Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Families –
First, I would like to thank everyone for their continued support, understanding and patience during this time. As expected, a return from Christmas break has indeed resulted in higher numbers of Covid-19 both in our community and also among our school populations (students and staff). However, I hope tonight’s update provides some relief to those that are wondering why we are still open?
As we are all aware, Covid-19 cases are surging higher than at any point thus far in the pandemic. This is occurring locally, regionally, across the state, and indeed across most of the entire nation. Our district anticipated a larger uptick upon return from break, and yesterday’s numbers confirm this was a correct assumption. However, our screening test (Shield) is doing exactly what it is intended to do, which is to proactively catch positive students even up to 2 days before they are contagious. 13 of yesterday’s numbers were last week’s Shield results, but we expect a lower number this week. As the only district in Macoupin County that has screening tests in place, we are better positioned to use this additional layer to keep our schools safely below “outbreak” status. Many of the districts that have pivoted to remote learning have been due to an inability to staff employee absences, either out sick, quarantined or taking care of their own sick children. Others have delayed the break by a week or two in the hopes that this latest “surge” will subside. This may be delaying the inevitable, as any return from a lengthy hiatus will see more Covid-19 positives, unless every student and family member completely stayed home for this time period, which we know is not always the case. We are determined to provide as much in-person instruction as possible, as our students and families deserve nothing less. In fact, this past weekend, both principals, our school nurse and myself spent many hours sifting through test results, contact tracing, and notifying families of exposures, all in an attempt to ensure one thing: that schools will be open and safe this week.
Our district is not blindly remaining open, immune to the rising cases in our community. On the contrary, each positive case is plotted on a grid on a 4’x8’ markerboard broken out by grade levels and corresponding dates of exposure. We have 22 positives in the entire district which reflects a positivity of 3.7%, well below the current 15.2% rate within our county. In fact, we are closely monitoring 2 classrooms that could approach potential “outbreak” and are prepared to close a classroom, but not the entire district with 565 negative students still requiring daily in-person learning. Middle-school volleyball has been temporarily paused out of precaution, and we also have a “back up” plan which could include taking an emergency day (i.e., “snow day”) in the event of a lack of available staff and/or substitutes. Like all emergency days, they would be added to the end of the academic year in order to ensure that no days of in-person learning is lost. In fact, the CDC and IDPH recommend 4 key strategies to keeping schools open safely: 1) vaccines, 2) testing, 3) monitoring community spread, and 4) working with health officials. Bunker Hill CUSD #8 is doing all of these (and more) to keep our schools open daily. We are, like many of you, exhausted from this effort over the past 22 months. However, exhausted or not, we are here and will continue to be here for our students and families!
With this increase in numbers, large numbers of close contacts, and no clear end in sight, it can be tempting to feel discouraged by this. However, as a well-known expression states, “the sun always shines above the clouds.” Just a little over a year ago, we didn’t have any of these methods to remain open. Students and staff have the option to get a vaccine, they have the choice to test weekly, they have the choice to test if a close contact while remaining in school. Sports are continuing (with some periodic pauses, rescheduled games) but with no capacity limit, and isolation periods are now shortened to 5 days (down from 14 a year ago). Things are looking up slowly, and we have to be through these 22 months of clouds, right? And if there is a community around that is up to the task of weathering difficult times together as a community, it is Bunker Hill 8! So all hands on deck, and we look forward to welcoming our students back to school tomorrow! And the day after. And the next day.
Thank you for your continued partnership and grace, it is very much appreciated. As always, please reach out to me with any questions.
Have a great evening,
Todd
On behalf of the #BHill8 faculty, staff and administration, enjoy the holiday break! Classes will resume for students on Wednesday, January 5, 2022!
Bunker Hill CUSD #8 is experiencing a district wide power outage. We are working with Ameren to restore as soon as possible. As of 12:02 pm, classroom temperatures are warm and we plan to stay in session. However, if plans change, they will be communicated ASAP.
Tonight: Regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting at 7:00 PM at Wolf Ridge. For agenda: https://bit.ly/3DQdjKb
Tonight (Monday, 11/22) and tomorrow (Tuesday, 11/23) BHHS Girls' Basketball games are cancelled and will hopefully be rescheduled as soon as possible.
Tonight: Regularly-scheduled Board of Education meeting at 7:00 PM at Wolf Ridge Library. For agenda, click: https://bit.ly/3HyP6eq
Happy Veterans' Day, #BHill8 #thankyou
Students will be dismissed early at 12:30 tomorrow, November 3rd, for school improvement planning and professional development for staff. Next week, there will be no school on November 11th or 12th.
Tonight: Regularly-scheduled Board of Education meeting at Wolf Ridge Elementary -- 7:00 PM. For agenda, click:https://bit.ly/3G7yeuy
There will be an early dismissal at 2:00 PM tomorrow, October 15th. This Friday marks the end to the 1st Quarter of school. Report cards will be viewable on Teacher Ease next week.
