Dear Mount Carmel School Families,

As we have all been learning in the past few weeks, new community transmissions of COVID-19 continue to be detected in our community. As numbers rise and living through this pandemic has become our new normal, our team has several important announcements to make, which are also summarized below as follows for your convenience: 

• An MCS student tested positive for COVID-19.
• Mount Carmel School is ready to enact its current COVID-19 response procedures to keep the school community safe.
• Mount Carmel School will continue to provide the option for students to participate in face-to-face synchronous or asynchronous remote learning.
• All student extracurricular activities are canceled until further notice.
• Mount Carmel School’s upcoming COVID-19 testing and vaccination events will continue as scheduled this Saturday, November 27, 2021.
• Mount Carmel School’s leadership will revisit the school’s current response procedures to better serve the school community.

We are taking these steps based on the best science available and as guided by medical experts and health care professionals. With that, please note that despite the community spread, there are many signs of hope: the CNMI has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, more and more treatments are being developed, and, all our efforts are protecting us against this pandemic. More importantly, unlike many other places in the world, there has only been one hospitalization from this recent spread and no additional mortality rates. This means that even as COVID-19 spreads in our community, we are protected and we are safe.

 

 An MCS student tested positive for COVID-19

 

Today, Mount Carmel School was notified that a student was confirmed positive for COVID-19. Families are assured that the affected student did not attend face-to-face classes today, November 22, 2021. After being notified, the school has worked closely with the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation and the COVID-19 Task Force to provide the necessary means of support to keep its school community safe.

 

If you are concerned that you may have come in contact with someone who tested positive, you can contact the COVID-19 Task Force Contact Tracing Team Tip Lines at (670) 287-2274 or (670) 286-1729. Also note that walk-ins are accepted at community-based testing sites, so long as you bring an official photo ID for on-site registration.

 

Mount Carmel School is ready to enact its current COVID-19 response procedures to keep the school community safe.

 

As it currently states in the school’s COVID-19 response procedures, in the event an MCS community member is found positive for COVID-19, the affected classroom cohort will be shut down and students in the affected classroom will participate in full remote learning. As an added measure to aid her families, CHCC has agreed to provide free testing to the affected classroom and the students’ families at Kanoa Resort. Mount Carmel School has already coordinated with CHCC the families who can avail of COVID-19 testing on Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Parents will be notified about the registration process shortly. The resumption of face-to-face classes for the affected classroom will be determined as official information is provided to the school.

 

Mount Carmel School will continue to provide the option for students to participate in face-to-face synchronous or asynchronous remote learning. 

 

We understand with the first positive case detected, MCS families may be apprehensive to having their children participate in classes face-to-face, as such, Mount Carmel School will continue to provide parents the option to have their students participate in face-to-face synchronous or asynchronous remote learning. However, at this time, synchronous Zoom sessions will not be provided.

 

All student extracurricular activities are canceled until further notice. 

As the school gathers more information from the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation and the CNMI COVID-19 Task Force, Mount Carmel School is officially suspending all extracurricular events until further notice.

 

Mount Carmel School’s upcoming COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination event will continue as scheduled on November 27, 2021. 

 

In light of the recent positive case, Mount Carmel School cannot further emphasize the importance of regular surveillance testing. Subsequently, Mount Carmel School’s upcoming testing and vaccination events will proceed as scheduled this Saturday, November 27, 2021, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

 

It is important to note that at this time, Mount Carmel School has been authorized to facilitate one more vaccination event at the school which is scheduled for November 27, 2021. After this event, families wanting to vaccinate their child(ren) with the COVID-19 vaccine will need to register at other official vaccination locations. This event will also have the pediatric doses for the COVID-19 vaccine for students ages 5 - 11 years old. Additionally, Mount Carmel School employees are required to participate in regular testing to keep students safe.

 

Vaccination Event Logistics: 

• Registration Code: PRV670
• Date: Saturday, November 27, 2021
• Room: A101 in the MCS Maturana Building
• Time: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
• Only 100 slots available for this day
• To register, visit https://www.vaccinatecnmi.com/

Testing Event Logistics:

• Registration Code: school670
• Date: Saturday, November 27, 2021
• Room: A105 in the MCS Maturana Building
• Time: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
• Only 188 slots available for this day
• To register, visit https://covidtesting.chcc.health/covid-19-testing-form/#gf_2

 

Mount Carmel School’s leadership will revisit the school’s current response procedures to better serve the school community. 

 

As the CNMI adjusts to the existence of the COVID-19 virus within the community, Mount Carmel School will revisit its current COVID-19 response procedures to keep students and employees safe.

 

Protect our School Community

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 a potential school shut down. 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

 

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