We had a PTA meeting last night. I was feeling really down about my kids doing the concurrent model, but I feel better about it now, at least for DS2. He is in kinder and the classroom will be only 6 students (including him). They will have the teacher teaching in small groups, and then a teaching assistant and then a staff member to help monitor independent work or specials. They will get to eat lunch outside (weather permitting) and get to play on the playground. WE still don't have a return date, but a neighboring district is returning March 16 so I assume ours will be similar.
My kids are STILL going to school on different days and that makes me sad. Not because I want them both out of the house at the same time (because I do) but I just had this vision of my oldest walking his youngest into school on the first day. I mean it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, I just hate that he won't be there to watch out of him.
This seems like poor planning -- your family is getting twice the exposure this way. Can the school not organize so that siblings attend on the same days?
No, they don't have enough room. The building is built for 400 and has almost 900 kids. They need to prioritize class room size since they can only have 6-13 kids per class so they had to base it on how many kids picked hybrid per class. But I don't think they are getting twice the exposure than they would otherwise. They would still be in two classes with multiple different teachers regardless.
We got DD2 tested today and are awaiting results. I just got my negative results from yesterday’s test. DD1 is still asymptomatic. DH will get retested because his Sunday test may have been too early if she’s patient zero in the house. I’m trying to remain optimistic that DD2 is negative but they had several days in the house together before we knew about the classroom case and they jump all over each other. If they’re both positive and DH and I are not, we will call up scientists to see if they want to study us lol. DH and I were both due for our second vaccine doses today and tomorrow but those are obviously postponed.
You both had your first doses? I'm sure that has something to do with it. Nevertheless, definitely see if there is a place you can report your experience because it may be useful data to collect.
I hope DD2 and H are negative.
Yup, both 18 days before the day of her test (14 days after likely transmission day). I know there’s tons of stories of household members just getting lucky and that could still be the case here (if the rest of us truly are negative since I decided to retest with DH on Friday), but happy to lend some info to anyone who needs it for data gathering.
We got DD2 tested today and are awaiting results. I just got my negative results from yesterday’s test. DD1 is still asymptomatic. DH will get retested because his Sunday test may have been too early if she’s patient zero in the house. I’m trying to remain optimistic that DD2 is negative but they had several days in the house together before we knew about the classroom case and they jump all over each other. If they’re both positive and DH and I are not, we will call up scientists to see if they want to study us lol. DH and I were both due for our second vaccine doses today and tomorrow but those are obviously postponed.
When I had it, DD and H did not get it. They were tested both right after me and then again a week later. It’s baffling but I’ve heard the same about a lot of families.
We got DD2 tested today and are awaiting results. I just got my negative results from yesterday’s test. DD1 is still asymptomatic. DH will get retested because his Sunday test may have been too early if she’s patient zero in the house. I’m trying to remain optimistic that DD2 is negative but they had several days in the house together before we knew about the classroom case and they jump all over each other. If they’re both positive and DH and I are not, we will call up scientists to see if they want to study us lol. DH and I were both due for our second vaccine doses today and tomorrow but those are obviously postponed.
I read that on average only 50% of household members catch Covid when there’s one infected person. I don’t understand if it’s so contagious why that number is so low
We got DD2 tested today and are awaiting results. I just got my negative results from yesterday’s test. DD1 is still asymptomatic. DH will get retested because his Sunday test may have been too early if she’s patient zero in the house. I’m trying to remain optimistic that DD2 is negative but they had several days in the house together before we knew about the classroom case and they jump all over each other. If they’re both positive and DH and I are not, we will call up scientists to see if they want to study us lol. DH and I were both due for our second vaccine doses today and tomorrow but those are obviously postponed.
I read that on average only 50% of household members catch Covid when there’s one infected person. I don’t understand if it’s so contagious why that number is so low
Same. The teacher confirmed she is not even closest to this child who was the first to be positive in the class. So far, she’s the only other positive case in the class (10 kids in the cohort plus the teacher). But, from what it seems like on the class FB page, many other families didn’t start testing until yesterday or even today if they’ve gone to test at all. I only know one other parent who tested on Sunday like we did after getting the school letter before the snowstorm got bad.
