local” this Christmas season while supporting Saint Mark by purchasing fresh local tropical arrangements (with or without a vase).  Please contact Mrs. Kahaʻulelio at 247-5589 if you have any questions or would like to make a purchase.

MASKS REMINDER
Masks must fit correctly and be worn properly (fitting snugly and fully covering the mouth and nose) if they are to provide the type of protection they are designed to provide. The office has a variety of children’s masks available (free of charge) for any students who may need one. 

READY TO PIVOT BACK to DISTANCE LEARNING
Saint Mark Lutheran School remains very attentive to the fluidity of this pandemic and will continue to carefully monitor the daily data.  While we will not be overly reactive to expected variance in community conditions, we need to be ready to quickly pivot back (cohorts or larger groups) to distance learning should a student or staff member test positive or community conditions dramatically worsen again.  

This is my last update email before Thanksgiving, so please allow me to wish you all a safe, relaxing and altogether wonderful Thanksgiving break.   

Mahalo, Blessings and Stay Safe this Weekend,

David Gaudi
Head of School