Tonight: Regularly-scheduled Board of Education meeting at 7:00 PM at Wolf Ridge. For agenda, click here: https://bit.ly/3zwBpaG
Good evening, Bunker Hill families --
Today we learned of 4 individuals associated with the Bunker Hill School District that have tested positive for Covid-19:
Wolf Ridge - 1 individual (due to new mitigations, resulting in only 2 close contacts
Bunker Hill High School - 3 individuals (due to new mitigations, resulting in only 4 close contacts)
Our elementary school has received many "opt out" requests due to the recent signing of IL Senate Bill 818 into law, which requires that IF schools teach sexual education then the curriculum must be aligned to standards that address the following topics: consent, healthy relationships, gender identity, sexual health, puberty and sexual orientation. At Wolf Ridge Elementary, sex ed is NOT taught (only a "puberty" talk in 5th grade that parents will always have the right to opt out of) so this law essentially will not impact Wolf Ridge whatsoever. At Bunker Hill High School, a semester of Health is provided, but not a Sex Ed course per se.
Finally, an update on SHIELD testing and test-to-stay. Since the Governor's Executive Order was signed last week requiring school employees to receive the vaccine or submit to testing, literally hundreds of school districts have been reaching out to SHIELD, who was already short-staffed and struggling to meet demand. As a result, SHIELD has delayed the weekly testing until September 23. However, in an effort to offer as many students the chance to "test to stay" our district has been exploring the Binax tests, to deploy in addition to the saliva test. However, I will assure you that if we have to utilize both, our School Board will be apprised and I will insist on a separate "opt in" form, exclusive of the SHIELD form. We have also heard that much of the "test to stay" guidance is changing or will change shortly. Regardless of whether we have the Binax (nasal swab) or SHIELD, we will still be able to meet our September 13th deadline for any family that would like their child to stay in school and avoid quarantine due to simply being identified as a "close contact."
More information will be forthcoming. I suspect that a video or live Q&A Facebook Live may be helpful, as it gets difficult to convey a lot of information in writing without being an extremely boring read 😁
In the meantime, please continue to reach out with any questions, and while we don't always have the answers, and sometimes not the answers we want to give, we are still (and always will be) here for you just a phone call away. As we all worry about what the fall, or next week, or even tomorrow may bring, I was reminded today of a lesson from one of my favorites:
"If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. That is very serious." -- Thich Nhat Hanh
With that being said, please take the time to thoroughly enjoy the 3-day Labor Day weekend with friends and family, don't miss the "present moment" and we look forward to welcoming our students back to school tomorrow!
Take great care,
Todd
I am pleased to report another day of 0 new Covid-19 cases associated with our school district.
Beginning this week, enhanced safety protocols at mealtime, passing periods, and recess have been introduced at both Wolf Ridge and Bunker Hill High School in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus. While last week saw an unusually high number of students (and staff) placed in quarantine due to an outbreak stemming from the outbreak epidemiologically linked to the cooperative football team with Staunton High School and 1 classroom outbreak at WR, this week is thus far showing a positive trend. While we hope it is a result of the increased layers of mitigation announced in last week’s email, it is too early to tell. It is certainly encouraging though.
Included is a graphic showing the rolling positivity rate for the 62014 zip code. As you can see, this trend is moving in the right direction this week. Also, with no new positive cases to announce for 2 days in a row, I truly hope that we simply experienced our uptick early in the year. Regardless, the ease with which this virus continues to transmit has resulted in the district altering several practices to avoid numerous "close contacts" in the eventuality of a positive case.
What drives a district’s decision to shift to remote learning, or an adaptive pause this year? Simply put, we are not allowed that option. Schools can, in consultation with local health departments and the IDPH Office of Infectious Disease, take an adaptive pause only if it is approved on a case-by-case basis (such as Staunton’s case).
Many students that were quarantined last week are continuing to return to school for in-person learning, which is has been and always will be our top priority this year. With the number of disruptions to our students over the past 18 months, they deserve every chance at in-person learning they can get, and Bunker Hill CUSD #8 is steadfast in its determination to deliver.
We are thrilled to welcome back our students in the building tomorrow!
Have a great evening, and thank you for helping us ensure that in-person learning continues uninterrupted this 2021-2022 school year!
Respectfully yours,
Todd
Todd Dugan
Superintendent - Bunker Hill CUSD #8
Good evening, Bunker Hill parents –
Tonight, we were notified that one of our 6th grade homerooms has been designated “outbreak status” by the Macoupin County Public Health Department. As a result, all students in this section (not the entire 6th grade) have been issued an “order to quarantine” from the Health Department for the next 10 days. While this is indeed concerning, as it could possibly indicate spread within our buildings, I’d also like to clarify that the IDPH definition of “outbreak” was recently changed from 5 positives from the same room over a 14 day period to now 2 positives epidemiologically linked from the same room over a period of the same 14 days. In addition, we have approximately 58 students and 5 staff members currently on a quarantine order.
