Masking policy Arlington Diocesan Schools

[Anonymous]

Look at the craziness this has unleashed. Parents now threatening to bring loaded guns to schools over masking.

https://twitter.com/bradkutner/status/1484537442199875584?s=21

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the craziness this has unleashed. Parents now threatening to bring loaded guns to schools over masking.

https://twitter.com/bradkutner/status/1484537442199875584?s=21

Page County has shared this kind of threat is unacceptable has engaged the police and attorney general on this issue and will also have police presence at schools on Monday. Is it even legal to carry firearms on school premises in VA?

https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1809820/Joint_Statement_PCPS_1-21-22.pdf

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why we would get rid of masks during a huge surge and increase the chance of children being quarantined? Nobody wants to wear masks— get through the next 6 weeks or so and then make it mask optional.

There is zero scientific consensus that masks do anything to stop or slow the spread of COVID; there’s just some cherry-picked politically-motivated garbage that even The Atlantic had debunked:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/12/mask-guidelines-cdc-walensky/621035/

Our children have been masked long enough. This is stupid. And I am concerned about the mental health and long-term socialization effects of this nearly two years of hiding our faces behind pointless cloth rags. Enough already. Let these kids live life normally; they are not at risk.

Why are you making your kid wear a cloth rag? Buy a decent mask.

Who is the hillbilly “cloth rag” poster who pops up on every thread?

Look for the kids breathing fresh air unobstructed, with smiles on their unmasked faces that you’ll see beaming from across the room. I’m the parent of those kids.

Now put in your mask and your tinfoil hat and grumble about it.

I hope you will as supportive of your school and teachers if your school has to go remote because of staffing issues.

This will happen.

In our K-8, almost every class has a staff member's kid in it, and due to the lack of subs, many staff members are being asked to cover an hour here or there, or spend the afternoon with two classes in a common area (indoors).

As their kids get sick from the child next to them, more adults have to stay home either to quarantine or take care of them. Usually the teacher is the one making the lower salary and while parents have volunteered to come in, few are compliant with the child safety policies (and the school does not ask if parents are vaccinated, which is fine, but makes the solution of parents stepping in a non-starter.)

Many families hate remote so much that they'd rather have 40 kids in the gym, playing kickball all afternoon, and pay tuition to do it, than put safety first.

The teachers are not just being asked to make a big sacrifice here, they are being asked to put their loved ones in a more vulnerable position, so when people say, "No online school or else" or "I have the freedom to make this choice for my child," they are subtly chanting that their wishes are much more important than the members of the community that have already given up so much.

The secret anchor that keeps teachers in Catholic school is that they love their own families enough to make this work. Now they are not allowed to have a safe workplace and they have to break their contract if they want to transfer out or protect their own families.

Be prepared for less and less qualified staff members to be backfilling those spots. This EO just devalued what we invested in.

But, freedom?

Put all the political issues aside.

Do you truly believe that masks make a difference? I mean honestly?

Read any book on past pandemics and they all say the same thing---masks did not make a difference in transmission of a virus. Lots of books on the 1928 flu if you are interested.

How many friends/family do you personally know that were infected while wearing a mask?

If you would like an anecdote we just moved to a mask-optional school in a different state. Most kids don't wear a mask. Our numbers are not any different than VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why we would get rid of masks during a huge surge and increase the chance of children being quarantined? Nobody wants to wear masks— get through the next 6 weeks or so and then make it mask optional.

There is zero scientific consensus that masks do anything to stop or slow the spread of COVID; there’s just some cherry-picked politically-motivated garbage that even The Atlantic had debunked:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/12/mask-guidelines-cdc-walensky/621035/

Our children have been masked long enough. This is stupid. And I am concerned about the mental health and long-term socialization effects of this nearly two years of hiding our faces behind pointless cloth rags. Enough already. Let these kids live life normally; they are not at risk.

Why are you making your kid wear a cloth rag? Buy a decent mask.

Who is the hillbilly “cloth rag” poster who pops up on every thread?

Look for the kids breathing fresh air unobstructed, with smiles on their unmasked faces that you’ll see beaming from across the room. I’m the parent of those kids.

Now put in your mask and your tinfoil hat and grumble about it.

I hope you will as supportive of your school and teachers if your school has to go remote because of staffing issues.

This will happen.

In our K-8, almost every class has a staff member's kid in it, and due to the lack of subs, many staff members are being asked to cover an hour here or there, or spend the afternoon with two classes in a common area (indoors).

As their kids get sick from the child next to them, more adults have to stay home either to quarantine or take care of them. Usually the teacher is the one making the lower salary and while parents have volunteered to come in, few are compliant with the child safety policies (and the school does not ask if parents are vaccinated, which is fine, but makes the solution of parents stepping in a non-starter.)

