Important Information for On-Campus Learning

 Hello Parents and Students, 

Just a reminder LTSA IS in session,  tomorrow, January, 17, 2022.  We will be adding the elementary students back to campus so all elementary students will be tested tomorrow.   We can test any older students if they feel like they have had some high risks or have had a possible exposure.  Remember, if someone in your household has COVID, you need to stay home for five days and test. 

Monday Morning Testing: Our current batch of tests has expired, as of the end of December, but still provide better indication of possible infection than no testing at all.  The FDA has also just issued an extension on expiration dates.  

Testing will be from 8:00 - 8:30  - Please use the drive through for testing and then park and stay in your vehicle until a staff member informs you of test results. (15 - 20 Minutes) 

If you are experiencing ANY of these symptoms please stay home.  MS/HS students work asynchronously using Google Classroom. You can reach out to your teachers via google stream in classroom. 

• Sore throat 

• Congestion or runny nose 

• Sneezing 

• Coughing

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• New loss of taste or smell

• Fever

• Muscle or body aches

• Nausea or vomiting

• Headache

• Fatigue (mild or severe)

• Diarrhea

Students and staff on campus should wear kn95 masks. There has been evidence that the Omicron is spreading in other schools when kids take their masks off to eat inside, even with distance, so any snack or lunch will be outside only - we are in the process of trying to procure some canopies over the picnic tables in case of inclement weather. (If anyone has one that we could have or borrow please drop them off this week.) Please keep an eye on the weather and make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for snack, lunch, and PE outdoors. 

In PE, high-risk, close-contact activities will be suspended until further notice.

If you are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, Austin’s Risk Based Guidelines indicate that you should not be dining, shopping, travelling or gathering when the community is in stage 4 or above.  If you are not adhering to these guidelines, please do not send your student to school.

CDC Guidelines for Students Who Are Close Contacts: As a reference, close contact determinations are generally based on guidance outlined by the CDC, which notes that individuals who are fully vaccinated may not need to follow the stay-at home period.  

Public health authorities will be notified of all positive cases in schools. 

Please notify LTSA If your student has a close contact - This applies specifically to students who are close contacts because an individual who lives in the same household is COVID-19 positive.

Staff and Students Who Have COVID-19 or Who are Close Contacts, school systems must exclude students and staff from attending school in person who are actively sick with COVID-19, who are suspected of being actively sick with COVID-19, or who have received a positive test result for COVID-19. Based on recent updates from the CDC, staff and students may return when: 

• If symptomatic, at least 5 days have passed since symptom onset, and fever free*, and other symptoms have improved ( plus a COVID Rapid Test Negative from LTSA). 

• For those with no symptoms, at least 5 days after the day they tested positive. *Fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever suppressing medications. Fever is a temperature of 100° Fahrenheit (37.8° Celsius) or higher. 

Students and Staff who meet the close contact threshold with a COVID-19 positive individual and are in one of the following groups, do not need to stay at home. 

• Ages 18 or older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people. 

• Was confirmed COVID-19 positive within the last 90 days and has fully recovered. 

For students and staff who meet the close contact threshold with a COVID-19 positive individual who are not in one of the above groups, it is recommended that the school system require that students and staff remain off campus during the stay-at-home period.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions or concerns.  

We have to work together to keep everyone safe and healthy! 

Thank you so much, 

Sincerely,

Kori and the LTSA Team 

LTSA - Distance Learning / Delayed On Campus Start Date

 

Dear LTSA Families,

We hope you all had a healthy and happy holiday season!   We are excited to get started, however, we are monitoring this Omicron surge very closely as the numbers are on the rise and it has infected not only the un-vaccinated but also the vaccinated and boosted people.  I tested positive for the virus on December 29th.   I have both vaccination shots plus I received my booster shot over Thanksgiving.  The virus displays first as cedar fever symptoms, runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat and then the symptoms build into what feels like the flu with high fever, body aches and congestion.  For an unvaccinated person this can mean possible hospitalization.  I was contagious up to two days before my symptoms started.  I had been wearing a mask inside every building and washing my hands as often as possible. However, there are indications that the only mask that the Omicron cannot get through is the KN95, if worn correctly. I am giving you these details to let you know how contagious this new variant is.  Our team has returned today for Teacher In Service via zoom as we have more members of our team not feeling well. 

Middle and High School Students: Due to my in-person absence this week, and other staff members displaying possible symptoms, we have decided to delay our start date of in-person on campus learning until Monday, January 10th for Middle and High School Students (as they are the greater population of vaccinated students). Middle and High School students will need to check their Google Classrooms for asynchronous assignments this week on Wednesday and Thursday. 

On Monday, January 10th we will begin COVID testing at 8:00 am for all Middle and High School Students. As before, on testing day, please use the drive through for testing and then park and stay in your vehicle until a staff member informs you of test results. 

If your student begins to have any of the COVID symptoms or Cedar Fever symptoms during the week, they will need to test again in order to stay at school.  This will be the only way that we will be able to tell the difference between Cedar Fever and COVID. 

Elementary Students - due to current staff symptoms, Elementary will return to on campus learning on Monday, January 17th.  Elementary students will have Zoom Classes this week beginning with a K-5 Zoom Orientation Meeting on Wednesday at 1 pm and Zoom Classes on Thursday as well as the week of January 10th.  Some of these classes will be live on Zoom and some classes will be asynchronous.  Stay tuned for grade level detailed instructions from your teachers.  Click here for our Elementary Distance Learning Schedule (this is a living document, and subject to changes.)  If you need technology for your student please let us know by noon on Tuesday January 4th,  and we will have it ready for you on Wednesday, January 5th. You can drive through and pick up between 9:30-11:30 

Topic: K-5 Zoom Orientation

Time: Jan 5, 2022 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84276010680?pwd=TzIwM0U3WmlwdVlVdXRmVGYwaFRUQT09

Upon return to campus all students should wear KN95 masks, or double masks (cloth over surgical to improve the fit) in order to provide adequate protection. 

CDC Guidelines: As you know LTSA follows the CDC guidelines and currently they are recommending 5 days quarantine if you test positive for the COVID and 10 days if you have tested positive with symptoms unless you have been fever free without the use of medications and your symptoms are improving, then you can wear a mask for the last 5 days.  However, you will need to “test to stay” to go back to classes at LTSA.  

Community/Family Commitment: We know that distance learning for families is difficult but with our continued commitment of following the risk based guidelines we hope we can keep each other safe and healthy. Please follow the local health guidelines, for example, wearing a mask inside public spaces even if you are vaccinated. If you are not fully vaccinated, get vaccinated and boosted.  We need to keep everyone healthy so that our teachers and students can come to school everyday.  Austin is currently in Stage 4 and expected to be in Stage 5 tomorrow.  Remember that the decisions you and your family make will have a direct impact on our ability to continue with in-person learning.

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. 

Best Regards,

Kori