Dear Families,

We hope that you have had a wonderful holiday and that you found a way to celebrate safely with loved ones. As the number of COVID-19 cases in San Diego continues to rise along with a sharp increase in hospitalizations, it remains essential for us to put all of our communal and concerted efforts into slowing the spread of the virus so that we may remain together on campus.

What has worked for us thus far at Gillispie is following the County of San Diego HHSA’s Decision Tree which includes how to handle students and employees who:

1. Are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms not explained by a pre-existing condition;
2. Have had close contact with someone who has tested positive; and
3. Have tested positive for COVID-19.

Gatherings and Travel are two high-risk activities that are particularly relevant as we return from the break. For families who have traveled outside of California or participated in high-risk gatherings as described in the links, Gillispie is putting forth the following protective options for the wellbeing of students and employees.

• Any student or employee, even if asymptomatic, must either (a) quarantine for 14 days or (b) remain at home and get tested using a PCR COVID-19 viral test five to seven days after he/she has participated in a high-risk activity. If the test is negative and the student or employee remains asymptomatic, the individual may return to school. Note: If before returning to Gillispie, it is determined that a student/employee has been a close contact of someone testing positive for COVID-19, the student/employee would have to quarantine for 14 days from the last day of exposure as described on the Decision Tree.

Students at home due to quarantine or who are awaiting test results will join online cohorts at the direction of their homeroom teachers as has been the case throughout the year. Please let your child(ren)’s teacher(s) know as soon as possible if your child(ren) will not be returning on Monday so that a plan can be made.

New News: Starting Monday morning, we will add two questions to our screening process at drop-off.

1. Has your child traveled outside of California in the last 10 days?
2. Has your child attended a gathering of more than three households in the last 10 days?

If the answer to either of these questions is yes, we will ask that you keep your child home and follow either of the two protective options outlined above.

Let’s remain committed in our efforts to keep the illness from spreading here at Gillispie and across our broader community. Our choices need to reflect that we are looking out for one another.

Looking forward to being back in session,

Alison Fleming, Head of School