January 18, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

St. Joseph Grade School updates parents on COVID concerns

Fifty-five students from St. Joseph Grade School are in quarantine for exposure to COVID-19.


Forty-two of those students are related to an incident at Prince of Peace Early Learning Center.


In an email sent to parents on Saturday St. Joseph Grade School Principal Michelle Wagner alerted parents to the situation.


“We were made aware that a significant number of children have been quarantined due to exposure/close contact with someone at Prince of Peace Early Learning Center,” Wagner said.


Currently, there are nine positive COVID-19 cases at St. Joseph Grade School.


St. Joseph Middle School has eight positive COVID-19 cases and 10 students in quarantine.


“You can see our numbers aren’t great by any means,” Superintendent Todd Pence said. “One thing I would stress is that if your child attends daycare before or after school, please make sure those provides are social distancing and masking up to the best of their abilities.”


Wagner said the students that are quarantined at the grade school are spread out amongst the grade school so no single class is completely quarantined.


“It doesn’t disrupt the classroom as much as it creates a hardship on the student and teacher,” Wagner said. “The student is missing quality instruction in the classroom and the teacher is having to find ways to keep the student from falling behind. We don’t have any “remote” teachers this year so the classroom teacher is trying to check in with the quarantined children after a full day with students.”


Wagner said tracking and record-keeping is a huge part of managing a quarantine this large. The school nurse, Katie May, and the office staff track cases and are responsible for the record-keeping. Wagner said answer parent emails and questions associated with the quarantine has been challenging.


“All weekend we didn’t have a lot of information but parents wanted to hear from us to find out the school impact–can they still attend, Can they test to stay, How will they get homework? How long do they have to be out,” Wagner said.


St. Joseph Grade School and Middle School have been in session since Aug. 17.


Wagner said it was amazing to have all the students back in the building and any first-day hurdles have been overcome.


“ The students were all happy to see their friends and teachers. Of course, our staff was so excited to be back. We were all hoping this would be more of a “normal” year but unfortunately, we are finding this variant is having quite an impact on student health and attendance. We are really being mindful of keeping students apart as much as possible,” she said.


Wagner said the staff is dealing with the quarantine in the best way they can and are prepared to teach whoever is in class each day.


“We are still working together to try to find a good balance and system for providing instruction for students who are out on quarantine,” she said. “Teachers want the students to get the best instruction possible but it is difficult to do when there is no time for remote sessions via Zoom or Google classroom during the day.”


Wagner urged parents to keep their children at home if they have any Covid symptoms.


“There isn’t much we can say or control once they are away from our building,” she said. “I just ask that parents support what we are doing each day–following the guidelines we are given from the state whether they agree or not. Our primary goal is always to keep everyone safe while they get an education here.”

in Schools
Banner
Related Posts

Graduation main address by Flannery McCorkle

May 19, 2021

May 19, 2021

Good afternoon, Spartans As I look out at my classmates, I feel truly blessed to have been a part of this...

Heritage High School Third Quarter Honor Roll

April 27, 2023

April 27, 2023

High Honors: Freshman: Kierra Dunlap, Anthony Happ, Tyler Ingerson, Faith Latham,Isabelle Lawrence, Ethan Lyons, Lukas Miller, Joshua Stierwalt, Leigha Tatar,...

SJO 4th quarter honor roll

July 11, 2023

July 11, 2023

FRESHMENAden, CarolineAtwood, McKenzieBell, AdalynClark, WadeCoffey, ChristopherCrozier, CadeDaly, NathanDwyer, CalebFitch, ParkerFranklin, WilliamGoodwin, BrandonHale, CharlesHardimon, EricaHollingsworth, BraydenHood, BryannaHouchens, BrysonJackson, NickJohnson, JordanKates, MalachyMcComas,...

Voters approve referendum

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2022

Superintendent Todd Pence is thankful. Thankful that a referendum asking voters to approve their tax rate by .22 percent passed....

SJO 3rd Quarter Honor Roll

March 30, 2022

March 30, 2022

Freshmen Allinger, OliviaAltenbaumer, JaredBarton, RylieBirt, EliBowlin, ChazBrazelton, HoldenChristians, PresleeCoffey, HaydenDewese, LaurenFrerichs, LylaGaines, KaidenGriebat, JoeGuido, MasonHauersperger, BeauJohnson, KendrickJohnson, PaigeJohnson, SethJones, DylanKrall,...

PVO Junior High Second quarter honor roll

January 13, 2023

January 13, 2023

7th Grade Highest Honors (3.7-4.0)Tyler BonnyIsabella FrerichsCasen GoffGaby GomezGeorge HaleRoyce LoschenLane McKinneyAtleigh MillerAirin RashKeegan RobertsKorinne TravisEvelyn ValentineLucas WatersAdyn Westerfield 7th...

SJO first quarter high honor roll

November 14, 2023

November 14, 2023

Freshmen Ahart, LillianBarbee, ZhouBenoit, ZacharyBowlin, AlecBurnett, ColinClark, ElizabethCrider, AbigailDahl, HaydenDavis, IrisDitchfield, NickDowns, JustinFarber, MadisonFarney, NathanielFranzen, NolanGraham, SkylerHammond, AnnaHarbourt, MarkHarris, NicholasHess,...

PVO Jr High Seventh grade honor roll

April 27, 2023

April 27, 2023

7 th Grade Highest Honors (3.7-4.0)Tyler BonnyIsabella FrerichsCasen GoffGaby GomezKellyn IrwinRoyce LoschenLane McKinneyConnor McMahonAtleigh MillerAirin RashKeegan RobertsKorinne TravisEvelyn ValentineLucas WatersAdyn...

PVO announces Junior High Honor Roll

April 16, 2019

April 16, 2019

Highest Honors– In highest GPA order 7th grade- Miranda Loosa, Caleb Ochs, Talan Miller, Colin Wayland, Brody Hausman, Hayden Williams,...

Madrigals return to St. Joseph-Ogden

December 1, 2024

December 1, 2024

A Christmas tradition is coming back. The St. Joseph-Ogden Music Department is hosting a Madrigal Dinner on Dec. 7. 2024...

SJO announces academic letter winners

May 17, 2021

May 17, 2021

Academic Letter Winners for the 2019-2020 Academic Year Class of 2020 (Graduates)Lindsey Aden Jenna Albrecht Michara AllenMallory Ames Kendall Ayers...

Live at SJO School Board, Dec.19, 2023

December 19, 2023

December 19, 2023

It’s time for the Ag Curriculum review. These are always really interesting and showcase what strong academic programs SJO has....

St. Joseph Middle School 8th grade high honor roll

April 7, 2022

April 7, 2022

ST. JOSEPH MIDDLE SCHOOL —  3rd Quarter, 2021-2022 8th Grade High Honor Roll Ames, Trevor Barrowman, Lexie Beyers, Kaitlyn Bird,...

St. Joseph Middle School 7th grade honor roll

November 14, 2023

November 14, 2023

FIRST NAME LAST NAME Ramsay Arnold Henry Beeler Adam Bello Teagan Blacker Bailey Blakley Nora Buckley Grant Clark Logan Crider...

Comments
Leave a Reply