Post by fancynewbeesly on Feb 3, 2021 20:57:06 GMT -5
So our district has rumors going around that they will be combining cohorts and have a 4 hour day-4 days a week and Friday virtual. A lot of my coworkers and I are not comfortable yet: We are writing letters to the superintendent and the board but who knows what they will do.
Right now, in our state: teachers still can't get vaccinated. They don't randomly test students or teachers. I don't believe they upgraded ventilation. Our classes are about 25-30 kids per class. Over the summer they stated that "plexiglass barriers do not work and are too expensive so they refused to invest in them"-but now they want them?
We just had to close 3 elem. schools for rise in cases.
I read that on average only 50% of household members catch Covid when there’s one infected person. I don’t understand if it’s so contagious why that number is so low
Same. The teacher confirmed she is not even closest to this child who was the first to be positive in the class. So far, she’s the only other positive case in the class (10 kids in the cohort plus the teacher). But, from what it seems like on the class FB page, many other families didn’t start testing until yesterday or even today if they’ve gone to test at all. I only know one other parent who tested on Sunday like we did after getting the school letter before the snowstorm got bad.
You are not supposed to test until days 5 - 7 after expsoure. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to test if you are quarantining. My ds had to quarantine over Christmas break - we did not test- just did the 10 days no symptoms. We did test this week as he has a high school placement test on Saturday so we did not want to reschedule if we didn't have to. He was negative but still has to quarantine until Friday.
We had a PTA meeting last night. I was feeling really down about my kids doing the concurrent model, but I feel better about it now, at least for DS2. He is in kinder and the classroom will be only 6 students (including him). They will have the teacher teaching in small groups, and then a teaching assistant and then a staff member to help monitor independent work or specials. They will get to eat lunch outside (weather permitting) and get to play on the playground. WE still don't have a return date, but a neighboring district is returning March 16 so I assume ours will be similar.
My kids are STILL going to school on different days and that makes me sad. Not because I want them both out of the house at the same time (because I do) but I just had this vision of my oldest walking his youngest into school on the first day. I mean it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, I just hate that he won't be there to watch out of him.
Why is that? Is your county not putting siblings together on the same day? Our county is doing that as much as they can (we're the county you referenced).
How does the teacher teach in small groups? What is happening with the online kids while s/he's doing that? Is the TA/other staff member monitoring online?
That's the big problem our teaching force has w/ the concurrent model--in most classrooms, there's just one teacher, so s/he has to juggle it ALL.
Same. The teacher confirmed she is not even closest to this child who was the first to be positive in the class. So far, she’s the only other positive case in the class (10 kids in the cohort plus the teacher). But, from what it seems like on the class FB page, many other families didn’t start testing until yesterday or even today if they’ve gone to test at all. I only know one other parent who tested on Sunday like we did after getting the school letter before the snowstorm got bad.
You are not supposed to test until days 5 - 7 after expsoure. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to test if you are quarantining. My ds had to quarantine over Christmas break - we did not test- just did the 10 days no symptoms. We did test this week as he has a high school placement test on Saturday so we did not want to reschedule if we didn't have to. He was negative but still has to quarantine until Friday.
I would test, and have in this situation (after day 5). If child is asymptomatic but positive, that changes the quarantine time for other household members. I wouldn’t feel right being out in the community myself. But both me and H work out of the home full time, so maybe it is different for families who don’t leave the home at all.
You are not supposed to test until days 5 - 7 after expsoure. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to test if you are quarantining. My ds had to quarantine over Christmas break - we did not test- just did the 10 days no symptoms. We did test this week as he has a high school placement test on Saturday so we did not want to reschedule if we didn't have to. He was negative but still has to quarantine until Friday.
I would test, and have in this situation (after day 5). If child is asymptomatic but positive, that changes the quarantine time for other household members. I wouldn’t feel right being out in the community myself. But both me and H work out of the home full time, so maybe it is different for families who don’t leave the home at all.
True if you work outside the home - we work from home so we don't go out. I only do grocery pick up or delivery.
My parents are getting their second dose Sunday. My husband is vaccinated. I'll be waiting for a while and the kids will get vaccinated as soon as feasible. They are in school full time.
