Dear Mount Carmel School Families,

Our team would like to thank you all for your patience, support, and understanding as the school tackles the dynamic challenges this pandemic presents to our community. As we have stressed before, we aim to create solutions that will best serve all our community members but most importantly, solutions that will keep our students and employees safe. That said, starting December 06, 2021, Mount Carmel School will enact the following changes summarized below for your convenience:

• Protect our school community. Stop the spread through proactive communication.
• Mount Carmel School will reopen, December 06, 2021, and will continue to provide parents the option to have their child participate in asynchronous remote learning or face-to-face synchronous learning.
• Supporting the needs of teachers: Mount Carmel School will return to four days of face-to-face synchronous learning, Monday to Thursday, and one day of asynchronous learning every Friday.
• When on campus, MCS students will take break in class and lunch in the cafeteria for 7-12 grades. K4 to 6th grade students will have lunch in the classrooms.
• All sports and extracurricular activities will remain suspended until Monday, January 03, 2022. Students will need proof of vaccination in order to participate in any school-sanctioned extracurricular activities.
• Mount Carmel School has made updates to its current response procedures.

Protect our school community. Stop the spread through proactive communication.

 

As positive cases are detected in the community, everyone has a role to play to keep the school safe. Families who have been contacted by the COVID-19 Task Force for contact tracing are asked to voluntarily share this information with the school. While the school understands that families who have been contacted by the Task Force will desire privacy, lack of communication can pose a greater risk to the school community and another school-wide shutdown. Lack of information can also delay the school’s ability to enact the necessary COVID-19 mitigation procedures if there were a positive case detected.

To ensure the privacy of any affected family, we ask parents to voluntarily share this information with Acting President Mrs. Frances Taimanao through the following communication platforms below. 

• Email: frances.taimanao@mcsknights.com 
• School Number: 670-234-6184

Mount Carmel School will reopen, Monday, December 06, 2021, and will continue to provide parents the option to have their child participate in asynchronous remote learning or face-to-face synchronous learning. Zoom session will not be available.

 

As the number of positive cases continues to increase in the community, Mount Carmel School is aware of the anxieties many parents may have regarding having their child participate in face-to-face classes. That said, on Monday, December 06, 2021, Mount Carmel School will continue to provide the option for parents to have their child participate in asynchronous remote learning or face-to-face synchronous learning. No Zoom session will be provided for remote learners.

 

Supporting the needs of our teachers: Mount Carmel School will return to four days of optional face-to-face synchronous learning, Monday to Thursday, and one day of mandatory asynchronous learning every Friday.

 

Since the CNMI’s initial shut down in March 2020, Mount Carmel School’s faculty and staff have continued to demonstrate the qualities of what it means to be Knight Strong and Marianas Strong.

 

Faculty members work endlessly during this pandemic to adjust and accommodate to the learning needs of their students during this pandemic; they participate in regular professional developments to implement new teaching strategies; they volunteer their time and risk their own safety to advise extracurricular activities; and most importantly, they continue to serve as a resource of support for all their students during a time of distress and anxiety. While our faculty have remained steadfast in their efforts to provide a quality education, adjusting to the complex nature of this pandemic has also taken a toll on the wellbeing of its employees. That said, starting Monday, December 06, 2021, Mount Carmel School will revert to four days of optional face-to-face synchronous learning, Monday to Thursday, and one day of mandatory asynchronous learning every Friday for all students.

 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Optional face-to-face synchronous learning.   1st – 7th periods for all grade levels.	Optional face-to-face synchronous learning.   1st – 7th periods for all grade levels.	Optional face-to-face synchronous learning.   1st – 7th periods for all grade levels.	Optional face-to-face synchronous learning.   1st – 7th periods for all grade levels.	Asynchronous learning for all grade levels.   No face-to-face classes on this day.

 

Again, we humbly ask our families for their understanding and support as the school always aims to do what’s best for its school community and community at large.

 

When on campus, MCS students will take break in class and lunch in the cafeteria for 7-12 grades. K4 to 6th grade students will have lunch in the classrooms.

 

All sports and extracurricular activities will remain suspended until Monday, January 03, 2022. Students will need proof of vaccination in order to participate in any school-sanctioned extracurricular activities.

 

To aid in the community’s efforts to control the current COVID-19 spread, all sports and extracurricular activities will remain suspended until Monday, January 03, 2022. To participate in sports and extracurricular activities after the Christmas Break, students will need to provide proof of vaccination in order to participate in any school-sanctioned extracurricular activities.

 

Mount Carmel School has made updates to its current response procedures.  

 

As Mount Carmel School continues to adjust to the dynamic nature of this pandemic, the school has made a few adjustments to its COVID-19 response procedures that are guided by the CNMI Policies and Procedures for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Educational Institutions and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools (Updated November 05, 2021). 

 Should the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force or a Mount Carmel School parent communicate a positive case in the school, Mount Carmel School administrators will determine the affected class(es) and require the related teacher(s) to participate in a scheduled surveillance testing at an official testing location. Parents will be advised to have their child tested at a designated testing facility.

• Teachers and students who are found negative will be allowed back on campus after submitting official documentation of the negative test results.
• Teachers and students who are found positive are required to stay home and follow the CNMI’s COVID-19 Task Force’s quarantine policies. Teachers and students who are found positive will be required to work from home. In order to return to campus, affected teachers and students will need to provide official documentation of negative test results.

Help Stop the Spread

While our community continues to do its best to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we ask all families to remain vigilant in their efforts to stop the spread with these three simple Ws:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• Watch your distance by maintaining a physical distance of at least 6 feet between yourself and other people you don’t live with.
• Wear a mask in public settings around people who don’t live in your household. Should you have any questions and/or concerns, be sure to follow any of our media platforms linked below or reach out to us by email.

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mtcarmelcnmi
• Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mcsknights/?hl=en
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/MCS_KNIGHTS
  MCS COVID-19 Preventative Measures: https://mountcarmelsaipan.com/covid-19-preventative-measures

 

Sincerely in Christ,

Frances S. Taimanao

Acting President/ School Principal