Dear Royals Family,
Phase II of our Reopening Plan is now well underway and yesterday we welcomed 56 freshman (out of 73) back to campus for in-person instruction. It has been a tremendous joy to see these students return and we look forward to two more days of instruction this week for the MCP class of 2024.
Sophomore, junior, and senior families are reminded that they still have until this Thursday (11/12) to complete the ‘opt-in’ form (to date we have responses from 88% of sophomores, 85% of juniors, and 56% of seniors and we are averaging an 85% ‘Yes’ to return, among those responding).
I know that as local health conditions continue to evolve many may be wondering how future changes in the SLO County “Tier” rating might impact MCP operations. Under current state guidance now that MCP has reopened for instruction, the decision to shift our campus back to Distance Learning is entirely at the discretion of MCP, unless the number of cases at MCP were to exceed 5% of our total campus population (in which case we would be ordered to close our campus by the Health Department). So, even if SLO County were to be moved backward into Tier 1 (Widespread), that, by itself, would not automatically return our campus to Distance Learning.
Covid cases are on the rise in SLO county and that means that in the coming weeks and months it is only a matter of time before an MCP student or staff member (or a member of their household) will become infected by this virus. We pray, of course, for their speedy and total recovery, but we are blessed with a comprehensive reopening plan that allows students and staff full access to the education, even away from campus.
Any such decision would be made only after carefully weighing the impact of Distance Learning against the long term (physical, mental, emotional, and intellectual) health of our students and staff. We would, of course, be in consultation with local health authorities and the Diocese, and we would make the most appropriate decision at that time.
As we continue with Phase II of reopening, we ask that we all please stay committed to our health and safety protocols: keep ill students away from campus, wash hands frequently, wear masks, and stay socially distanced. Regarding out of state travel, MCP asks that all students (and staff) who return from traveling out of state (or out of the country) stay away from all campus activities for two weeks following their return.
Maintaining our commitment to all of the above is admittedly inconvenient, but this total-community effort is necessary to ensure that infection rates in our community will decline and doing so also best ensures that MCP campus operations will be able to resume, uninterrupted for the weeks and months that remain in this school year.
I hope you enjoy the Veterans Day Holiday and we look forward to seeing everyone back on campus very soon.
Yours in Christ,
Mike Susank
Principal