I just...am feeling a bit down because I don't know when we'll be comfortable to see each other. I've seen my parents twice since this started, outside, distanced as they drove from FL to NY to help a relative recover from surgery. When they visit in normal times, they usually stay in my guest room for a few days.
When will we be comfortable with that? Should we wait until everyone is vaccinated? Just the adults? I hate the uncertainty.
Same. The teacher confirmed she is not even closest to this child who was the first to be positive in the class. So far, she’s the only other positive case in the class (10 kids in the cohort plus the teacher). But, from what it seems like on the class FB page, many other families didn’t start testing until yesterday or even today if they’ve gone to test at all. I only know one other parent who tested on Sunday like we did after getting the school letter before the snowstorm got bad.
You are not supposed to test until days 5 - 7 after expsoure. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to test if you are quarantining. My ds had to quarantine over Christmas break - we did not test- just did the 10 days no symptoms. We did test this week as he has a high school placement test on Saturday so we did not want to reschedule if we didn't have to. He was negative but still has to quarantine until Friday.
There is no way I would not test at all even if we could stay home (and we can). This is why there's a serious undercount in this country. Knowing one person in our household is positive is a clear reason for us to test. I mean, I'm living with a living, breathing human being who is bouncing off the walls and acting like her normal self and she has covid, and we'd never know if contact tracers didn't reach out to the school since the family never did. Yes, quarantining for the period certainly helps prevent further spread but maybe my beliefs are influenced by the fact that I've heard more than enough people being advised not to test at all so they don't add to the (already-shitty) case numbers.
Today would be a minimum of 8 days since exposure. DD1 tested positive 4 days after the last day of exposure, which was a Wednesday (which is when contact tracers believe transmission actually did happen, even though it could have happened Monday or Tuesday as well). She didn't go anywhere but school on those days. DH definitely tested too early if she infected him and I'm borderline so I'll retest too. She can't isolate 100% so even if she didn't infect us over the weekend as was likely her peak infectious period, she could have infected us anytime after that and the idea that we shouldn't test or retest is...odd.
Why is that? Is your county not putting siblings together on the same day? Our county is doing that as much as they can (we're the county you referenced).
How does the teacher teach in small groups? What is happening with the online kids while s/he's doing that? Is the TA/other staff member monitoring online?
That's the big problem our teaching force has w/ the concurrent model--in most classrooms, there's just one teacher, so s/he has to juggle it ALL
I think they just can't fit all the grades in the buildings at the same time and they are trying to limit it so teachers only have to go in 2 days a week instead of 4.
The online kids will be doing asych work when she is working with the kids in person. Right now they don't have any monitor when they do asych work so I imagine that will be the same, they will just sign off MS teams and do work (or run around the house as is with my kid lol). Then they will switch and she will teach the virtual kids and the in person kids will do independent work (but monitored with an assistant/staff member). This is just for K-2.
For 3-5 they will be doing true concurrent where she teachers to both. I am not sure how that is going to work, but I guess they are getting training tomorrow.
ETA: Our district is requiring 6 ft spacing, I know some of the other districts are doing 3. So that impacts spacing.
bears, I know I think a lot of us are feeling that. I am. 3 of 4 of our parents will be vaccinated soon, but none of us. H will be next, but still doesn't know or have an appt. The kids and I are obviously unknowns. I was talking to my mom last night and was feeling a shift in my view of focusing on protecting the older adults, to then thinking about protecting the kids over the next few months. I know we've discussed kids and covid a lot here, but the unknowns are still scary.
Post by redheadbaker on Feb 4, 2021 9:29:09 GMT -5
DS has been 100% virtual all school year. I just filled out the parent survey to switch him to hybrid for the last marking period. I'm a little nervous, but I know this will be good for him. On the plus side, I *can't wait* for a few hours of peace and quiet for two days a week.
You are not supposed to test until days 5 - 7 after expsoure. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to test if you are quarantining. My ds had to quarantine over Christmas break - we did not test- just did the 10 days no symptoms. We did test this week as he has a high school placement test on Saturday so we did not want to reschedule if we didn't have to. He was negative but still has to quarantine until Friday.
