List of 6 news stories.

• COVID Protocols Update 1/4/22

  1/4/2022
  Happy New Year! We are excited to welcome you back to campus. A few reminders as we enter the new year of 2022. 

  • Please be mindful to keep your children home if they are sick or showing symptoms of illness.
  • We have updated the Covid protocols. Please click the link to view - COVID Back to School 01.04.pdf
  • We will continue with our mask opt-out option and protocols. The mask opt-out form is located on the Covid Daily Dashboard page (see below for directions on how to access the page). ALL students (including opt-outs) must wear their masks when inside the Chapel, when in line receiving lunch in the Commons, and during musical practices and performances. All faculty, staff, parents, and visitors will continue to wear masks indoors at all times. 
  • How to access the Covid daily dashboard: 
    • Visit www.hces.org and log in to the website
    • Select the "Resources" tab at the top of the page
    • Click the "Covid-19 Response and Information" Resource Board
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• Mask Opt-Out Policy and Form

  9/10/2021
  Last Friday, we launched a dashboard reflecting all covid-related student absences. The dashboard is updated daily and reflects all positive cases and quarantines for students by division (early learning, lower and middle school). In addition to student covid-related absences listed on the daily dashboard, we will show the percentage of parents opting out of the mask mandate by division. Opt-out percentages will be published on September 20 on our covid page. 

   

  Opt-out Policy: If covid-related absences are below 10 percent in any one division, the parent opt-out will apply. If the percentages in any division exceed 10 percent, ALL students in that division, including opt-outs, will be required to wear a mask until we have had 2 straight weeks below the 10 percent threshold. Once that threshold has been reached we will lift the mask mandate for that particular division and return to the opt-out approach. I assure you that we will be evaluating and re-evaluating this on a daily basis and will adapt accordingly if things change dramatically. Simply put, we are making decisions based on our numbers. As a school, if 20 percent or more of our school population is absent for illness, we may need to take additional precautions and actions such as temporary closure to have the buildings professionally cleaned, per the guidelines from our accrediting agencies.

   

  Below is a list of numbers, by division:  

  • Early Learning, PK3 - K: 125 total students. Once all data is received we will make a decision about the 2 week mask opt-out suspension.
  • 1st - 5th Grade: 240 total students, if 24 or more are out due to covid-related illness, we will suspend the mask opt-out for 2 weeks.
  • Middle School, 6th - 8th grade: 148 total students, if 15 or more are out due to covid-related illness, we will suspend the mask opt-out for 2 weeks.

  For those choosing to opt-out, the electronic opt-out form is available by clicking here. You must be logged into the website in order to access the form. All submissions must be made by noon on Friday, September 17 to begin on Monday, September 20. If you would like to opt-out after this date please contact Gabi Oates, our school nurse, at goates@hces.org.  

  
  

  We are implementing the opt-out through December. However, we will continue to re-evaluate our numbers and our approach on a consistent basis and respond accordingly if things change dramatically. We will still require ALL students (including opt-outs) to wear their masks when inside the Chapel (respecting the wishes of the Church) and when in line receiving lunch in the Commons. All faculty and staff will continue to wear masks.
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• Quarantine Circumstances

  9/8/2021
  Each child placed in quarantine is an individual case and will be treated as such. Administrators and teachers will work together to determine whether to provide work to be picked up and completed at home or potentially send recorded lessons home (not live stream). Though this school year is much different in terms of at-home learning, we may determine that our Adaptable Learning Program would be put in place if an entire class was placed in quarantine.  
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• COVID Testing Information

  8/30/2021
  Students who opt to take a COVID test in order to return to school, must go to an approved testing center and present the official test results to Nurse Gabbi Oates. At-home tests are not accepted.
  
  Covid-19 Testing Sites:
  

  • CVS and Walgreens Locations (please visit the individual sites for hours or to make an appointment)
  • Department of Health Testing Sites (Operational hours are from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., seven days a week.)
    • DOH Leon Administration Building, 2965 Municipal Way, Tallahassee, FL 32304
    • Lake Jackson Town Center at Huntington, 3840 N. Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303
  • Leon County Schools Testing Sites (https://www.leonschools.net/Page/53139)
  • FAMU Bragg Testing Site - Nomi Health at the Covid-19 Testing Site at 2507 Wahnish Way, Tallahassee, FL, 32307 (Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday)
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• Back to School COVID Guidelines

  7/13/2021
  As we approach a new school year with lots of excitement and anticipation, we wanted to share updated guidelines and protocols for the 2021-2022 school year.
  
  

  Click here to view the 2021-2022 Safety Protocols

  • Masks will be optional but strongly encouraged for students for the 21-22 school year. 
  • Faculty and Staff (vaccinated or not) will wear a mask while indoors and at carpool until further instructed. 
  • We encourage all visitors to wear a mask. We ask that unvaccinated parents and visitors wear a mask while indoors. 
  • HCES encourages everyone to get vaccinated and continue their efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

  
  The HCES Re-Entry Task Force will continue the work it began last year, assessing and reviewing COVID-19 guidelines to ensure student, employee and parent safety on campus. This committee reviews guidelines from the various federal and state agencies including the CDC, DOE, Leon County Health Department and independent school accrediting agencies such as FCIS, NAIS, SAIS and others. 
  
  
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• A Look Back on the 2020-2021 School Year

  5/21/2021
  Dear Holy Comforter Families,
   
  What a year! To be honest, when I look back on this past year, I feel so much pride. I am so proud of our students who excelled this year, both in and out of the classroom, with all sorts of obstacles before them. They learned to climb over them, keep striving and succeed!
   
  I am so proud of our teachers. They have worked tirelessly over the past 16 months, since the pandemic began, with passion and enthusiasm so that we could create the absolute safest and best classrooms for all our children.  Each teacher managed to continue to create a warm and caring space for our students to learn and grow. Was it a typical HCES classroom? No. It was socially distanced, but the love and support remained.
   
  I am so proud of our administrators. I am blessed to be surrounded by incredibly smart and dedicated people who make decisions on what is best for our school always having the children at the center. We make decisions as a mom and/or dad while also looking through the experienced lenses of an educator.
   
  I am so proud of our staff. “What needs to be done? I’ll do it.” We were all stretched thin this year and everyone did what needed to be done every step of the way. They thought creatively, worked together, and met every challenge with enthusiasm and the same high standards we always strive for at Holy Comforter.  
   
  I am so proud of our parents and school community. Many decisions were made this year that had nothing to do with educating children. In a school community with over 360 families, I know that we are not always going to agree and that is what makes us a stronger school community. A community with an open door, an open mind, and an open heart. 
   
  As we reach the end of this year, I feel a happy exhaustion. I have never been so tired at the end of the school year and yet so excited and hopeful for the beginning of another. I look forward to a “normal” summer where we have time to reflect and re-evaluate all that we have accomplished and think of ways we can do it better. I am deeply appreciative of all the emails I have received over the course of this year as we successfully navigated the unknown. We have learned a lot and I hope we never have to use this knowledge again! 
   
  We made it. We made it through a challenging and memorable year and I am so thankful to each and every one of you. I hope and pray we return in August rested, renewed, and ready for an extraordinary 2021-2022 school year! I wish you and your family a safe and restful summer.
   
   
  Most Sincerely,
    
  Peter Klekamp
  Head of School
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