Dear FCS families,
We hope that this letter finds you well and that you had a blessed Christmas Day with your family. As we prepare for the start of second semester, there are a few adjustments to the school calendar that we would like to share with you. In an effort to curb potential exposures and consequent exclusions from school due to Christmas and New Year’s festivities, we are postponing the start of the second semester until Monday, January 11. This will allow 10 days to pass (from New Year’s Day) and hopefully give us a better footing to begin the new semester. We do encourage you to try and limit non-household contacts for the 10 days, giving everyone a chance to start school symptom-free.
To help offset the five additional days of Christmas break, we are amending the 2020-2021 school calendar. The following Wednesdays will now be IN-SCHOOL days: January 20, February 17, March 17, April 21, and May 19. We apologize for any inconvenience that these changes may present; however, we feel that it is important to do whatever is possible to give us the best chance to be in-person, five days/week with limited student and staff exclusions from school.
Also, we would like to make you aware of updates to the “Faith Christian School COVID Flow Chart.” The information on this chart was updated to reflect guidance given to us by the Ogle County Health Department. The changes come in the area of close contacts…reducing the number of isolation days. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Flow Chart and information found on the document.
We continue to follow IDPH guidelines regarding face masks, social distancing, sanitizing and hand washing. We remind students to avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth, and to cover coughs and sneezes. As always, everyone should monitor their health and stay home if they develop symptoms. We strongly encourage sick persons to contact their health care provider to determine if testing is needed. Anyone who develops severe symptoms should seek medical care immediately. If your child has had close contact with a known case of COVID-19, please keep your child at home and notify your primary healthcare provider, Faith Christian School, and your local health department.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we move forward into the second semester. We will continue to monitor health department guidelines and will keep you informed of any changes in policies and procedures. We are committed at FCS to provide our students and staff with a safe, nurturing environment…a place where they can grow and learn, becoming who God created them to be!
Happy New Year and blessings to you all,
Pastor Jon Marx
Linda Foster
Carrie Worrell