There is no way I would not test at all even if we could stay home (and we can). This is why there's a serious undercount in this country. Knowing one person in our household is positive is a clear reason for us to test. I mean, I'm living with a living, breathing human being who is bouncing off the walls and acting like her normal self and she has covid, and we'd never know if contact tracers didn't reach out to the school since the family never did. Yes, quarantining for the period certainly helps prevent further spread but maybe my beliefs are influenced by the fact that I've heard more than enough people being advised not to test at all so they don't add to the (already-shitty) case numbers.
Today would be a minimum of 8 days since exposure. DD1 tested positive 4 days after the last day of exposure, which was a Wednesday (which is when contact tracers believe transmission actually did happen, even though it could have happened Monday or Tuesday as well). She didn't go anywhere but school on those days. DH definitely tested too early if she infected him and I'm borderline so I'll retest too. She can't isolate 100% so even if she didn't infect us over the weekend as was likely her peak infectious period, she could have infected us anytime after that and the idea that we shouldn't test or retest is...odd.
Lurker.... my teenager just had covid. We did absolutely nothing to isolate her or try to keep it from spreading in the house. So far, 12 days after she tested positive no one else has it. I’ve tested 3x (with her on day 0, day 4, and day 7) with a fourth and final test this weekend (on day 15). I’m also having antibodies drawn at that time. DH tested once on day 7. The other two kids tested on day 7 and again on day 11 and will test once more on day 16. I personally wanted the data because I find it fascinating. But, also my teen now has a quarantine waiver for 90 days and if my other kids had an asymptomatic case they would also get a quarantine waiver so I’d want to know if they had it. That, in itself, provided a lot of incentive to test. Alas, it didn’t spread apparently. Which is great, but also super bizarre, like how is that even possible?
Post by Velar Fricative on Feb 4, 2021 10:26:39 GMT -5
Glad she's okay, mrsGreeko! We are wearing masks around the house and keeping windows open because anything helps, but we still had nearly 6 full days before we knew she was positive where we acted like normal inside the house. So while she likes staying in her room alone sometimes, she won't stay up there all day nor do I expect her to.
And yes, I've always been a data geek and the pandemic has definitely made me geekier. I mean, I hate that my kid has it and I'm annoyed that we've gone this long only for this to happen, but I still finding myself treating our household like a science experiment right now.
There is no way I would not test at all even if we could stay home (and we can). This is why there's a serious undercount in this country. Knowing one person in our household is positive is a clear reason for us to test. I mean, I'm living with a living, breathing human being who is bouncing off the walls and acting like her normal self and she has covid, and we'd never know if contact tracers didn't reach out to the school since the family never did. Yes, quarantining for the period certainly helps prevent further spread but maybe my beliefs are influenced by the fact that I've heard more than enough people being advised not to test at all so they don't add to the (already-shitty) case numbers.
Today would be a minimum of 8 days since exposure. DD1 tested positive 4 days after the last day of exposure, which was a Wednesday (which is when contact tracers believe transmission actually did happen, even though it could have happened Monday or Tuesday as well). She didn't go anywhere but school on those days. DH definitely tested too early if she infected him and I'm borderline so I'll retest too. She can't isolate 100% so even if she didn't infect us over the weekend as was likely her peak infectious period, she could have infected us anytime after that and the idea that we shouldn't test or retest is...odd.
Lurker.... my teenager just had covid. We did absolutely nothing to isolate her or try to keep it from spreading in the house. So far, 12 days after she tested positive no one else has it. I’ve tested 3x (with her on day 0, day 4, and day 7) with a fourth and final test this weekend (on day 15). I’m also having antibodies drawn at that time. DH tested once on day 7. The other two kids tested on day 7 and again on day 11 and will test once more on day 16. I personally wanted the data because I find it fascinating. But, also my teen now has a quarantine waiver for 90 days and if my other kids had an asymptomatic case they would also get a quarantine waiver so I’d want to know if they had it. That, in itself, provided a lot of incentive to test. Alas, it didn’t spread apparently. Which is great, but also super bizarre, like how is that even possible?
day 7 after she first tested really doesn’t tell you if the rest of you got it since you were still being exposed to virus at that time, let alone the incubation period before your family would become contagious. So many people mess up the testing that I don’t give much credence to ‘no one else in the family caught it’ claims. people rarely do adequate testing like you personally have..
