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School masks continuing

Posted on Apr 07, 2021 01:12 PM by Prillwitz, Stacy
4/5/2021
Parents,
 
The Wisconsin State Supreme Court ruled Governor Evers’ mask mandate unconstitutional. Since then, many local government entities in northeastern Wisconsin have initiated their own mask mandates, which is legal. Outagamie County issued a mask mandate, but since Appleton has its own health department, their mandate doesn’t apply to Appleton. Appleton leadership has said that, at this time, they will not issue a mask mandate.
 
What does this mean for Mount Olive Lutheran School, then? The Mount Olive Board of Christian Education is tasked with leading the school and making decisions that will be good for our teachers, students, and families. These decisions can often be difficult. The Board met last weekend and reiterated that, at this point, the primary goal is to keep the students at Mount Olive in school. By the grace of God, and with thanks to our custodial staff, teachers, and cautious parents, we’ve had an extremely successful in-person school year. We haven’t had a class quarantined in months. Numbers have remained low in our school and in our surrounding communities.
 
The Board has decided to continue what we have been doing and require masks for all 5K-8 th grade students, teachers, and visitors throughout the school day. The Board has agreed to weekly discuss this ever-changing situation. Mount Olive Lutheran Church and School leadership will continue to work together to decisions for our joint ministry.
 
Why?
1. Masks are a variable in the why of the fact that we’ve been able to be in-person this school year. While the Board would agree that masks may not be the primary reason for the success we’ve had, we feel this change could put our school at a greater risk of viral spread and, subsequently, having classrooms quarantine.
2. With seven weeks of school left, and keeping in mind the great majority of students have done a great job wearing the masks, the Board felt this is an easy safety precaution to take.
3. Local laws are subject to change. To avoid roller coaster emotions for the students and families, the Board wants to provide consistency. 4. Recent Spring Break and Easter travel may have an impact on cases in our area. Thank you for your continued cooperation and support of our school. May God continue to grant our teachers, students, and families health and a cooperative spirit as we continue into Spring.
 
The Mount Olive Board of Christian Education