The past four months have been challenging for River Road Students, Staff, Parents, and Community. I want to take a moment and express "Thankfulness" for the amount of grace that has been extended to us during this crazy COVID-19 period. I know it has been extremely frustrating for many, especially when things seem to change weekly.

As our students and staff head into Thanksgiving Break, I ask all parents to exercise caution in allowing student gatherings to take place in homes. As our COVID-19 response team and the Amarillo Health Department come in and contact trace exposures, we find many of these exposures are taking place outside of the school and brought into the school. As a result of this, we are losing a significant amount of staff and students to quarantines daily. lt just takes one student who came to school ill and later tested positive for COVID-19 to place many students and/or staff members into a 1 4-day quarantine situation.

Our masking policies are in effect, but there are times when students are not properly wearing their masks, participating in athletics, or eating when they are potentially exposed and put into quarantine. We can't afford to continue losing students and staff members to this virus and quarantines, so I ask everyone, including my staff, to consider this request as they plan for next week.

Again, thank you so much for the patience and grace that you have exhibited during this trying time. I feel strongly that we are moving in the right direction, and our students are receiving a much better education through in-class instruction. lf you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our administrative team. I pray you and your family have a very blessed Thanksgiving Holiday.

It’s a Great Day to be a Wildcat!!!