Dear Parents and Members of the Mount Shasta High School Community,

Recent incidents at Mount Shasta High School have been portrayed incorrectly and with great exaggeration on social media sites.  At Mount Shasta High School, we hold  the privacy of our students and families with great respect.  Therefore, we, the professionals at Mount Shasta High School, do not engage in commenting on the many gross inaccuracies reported on social media.  

The safety and wellbeing of our students, and your children, has always been and will continue to always be our primary focus at Mount Shasta High School.   While we have policies and procedures in place to safeguard your students from harm, occasionally, students make poor choices and violations of these policies occur.  Our staff and I work diligently with the appropriate community agencies when this occurs to ensure that any and all potential harm is prevented.  We continue to review and revise our actions with each occurrence.

If there are questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at Mount Shasta High School.  I appreciate your understanding and cooperation in respecting our student and family safety and privacy policies.

With Warm Regards,

Rachel Wolmar

Principal Mount Shasta High School

Michael Wharton

Superintendent, Siskiyou Union High School District

Students and Families:

“We are entering a busy winter virus season – with RSV, flu and COVID-19 spreading – and urge parents and guardians to vaccinate their children as soon as possible against flu and COVID-19,” says California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director Dr. Tomás Aragón.

This ‘tripledemic,’ increases the risk of grave illness, loss of work and school days.

COVID-19, Influenza, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus, otherwise known as RSV, spread through airborne aerosols or droplet inhalation of germs and through contaminated surfaces that infect our hands. Respiratory viruses enter our bodies through our eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs, so basic prevention tips, like frequent hand-washing, mask-wearing and staying home when sick cannot be overemphasized.

CDPH reports the 2022-2023 RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) season began earlier than usual. RSV cases typically rise in December, but this season, activity began to increase in October, officials said.

Symptoms of RSV may look and feel like a common cold and include runny nose, decreased appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever and wheezing. They typically last a week or two and clear up with rest and fluids. Notably, this virus is particularly problematic for smaller children; at least 15 have already died, and the California Department of Public Health on Monday reported our state’s first death in a child under 5 years of age due to the flu and RSV.

An aggressive increase in flu (Influenza) cases in California has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to escalate the state from a low to a high category— the only high category status on the West Coast.

It is common for illnesses to threaten vulnerable persons such as children and elders by entering homes by otherwise healthy students that contact germs at school.

CDPH is providing COVID home test kits for all California students and these are available for retrieval at school. Check with your office staff. Please take them home for the Thanksgiving break and use them to screen yourself prior to returning back to campus on November 28. Students with respiratory illness should not come to school without clearance. Please call us. We are here to support you.

Wishing you a restful vacation! Let’s return well and recharged, ready to enjoy the winter season’s festivities to come.   Nurse Barbra

Flu and Respiratory Virus Data Sources:

• https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH Document Library/Immunization/Week2022-2343_FINALReport.pdf

• https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/Influenza.aspx

National RSV Data:

• https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/nrevss/rsv/hhsregion.html

CDC RSV Information:

• https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html

Dear Parents, Students and Staff,

The Winter season is upon us and we will be taking a break to enjoy the holidays with family and friends.  As you are out and about, the chances of exposure to COVID 19 will be increased.  We want you all to fully enjoy this time off from school, but we also want to help ensure that upon returning to school, we are all healthy.  Our priority is to keep school open and our students safe.  Please help us in doing this by following the guidelines below:

Please take-home COVID-19 Rapid Tests. All students and school employees will receive free tests to use before returning to school after Thanksgiving Break. Take test #1: 3 days before returning to school (Friday,Nov 25, 2022 and take test #2 1 day before returning to school (Sunday, Nov 27, 2022. 

Be safe and have a great Break!

Sincerely,

Rachel Wolmar, Principal