DSHA Community Health Measures | 2022-23

Goodness & Kindness of Jesus, the Savior | Titus 3:4

Recognizing and being the goodness and kindness of Jesus the Savior flows from our mission. It calls us to see the goodness and kindness of Jesus in one another as sisters and brothers made in the image and likeness of God. As we continue to navigate the challenge that is COVID-19, our faith calls us to be the goodness and kindness of Jesus to one another. This remains important in the coming year as it relates to our COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Our goal is to keep our community safe and that requires the commitment of everyone. We do this by respecting and supporting our sisters and brothers. 
 
The health and safety of the community remains a high priority at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School. The following COVID protocols will be implemented for the start of the 2022-23 school year. Any changes to the protocols will be communicated via the Parent eNews. 
 

Stay-at-Home Guidelines

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  • Self-monitoring and personal responsibility:

    Self-monitoring and personal responsibility are vital to keeping everyone safe.

  • Attendance expectations and policy:

    DSHA has revised our sick and attendance policies to support girls staying home when they are sick. 
    • It is imperative that a student who experiences symptoms of illness, especially symptoms associated with coronavirus, stay home. 
    • Parents/guardians are essential partners in keeping all students, faculty, and staff safe by enforcing our stricter sick and attendance policies. 
    • Our faculty and staff will also be required to stay home if they are experiencing illness, especially any symptoms related to coronavirus. 
    • Our school nurse will work with you to set an appropriate return date based on your symptoms, any medical evaluation and vaccination status. 

  • Symptom monitoring:

    DSHA students will be asked to self-monitor for illness daily prior to arriving at school. Click here to view Daily Self-Monitoring Tool.
    • If the student is sick with COVID-19-like symptoms or other infectious illness they must remain home. Parents are instructed to keep their daughters at home if they are ill.
    • Any single symptom below with an asterisk or presenting with two or more non-asterisk symptoms from the list, the student should stay home from school, or the student will be sent home from school. for possible COVID-19. They should be evaluated.   
    COVID-19 Symptoms:
    *Cough (above baseline), *Shortness of breath/trouble breathing, *new loss of taste and smell, *taken medicine to lower temperature, sore throat, unusual fatigue, nausea, vomiting, runny nose or congestion, headache, muscle or body aches, fever of 100.4 or chills, or have taken fever reducing medications, diarrhea.

  • If student is symptomatic:

    If the student is symptomatic:
    • Please call the school attendance office. The school nurse will return your call and evaluate your student’s symptoms through a brief interview.
    • Remember that there are many causes for any of COVID-19-like symptoms. The school nurse will evaluate the student’s risk for COVID-19 and may recommend testing. Students should also seek guidance from their personal healthcare providers.
    • Students presenting with vomiting, diarrhea or fever-alone or together-will need to be at home. They may return in 24 hours and when the symptom is resolved and has no fever without use of fever reducing medications per communicable illness guidelines for schools. 
    • Any health information collected will be kept confidential consistent with applicable state and federal laws. 

  • Learning for those affected by COVID-19:

    DSHA is committed to in-person learning this year. Students affected by COVID-19 should focus on their recuperation. The student should work with their teachers and counselor to best catch up on missed classroom content.

  • There will be NO opt-out or fully online learning option:

    DSHA will be fully in person and there will be no opt out option.  
    If there are extenuating circumstances, DSHA administration will discuss those concerns with the parents.  

  • Parent programming and visitors:

    Parents and visitors are welcome at school events. Please do not enter if you are in quarantine, isolation, have COVID-19 like symptoms (that are not your baseline), or have had a fever in the past 24 hours. If you have tested positive for COVID-19, we ask that you refrain from being in the building for your 5 day isolation and wear a mask within the building until you have passed 10 days from symptom onset regardless of vaccination status.

    Visitors must check in to the Main Office.  

Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines

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  • Transmission context:

    Someone who is sick with COVID-19 can spread it to others from two days before they show any symptoms until a few days after they recover. Not everyone with COVID-19 will get sick. Those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, but never had symptoms (asymptomatic cases), may still be able to spread it to others. There are multiple variants of COVID-19, and it is possible to have repeat infections. Vaccinated and boostered individuals may be susceptible to new variants, but vaccinations and boosters have shown to provide a level of protection and decrease severity of illness if infected. 

  • Isolation duration:

    If you tested positive for COVID-19 you must meet these criteria before your isolation is over: 
      • At least 5 days have passed since your positive test, or first significant symptoms. Day zero is the first date of significant symptoms or test date. 
      • You have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without using medication that reduces fevers (examples; Acetaminophen/Tylenol, Ibuprofen/Advil/Motrin, Aspirin, Excedrin, Naproxen/Aleve). 
      • Your symptoms are resolving, and you are feeling well.  The student should feel like they have the stamina to get through the school day.
      • Many individuals do not meet these criteria by day 5 to return on day 6. If criteria are not met, then we continue to evaluate daily. 
      • All students, faculty, and staff are required to be masked through day 10, post COVID.
     

  • Definition of "close contact":

    If any of these apply the individual is considered a close contact: 
    • Has had direct physical contact with a positive person (e.g., hug, kiss, handshake.) 
    • Were within 6 feet of that person for more than 15 minutes total in a 24-hour period.
    • Had contact with the infected person’s respiratory secretions (ie, shared a water bottle, drink, food, towels, dirty tissue, or other personal item.) 
    • Stayed overnight for at least 1 night in a household with a positive person.  

    Please note: As variants are becoming more transmissible, it is possible to contract COVID outside of this definition. The exact timing or exact distance will not be the criteria for consideration of whether a person is a close contact.  

    The school nurse will conduct an interview with the parents and student to identify potential close contacts and send out notification letters so close contacts can start monitoring and be given testing guidance.

  • Instructions for positive COVID-19 cases: ISOLATE

    If a student is tested for COVID-19 and have a confirmed diagnosis, please notify School Nurse Patti Hughes as soon as practical.  Positive tests can be communicated over the weekend by email at hughesp@dsha.info. The nurse will reach out to you to provide guidance. 
     
    All positive cases are reported to the health department.  Reported DSHA close contacts will receive an email with guidance. DSHA will not contact trace classroom spaces. Parents/guardians who have a daughter that shares a classroom with a positive student will receive a general notification letter. Notifications will assist others to take protective measures and seek timely testing. All notifications keep the student’s identity confidential.

    Steps After A Positive Test
    • Anyone who presumes or tests positive for COVID-19 should isolate from others. Stay home. Do not go to school, extracurriculars, or work.
    • Identify a place in the home for the positive(s) to be in isolation, preferably having a separate bedroom and bathroom space if your home allows. 
    • If the positive needs to be in a space with others, make the contact brief and try to maintain a social distance.  Both parties should be wearing a high-quality, well-fitting mask.
    • Notify your healthcare provider and the school nurse for guidance. Notify the attendance office of the absence.
    • Be ready to answer a few questions:
      • The date symptoms started
      • The date and type of test used
      • The type of symptoms
      • If the student was a known exposure or not
      • If there are any DSHA close contacts that should be notified so they can start monitoring for symptoms.
      • School activities the student is involved in
    • The school nurse will provide guidance for your family. An initial return date will be set and the criteria to return to school will be discussed.
    • Virtual classes are an option for students if the student is feeling well enough. The student should rest and recuperate as a priority if feeling ill.  
     


    Return to School Criteria Post COVID-19
    Students Tested Positive for COVID-19, without symptoms.
     The student may return to school if:
    • They continue to have no symptoms.
    • At least five days have passed since they tested positive. The test date is day zero and return date is no earlier than day six.
    Students must mask when around others for 10 days after the date of their positive test or onset of symptoms.
    Students Tested Positive for COVID-19, with symptoms.
    The student may return to school if:
    • They have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication during that time.
    • Symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours to where the student can manage the school day while masked.
    • At least five days have passed since the positive test, or when symptoms began. The positive test date or the onset of significant symptoms is day zero and return to school is no earlier than day six.
    • If symptoms have not improved by day 6, the student must continue to isolate themselves until the criteria is met. Please note:  It is not unusual for individuals to need more than the 5 days of isolation to meet the criteria.  Fatigue, ongoing fevers, or symptoms that would be difficult to manage at school may require a little more time. The course of COVID is varied and each student may need a little bit different timeline.
    • Students must mask at school for 10 days after their positive test or onset of symptoms.

