Aloha nui e ko Kamehameha Hawaiʻi ē,

As we pass the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, we send our sincere mahalo to our kauhale for staying informed about current conditions in our community and adjusting and adhering to critical safety protocols to preserve in-person learning.

We have learned and adapted with each variant. Omicron, though less severe, is a more contagious variant, and our community infection rate remains high. Therefore, based on what we know now, we have modified the following plan for the next month, through February 18:

Evolving our Testing Strategy
Our current testing protocols will remain relatively unchanged. We will continue to offer free testing on campus on a voluntary basis for any staff or student who wishes to be tested to meet any program or BIIF athletic competition requirements. Additionally, we will be shifting required weekly testing from the Shield T3 saliva test to the PMG rapid shallow nasal swab test,allowing for more timely results and contact tracing if needed. More information will be shared within two weeks.

Learning Continuity
We understand the concerns about safety during this surge, and as a temporary measure, we will be offering concurrent learning where students can learn from home through February 18. Students in concurrent learning would not participate in sports or other co-curricular activities held in-person. This will provide ʻohana with a choice on how they manage this phase of the pandemic for their unique situation by:

• Allowing keiki who learn best in the classroom to still have in-person instruction, access to extracurriculars, and on-site support; or 
• Offering the option for ʻohana to choose to keep their keiki connected to the classroom virtually.

Information about what concurrent learning will look like in each division will be shared by your division poʻo.

Layers of Safety Protocols
We will continue with our safety practices including masking indoors and outdoors, appropriate physical distancing when gathering, providing testing to all students and employees, partnering with community organizations to provide on-campus vaccinations and boosters as a convenience, and wearing the SaferMe badge to aid in more accurate contact tracing.
 

Mahalo for your strength, resilience, and aloha of our Kamehameha Hawaiʻi kauhale. As we have done over the past two years, we will keep an eye on community conditions and be informed of the latest guidance from health experts. We look forward to the day when we will be able to ease our safety protocols. In the meantime, we are offering options to allow for flexibility given our current environment.

Mahalo!

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ks hawaii,covid-19

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Kaipuolono Article, Hawaii Newsroom, KS Hawaii Home, Hawaii Elementary School, Hawaii Middle School, Hawaii High School, Newsroom, Campus Programs, Hawaii, Hawaii campus

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