Lurker.... my teenager just had covid. We did absolutely nothing to isolate her or try to keep it from spreading in the house. So far, 12 days after she tested positive no one else has it. I’ve tested 3x (with her on day 0, day 4, and day 7) with a fourth and final test this weekend (on day 15). I’m also having antibodies drawn at that time. DH tested once on day 7. The other two kids tested on day 7 and again on day 11 and will test once more on day 16. I personally wanted the data because I find it fascinating. But, also my teen now has a quarantine waiver for 90 days and if my other kids had an asymptomatic case they would also get a quarantine waiver so I’d want to know if they had it. That, in itself, provided a lot of incentive to test. Alas, it didn’t spread apparently. Which is great, but also super bizarre, like how is that even possible?
day 7 after she first tested really doesn’t tell you if the rest of you got it since you were still being exposed to virus at that time, let alone the incubation period before your family would become contagious. So many people mess up the testing that I don’t give much credence to ‘no one else in the family caught it’ claims. people rarely do adequate testing like you personally have..
I know that. It was just a convenient day to test. And which is why there are additional tests after that. We are still isolated. The testing doesn’t change that. But, it’s 13 days since she tested positive and still not a single person has tested positive or had symptoms (other than some headaches here and there which occurred on or prior to the testing days). So it seems unlikely anyone will test positive at this point, however it remains possible, hence the additional testing.
Glad she's okay, mrsGreeko! We are wearing masks around the house and keeping windows open because anything helps, but we still had nearly 6 full days before we knew she was positive where we acted like normal inside the house. So while she likes staying in her room alone sometimes, she won't stay up there all day nor do I expect her to.
And yes, I've always been a data geek and the pandemic has definitely made me geekier. I mean, I hate that my kid has it and I'm annoyed that we've gone this long only for this to happen, but I still finding myself treating our household like a science experiment right now.
My kid stayed in her room the first 2 days because she felt sick and didn’t want to get up, but DH and I went in regularly to give her food and check on her. No masks, no extra cleaning, no increased ventilation. Really expected it would just go through the house. But it doesn’t seem to be. So weird. She got it from her BF. And in his house him, his mom, and his youngest sister got it. His dad and middle brother did not. They also didn’t take any precautions to keep it from spreading in the household.
day 7 after she first tested really doesn’t tell you if the rest of you got it since you were still being exposed to virus at that time, let alone the incubation period before your family would become contagious. So many people mess up the testing that I don’t give much credence to ‘no one else in the family caught it’ claims. people rarely do adequate testing like you personally have..
I know that. It was just a convenient day to test. And which is why there are additional tests after that. We are still isolated. The testing doesn’t change that. But, it’s 13 days since she tested positive and still not a single person has tested positive or had symptoms (other than some headaches here and there which occurred on or prior to the testing days). So it seems unlikely anyone will test positive at this point, however it remains possible, hence the additional testing.
yes - sorry my point was that your family is doing what few others seem to do and adequately testing.
ETA: like the kid at DD's school who wasn't tested because "its only an exhaustion cold" but then the rest of the family had covid 2 weeks later. But they claim he never did. hmmmm.....
I know that. It was just a convenient day to test. And which is why there are additional tests after that. We are still isolated. The testing doesn’t change that. But, it’s 13 days since she tested positive and still not a single person has tested positive or had symptoms (other than some headaches here and there which occurred on or prior to the testing days). So it seems unlikely anyone will test positive at this point, however it remains possible, hence the additional testing.
yes - sorry my point was that your family is doing what few others seem to do and adequately testing.
Yeah I don’t understand not wanting to KNOW! Plus there are incentives to picking up asymptomatic cases: you can potentially be released from isolation earlier if you get a positive test quickly after patient 0 and you can get a quarantine waiver from the school district. All pluses. That said my younger kids and DH balked at doing nasal swabs so I tracked down saliva based testing for them (which is apparently more accurate any way). And then the school district conveniently added saliva mobile labs in the district right when I needed them so additional testing for the kids became incredibly easy. I can see why you might not test if the nasal swab is very traumatic for your child and they have no symptoms and you don’t have access to saliva testing and maybe you have to pay for testing and you are in isolation any way.