  • Instructions for close contact exposures:

    Please notify School Nurse Patti Hughes if the student has had close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 within school or outside of school. She will review guidance and the appropriate testing windows and alert you if the student becomes ill while at school.
     
    What to Do If Identified as a Close Contact/Exposure
    Student Close Contact with no symptoms
     If you are asymptomatic (no symptoms) and identified as a close contact, you do not need to quarantine regardless of your vaccination status. You may continue coming to school as long as you remain asymptomatic.
    • It is recommended to get tested day 5 or after close contact with someone with COVID- 19.
    • Wear a mask indoors for 10 days after exposure or until you have your post 5-day COVID- tests results back and they are negative.
    • Monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for a full 10 days from your last contact with the positive case.
    • If you develop symptoms within the 10 days of monitoring - get tested, and isolate until you have tests back.
    • Guidance will depend upon your test results.
    Student Close Contact with symptoms
     
    If a student meets the criteria of a close contact and they become symptomatic, you may not attend school or school activities regardless of your vaccination status until you are cleared by the school nurse or medical professional.
    • Notify your medical professional and school nurse that you are now symptomatic.
    • Test for COVID-19 when symptoms arise. 
    • Test again day 5 or more after exposure.
    • If symptomatic, stay home and isolate until the test results are back.
    • Wear a mask indoors for 10 days or until you receive negative test results after day 5.
    • Continue to monitor for symptoms during the 10 days post exposure even if you receive a negative COVID test.

    Return to School Criteria After a Close Contact
    Student Close Contact with No Symptoms Return Criteria
    • Students may continue to come to school if they remain asymptomatic regardless of vaccination status.
    • They must mask for 10 days post exposure or until they have a negative COVID test day 5 or after.
    • Students who become symptomatic at school can test at school with parental permission and registration. If testing is not available at school when symptoms arise, the student will be sent home for testing and recovery.  
    • Students are symptomatic at home should not come to school. See guidance below.
    Student Close Contact with Symptoms Return to School Criteria
     
     
    • Stay home, test and isolate until test results are returned.
    • Symptomatic students will need to provide proof of a negative COVID test to the school nurse. Serial rapid/home tests may be advisable. If using a home test please label and date the test and send a photo of the test results to School Nurse Patti Hughes at hughesp@dsha.info.
    OR
    • A student may be evaluated by their healthcare provider and if an alternative diagnosis is made that rules out COVID, then documentation may be submitted to the school nurse. 
    • Parents may register students for testing at school if they wish. Registration information is found on this webpage.
    • If the student tests negative and is feeling well enough to be at school, they may stay masked.
    • If a student is unable to test, the test results will not be completed, or the student is not feeling well enough to remain at school, they will be sent home to recuperate and/or wait for test results.
    • A student must be free of these symptoms for 24 hours or more: fever over 100.0, vomiting, and/or diarrhea.


    Guidance for: Had COVID-19 within the past 90 days and recovered:
    • There is no quarantine.
    • There is no testing requirement.
    • They should speak to the nurse or their healthcare professional about being tested. 

  • Instructions for no known exposure with COVID-19-like symptoms:

    Any single symptom below with an asterisk (which is not the student’s baseline) or a student presenting with two or more non-asterisk symptoms from the list should stay home from school. The student should test for COVID-19 with a lab or home tests.

    COVID-19 Symptoms:
    *Cough (above baseline), *Shortness of breath/trouble breathing, *new loss of taste and smell, *taken medicine to lower temperature, sore throat, unusual fatigue, nausea, vomiting, runny nose or congestion, headache, muscle or body aches, fever of 100.4 or chills, or have taken fever reducing medications, diarrhea.

