With a change to Marion County Public Health Order #35, which had moved Sycamore to distance learning and was set to expire on January 15, all 1st-12th grade students in Marion County are allowed to return to in-person instruction as of January 4. For Sycamore, that means we return to school in person on Tuesday, January 5, our originally scheduled date to resume after Winter Break. Along with this change, the following conditions are specified:
- Students and staff can be socially distanced. (At Sycamore, we are able to cohort and socially distance all our kids, as we have been doing all along.)
- Staff and students in 3rd grade and above wear masks. (We will continue our protocol of masks for everyone.)
Sycamore has been smoothly operating under our Distance Learning Plan, and we our thrilled to get back in school with all of our kids. We know parents and students have been making sacrifices and supporting us during this time. We deeply appreciate our families part in our success; we truly are all in this together.
Sycamore will continue to assiduously adhere to the measures we have implemented with much success so far: mask wearing, social distancing, handwashing, and staying home when sick. We do not intend to relax our policies.
While the CDC has shortened some quarantine guidelines to 10 or 7 days under certain conditions, the Indiana Department of Health prefers and is still recommending a 14-day quarantine, if possible. Absent some kind of extenuating circumstance, we will continue to require a 14-day quarantine period where recommended. We will be in close consultation with the IDOH on these matters.
We also undertook a minor construction project here at school while the kids are away, removing a small room between two current 6th grade classrooms. That space was not being used instructionally, and removing it allows us to make both rooms larger and, therefore, be able to socially distance more kids.