FAITH FORMATION 2021-2022 - COVID-19 Mitigation Policies and Procedures for St. Therese Faith Formation - St. Therese Parish

2021-2022
FAITH
FORMATION

 COVID-19 Mitigation Policies and Procedures for
          St. Therese Faith Formation

                                        SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2021

ST. THERESE FAITH FORMATION                                                  PAGE 01

introduction

WELCOME BACK!
Dear St. Therese Faith Formation Families,

Welcome to the 2021-22 Faith Formation year—onsite for all sessions and activities.
This Faith Formation year will begin Wednesday, September 15th with a family
gathering for Mass (5:15pm), a picnic (following Mass), and an opportunity to meet
and talk to your child’s catechists, followed by a visit to the Eucharistic Miracles
Exhibit in the Community Room of the church. As we are preparing for the
upcoming Faith Formation year, we recognize that COVID-19 still poses risks for our
community. At the same time, the circumstances are very different from last year. As
we maintain vigilance, our Parish Faith Formation ministry will still need to
implement a health and safety plan to mitigate the spread of all infectious diseases,
including COVID-19. We are prudentially evaluating all public health
recommendations and implementing those that will best serve our families,
volunteers, and staff. While the included mitigation strategies represent our plan to
start the Faith Formation year, it is likely that strategies will change as the path of
the virus changes. We encourage everyone to enter the Faith Formation year with a
positive and supportive attitude and remain flexible and patient as we strive to keep
our entire community safe. Please reach out to me if your family requires special
Faith Formation accommodations due to COVID-19.

We are excited to welcome children, youth, volunteers, and families back to our
campus in a safe and nurturing environment. Please keep St. Therese Parish
families and households in your prayers!

God Bless,
Liz Lammers
St. Therese Director of Faith Formation

               “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice…
                             always doing the smallest right
                                 and doing it all for love.”

                                ― St. Thérèse of Lisieux

ST. THERESE FAITH FORMATION                                                PAGE 02

planning for the year

COVID-19 MITIGATION STRATEGIES

COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies
While our situation is different today than it was one year ago, we remain
committed to the health, safety, and overall well-being of our Faith Formation
families. We are taking an approach that includes a broad number of steps. Here
are some of the mitigation strategies you can expect at the start of this upcoming
Faith Formation year. We will continue to update our plan as the landscape
changes:

Staying Home When Sick
Adults and children should stay home when they are sick and will be sent home
promptly if they display symptoms of COVID-19 or other illnesses. We ask all
parents to do a health check before sending your child to Faith Formation events
and activities (see page 5 of this packet). Faith Formation will follow a standard
illness exclusion policy (e.g. fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing
medication unless someone has a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19). Those with
lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are allowed to return to Faith Formation when
all of the following are true (Minnesota Department of Health, 2021):
  They feel better. Their cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms have
  substantially improved;
  It has been at least 10 days since they first felt sick or tested positive;
  They have had no fever for at least 24 hours, without using medicine that
  lowers fevers.
Children who are home with symptoms of COVID-19 will be asked to receive a
negative COVID test or alternate diagnosis before returning to Faith Formation.
Turnaround time on COVID tests has greatly improved as have testing options.
Here is a site to find local testing: https://mn.gov/covid19/get-tested/testing-
locations/index.jsp.

Reinforcing Good Handwashing and Respiratory Etiquette
Upon drop-off at St. Therese, children will enter the building and immediately
sanitize hands, and will wash hands after using the restroom. Children will also
be reminded to cough and sneeze into their elbow and then wash their hands.

ST. THERESE FAITH FORMATION                                                PAGE 03

 planning for the year

MITIGATION STRATEGIES CONTINUED
 Physical Distancing
 We will set up our learning environments to encourage keeping a physical
 distance of 3 feet or more during the Faith Formation session when it does not
 disrupt the development and learning of the children and youth.

 Mass and Adoration
 Classes will often be invited to participate in the 5:15pm Wednesday Mass
 and/or Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel. Archdiocesan protocols from the
 Office of Worship will be followed when in attendance.

 Parents and Visitors in the Building
 Due to construction in the school, and out of an abundance of caution to
 minimize the number of people in hallways at any one time, parents will be asked
 to drop children in Grades 1-8 off at assigned entrances. Children in Kindergarten
 may be accompanied by a parent in the building to and from their classroom.
 Parent volunteers who have completed safety training may sign up to volunteer in
 classrooms and help with the sessions.

Air and Ventilation
We will use medical-grade air purifiers, and classroom windows open as often as
possible. Facilities will be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Wednesday              Drop Off Locations
Session Times          We will not be health screening at the doors this year. We are
                       expecting that families will be in charge of this at home. See page 5.
Grades K-5
4:30-5:45pm            Grades K-7
6:30-7:45pm            Drop off at door #5.
                       Main School Entrance

Grades 6-8             Grade 8
4:30-6:00pm            Drop off at door #15.
6:30-8:00pm            Community Room Entrance

ST. THERESE FAITH FORMATION                                               PAGE 04

planning for the year

COVID-19 MITIGATION STRATEGIES
Face Coverings in the Building
The State’s legal mandate requiring face coverings expired on May 14, 2021. The
Archdiocese does not require Faith Formation attendees to wear face
coverings. Parents and guardians are well positioned to determine if their child
should wear a face covering while outside of the home and out in the
community. No person will be prevented from wearing a face covering at a
Faith Formation event. We know that there are a variety of positions and
opinions on the use of masks, for children in particular, and so our Faith
Formation staff will be working diligently to eliminate any bullying or
stigmatization for wearing or not wearing a face covering. We ask that you
help us in this goal and talk to your children about respecting others and the
choices other families make. During times of uncertainty, prudence, charity,
and a calm spirit can be a great blessing to our parish community.

Lab-Confirmed Cases of COVID-19
State law requires us to report to the Minnesota Department of Health any cases
of COVID-19 that occur among children, volunteers, and staff in our building. If
your child has COVID-19, we will require that they not return to Faith Formation or
Faith Formation-sponsored activities until they are no longer contagious. This
means:
  They feel better. Their cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms are
  substantially improved;
  It has been at least 10 days since they first felt sick or tested positive for
  COVID-19;
  They have had no fever for at least 24 hours, without using medicine that
  lowers fevers.
The Minnesota Department of Health has trained staff to conduct contract
tracing. We will be ready to assist MDH in this area.

Plan Updates

In conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Archdiocese of
Saint Paul and Minneapolis, we will be monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic closely
and will be promptly communicating any updates to this plan.

Health Screening

   We will not be screening at the door this year. We are
expecting that this is done at home prior to arriving at Faith
      Formation. If you have any of these symptoms,
         go home, stay away from other people,
                       and get tested.

          FEVER OR FEELING FEVERISH
          CHILLS
          COUGH
          SHORTNESS OF BREATH
          SORE THROAT
          MUSCLE ACHES
          LOSS OF SMELL OR TASTE

18323 Minnetonka Blvd
               Deephaven, MN 55391

         WWW.ST-THERESE.ORG | 952.473.4422

Let us love, since that is what our hearts are made for.
                 - St. Therese of Lisieux