As we all know this new strand of the Covid virus is extremely contagious and we all probably know a few who contracted the virus over the break. It is extremely important that we all are still wearing our masks to prevent the spread of the virus and to keep our students in school. So let's mask up and continue moving forward.

There were 270 ROCKs presented in December. These ROCKs were saved and used in a drawing for rewards. The students got to choose from various prizes such as a Door Dash certificate, a school store gift card, lunch with friends in a conference room, shadowing a PBIS team member for a 1/2 day, and $5 gift cards to restaurants in the area. Thirty student names were drawn today. I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate these 30 students:

Julia Barber, Lily Burke, Michael Mason, Amaejah Glassco-Lavender, Cameron Harrison, Ryan Manthey, Ben Jones, Mya Senser, Dairianesty Garcia-Mejias, Jowell Alicea-Fernandez, Kylie Rusden, Joseph Ortiz, Key Stevens, Michael Rodriguez, Javea Dickey, Donald Wilson, Jayden Yacoe, Simeon Wah, Amauri Boyer, Zachary Carlton, Sophia Compton, Jamey Jennings, Jason Slaymaker, Bella Marino, Sam Haak, Sawyer Reilly, Loidalis Castro, Kenasia Jackson-Jennings, Avery O'Hara, and Stephen Andrey.

We want to congratulate all of our students for their hard work this month. We would also like to thank the teachers and staff for taking the time to recognize our students.

Just a friendly reminder that the Coatesville Area School District continues to offer COVID-19 testing to students who become symptomatic during school hours. Our school nurses have been trained in the administration of BinaxNOW Tests and Cue (PCR) Tests.

Please note that students must have completed parental consent form on file with school nurse in order to be eligible to participate in this voluntary testing program. Please download consent form. Participants must create personalized QR Test Code by following directions below.

Registration for Student QR Test Code: · Click https://register.pennrapidtest.org/ or enter this url into your web browser (the app is not compatible with Internet Explorer but should work on most other browsers).

Follow instructions on screen, which include answering questions about (child’s) demographic information to create personalized QR code.

Please submit completed parental consent form and QR Test Code to school nurse.

Covid Consent Form

Dear CASD Community,

We look forward to welcoming everyone back to our schools for in-person instruction on Monday, January 3, 2022. Our primary goal is to have students attending in-person to the greatest extent possible. Health authorities have not issued any recommendations to Chester County schools for a switch to virtual instruction at this time. In fact, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is recommending in-person instruction when possible. Our ability to maintain in-person instruction could certainly be impacted by staffing challenges which will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. We appreciate your patience.

On December 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new, shorter quarantine guidelines, moving from 10 to 5 days. This is supported by the Chester County Health Department (CCHD.) CASD will adjust our practices when responding to reported COVID cases. The CCHD has developed a useful tool that summarizes the latest CDC guidance. Please click here to view it. This will be placed on our website and should be helpful if you have questions about quarantine protocols.

As a reminder, I want to share a summary of our current COVID-19 mitigation practices:

Symptom checking - all families should check their children for symptoms before sending them to school each day. If your child has symptoms, please refrain from sending him/her to school and contact your physician.

Masks - masks are to always be worn indoors except when eating. In the weeks leading up to winter break we saw an increase in students arriving to school without masks and relying on picking up masks from school staff. Please make sure your child comes to school wearing a well-fitting mask. Students should bring at least two masks to school. Also, at this time medical masks are recommended over cloth masks.

Reporting - Continue to report any cases of COVID-19 or your student’s need to quarantine due to close contact to your school nurse or principal. Our COVID-19 dashboard is available for our community. For In-school exposure/close contacts - we will communicate to those families directly impacted, and we’ll continue to follow the CCHD protocols. Out-of-school exposure - students must follow the quarantine guidelines from the CCHD to return to school if they are considered a close contact from an exposure outside of school. Please contact the school nurse should you have any questions.

Vaccinations – Vaccines are now widely available. We continue to encourage families to have their children vaccinated. Additionally, anyone who is over the age of 16 and is 6 months out from their last shot is eligible for a booster, which is recommended by physicians.

Testing – CASD will continue to take part in testing students and staff who have an exposure or become symptomatic during the school day. Unfortunately, we are don’t have enough tests available for students who may become symptomatic outside of the school day. We ask that you contact your physician and acquire a test over the counter or at a testing site, and please do not send a child to school if they are symptomatic. Please be sure you have completed the forms required for CASD nurses to administer a COVID test at school. Please contact your school nurse as a follow-up.

We know our students learn best when in school and we also know that, up to this point, our protocols and practices have prevented spread of the virus in our schools. We will review our Health and Safety Plan this month and update you with any changes.

Thank you for your support as we do our best to keep students safely learning in our schools.

Before the Holiday break all families for the Coatesville Area School District in grades 6 through 12 received notification from transportation that their morning bus schedules will change after the holiday break. On Monday, January 3, 2022, we will be eliminating transfer buses for morning bus runs for grades 6 - 12.

We’re hopeful that this change will also mean that all of our buses across all grades are more likely to run on time. However, it’s important to remember that we are still experiencing a nationwide bus driver shortage, made worse by pandemic quarantines. This does have a significant impact on our local bus schedules.

During the first two weeks of the new bus schedules, January 3 through 17, we do expect morning delays as everyone adapts to new schedules and even some new bus stops that are necessary because of the changes. We appreciate the patience of our students and parents. Public students may access new bus schedules in our Home Access Center, while non-public and charter students should contact their school. You may also contact transportation at: 610-466-2400, Option 2 or schoolbus@casdschools.org with questions.

Please check your email, mailbox and the Home Access Center to get your new morning bus schedule!

Please remember that all students start First Period at 7:25 and students that enter the building after that are marked late. Parents please make sure that you are dropping off your students before 7:25.

Please see the attached video from Mrs. Snyder the CASH Principal. This video will explain the different pathways to graduation that is required by the PA Department of Education

2020 Citadel Awards

Yearbook Ordering Form