    What To Do If Ill
     
    Notify the Attendance Office of the absence from school related to illness at 414-721-2920.
    • If a student is ill with COVID-like symptoms or an infectious illness, stay home and call into attendance.
    • If a potential COVID symptomatic student is able to immediately test at school and that test is negative, they may remain onsite.
    • DSHA offers Rapid and PCR testing onsite Monday - Friday from 8-11 a.m. Parents are responsible for registering minor students for school testing on the COVID CONNECT link. A new registration is needed for each test. See COVID testing information on this webpage. 
    • Symptomatic students who test negative are strongly encouraged to wear a mask, if possible, until symptoms are fully resolved. 
    • Students who are too ill to be in school (fever, severe cough, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) will be sent home regardless of their COVID-19 results.
    • If the symptomatic student cannot be tested immediately, they will be sent home for testing and recovery.
    • Students may return from an illness which included COVID-19 symptoms with a negative Rapid Antigen/Home COVID test, negative PCR test, have symptoms resolving, and have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications OR if their medical provider makes an alternative diagnosis. 
    • Test results (photo of home test with student name and date on the test visible) or medical provider diagnosis letter should be submitted to the school nurse.
    • If a student’s COVID test is positive they should follow the CDC’s isolation guidance. See Instructions for positive COVID-19 cases: ISOLATE. 
    • Please note student with fevers, diarrhea, or vomiting need to stay home 24 hours since the last episode regardless if COVID-test results.
    Please note: Early COVID-19 symptoms may elude a Rapid/Home test.  If the initial sample is negative but the symptoms linger or worsen or additional symptoms arise, it may be advisable to preform multiple home tests 24 hours apart to clear. The school nurse would be happy to discuss your daughter’s symptoms and test results and provide information or guidance for next steps. Our goal is to get students well and back engaged in school as soon as they are feeling up to it. 

  • Important vocabulary:

    Quarantine | This is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others by staying home, keeping themselves away from others as much as possible and monitoring for symptoms.
    Isolation | This is used to keep people that have or may have COVID-19 away from others by staying home, keeping away from others in the home by isolating in a “sick room and using a sick bathroom” if possible and using masks in times when isolating from others in the home is not possible. This also means staying home and not going to school, work or out for anything unnecessary.  

    Separation |     This is used in school settings by health aides to separate any student or staff member from others on the onset of COVID-19 symptoms or knowledge of a direct exposure until they can leave the building. 
     
    Close Contact: | A person is considered a close contact if any of the following is true. If they: 
    • Were within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes total in a day. 
    • Had physical contact with the person. 
    • Were within 3 feet of a positive case in a classroom setting without a mask for 15 minutes total in a day. 
    • Had direct contact with the respiratory secretions of the person (example: drinking out of positive COVID person’s water bottle).
    • Lives or stayed overnight with the person, even one night. 
       
      Household Contact | A household contact includes anyone who lives, or lived temporarily, with the COVID-19 case patient for at least one night in the same room or household during his or her infectious period. Because of the amount of time and space shared between household contacts, they are at greater risk of infection. Therefore, household contacts have different considerations for quarantine and release from quarantine measures, compared to other close contacts.  

      Booster Vaccine | A booster vaccine is a supplemental vaccine dose given to people with the immune response to a primary vaccine series which is likely to have decreased over time. 

    Face Mask Policy

    List of 3 items.

    • Face mask policy:

      DSHA administration, faculty and staff are committed to creating a positive culture where personal health decisions, including the decision to wear or not wear a face covering during school, will be embraced and welcomed. All members of the DSHA community are expected to respect the health decisions of others.

      All areas of the DSHA campus are mask optional.

    • Transportation:

      • Busing: Students riding the buses must wear a mask while on the bus. Face masks are required for all individuals on school buses and vans per federal order. 

    • Compliance and accommodations:

      Students unable to abide by any of these health or safety requirements should contact the school nurse to discuss possible accommodations. Medical documentation may be required prior to approval of accommodation requests. 

