Hello Santanas,

I hope you are all well and had a nice weekend. 

I have a few important things to go over with you for the week, but first, I want to address the Governor’s news conference today as Orange County has moved back into the PURPLE TIER of the Governor’s Tiered COVID system. 

I want to be very clear with our parents and students that we are still holding on-campus learning. Of course, if you do not feel safe with on-campus learning, you can convert your child to virtual learning to avoid your child having to be on campus. 

Keeping schools open in Orange USD was addressed by OUSD Superintendent, Dr. Hansen last week when it became apparent that Orange County may move into the more restrictive PURPLE TIER.  This protocol also applies to Santiago Charter. Here is the COVID-19 portion of Dr. Hansen’s email in case you missed it. 

COVID-19 AND SCHOOL CLOSURE GUIDANCE 

With increased numbers of COVID-19 appearing in Orange County, it’s important for us to remain diligent about distancing, wearing masks, and frequently washing our hands. With Thanksgiving approaching, it is also important to remember to follow CDPH Guidance and not gather people from more than three households together.

As a reminder, OUSD schools (Santiago follows this exact same protocol) will remain open regardless of the Tier Orange County is at on the Dashboard. Individual school closure would be based on the number of cases, the percentage of the teacher/students/staff that are positive for COVID-19, and following consultation with the Local Health Officer. Individual school closure may be appropriate when there are multiple cases in multiple cohorts at a school or when at least 5 percent of the total number of teachers/student/staff are cases within a 14-day period, depending on the size and physical layout of the school. The Local Health Officer may also determine school closure is warranted for other reasons, including results from public health investigation or other local epidemiological data.

CDPH guidance also indicates that a superintendent should close a school district if 25% or more of schools in a district have closed due to COVID-19 within 14 days, and in consultation with the local public health department. Districts may typically reopen after 14 days, in consultation with the local public health department.

As of now, we have had only 1 confirmed case of COVID-19 that involved an on-campus person and that person immediately self-quarantined and was not on campus during a time that they were infectious, according to the OCDH. Please take a few moments to review the link above to the CDHP Guidelines, as we get ready to celebrate the holidays. It is more important than ever to make sure we are doing everything in our power to keep one another safe at school, at home, and during the holiday break. So please read the guidance and go over these guidelines with your children. 

Also, it is VERY, VERY important that if your child has had direct contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID, or has any symptoms of COVID, that you keep your child home to self-quarantine AND notify the school. This is critical in helping us control the spread of COVID-19 on our campus.

NEWS OTHER THAN COVID

1. We had to cancel tomorrow night’s PTSA meeting because we do not have enough members who have joined this year. We have only had 60 parents join our Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) meeting so far this year. The cost to join PTSA is a one-time $15 fee which makes you a member for the entire year. If you join, it does not mean that you have to attend all the meetings, although you will be invited too. The PTSA uses these funds for student events and activities such as providing T-Shirts for our STRIVE assembly, putting together the 8^th grade promotion party, and many other student events that benefit all Santanas.  I respectfully ask that you consider supporting the kids by joining PTSA this year. We normally have 500-600 members, but because we had to do registration online this year and we had to start the school year virtually, we are way down with membership and we owe it to the students to give them the same fun opportunities that other Santiago students have had, so I respectfully ask you to please consider joining by filling out the form on this link: 

https://jointotem.com/ca/orange/santiago-charter-middle-school-ptsa

2. As you know, all students are getting free breakfast and lunch at Santiago for the entire school year. In order to be in compliance with state reporting, I need to ask those parents who would normally fill out the Free + Reduced Lunch application to complete the following (confidential) app. Everyone will continue to get Free + Reduced Breakfast and Lunch for the entire year regardless, but by completing this, we will be in compliance with the state guidelines (which is especially important for charter schools). So please take a moment to complete this if you would normally apply for F +R Lunch. 

AltApp English - https://freeandreducedmeals.com/lfserver/Orange_CA_HH_Survey_ENG 

AltApp Spanish - https://freeandreducedmeals.com/lfserver/Orange_CA_HH_Survey_SPA

3. Please note that Santiago (on-campus, virtual, and offices) and (all OUSD school) will be closed the entire week of Thanksgiving from Saturday, November 21^st through Sunday, November 29^th.

On behalf of our entire school staff, we want to wish you all a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday and week. 

Respectfully, 

Jim D’Agostino and the entire Santiago Team