COVID-19: Campus Lockdown Begins Wednesday, December 3

November 24, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

At the beginning of the November, we implemented the COVID Lockdown Plan outlining our precautions to minimize exposure to COVID-19. SJNA added additional guidelines for cadets and students (referred to as “students” for the remainder of this document) while inside the residence halls. The intended end-state of the Lockdown was to ensure all students had the ability to go home for the Thanksgiving Break. This was a success as SJNA went from over 40 Students in quarantine or isolation to zero prior to departure.

Due to the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s holiday break, SJNA is enacting the same type of short-term lockdown beginning Wednesday, December 2 through Friday, December 18. By doing so, we hope to minimize any possible spread of the virus and send your children home in good health for mandatory Holiday break.

Overarching Principles

1. Lockdown measures limit students from traveling off-campus.
2. Students may transition to virtual learning during the lockdown, provided the students and their parents/guardians understand and sign the SJNA Distance Learning Contract.
3. If students leave campus, they will not be able to re-enter until Sunday, January 3rd (the end of the lockdown period and subsequent Holiday break).
4. During the lockdown, all students (virtual or in-person) will be allowed to participate in interscholastic sports. This will continue so long as there is not a drastic uptick in COVID cases within that population of Students.
5. Only authorized (approved by SJNA faculty or staff) visitors may interact with students during the lockdown.
6. Routine medical and dental visits are discouraged during the lockdown period.
7. Faculty and staff will continue to perform their duties on campus and follow CDC guidelines as instructed by the SJNA Human Resources Department.

Day Students

Day students are encouraged to conduct virtual online learning from home during the lockdown period. If parents/guardians want their students to continue in-person classes, students will be required to stay on campus overnight for the duration of the lockdown period.

Boarding Students

Boarding students are encouraged to stay on campus for all weekends during the duration of the lockdown period. If/when students return home for any weekend during the lockdown, they will be required to stay home from that weekend forward and transition to virtual learning under the SJNA Distance Learning Contract stipulations.

Newly-enrolled Students During the Lockdown Period

On the day of arrival, a newly-enrolled student will report to the infirmary to receive a “swab” test for COVID. Resident Life Staff will ensure specific attention is given to the student for strict adherence to the SJNA COVID guidelines while the test results are pending.

Lockdown Period Protocol

• SJNA faculty and staff will emphasize all existing protocols, including the importance of heeding CDC guidelines for social distancing and properly wearing masks through campus signage and verbal instruction.
• If students are found not abiding by the rules, a warning will be issued directly to the student, followed by a call to the parent/guardian by the student’s Resident Faculty Officer or Resident Advisor.
• A second offense will result in a request to the parent/guardian to arrange for their student to travel home or to another location off-campus to continue their studies in the virtual environment.
• If proper arrangements cannot be made due to close contact or COVID, the student will be relegated to quarantine or isolation. The student will not be able to attend classes in person but will attend virtually from the student’s dorm/barracks room.
• We will continue to provide on-campus activities with COVID prevention protocols for students’ enjoyment during the lockdown period.

As stated in the Overarching Principles section, all students will have the ability to participate in interscholastic sports including practices, so long as the WIAA continues the games and matches. We are currently looking at the transportation for away games and due to the naturally occurring lower number of participants in the programs; we believe we can mitigate the risk in travel off-campus.

We are planning to observe the annual Boar’s Head Feast this year. However, due to the seating capacity of our Dining Hall, we will limit the participants to students and select staff. Lessons and Carols will also look a bit different this year, as we will not have as wide of a selection of songs in an attempt to minimize the possibility of virus risk.

The SJNA community’s well-being is of the highest priority. If you have any questions about athletic games or practices, please contact Mike Fink at mfink@sjnacademies.org. If you have any other questions, please contact your student’s Resident Faculty Officer/Resident Advisor, or me, at the contact information listed below.

Sincerely,

CSM Eric David
Dean of Student Life / Commandant of Cadets
edavid@sjnacademies.org 
262-646-7129