Post by Velar Fricative on Feb 4, 2021 11:01:38 GMT -5
Saliva testing is more accurate?!? I had no idea. DD2 got her nasal swab yesterday and cried hysterically (she's 3). She did much better with it in late December when she was exposed at preschool, so while we'll continue to get her tested I'll check up on this.
There is no way I would not test at all even if we could stay home (and we can). This is why there's a serious undercount in this country. Knowing one person in our household is positive is a clear reason for us to test. I mean, I'm living with a living, breathing human being who is bouncing off the walls and acting like her normal self and she has covid, and we'd never know if contact tracers didn't reach out to the school since the family never did. Yes, quarantining for the period certainly helps prevent further spread but maybe my beliefs are influenced by the fact that I've heard more than enough people being advised not to test at all so they don't add to the (already-shitty) case numbers.
Today would be a minimum of 8 days since exposure. DD1 tested positive 4 days after the last day of exposure, which was a Wednesday (which is when contact tracers believe transmission actually did happen, even though it could have happened Monday or Tuesday as well). She didn't go anywhere but school on those days. DH definitely tested too early if she infected him and I'm borderline so I'll retest too. She can't isolate 100% so even if she didn't infect us over the weekend as was likely her peak infectious period, she could have infected us anytime after that and the idea that we shouldn't test or retest is...odd.
Lurker.... my teenager just had covid. We did absolutely nothing to isolate her or try to keep it from spreading in the house. So far, 12 days after she tested positive no one else has it. I’ve tested 3x (with her on day 0, day 4, and day 7) with a fourth and final test this weekend (on day 15). I’m also having antibodies drawn at that time. DH tested once on day 7. The other two kids tested on day 7 and again on day 11 and will test once more on day 16. I personally wanted the data because I find it fascinating. But, also my teen now has a quarantine waiver for 90 days and if my other kids had an asymptomatic case they would also get a quarantine waiver so I’d want to know if they had it. That, in itself, provided a lot of incentive to test. Alas, it didn’t spread apparently. Which is great, but also super bizarre, like how is that even possible?
My 4 year old nephew had it (he had a fever for a day or two and was fine otherwise) my sister was positive too but her husband and 8 year old were negative. Her husband was also negative for antibodies after. It’s so crazy! The 4 year old was hanging all over her H, how??
Saliva testing is more accurate?!? I had no idea. DD2 got her nasal swab yesterday and cried hysterically (she's 3). She did much better with it in late December when she was exposed at preschool, so while we'll continue to get her tested I'll check up on this.
The medical professional guy at the place we did testing said nasal swabs are 95-97% accurate and saliva testing is 98-99% accurate. Saliva is definitely more difficult to find though. The nose swab drive thrus are everyone around here, but we had to drive 30 minutes to a specific urgent care that was offering saliva testing. Now that the school district is offering it as well my life got a whole lot easier. My 9 year old DS is not an easy child and medical stuff in particular can be extremely difficult with him and he was freaking out about a potential nasal test so it was so much easier to put the effort into finding saliva testing for him.
My parents are getting their second dose Sunday. My husband is vaccinated. I'll be waiting for a while and the kids will get vaccinated as soon as feasible. They are in school full time.
I just...am feeling a bit down because I don't know when we'll be comfortable to see each other. I've seen my parents twice since this started, outside, distanced as they drove from FL to NY to help a relative recover from surgery. When they visit in normal times, they usually stay in my guest room for a few days.
When will we be comfortable with that? Should we wait until everyone is vaccinated? Just the adults? I hate the uncertainty.
This is going to be so different for everyone. From what I understand the chances that being vaccinated cuts down your ability to transmit the virus to others is pretty good, we just don’t have data to point to yet. So if 3 out of 4 adults are vaccinated and your general exposure won’t change (like your kids are already in school, that risk is a constant), then I think visiting is something I’d be comfortable with.
Though take that with a grain of salt because we still see my in-laws without having been vaccinated- they’re both retired and don’t go anywhere, we’re all learning/working virtually. So our risk levels may be different.