08-21-2021 update

The school year has begun on a very positive note, with students eager to be back on campus and in community with each other, and parents wanting to get involved and support the programs and events planned for the months ahead. There is an enthusiasm blanketing our campus and it is a joy to be here to experience it! Already this month we hosted parents at our New Parents Orientation and the first PA meeting of the year, saw all of our students return to campus for a spirited day at Uprising, and welcomed families to campus for an all-school Luau, All Sports Opening Night, and Performing Arts Parent Night. It is refreshing to have a full calendar again, and a reminder of God's blessing on Maranatha High School.

We are enjoying the renewed sense of community, and wish to safeguard the health of each member of it. As the number of Covid cases continue to rise in LA County and across the nation, we are working proactively to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus on our campus. Beginning next week, all faculty and staff members will participate in weekly Covid testing.

We will also offer voluntary testing for students who wish to be tested next week. Students may register online HERE by noon on Tuesday for a Covid-19 test to be administered on campus next Thursday and Friday, August 26 & 27, from 3:00-5:00 pm. The test will be administered by PacTox (Pacific Toxicology Labs) personnel in the south end of our parking garage.

MANDATORY COVID-19 TESTING: Beginning the week of August 30, we will require all students who are NOT fully vaccinated to be tested weekly. Students who have provided proof of vaccination will not be required to test weekly, but will have the option if they choose to so.

VACCINATION STATUS REPORTING: We are requiring all students to report whether they are fully vaccinated or not, using a medical form that will be pushed to their myMHS account this weekend. Parents should look for an alert on the top of their myMHS dashboard. All parents will complete the form on behalf of their student. Parents of students who are fully vaccinated will then upload a photo or scan of the student's Vaccination Record card that will be stored in our secure database and can only be viewed by authorized school personnel. This will assist with contact tracing when there are exposures or positive cases of Covid-19 on our campus. Additionally, this information will need to be disclosed to the Health Department in the event of a Covid outbreak. Please note, students who are unvaccinated and/or unable to submit proof of vaccination, will be treated as an unvaccinated person in the event of an outbreak.

We encourage families to consider getting their students vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccine is available even without an appointment at multiple locations throughout Pasadena (CLICK HERE for details).

CONTACT TRACING AND REPORTING: When we receive a report that an individual in our campus community has tested positive for COVID-19, we immediately begin the process of contact tracing and communicating with anyone who may have been a close contact, per our protocols. If your student was a close contact with the individual who tested positive, you will be contacted by our Covid Exposure Management Team. Fully Vaccinated students who are a close contact to a confirmed case should test 3-5 days after exposure and are not required to quarantine provided they remain asymptomatic and test negative. They must self-monitor for symptoms through day 14 from last exposure.

Please refer to THIS DOCUMENT for more information and answers to commonly asked questions.

A student that is required to quarantine can learn more about our Remote Learning plan HERE.

We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain a safe and healthy campus. We will continue requiring all students, staff, and campus visitors to submit to daily health screenings using the SchoolPass app. If your student feels ill or is experiencing any symptoms, please keep them home and get them tested as soon as possible!

We will continue to provide you updates as they become available. In the meantime, if you have any specific questions about our school's plans or response to this pandemic, you are welcome to email covidinfo@mhs-hs.org.

Blessings in Christ,

John Rouse

Head of School

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