Stressful but successful start to the year

As the summer progressed, Prep made several changes to the daily routine of students and faculty so that they could go to school while on campus, hopefully for the entire school year. The school does not want to have to repeat the remote learning process that occurred in the fourth term of last school year. This is why the school has put forth several safety measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

At the beginning of the year, students were told how to return to Prep’s campus safely. From wearing masks to using hand sanitizer, students are instructed on how to stay safe while attending school Also, Prep has allowed people to choose to attend school remotely if they would like to do so. 

Another precaution has been announcements from Head of School Mr. Lawrence Coco. He has spoken over the school intercom several times to encourage students and also tell them what areas they need to improve in, such as socially distancing while outside if the students are not wearing masks. He has sent out videos of himself as well, providing information and giving instructions, such as a reminder to stay safe before the Labor Day weekend. 

Additional precautions that Prep has taken involve football games and pep rallies. The student section of home games is limited to students who get admission passes, which are handed out through a lottery basis from the senior high office and to participants of the game, who can give their extra passes to friends or family. The first pep rally that occurred this year was in the gym and was limited to seniors. They were spread out across the stands, with the football team spread out on the visitors’ stands on the opposite side of the gym. The pep rally was live streamed for others to watch as well. 

It is very fortunate that Prep has been able to have sports events this far into the year. There have been two varsity football games cancelled due to COVID-related issues, one against Oak Forest and the other versus Lamar.

Mr. Coco said that “We need to stay disciplined as we move forward with the school year to make sure that we can stay on campus. I am really proud of our entire Prep community, including students, faculty and staff, and parents, has acted with our new procedures, but we need to continue doing them vigilantly for the remainder of the semester.” He also said that if there was one place that Prep needs to be particularly disciplined, it is making sure that everyone is wearing a mask outside unless they are six feet apart, which was addressed in a new rule that was added into Prep’s COVID protocols. 

Prep has had one significant protocol change as the semester progressed, which is the addition of a rule stating that students have to wear a mask while they are outside if they are not socially distancing. 

Mr. Coco also said that Prep is monitoring the CDC, Department of Health, and local medical professionals to make sure the COVID procedures are up to date, which is shown in that Prep has had to update its procedures several times throughout the semester.  Mr. Coco also wants to emphasize that he is very appreciative of the Prep staff and coaches as they have worked extremely hard to ensure that school can continue on campus along with sports activities.