Dear Harbor Families,

Omicron is everywhere. We are hearing reports now that the peak of this surge may be in sight, but for now, it’s all around us. In fact, I cleared my calendar for this morning to manage new positive cases when yesterday’s community testing results came in. I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I ended up with some extra time - all results were returned as negative! 

As expected given the prevalence of the virus right now, we do have a few members of our community in quarantine due to positive cases. We learned about four positives over the weekend (without potential exposure in the classrooms given the timing of the snow days last week); some of you have received emails over the weekend from me about these positives if the individual was in your classroom. We will continue to communicate with classes every time there is a positive result, providing you with as much information as appropriate while keeping confidentiality. Following Montgomery County guidance, we are continuing to enforce a 10 day quarantine for each positive case (and 5 days following household exposure - see further down in the newsletter for more information).

As we manage through the next few weeks, there will undoubtedly be more positive results. Yet, with lower virility, our strong protocols, and high levels of vaccination in our JK through grade 3 classrooms, we are able to function without sending students in those classrooms home. (In the preschool classrooms, health department guidance still requires a 14 day quarantine for everyone.)

Finally, as you process news and emerging information, I encourage you to read (or reread) my letter from last week’s newsletter, which I hope serves as a reminder that our emotional experience during this time deserves attention.

We’ll continue to keep you posted on how we are managing through this phase of the pandemic. In the meantime, as always, please let us know what questions you may have.

Warmly,

Leah Musico

Head of School