SWCHS COVID protocols, nurse hours,
e-learning, and parent expectations

Updated Oct 2021

Masks

• Masks will not be required.
• They will be optional for anyone coming into the building, and students, staff and guests are welcome to wear one. 
• Per federal transportation guidelines, students must wear face coverings on buses. 

Sick Students

Students and staff should stay home if they have signs of infectious illness. As a body of Christ, we should care for one another, and staying home when we are sick is part of that community care. 

Families should consult their healthcare provider and/or the school nurses about their student’s symptoms. 

• Colds and COVID have overlapping symptoms in many cases, so students with cold symptoms needs to be kept home until they are well or they have a negative COVID test.
• If a family suspects their student has COVID, they should contact the school nurses to discuss that student’s timing for returning to school.  
• If a student tests positive for COVID, he or she should stay home for 10 days from the onset of symptoms.

Nurse Availability

Southwest Christian High School is required to report known positive cases to the Minnesota Department of Health.  While the SWCHS nurses have done incredible work being available to our families, as we enter a second school year dealing with COVID, they cannot be available 24/7.

This is their availability: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday. Email: nurses@swchs.org; call 952-479-6240 to reach them directly. 

Voicemails: 

• Checked during the day
• Checked and responded to between 8–9 p.m. on Mondays–Thursdays.
• Emails between 4 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. Sunday: expect a response by 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Absence Reporting:

• Email nurses with COVID test results as soon as you receive them.
• Email attendance@swchs.org to let the receptionists and nurses know when your child will be out of school and when they will be returning to school after an illness.

Contact Tracing and Quarantine

At this time, SWCHS does not intend to enforce social distancing or contact tracing under most circumstances.  If a student tests positive for COVID, he or she may not return to school or any activities during the duration of their quarantine.  

Look-in Learning

So that sick or self-quarantining students can continue to learn, we are providing a limited use of the “look in” cameras that we used last year. Look-in cameras are not available for vacations or other optional absences.

Promoting Hygiene and Healthy Behaviors

• We encourage students to wash hands effectively or use hand sanitizer.
• We upgraded our air-filtration system to provide extra mitigation measures.
• Students should not share drinking or eating items.

On Campus Visitors

We are excited to return to our pre-COVID activities.  Non-symptomatic visitors are welcome on campus.  Please do not come on campus with any respiratory viruses.

Pray

It is frustrating to have to deal with COVID again this year, but I ask you to join me in having an attitude of patience and graciousness toward our government, state, and national leaders. Join the SWCHS faculty and staff in prayer that God would heal our nation and the world from this disease, and we ask you to pray for our leadership and nursing staff as we strive to make the best decisions possible for our school.

COVID Protocols PDF