UPDATE: March 23, 2020

Travel Outside Iowa; Preventing & Reporting COVID-19 Exposure

The Iowa Department of Public Health recommends that Iowans who have returned from traveling outside the state for business or vacation in the last 14 days voluntarily self- isolate for 14 days following their return and monitor for fever and other symptoms.

If you have confirmed exposure (i.e.via travel, family member), are in self-quarantine for any reason, or have received a diagnosis of COVID-19, please contact Kris Naeve, School Nurse at [email protected]. We are tracking the disease in our school community in cooperation with Linn County Public Health. This information will be kept confidential.

Final Scheduled Pick-Up Time for Student Belongings Moved to Tomorrow (Now Grab-and-Go)

Out of an abundance of caution and in anticipation of potential restrictions that may prevent teachers and students from accessing schools, we are moving up the final date to retrieve student belongings. That will take place tomorrow (3/24) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be done on a grab-and-go basis. Families who need belongings bagged to be picked up, must COMPLETE THIS FORM by 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Xavier High School pick up will take place at the faculty entrance (west side of the building). Our goal is for students/families not to have to leave their cars. There are no additional scheduled times for student belonging pick-up beyond this date.

Learning & Support

Xavier Catholic Schools teachers met this morning and will be meeting again tomorrow to finalize plans for learning opportunities for students. Tomorrow we plan to send families a general example of what these learning opportunities will look like at the various levels (elementary, middle school, high school). To ensure our students are continuing to feel connected and supported on a social, emotional, academic and spiritual level throughout this closure, teachers will be reaching out at least once per week to check-in with families/students.

XHS ACADEMICS
As we plan with excitement, opportunities for students to learn, it will look different than the typical schedule of your Xavier Saint. We will be sharing more specifics tomorrow but want to provide you with a general understanding of what to expect. Students will have the opportunity to continue to earn credit should school closure extend beyond Easter. Students enrolled in dual credit classes (AP, SLU, Kirkwood and U of I) will have the opportunity to continue to earn both college and high school credit or be prepared for AP exams. Again, we will share more details in the upcoming days. Included below is the information currently available from these organizations:

XHS STUDENT SUPPORT
Student support at this time is extremely important to us as we live our school’s mission to develop the TOTAL person in the Catholic environment. Over the next few days we will be sharing details on how this support will take place. Student Services and Campus Ministry will be offering availability and resources to support social, emotional and spiritual needs on an ongoing basis.

SELF Class (Social. Emotional. Learning. Faith. Class): All XHS teachers will be meeting via online video with a small group of students to support and check in regarding their social and emotional learning and faith. We call this our “SELF” class and teachers are excited to continue connecting and supporting the Saints on a personal level.

XHS MORNING PRAYER
We will continue to share morning prayers and reflections by XHS faculty/staff. Those will be shared on our Facebook page at 7:50 a.m. daily (the typical time a school day would start). They will also be accessible on our COVID-19 resource page at https://www.xaviersaints.org/covid19.

XHS TEACHER COMMUNICATION / FIRST "ZOOM" ON WEDNESDAY
Please know that teachers are working hard to prepare today and tomorrow so they can begin to work with students on Wednesday. The first “class” will be SELF class at 10 a.m. on Wednesday (3/25). Students will receive an email with a "Zoom" (web conferencing) link to connect. The Zoom app is available for students to download on their iPads. As teachers prepare the learning opportunities they will be providing, their time and support will include at least one learning opportunity per week. Virtual office hours: Teachers will share an hour each week that they can be reached. “Class offerings” will change from a regular student schedule. In each of these classes teachers will have a regularly scheduled online class time at least once per week.

Blood Drive on March 31st (UPDATED DATE)

We are working to prevent a local shortage of blood due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and the need for healthy donors is VERY high. If you are healthy and able, your donation is needed!

Key Points:

Blood donation is safe! Blood drives are safe environments where staff and donors are screened to be sure they are healthy and well and have not been exposed to the virus to be present. Individuals present to donate at staggered times and are processed through a safe and controlled environment.
Blood has a short shelf life and must be constantly replenished. Red blood cells must be transfused within 42 days, while platelets and thawed plasma must be transfused within 5 days. We rely on donors to continue to ensure patients have what they need.
Please make (and keep) donation appointments to ensure an adequate supply. Right now, we are working to prevent a national shortage of blood. The biggest risk to the blood supply is decline in blood donations from cancelled blood drives and loss in individual donations at donor centers.
The blood supply is safe! There is no evidence this virus or related viruses (SARS-1 and MERS-CoV) can be transmitted by a transfusion.
We have implemented our Disaster Plan and are following recommendations from local, state and federal health agencies to keep staff and visitors safe. Blood collection locations have always been regulated for health and safety and we are increasing communication with our teams and resources for cleaning to avoid spread of COVID-19. NOTE: The CDC categorizes blood drives as an essential service to healthcare and are exempt from the restrictions being imposed nationally and locally.

We need those who are healthy and well to continue to donate at our mobile blood drives so that we can keep a strong supply that supports our local communities and allows us to help in other areas during this crisis situation. All types are needed.

Blood Drive
Date: Tuesday, March 31st
Time: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Oakland Church of the Nazarene
(3000 42nd St NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402)

Sign up online HERE or contact Kris Naeve at [email protected]

Remember to eat and hydrate before donating!