Many families hate remote so much that they'd rather have 40 kids in the gym, playing kickball all afternoon, and pay tuition to do it, than put safety first.

The teachers are not just being asked to make a big sacrifice here, they are being asked to put their loved ones in a more vulnerable position, so when people say, "No online school or else" or "I have the freedom to make this choice for my child," they are subtly chanting that their wishes are much more important than the members of the community that have already given up so much.

The secret anchor that keeps teachers in Catholic school is that they love their own families enough to make this work. Now they are not allowed to have a safe workplace and they have to break their contract if they want to transfer out or protect their own families.

Be prepared for less and less qualified staff members to be backfilling those spots. This EO just devalued what we invested in.

But, freedom?

Put all the political issues aside.

Do you truly believe that masks make a difference? I mean honestly?

Read any book on past pandemics and they all say the same thing---masks did not make a difference in transmission of a virus. Lots of books on the 1928 flu if you are interested.

How many friends/family do you personally know that were infected while wearing a mask?

If you would like an anecdote we just moved to a mask-optional school in a different state. Most kids don't wear a mask. Our numbers are not any different than VA.

^1918

[Anonymous]

I am thoroughly disgusted with the Diocese. No consideration for public health, especially those of teachers or children with underlying conditions. They bent to their conservative members.

My kid’s NoVa Catholic has a 25% vaccination rate, and come Mon kids are free to withhold from masking. During a surge. Outrageous.

What happened to Christian values of thinking of others, being part of a community that supports all of its members? The second my child graduates I am not giving one more penny to the Catholic Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It all sucks and is shameful. Yet many are at the March for Life today in DC. I see the irony in this... yes save the babies. But unmask and don't worry about the ill and elderly. Once again the Catholic Church is hypocritical.

+1 million

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. Our kids have spent a year and a half of their childhoods wearing useless cloth masks over their faces.

Vaccines are available for anyone who wants one.

COVID is here to stay; it’s already mutated into a highly-transmissible (hello, silly cloth masks!) but far less serious virus on par with the flu. It is far less of a threat to children than countless other risks and diseases which we have learned to live.

Anyone who is still concerned now has access to PPE (n95 masks, face shields, latex gloves) and can make use of that. The era of dictating to other people’s children about this stuff is over.

I think what’s really irking people is that compliance with mask and vaccine mandates has become a political thing. Thank God that the Arlington Diocese has done the right thing and trusted parents to make the choice that’s right for their family.

During a pandemic, “doing what’s right for my family” is not always an option if it affects others. Even kids who are vaccinated are now going to get covid simply b/c they are sitting in a classroom all day with unvaccinated/unmasked kids. Why can’t we all embrace doing what is right for the community DURING A HIGHLY INFECTIOUS SURGE WHERE HOSPITALS ARE AT CAPACITY?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am thoroughly disgusted with the Diocese. No consideration for public health, especially those of teachers or children with underlying conditions. They bent to their conservative members.

My kid’s NoVa Catholic has a 25% vaccination rate, and come Mon kids are free to withhold from masking. During a surge. Outrageous.

What happened to Christian values of thinking of others, being part of a community that supports all of its members? The second my child graduates I am not giving one more penny to the Catholic Church.

I feel the same. I’ve honestly had one foot out the door related to the pedophilia and sexual abuse cover up and enabling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am thoroughly disgusted with the Diocese. No consideration for public health, especially those of teachers or children with underlying conditions. They bent to their conservative members.

My kid’s NoVa Catholic has a 25% vaccination rate, and come Mon kids are free to withhold from masking. During a surge. Outrageous.

What happened to Christian values of thinking of others, being part of a community that supports all of its members? The second my child graduates I am not giving one more penny to the Catholic Church.

Same, although I already cut back on my giving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am thoroughly disgusted with the Diocese. No consideration for public health, especially those of teachers or children with underlying conditions. They bent to their conservative members.

My kid’s NoVa Catholic has a 25% vaccination rate, and come Mon kids are free to withhold from masking. During a surge. Outrageous.

What happened to Christian values of thinking of others, being part of a community that supports all of its members? The second my child graduates I am not giving one more penny to the Catholic Church.

I feel the same. I’ve honestly had one foot out the door related to the pedophilia and sexual abuse cover up and enabling.

Agree! The Arlington Diocese answers to the Republican party. That is abundantly clear.

[Anonymous]

Masks are a virtue-signaling fad. Nothing more. Like the pet rock and hula hoop. How do I know this? Because the term “mask” was never mentioned once in this site prior to March 2020, despite the FLU, which is considerably more dangerous to children. What a crock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why we would get rid of masks during a huge surge and increase the chance of children being quarantined? Nobody wants to wear masks— get through the next 6 weeks or so and then make it mask optional.

