News & Announcements

This week, we are celebrating Staff Appreciation. At our April Board meeting, the BDUESD Board of Trustees passed a resolution recognizing the work we strive to accomplish with our students and community.

Earlier this school year, Bonny Doon Union Elementary School District was encouraged by our partners at the SC County Office of Education to apply for state recognition for our work during 2020-2021 distance learning. I am extremely proud and excited to announce that our district is selected by the state for recognition.

Today represents a major milestone for our schools, as the statewide masking mandate is set to expire at midnight. When students and staff return to school on Monday, March 14 – as well as
during any school events this weekend – masking will be strongly recommended, but no longer required. Please read the attached letter with important information.

With declining case rates and hospitalizations, today Governor Newsom announced that after 11:59 p.m. on March 11 masking indoors for schools and childcare facilities will transition from being required to being highly recommended. Until after March 11, schools of Santa Cruz
County will continue to require students and staff to mask while indoors. After this date, masks will remain “highly recommended” for all students and staff, regardless of vaccination status.

One of the first lessons we teach our children is to respect others – to treat each other as we would want to be treated even when we may disagree. Unfortunately, in recent weeks some in our community have fallen short of that mark. We’ve been dismayed to witness as teachers and staff in our county have been cursed at by parents while children are present over disagreements around COVID-19 mitigation policies.

Thank you to the roughly 80% of our families who responded to our survey regarding our outdoor masking policy. Ninety percent of survey respondents support changing the outdoor masking policy to optional and
encouraged.

While the statewide indoor masking mandate lifted today for vaccinated individuals in certain locations, the current statewide mandate requiring indoor masking in schools remains in place. This mandate is not at the discretion of districts. Please see the attached letter for further information.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been committed to protecting our school community by closely adhering to guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Under operative executive orders, State Public Health Officer Orders, Cal/OSHA Workplace Safety and Health Regulations, and provisions of the California Health and Safety
Code, schools must comply with orders and guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health and relevant local health departments to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect public health.

Most recently, following this guidance has been challenging when on January 12, CDPH produced two contradictory models for notification, contact tracing, testing, and quarantine.

We are excited to welcome students back to school after what we hope was a restful and safe winter break. As we all continue to meet challenging circumstances, we deeply appreciate your patience and understanding with ongoing efforts to ensure our return to school is as safe as possible.

Dear Bonny Doon School Families,

I hope this message finds you and your family enjoying a happy and healthy winter break.
I am pleased to share that the state has provided us with at-home COVID 19 antigen testing kits to distribute to families and staff so that everyone can test before returning to school next week. Antigen tests are simple to administer and provide results in 15 minutes.

We encourage families to pick up a test either at our school on Saturday, January 1st from 10-12 (upper parking lot), or at an Inspire Testing drive-through location beginning Sunday, January 2nd . Testing will support our efforts to keep everyone healthy as we return to campus. Families who go to a drive-through location will be offered both the 15 minute antigen test and the 24 hour PCR test.

Please see the link below for more details and instructions.