Dear Parents,

I hope everyone had a healthy and safe Christmas. Fr. Barry and I have received a few emails and phone calls about returning back to SJJ earlier than our original date. The SJJ Task Force recently met virtually and with a lot of thought, prayer and discussion, we decided to remain with our original plan to continue with remote learning until Tuesday, January 19, 2021.

This was not an easy decision and was made to ensure the health and well-being of our students and staff as we return from our Christmas break to our classrooms.

The school has been thoroughly cleaned and the rooms sprayed daily since we went to remote learning in November. Over break, the classrooms were deep cleaned and will continue to be deep cleaned when we return.

As we see the COVID-19 cases on the rise in Ohio and across the country, we all need to continue to be vigilant about social distance, wearing masks and remembering what we do outside of school affects our entire school community. As Catholics, our faith calls us to take care of one another.

One important change being made when we return on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 is the “gaiter” type of mask will not be permitted. The students are touching their faces several times a day to keep the “gaiter” up, they are not wearing them properly and most of them (not all) are very thin and do not help stop the spread of the virus. If your student comes to school wearing a “gaiter” style face covering, a mask will be provided for them. Thank you for your cooperation with this change.

On January 19, students will need to bring back their school belongings with them, such as textbooks, computers, etc. There will be no drop off leading into our return to SJJ. We will have additional staff on hand to help students carry their belongings to their classroom as needed. Additional staff will be located at Door D (car line) and Door M (bus line) to help students out.

If you are not planning to return in person on January 19 and wish to continue to remote learn, please complete the following survey. I will need you to fill out this one question survey by Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Not planning to return in person on Jan. 19.

Once again, I will need to be notified immediately if your child or someone in your household tests positive with Covid or if you have come in contact with a positive case. We need to continue to take extra precautions in and out of school to make sure we are remaining in school.

I would like to wish you a Happy New Year and we are all looking forward to seeing the students in person again on January 19.

In service of youth,

Joseph M. Akosi

Principal