Dear St. Francis Families,

In light of the current surge in COVID cases in Sacramento County along with the contagious nature of this new variant, St. Francis Catholic High School will be making some adjustments to its isolation/quarantine guidelines per the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). In consultation with our medical providers it will also be necessary to conduct another COVID screening of all faculty, staff and students on Sunday, January 9th, regardless of vaccination status. This new COVID variant is infecting vaccinated/unvaccinated people and the symptoms can mask the common cold/flu.

• Sunday, January 9, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.  
• Last Name A – L  9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
• Last Name M – Z  12:30 to 3:30 p.m. 
• *3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. open to any student who is unable to attend earlier.

In addition, our medical experts suggest this surge may be of a shorter duration which we’ll continue to monitor in order to minimize the impact in our academic and co-curricular programs. As of today, we plan to continue to offer in-person instruction and will reevaluate large scale community events in order to mitigate the transmission of COVID and keep our school community safe and healthy.

As we welcome your students back to campus tomorrow, there have been some last minute changes due to the number of positive COVID cases reported over the break and those identified this past weekend. Please refer to those changes below: 

• SCHEDULE CHANGE for Wednesday 1/05/2022:  The scheduled assembly has now been canceled and we will have a late start. First class will begin at 9:15am.
• MASKING/FACE COVERINGS All students, faculty, and staff must wear a well-fitting face covering in all indoor spaces.
• COLD/COVID SYMPTOMS Students who come to school ill, coughing, sneezing, fever etc. will be sent home.  It is imperative that ill students remain at home until their symptoms subside.
• NOT YET COVID TESTED TO RETURN TO SCHOOL Students who have not sent in their negative COVID test results will not be allowed to return to campus until it is received.  Any student who comes to campus without clearance tomorrow will be sent home for the remainder of the week.

For your information, the most recent CDPH guidelines regarding isolation/quarantine require that a person who has tested positive for COVID stay home for at least 5 days. Isolation can end after day 5 if symptoms are not present or are resolving and a diagnostic specimen collected on day 5 or later via an antigen test is negative. 

For individuals exposed to someone with COVID, the new guidelines require that individuals stay home for at least 5 days. Quarantine can end after day 5 if symptoms are not present and a diagnostic specimen collected on day 5 or later via an antigen test is negative. 

These changes will go into effect immediately, including any recent notifications to parents whose students have recently been exposed to or tested positive for COVID.  Please refer any questions to Dean Cost CCost@stfrancishs.org

Please know that the health and safety of our students and our school community is of the utmost importance to us.  As always, I appreciate your support and your understanding as we continue to protect and preserve the best possible student experience as we navigate the ever changing pandemic situation.

Sincerely,

Elias Mendoza

Principal