What is Bunker Hill #8 going to do differently? We are meeting with teachers and administration over the next couple of days in order to add layers of mitigation until the uptick in cases begins to decline. While we truly want this year to be more normal, we may have to temporarily alter our lunch room practices as each positive student results in 4-5 “close contacts” from the lunchroom. We have also increased ventilation in every room in the district, and will be strictly enforcing this. We will also be bringing back the practice of wiping desks with disinfectant wipes between each passing period in the upper grades. In addition, an online, 24/7 tutoring service will be available for students in grades 6-12 in order to help with assignments while on quarantine (or anytime if needed.) More info to come soon on this.
I would also like to take this opportunity to plead with you to avoid sending students to school with any symptoms of Covid-19. For example, a student who attends school with symptoms for three days before testing positive can result in five days’ worth of contact tracing and ultimately another infection, obviously meeting the new criteria for “outbreak status.” Don’t get me wrong, we want kids in school every day. But this year, please err on the side of caution. If you suspect allergies, keep them home for a day to play it safe. We are also implementing weekly testing and a “test to stay” program with Shield but that will not be operational until September 13 at the earliest. Shield will also come to the district and test everyone (that has consented to the testing, of course) in the event of an outbreak. In the meantime, be aware that any of the following could be symptoms of Covid-19:
-- Fever (100.4 degrees or higher) -- New onset of moderate to severe headache -- Shortness of breath -- New cough -- Sore Throat -- Vomiting -- Diarrhea -- New loss of taste or smell -- Fatigue from unknown cause -- Body or muscle aches from unknown cause
Until then, please help our schools keep more kids in person for more days. How can you help?
-- Please keep sick kids home until an alternate diagnosis can be confirmed. I realize this is tough for working parents, but ultimately leads to more time out of the classroom (and more students and staff on quarantine).
-- Reach out to help families whose kids have been quarantined as a “close contact.” Bunker Hill is a wonderful community, and we do remarkably well taking care of each other and helping in any way we can. Sometimes, just a card or kind Facebook message letting someone know you’re thinking of them and willing to help with errands can help greatly. These are strange, tough times and the only way through it is together.
-- If your child is 12 years or older, consider the Pfizer vaccine that was just formally given full approval (rather than emergency use authorization) by the FDA. Of course, that decision is between you and your doctor.
-- Opt your child in to the weekly saliva test performed onsite by Shield. The more students and staff we have signed up, the less the days your child will have to spend on quarantine. This is not meant to coerce, but simply to offer the only approved way to avoid a quarantine (a paper copy of the consent form will be sent home with every student in the district tomorrow). Please return by September 3, 2021 which will ensure your child can also qualify for the “test to stay” policy.
Please know that no one wants our students out on 10-day quarantines, or eating lunch behind plexiglass, or wearing masks over their smiling faces, or spitting saliva into plastic tubes. However, we truly do not want anyone to get sick as a result of school, either. Behind the scenes, we have our school nurse charting students’ quarantine status on a Google spreadsheet at all hours, principals and teachers contact tracing sometimes for a week at a time, coordination with the health department from early morning until late in the evening, and many of us devoting many extra hours ensuring our schools will be safe tomorrow. We are gladly doing this, but could certainly use the help and of course the continued patience, grace, and understanding that the vast majority have continued to display.
At the end of the day, even a very long day of contact tracing and disinfecting, we are here for you and the students of Bunker Hill 8, and will continue to be. We look forward to seeing our students back in school tomorrow, and look forward to the day when this pandemic is a distant memory.
Thank you for your partnership,
Todd
Tonight: Regularly-scheduled Board of Education meeting at 7:00 PM at Wolf Ridge. For agenda, click: https://bit.ly/37KLq93
Reminder: School resumes for students tomorrow (Wednesday, August 11)! It is a 2:00 Early Dismissal that was inadvertently left off the district calendar. We are excited to welcome all our students back in person!
Reminder: Tonight is another opportunity for a free movie (Raya and the Last Dragon) at dusk at Mae Meissner-Whitaker Park! Courtesy of the City of Bunker Hill and CNB Bank & Trust. Free movie and refreshments!
Tonight: Special Meeting of the Bunker Hill CUSD 8 Board of Education at 7:00 PM at Wolf Ridge -- For agenda, click: https://bit.ly/3ismU2F
Just Announced: Coffee with the Superintendent at Sage House outdoor dining area tomorrow (Wednesday, August 4, 2021) at 6:00 PM. Join Bunker Hill #8 Superintendent Todd Dugan for an informal Q&A session on the upcoming school year, reopening guidelines, and general information about the school district. As always, comments, concerns and compliments are welcome! Plan on attending in order to learn about the possible scenarios for the 2021-22 school year and the rationale behind each one. Event will also be streamed on Facebook Live; however, online questions may not be moderated depending on attendance and volume of questions.
Another opportunity for a free movie at dusk this Friday, August 6 at Mae Meissner-Whitaker Park! Courtesy of the City of Bunker Hill and CNB Bank & Trust. Free movie and refreshments!
