COVID Update (Homecoming events update) – 9/28/2021

As the situation in our schools continues to evolve this week we are doing our best to keep everyone informed, follow our protocols, and keep kids in school. In response to the number of positive COVID cases that we have on our campus among staff and students we have had to make some adjustments to this week’s activities. Please see the bulleted list below for details –

• COVID Cases on Campus – Our District Nurse has worked diligently over the past few days to ensure that all students and staff members who have tested positive for COVID and those who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID are observing the quarantine period that is required by the Montezuma Public Health Department. If you have not been contacted by the nurse, you or your student has not been identified as being in close contact with anyone who was positive for COVID. Please continue to stay home and/or keep your student(s) home if you/they have symptoms so that we can minimize further spread and get back to normal as soon as possible.

• School Work – If your student is going to be out of school due to quarantine or some other form of excused absence please contact your teacher(s) and the school office for their school work. Teachers will provide much of this through Google Classroom so if your student(s) need a chromebook please contact the office to arrange for them to check one out.

• Status Change – the Districts Wellness Committee met today to evaluate the number of positive COVID cases that we currently have on campus (meaning the person(s) were positive while on campus) and they have determined that the Dolores Middle School/High School is now in “Yellow Status.” Teddy Bear Pre-School and Dolores Elementary School remain in “Blue Status.” We will continue to monitor the numbers over the next few days and re-evaluate as we go. If all goes well, the Middle School/High School may possibly be back  in “Blue Status” by Monday. Please be sure to check our district website for more detailed information on the COVID protocols and your school’s current COVID status. According to District COVID Protocols, “Yellow Status” means that the following measures will be in place for the remainder of this week and for as long as the Middle School/High School remain in “Yellow” –

• 1) All staff members on the affected campus will be required to wear masks
• 2) Masks are recommended for students, but optional
• 3) The learning modality will continue to be in-person learning

• Thank You Staff – We would like to thank the teachers, paraprofessionals and other staff members who have stepped up this week to keep all of our classes running and keep our Middle and High Schools open. There are a number of teachers currently out of the building due to pre-arranged absence, illness, quarantine, etc. These absences, coupled with our substitute teacher shortage, makes covering multiple teacher absences very challenging. Our teachers, secretaries, and paraprofessionals have risen to that challenge and it is because of them that we have been able to keep in-person learning going.

• Homecoming Activities – It is our goal to be able to continue with Homecoming week and to keep as many of the scheduled activities in place as possible. However, with the current number of staff and students we have out on quarantine due to positive COVID tests or close contact with those who are positive for COVID we believe that it is prudent for us to postpone and/or alter some of the activities that we have scheduled for the week. Here is a revised list of our homecoming activities in chronological order-
  • Peach Fuzz and Powder Puff have been postponed and will be done at a later date after the number of COVID cases in the Middle School/High School have gone down.
  • Pep Assembly, scheduled for 1:30 pm on Thursday, September 30th, has been moved from the gym to the football field.
  • Homecoming Parade is scheduled for 3:00 pm on Thursday, September 30th.
  • HS Volleyball vs. Mancos is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm on Thursday, September 30th.
  • Bonfire has been cancelled.
  • Friday Pregame Social has been cancelled.
  • HS Football Game vs. Whitehorse is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Friday, October 1st.
  • Homecoming Dance has been postponed to a later date. We will communicate the new data for the dance as soon as we have it set.