Dear WES Families,
I hope that you are having a nice week and have been able to navigate the wet weather, wind, and power outages over the last few days.
There will be a communication this Friday that will focus on the strategic plan; however, with the holiday break fast approaching, it is important that we communicate to you today regarding the holidays and COVID testing.
As we saw over the Thanksgiving break, families traveled, socialized with friends and family, etc., and we anticipate the same for the upcoming winter holiday break. WES is asking for ALL WES families, regardless of travel, to organize testing for your child or children before school resumes on January 3rd so that we make sure that all students and staff return to school on Monday, January 3rd free of COVID.
With that said, we are incredibly proud of the testing that we have in place at WES. We have our weekly school testing on Mondays with WorkSite Labs in which 65% of our students participate, and we also have the Virus Geeks testing the community in Wildcats each Thursday. This testing will not resume until the week of January 3rd. It would greatly benefit our ability to have students remain in school if all of our students participated in weekly testing so please sign up your child! Please see below for sign-up information.
In addition, I would like to publicly thank Mr. Larry Bowman for all of his help with COVID testing. Through Mr. Bowman’s experience, consultation, and incredibly generous donation, WES now has over 500 Lucira single-test PCR COVID tests. WES will be distributing one Lucira test to each staff member before the break so that each person can test the day before we return to school. We will then use the remaining Lucira tests throughout the school year to test students and staff in real time, as the need arises.
Finally, through the state of California’s COVID testing programs, WES has been able to procure hundreds of 15-minute antigen tests. WES is asking all students to participate in the antigen testing before returning to school on January 3rd. Please see below for information on when and where to pick them up.
On behalf of the staff, I wish you and your family the best this holiday season!
Sincerely,
Mr. Frank
Superintendent
Take Home Antigen Rapid Tests for WES Students
We are strongly encouraging all students to take a Rapid Antigen Test prior to returning to school at the end of the winter break. We know many students are traveling and gathering with family this year during the holidays. We will have free Antigen Rapid Tests available for pick up in both parking lots on Thursday and Friday during both pick up and drop off. We are not allowing students to take these tests home, so a parent or legal guardian must pick them up for each child. Each box has two Rapid Tests. We ask that you only take one box (two tests) per WES student so that all students have access.
We are asking that you please test your child on Thursday, December 30th, and again on Sunday, January 2nd prior to returning to school on Monday, January 3rd. Please notify us immediately if your child tests positive over the winter break.
Also, when administering the rapid tests, please ignore the QR code and app information on the side of the box. All you need to do is follow the folded instructions inside of the box to get the result. I have taken two of these tests in the last two days, and it is very easy and takes very little time. We are encouraging all families to please take a box (two tests) for each of your WES children so that all of our students are tested before returning to school on January 3rd.
School Testing for Students & Staff with WorkSite Labs
This is another reminder to please sign up your child and/or children for the weekly COVID-19 testing at school each Monday. We are so fortunate to have this free service available to all staff and students, and it would benefit our entire school community if ALL students were signed up and tested each Monday. It requires little effort on your part and would go a long way to keeping everyone on the WES safe.
Community Testing for Students, Staff, Parents, and Everyone with Virus Geeks
In addition, the Woodside School District has partnered with Virus Geeks to provide community testing on the Woodside School campus. All members of the community, including students, staff, and parents are encouraged to take part in the weekly testing each Thursday after school in Wildcats on the Woodside School campus. Participation is completely voluntary; however, we do recommend that your family take advantage of this opportunity. Anyone can participate so please see the below information about the community testing from Virus Geeks and be sure to complete the registration.
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Location: Wildcats (next to Sellman lot)
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Day/Time:
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Each Thursday from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. for community testing
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2:30 - 3:30 p.m. each Thursday for Preschool, TK, and Kindergarten students
How to Register?
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Please use the QR Code below and register each person testing prior to coming.
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Register on-site during testing hours; staff will assist you
Please note that WES is partnering with Virus Geeks along with the Portola Valley School District. While the registration link may say “Portola,” you can rest assured that data is not shared among districts. Only Virus Geeks will have access to personal information through the registration process. Please make sure the registration reflects the correct name and date of birth of the individual that is testing. No appointments are necessary.
WESD Vaccination Verification
If and when your child is FULLY vaccinated (with proof of both doses of the vaccine), please submit proof of vaccination to the school through the Google Form. Please use a gmail account to open the following link HERE or at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_hYc2ftr7pJPcK9nVNUqmivqnfkvxDDXZv7rGunpfVt0lSQ/viewform?usp=sf_link. It is very important for the school to know who is vaccinated as contact tracing and the potential of school loss is different for vaccinated vs. unvaccinated students. Our hope is that we have 100% of our students vaccinated as quickly as possible. Please submit the vaccine proof AFTER full vaccination, not after receiving the first dose. If you are having trouble uploading your vaccination card, please email Elvira Martinez. In addition, upon our return in January, we will confirm with all families who have submitted their vaccination proof so that they are aware that it was received.
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