Head of School COVID-19 Update & Reminders – March 4, 2022

Happy Aloha Friday Saint Mark Parents,

I hope and pray you all are doing well.  I am writing with a few quick COVID updates and reminders.

COMMUNITY CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO IMPROVE
As I’m sure you are well aware, Hawai’i’s current COVID-19 numbers have continued to drop in the past few weeks.  In fact, you can see below that the 7-day averages have decreased over 75% since my last email three weeks ago.
Current Numbers –       The 7-day state average of reported daily new cases is     186 (119 on O`ahu)
February11 Numbers – The 7-day state average of reported daily new cases was 796 (510 on O`ahu)
January 28 Numbers – The 7-day state average of reported daily new cases was 2,241 (1,584 on O`ahu)
January 21 Numbers – The 7-day state average of reported daily new cases was 4,301 (2,982 on O`ahu)

COVID-19 TESTING CONTINUES at SAINT MARK
In the past two weeks, Saint Mark administered 62 COVID-19 tests with 0 positive results for a positivity rate of 0.0%. This brings our nine week total to 451 tests administered with 8 positive results for a positivity rate of  1.7%.
We have detected 0 positive cases since the end of January.

Saint Mark will continue to test students/cohorts, athletes, etc. in the coming weeks and months. When positive cases are detected on campus, the COVID-19 protocols as detailed in the recently revised COVID-19 Campus Plan will be followed.

CHANGES to MASKING POLICY – OUTDOOR ONLY
Just as we did last school year (August 2020) when we resumed in-person instruction before many other schools, we continue this school year placing the highest priority on the overall health and well-being of our students and staff. Last year we recognized that with the right mitigations we could safely return to campus and provide our students with the valuable benefit of an integral in-person environment.  Now in March 2022, we recognize a similar benefit in dialing back our masking requirements and for the first time in two years allowing students (while outside) to share smiles, laughs, and other social cues without a barrier.

With that, we are excited to announce that beginning this coming Monday, March 7, outdoor masking on the Saint Mark campus will no longer be required.  Rather, all students, staff and visitors will have the option to mask while outdoors on the Saint Mark campus.  Of course it’s important that we understand that conditions may again deteriorate requiring us to reinstate this or other mandatory mitigations.  If that need arises, I am confident that the Saint Mark community is experienced enough at this point to quickly pivot back.  As I have previously explained, Saint Mark remains flexible with our COVID policies, procedures, and overall strategies.  We revise/adapt them in accordance with the latest guidelines from government & health officials and as needed depending on the latest developments regarding vaccination rates, level of local transmission, and severity of new viral variants.

For anyone who may be a bit leery of this change, please rest assured that the pros and cons of every COVID decision we make are well-researched and thoughtfully considered.  We work hard to address the true risk of the current situation while continually putting the well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and families at the forefront.  Taking all factors into account, we feel extremely confident in this decision.

Although we are making outdoor masking optional, all indoor masking requirements remain in effect. It is possible that these restrictions may also be relaxed in the future as we continue to carefully monitor the level of school & community transmission rates along with the latest guidelines/orders from government & health officials.

STAYING HOME WHEN SICK
While we are easing our outdoor masking requirements, we will continue to emphasize the personal responsibility of not coming to school if you have symptoms of an illness. Symptoms of illness include but are not limited to Cough, Runny or Stuffy Nose, Fatigue, Sore Throat, Body Aches, Headache, Shortness of Breath/Difficulty Breathing, Decreased Sense of Smell and/or Taste, Diarrhea, Nausea, Vomiting, and Chills/Sweats or Fever of 100.4° F (or higher) in the past 24 hours.  Any student arriving to school with COVID-like symptoms (or developing symptoms while at school) will be removed from the classroom and parents will be called.

SCHOOL ACCREDITATION SURVEY THANK YOU
Mahalo to all who have completed this parent survey!  Over 50% of our families participated in this important process.  Parent perception is a vital part of our accreditation self-study and is instrumental in helping us determine how well we are accomplishing our mission, so please know how much we appreciate your participation. Thank you!

GET ACTIVE & KONA ICE a HUGE SUCCESS
A big mahalo to all of our families for their strong support of “Get Active for Saint Mark”!  Thanks to your generous contributions we raised well over $9,000 for the purchase of new P.E. equipment, recess balls, athletic equipment and travel, etc.  This was our greatest year ever for donations.  The top three money collectors were Noah Benevedes (Gr 2) and Jackson Billings (PK3), and Max Hale (K).  We also mahalo Angie Kaonohi for once again leading the dance classes and to the Parent Teacher Committee (PTC) for sponsoring the extremely popular Kona Ice treats!

V & VARSITY BASKETBALL
The Saint Mark JV Basketball teams (consisting of students in grades 5 & 6) are nearly finished with their short but eventful season!  The girl’s team has mastered their zone defense and played a quick but controlled offense to win all of their games thus far.  The boys currently have 2 wins and 2 close losses.  They are working very well together as a team and have played hard to the last minute of every game.  The teams travel to Wahiawa this afternoon to play Trinity Lutheran and close out the season next week at home against Hongwanji Mission School.  We appreciate the commitment and effort all the players have displayed during the season.

The Varsity basketball season (consisting of students in grades 7 & 8) will begin immediately after spring break. Mr. Markillie and Ms. Shiroma are currently looking for players to commit to joining the team as we head into the final interscholastic athletic season of the 2021-22 school year!

SPIRIT WEEK is NEXT WEEK
We are excited that Spirit Week 2022 is upon us!  For those new to Saint Mark, this is a week where our students get to show their school spirit by dressing up and having some fun. You should have all received a Spirit Week flyer earlier this week explaining the daily themes. The themes are as follows:
Monday– Mis-Match Day
 Tuesday– Holiday Day (Christmas, Valentines, St. Patrick’s, etc….NO Halloween costumes!)
Wednesday – Class Color Day (see flyer)
Thursday – Sports/UH Appreciation Day
Friday – Crazy Hair Day with Free Dress

EARLY DISMISSAL for SPRING BREAK
Please remember that all grades (PK to Gr 8) will dismiss early WITH After School Care next Friday, March 11 as we head into spring break. The staggered pick-up times are as follows:
11:15 to 11:30 a.m. for K-2 students
11:30 to 11:45 a.m. for 3-5 students
11:45 to 12:00 p.m. for 6-8 students
12:00 to 12:15 p.m. for PK students

MAHALO FOR YOUR CONTINUED COOPERATION and TRUST
Thank you for your continued cooperation and trust as we work together to push through this persistent pandemic.  As always, please reach out to Mrs. Jenkins with any questions.

Mahalo and Blessings this Weekend,

David Gaudi
Head of School