    Hand Washing

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    Physical Plant

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    • Cleaning and sanitization:

      • DSHA will be cleaned regularly with special attention to most public areas/spaces like bathrooms, hand railings, desk/table tops, door handles, etc. 
          • DSHA will use sprayers to sanitize hard surfaces. This will be used twice weekly to clean classroom desks and other hard surfaces. This is in addition to alcohol-based wipes for classrooms.
      • DSHA uses 3M chemicals all of which meet the CDC requirements for killing viruses on hard surfaces. 

    • Health room:

      DSHA has established a COVID-19 health room and a separate health room for non-COVID-19 symptoms. 

    School Nurse

    List of 2 items.

    • Personnel and contact info:

      DSHA has a school nurse for the 2022-2023 school year. The administration, i.e., principal and dean of student affairs will also lend support in the absence of any nurse. 

      DSHA School Nurse Patti Hughes can be contacted at HughesP@dsha.info or 414-462-3742 ext. 4357. Email is the preferred contact method on evenings and weekends. 

       

    • Responsibilities:

      • Assist students who may be experiencing COVID-19 symptoms at school. 
      • Provide guidance and education for students exposed to COVID-19 or who test positive. 
      • Provide ongoing education and training for our community on safety measures to mitigate a COVID-19 outbreak at DSHA. 
      • Be the primary point of contact for the City of Milwaukee Health Department (COVID-19 Coordinator). 
      • Manage cases within our building and help make any decisions related to the health and safety of our community. 
      • Reconcile attendance against student-reported symptoms and any students within the established COVID-19 Return to School protocol. 

    Testing

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    • DSHA is a testing site for students, household members, and staff:

      COVID-19 Testing Site | Our laboratory partner, Accelerated Analytical Laboratory, continues to serve our DSHA community members with testing available five days a week. COVID Rapid and PCR can be obtained at no charge and without insurance. This service is available for students, household members, and TSC. 

      After completing the registration, arrive at the back alcove theatre door labeled #12 in the faculty parking lot. You will find door #12 just past the garage dumpster corral. Wear a mask. Knock on the glass door for admittance. Extended PCR testing hours may be arranged with the school nurse.  

      DSHA school testing protocol requires parental permission for all minors for testing. The laboratory uses COVID Connect 2 as their registration software which is used by many Wisconsin COVID-19 testing labs. The registration software is not specific to our school’s protocols. Please remind your daughters to discuss with you all desires to obtain COVID-19 testing at school so you can give approval.

      There is no appointment necessary, but you must preregister at the link below. It is a one time registration that allows testing for the entire school year unless you turn off permissions.
       
      • Monday - Friday | 8-11 a.m.

      Click here to register. 

      Home Testing Kits | Home testing kits are permissible to assist in ruling out COVID-19 symptoms. Symptomatic students may benefit from serial tests to rule out COVID-19. A home test needs a threshold of virus to trigger an accurate test. If a test is taken too early, it will read falsely negative.
       
      • Write the student’s name and date on the test. Complete the test according to the manufacturer's directions. When completed, take a photo and email the photo to the school nurse hughesp@dsha.info. If you have a positive test, start to isolate (separate the positive from other family members who are not positive), then notify your primary healthcare care provider and the school nurse.
      • Home testing kits are available through the school nurse or at the link below. There is no charge for the test kits.  
      Click here to obtain free home testing kits. 

      COVID-19-related communications & Privacy

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      For questions, contact:

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      DSHA COVID-19 Testing Lab Hours 
      • Monday | 8 - 11 a.m.
      • Tuesday | 8 - 11 a.m.
      • Wednesday | 8 - 11 a.m.
      • Thursday | 8 - 11 a.m.
      • Friday| 8 - 11 a.m.
      Register for testing here. 

      Divine Savior Holy Angels High School

      4257 N. 100th Street Milwaukee, WI 53222 | Phone: (414) 462-3742
      Sponsored by the Sisters of the Divine Savior
      © 2017 Divine Savior Holy Angels High School. All Rights Reserved