Back to School Aug 2020

Stop the insanity! Masks are suppressing our children’s immune systems and doing more harm than good. Children are barely affected by the virus and the masks are totally unnecessary. Thank you for your time and attention .

Stop the insanity. Let our children breathe and not suppress their immune system. Masks are full of bacteria and cause great harm to children as well as adults. Thank you for your time in this matter.

Our kids need a stable, in-person education. Please keep our schools open

Notre Dame is moving forward with school and athletics. St. Joe has moved forward with athletic practices. Our Catholic Churches are having mass. I feel we should move forward with education, using educated decisions to guide the process.

The educational consequences of falling behind could not only negatively impact current learning but also result in long term/life long deficiencies.

ALL the schools should be open. It is the parents, and ONLY the parents, who make the decision on whether to send their child to school.

I am also not signing this. As a Catholic parent, seeing this sort of petition created by and signed by other Catholic parents is very disturbing. You are essentially saying that you value your child having a social life over the life of other human beings. There are life-threatening health risks involved, not to mention a lifetime of potential psychological trauma that comes with the grief of losing a teacher, friend, classmate or family member. Has anyone stopped to think about that? I thought we were pro-life, because it seems as though many have forgotten the value of a life. One death is too many. Hopefully, if we can get our collective numbers down by temporarily keeping kids home a bit longer, social distancing (maybe stop having parties and large gatherings) and ALL wearing masks, this will only be a short/temporary period, but the longer others continue to ignore this and behave irresponsibly, the longer this will be an issue. We have to realize that kids could all be very easily going back to school with no problem, if we had a downward trend in cases for 14 straight days - but at this rate, it seems impossible. If you want your kids back in school so badly, please encourage everyone to do their part in order to flatten the curve again so that it’s safe for everyone to return. Also, I implore you to think about the teachers. We trust them enough to educate our children, so we should trust them enough to make these decisions and respect them by listening to their thoughts & opinions on the matter. It is them, after all, who are making the sacrifices. Unless of course, you are willing to add your name to the substitute teacher list. Judging by this petition, looks like we have over 400 volunteers so far. P.S. Any claim to the regular flu season being worse than COVID-19 is a moot point. Remember, we have a vaccine for the flu. The flu has been around long enough to know that even though it too can have a deadly outcome, it does not necessarily cause

As an educator I find this very distressing and scary. We don't know how kids handle covid because we LEFT school in March. Also, school WILL NOT be the fun social, interactive, and welcoming place it was before. It will be sterile, cold and isolating. I know because I teach! I can't hug a kid, high five them, comfort a crying kinder kid, I can't tie their shoes! They will see a teacher from 6 ft away, under a mask and shield, using a voice amplifier telling them to open their Chromebooks because we can't use paper and books. This isn't a joke. My son has a legitimate heart condition . If I bring this back from school or he gets it at school, it could kill him. There are teachers who have died. There are kids who have died. Can we pinpoint from where? No. But out of respect for each human life we must treat this virus with caution and respect. We must treat our teachers and staff with love and respect - respect their fears and respect the reservations they may have for in person teaching. We KNOW how easy germs spread in schools because we are there, on the ground. I hope everyone who says it's safe signs up to be a sub here and in your local public district because we are going to need you. I'm not signing this. I will leave this to the educational experts and the schools - in the trenches to make this choice. Just know that the education you are asking for does not exist at this point in time. It will not be back for a while. Please remember every human life who walks in the building is valued.

Do not give in to fear and panic. Persevere in God's plan.

We need to be in school.

Parents deciding on the risks for their children is a better answer than others deciding for us.

If taken the precautions that are necessary, we can have a safe environment for our children and staff .

I can appreciate the level of concern on both sides of the situation. I think we all agree that this is challenging. Here is a great perspective for a Nurse Practitioner I have the pleasure of collaborating with routinely. Her data is strong and her opinion on that data is rooted in sound science and experience in promoting health. This 30 minute video is worth the watch.... https://youtu.be/UJp4YYjDo3Y

Please open our schools. Need to have balance and concern over long term ill effects like mental health issues. Educating our kids has got to be a priority. Low risk with covid 19 and the economy and educating our kids can't continue to be sacrificed.

While the death rate may have declined (possibly due to understanding more about the nature of the virus, and how it is attacking & causing inflammation that is leading to blood clots), this is not a simple flu virus. Patients are faced with prolonged illness & possible chronic illness due to this virus. Even patients without chronic underlying medical conditions or those in higher risk groups. See this published at CDC on Friday: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6930e1.htm?s_cid=mm6930e1_w&fbclid=IwAR0AdCpYhFmPH5o9hnO4ENoO9tUPItRZ7L8PsLCOyuWCox6hgQHw9XR3jDQ

I agree. Choice is essential. Our Catholic identity is giving way to the government’s opinion and hype. When the government tells us there is no room for God in our schools then what? Preserving choice is essential it is the slipper slope You Our Church taught us To watch out for and guard against. Please, Stand by what you taught us to stand up for.

I agree. It is the nature of a carona virus to become more infectious less lethal. That nature is so the virus survives, which it cannot do if it kills its host. The science of this nearly asymptomatic virus is that it is lethal in the marginalized. As Catholics we should be reaching out to protect our warehoused elderly, indigent, and homeless. The real tragic picture is the demographics of those who are ill is not being shared. What happened in Italy? Who are the sick in Spain? Why is this data not being shared?

And a mask at school will not help emotional health either. I agree.

So true. Standardized testing and teach to pass a standardized test has not been good for students or teachers.

That is true enough. Then there is also the scriptural wisdom that when you do the right thing you attract support and attackers. Remember, “They will hate you because of me, “ and “know that when they hate you they hated me first.” I agree we have to be willing to gently offer a good example of returning to school.