There is zero scientific consensus that masks do anything to stop or slow the spread of COVID; there’s just some cherry-picked politically-motivated garbage that even The Atlantic had debunked:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/12/mask-guidelines-cdc-walensky/621035/

Our children have been masked long enough. This is stupid. And I am concerned about the mental health and long-term socialization effects of this nearly two years of hiding our faces behind pointless cloth rags. Enough already. Let these kids live life normally; they are not at risk.

Why are you making your kid wear a cloth rag? Buy a decent mask.

Who is the hillbilly “cloth rag” poster who pops up on every thread?

Look for the kids breathing fresh air unobstructed, with smiles on their unmasked faces that you’ll see beaming from across the room. I’m the parent of those kids.

Now put in your mask and your tinfoil hat and grumble about it.

I hope you will as supportive of your school and teachers if your school has to go remote because of staffing issues.

This will happen.

In our K-8, almost every class has a staff member's kid in it, and due to the lack of subs, many staff members are being asked to cover an hour here or there, or spend the afternoon with two classes in a common area (indoors).

As their kids get sick from the child next to them, more adults have to stay home either to quarantine or take care of them. Usually the teacher is the one making the lower salary and while parents have volunteered to come in, few are compliant with the child safety policies (and the school does not ask if parents are vaccinated, which is fine, but makes the solution of parents stepping in a non-starter.)

Many families hate remote so much that they'd rather have 40 kids in the gym, playing kickball all afternoon, and pay tuition to do it, than put safety first.

The teachers are not just being asked to make a big sacrifice here, they are being asked to put their loved ones in a more vulnerable position, so when people say, "No online school or else" or "I have the freedom to make this choice for my child," they are subtly chanting that their wishes are much more important than the members of the community that have already given up so much.

The secret anchor that keeps teachers in Catholic school is that they love their own families enough to make this work. Now they are not allowed to have a safe workplace and they have to break their contract if they want to transfer out or protect their own families.

Be prepared for less and less qualified staff members to be backfilling those spots. This EO just devalued what we invested in.

But, freedom?

Put all the political issues aside.

Do you truly believe that masks make a difference? I mean honestly?

Read any book on past pandemics and they all say the same thing---masks did not make a difference in transmission of a virus. Lots of books on the 1928 flu if you are interested.

How many friends/family do you personally know that were infected while wearing a mask?

If you would like an anecdote we just moved to a mask-optional school in a different state. Most kids don't wear a mask. Our numbers are not any different than VA.

Yes I truly believe that masking works to curb the spread of respiratory transmitted diseases, it's not 100%, but that's a huge help because omicron is nearly as contagious as measles. Please share many books talking about the 1928 flu which happened around 1918. VA is raging at all time high CV daily infections ever and crazy positivity rates - why we unmask now? well... that's politics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am thoroughly disgusted with the Diocese. No consideration for public health, especially those of teachers or children with underlying conditions. They bent to their conservative members.

My kid’s NoVa Catholic has a 25% vaccination rate, and come Mon kids are free to withhold from masking. During a surge. Outrageous.

What happened to Christian values of thinking of others, being part of a community that supports all of its members? The second my child graduates I am not giving one more penny to the Catholic Church.

1000%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am thoroughly disgusted with the Diocese. No consideration for public health, especially those of teachers or children with underlying conditions. They bent to their conservative members.

My kid’s NoVa Catholic has a 25% vaccination rate, and come Mon kids are free to withhold from masking. During a surge. Outrageous.

What happened to Christian values of thinking of others, being part of a community that supports all of its members? The second my child graduates I am not giving one more penny to the Catholic Church.

I feel the same. I’ve honestly had one foot out the door related to the pedophilia and sexual abuse cover up and enabling.

Agree! The Arlington Diocese answers to the Republican party. That is abundantly clear.

Actually, it proved they follow any Governor. They followed a Democrat last fall, and now a republican. You can’t claim they are taking political sides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am thoroughly disgusted with the Diocese. No consideration for public health, especially those of teachers or children with underlying conditions. They bent to their conservative members.

My kid’s NoVa Catholic has a 25% vaccination rate, and come Mon kids are free to withhold from masking. During a surge. Outrageous.

What happened to Christian values of thinking of others, being part of a community that supports all of its members? The second my child graduates I am not giving one more penny to the Catholic Church.

I feel the same. I’ve honestly had one foot out the door related to the pedophilia and sexual abuse cover up and enabling.

Agree! The Arlington Diocese answers to the Republican party. That is abundantly clear.

Actually, it proved they follow any Governor. They followed a Democrat last fall, and now a republican. You can’t claim they are taking political sides.

I have no doubt the Diocese lawyers told them that the EO does not override state law. They made this choice knowing that.