Do you have any COVID-19 symptoms? Symptoms include: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea.

– Have you traveled outside of Illinois?

– Are you or a member of your household waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test?

As a general reminder, if your son is feeling ill, please do not send him to school. All absences must be reported by 8:30 am to our attendance office and school nurses. Any student, faculty or staff member exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms will not be allowed in the building.

If an unvaccinated student, faculty or staff member has traveled outside of Illinois, they must follow the City of Chicago’s Travel Advisory prior to returning to school.

If a student, faculty or staff member, or a member of their household, is awaiting a COVID-19 test, they will not be allowed to enter the building.

School Arrival
All students who arrive at school prior to 6:30 am should wait outside the Atrium.

– Students will be allowed to enter the building once they receive symptom checks and will be directed to the cafeteria where they will remain until 7:20 am when they report to their A Period class which begins at 7:45 am.

– Upon entering the building, students who arrive after 7:20 am will report to their A period class unless designated otherwise.

There will be designated entrances for students to enter the building each morning.

– Freshmen and Sophomores will use the Main Entrance off Belmont Ave.

– Juniors, Seniors, Faculty and Staff will use the Atrium Entrance off the Belmont Parking Lot.

Visitors
Visitors will be required to check in using our visitor management system, wear an ID, mask, and answer no to the three questions provided above.

Classrooms
We will continue to use options for flexible classrooms including the Atrium and Cafeteria (during non-lunch periods).

All Faculty will be required to maintain a seating chart alphabetically by last name for each class to assist with contact tracing if the need arises.

Lunch Periods
There will be two lunch periods each day with limited seating at each lunch table.

After School
Students who are not participating in athletics, activities or scheduled office hours will be asked to leave the building following the conclusion of the school day to allow for daily cleaning and disinfecting.

Transportation
Symptom checks will be required daily prior to a student getting on the bus and he must wear a mask.

Athletics
As of August 10, 2021, the IDPH Sports Safety Guidelines require student-athletes to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status, while playing sports indoors. In addition, spectators, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask for indoor sporting events.

Reporting COVID-19/Quarantining
If a student, faculty or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they should contact the School Nurses at nurse@stpatrick.org as soon as possible so contact tracing may be initiated. When reporting a COVID-19 diagnosis or exposure, parents must provide specific symptoms.

Individuals in close contact with the student, faculty or staff member who tested positive will be notified. Any unvaccinated individual in close contact with someone testing positive for COVID-19 must self-quarantine for 10 days. Close contact is defined as any individual who has been closer than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes without PPE.

If you do not receive direct communication from the Saint Patrick High School administration or School Nurses, you (or your son) have not been identified as a close contact.

Please note: Due to privacy requirements, we will not be able to confirm or deny specific individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or comment on individuals who may be absent from school for other reasons.

Students who are asked to quarantine should contact their counselor to coordinate their missing assignments during this time (read more below). Faculty and staff members who are asked to quarantine may continue to work remotely if they are well enough to do so.

Remote Learning
Remote learning will only be provided when a student is required to quarantine. If this situation arises, the student will coordinate with their counselor to receive their assignments for the time that they are absent from school. However, the daily instruction will occur asynchronously only; that is, teachers will not be using videoconferencing like Zoom or Google Meet to offer their classes. Students will complete the work that has been posted to their teachers’ Google Classroom. Teachers will provide daily virtual office hours that students may use to connect if any questions arise.

COVID-19 Vaccination Records
For those families who have chosen to have their sons vaccinated, we are asking you to provide a copy of your COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card to the school. Although it is NOT mandatory to submit a copy of your son’s card and we are NOT requiring students to be vaccinated, having a copy of your son’s vaccination record card on file will assist us in keeping him in school if he is identified as a close contact.

Please email your son’s name and COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or direct any questions to Christopher Perez ’91, Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction at cperez@stpatrick.org.

We hope conditions improve as the school year continues and will allow for fewer mitigation strategies; but, for now, we are grateful for the opportunity to bring everyone back in person. As you can see from our 2021-22 School Calendar, we are also planning to move forward with all of the events that make the Saint Patrick experience so special. Together, we will continue to navigate through this unprecedented time as one family united by faith, tradition and brotherhood.

Go Shamrocks!

Daniel A. Santucci ’02
President

Jon Baffico
Principal