Bend Senior High School 230 NE 6th St Bend OR 97701 Principal: Christopher Reese 
 
February 11, 2021 
 
Dear Bend High School Families,  This informational letter is to let you know that we have been made aware that a person associated with your student’s school, Bend High School has been diagnosed with COVID-19.  The name of the person is protected by federal law through HIPAA. The individual was on site on February 8. Our health team has completed an investigation, which includes contacting tracing, regarding this case.  Note: If at any time your child is identified as a being a close contact to a person diagnosed with COVID-19, please know you will receive a close contact tracing communication - in addition to this school wide notification. If you do not receive an individual contact, your child was not a close contact of the case. (Close contact: defined as having a cumulative of 15 minutes or more of less than 6-foot distancing within 24 hours)    If your student, or anyone in your home, becomes sick with one or more of the following symptoms between now through February 22, please contact your health care provider for guidance: Fever of 100.4 or more; chills; loss of taste or smell; cough; difficulty breathing; sore throat; headache; congestion/runny nose; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea (3 or more watery stools in 24 hours); muscle aches/pains; and/or fatigue. *Please notify your student’s school if your student develops symptoms.  
 
More information can be found on the Oregon Department of Education’s COVID-19 page, the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 page and Bend-La Pine Schools COVID-19 Communications. 
 
The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to practice good health hygiene habits. Wearing a mask will reduce the spread of virus and help prevent those who have the virus (with or without symptoms) from passing it to others. Be sure to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, cover your coughs and sneezes, and avoid contact with people who have signs of illness. Get plenty of rest, exercise, and eat a healthy diet. Stay home if you are sick. Protect the community by following the Governor’s social distancing requirements. 
I am including, below my signature, information about contact tracing, positive case notification and more for your review.  
I am empathetic that these messages may cause concern. We believe that it is important to keep our families in the loop while reinforcing positive behaviors that help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community while balancing trust and transparency through this information sharing. 
 
If you have any questions, please contact the Bend High School COVID Safety Team Lead, Gabe Pagano and/or Nurse Shanon Bryant.  Sincerely, 
 
 
Christopher Reese, Principal Bend Senior High School 
 
 
 
Bend Senior High School 230 NE 6th St Bend OR 97701 Principal: Christopher Reese 
 
COVID-19 What to Expect & Prevention Letter – emailed home on February 12, 2021 
 Dear families,   As schools are reopening for more in-person instruction, we want to take a moment to share details about what to expect when there is a positive COVID-19 case in a school setting. We know many of you may have questions about the process and we want to help explain so that the steps are clear.   Positive Case Notification When we become aware that a person positive with COVID-19 has been in our school, we will communicate with all school families. This notification is intended to raise awareness and provide transparency and does not imply that there was a close contact exposure with students  It is our hope that these updates will help to keep top of mind the ways that we can all work to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities and to provide you with timely information about cases in our community that have a nexus to our schools. 
 
We understand that this notification may generate questions or concerns. Most cases of COVID-19 that we have seen to date, among our staff and students, have been community spread. And our safety practices and protocols have helped to reduce spread into our schools.   Once a positive case has been identified, we work quickly to determine if there has been an exposure at school and who, if anyone, is a close contact of that individual.   Contact Tracing Once a report of a positive case is confirmed, our designated COVID-19 support staff take a look back, 48hours, from the date of symptom onset (for symptomatic individuals) or the date the COVID-19 test was administered (for asymptomatic individuals). Information is collected and reviewed on staff/student attendance, transportation (bus, carpool), and staff and student interactions to help identify close contacts of the COVID positive individual. After this thorough review, our designated COVID support staff will reach out to identified close contacts and provide instructions for quarantine, based on state and local public health guidelines.   We want our families to know: If your child is ever identified as a being in a cohort where a close contact was made, please know you will receive a separate close contact communication - in addition to the school wide exposure notification. If you do not receive a separate close contact communication from the district, your student has NOT been identified as a close contact of the case. (Close contact: defined as having a cumulative of 15 minutes or more of less than 6-foot distancing within 24 hours)   You can learn more about our processes in detail by reviewing our District’s COVID-19 Communication toolkit.   We are partnering closely with our district’s nursing team and local public health officials who will provide support and direction for managing COVID-19 related scenarios that impact our school community.   Quarantine Instruction Teachers will continue to provide learning materials and instruction to students who are quarantining. It is possible that an entire cohort or school could be closed due to quarantine requirements. In such cases, learning would continue remotely through Comprehensive Distance Learning.   Additionally, our district has hired 16 new staff members to help support and fill-in for teachers and classroom staff throughout the pandemic, as well as more than 350 individuals from the High Desert ESD substitute pool who have said that they stand ready to help. 
Bend Senior High School 230 NE 6th St Bend OR 97701 Principal: Christopher Reese 
  Reminders We want our community to protect themselves against COVID-19. Here are some ways to protect your family: ? Keep children who are sick at home. Don’t send them to school. ? Teach your children to wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Be sure to set a good example by doing this yourself. ? Teach your children to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or by coughing into the inside of the elbow. Be sure to set a good example by doing this yourself. ? Limit gatherings and wear masks around individuals outside of your household.   More information can be found on the Oregon Department of Education’s Ready Schools, Safe Learners page, the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 page and our Return to School webpage.   Thank you for doing your part to help make our community safer for students, staff and families.   All the best,   Christopher Reese, Principal Bend Senior High School