Updated August 10, 2021
Dear Catholic School Parents,
The letter I sent you last week included a link to frequently asked questions about the 2021-2022 school year. The letter indicated that answers to the questions were subject to change based on the presence of COVID-19 in our region, new directives that Catholic schools are required to follow, or other factors.
On Friday, August 6, Governor Murphy issued NJ Executive Order 251, which requires that staff, students, and visitors to all public, private, and parochial (Catholic) preschool, elementary, and secondary schools wear face masks while indoors on school premises. Catholic schools are included in this order. Therefore, all adults and students in Catholic schools in the Diocese of Camden will be required to wear a face mask while indoors at school when the school year begins. We have updated the answers to the frequently asked questions accordingly.
Experience from the 2020-2021 school year shows that when we implement the steps we are taking at the beginning of this year – ensuring ventilation, maintaining distance, frequent hand washing/sanitizing, and wearing masks – during times of high presence of COVID-19 in our communities, in-school transmission of COVID-19 can be dramatically reduced.
I am incredibly proud of the sacrifices Catholic school students made last year, like wearing a mask, for the common good of their classmates and home communities. I am confident that they will rise to the occasion again at the beginning of this year. Even though we might have hoped to begin the school year differently, I remain hopeful that measures like this, combined with the availability of vaccines, will reduce the presence of COVID-19 in our communities so that we can return to more normal circumstances at school.
Until then, thank you for supporting your school’s principal and faculty in implementing the health and safety measures for the upcoming school year. And thank you again for choosing Catholic school for your children.
Sincerely in Christ,
Dr. William A. Watson
Superintendent of Schools