Due to recent cases of COVID-19 in the community, Okarche Schools will stay virtual for the week after Thanksgiving break.
The current plan calls for students to return to school Dec. 7. Superintendent Josh Sumrall reports the decision was made to help slow the spread of the virus.
Holy Trinity Catholic School will return to the classroom Monday, Nov. 30.
Okarche Schools have been open for in-person learning since August.
Basketball games scheduled for Dec. 1 at home against Watonga have been postponed due to cases reported from Watonga.
Sumrall released the following statement on the district’s social media page.
“Okarche Teachers, Staff, Students, Parents and Community,
I hope everyone had a safe Thanksgiving Break! Okarche Public Schools has three weeks (Nov. 30th – Dec. 18th) remaining in the first semester of school. We are focused on getting through those three weeks the best that we can and will try to plan one week at a time based on daily evaluations of how things are going with COVID numbers in our school and community. It is no secret that we believe in-person school is the best educational atmosphere for our students and we will strive for that approach as much as possible. That being said, there are many variables that are included in the in-person vs virtual decision. After speaking and consulting with our local medical professionals, they have reported that our community has had a concerning amount of Okarche students, staff members and community members test positive this Thanksgiving week, along with several being hospitalized. They have said and recommended that if we could take another week off, after Thanksgiving, that it would tremendously help the community recover and possibly slow down the spread of the virus. In taking their medical professional opinion, Okarche Public Schools (Elementary, Junior High, & High School) will transition to virtual learning for the week of November 30th-December 4th. At this time, our plan will be to return to in-person school on Monday, December 7th. Principals and teachers will send out the virtual plan for your child’s classroom. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, but feel it is best for our school and community.”
The elementary and junior high basketball games scheduled for Nov. 30 and Dec. 3 are canceled.
The high school basketball game on December 1st vs Watonga has been canceled due to COVID cases within the Watonga teams, Sumrall reports.
The high school basketball games scheduled for December 4th at Fairview and make-up game at Harding Fine Arts on Saturday, December 5th are both still on at this time.
