| December 11, 2020
Dear STM Families:
This message is to inform you that we will not be reopening our campus on January 6, 2021, as previously planned. Rather, we will reopen on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Since November 28, 2020, San Francisco and most surrounding counties have moved from the yellow to the purple tier. This newest surge in infections continues to increase alarmingly and hospitalization rates have tripled over the last month. This trend is predicted to continue into the new year. Especially concerning are the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations where more and more people will gather with family and friends with some traveling out of state to do so. When we reopened the school in October, we were optimistic that the number of cases locally was declining and that we had plans in place to mitigate the spread of infections. While our robust plans are still in place, reopening in the midst of a huge surge puts staff and students at a higher risk. The Mayor and the Department of Public Health are allowing schools to remain open, however, we believe that returning to full-time distance learning for the first three weeks in January is the safest thing to do for the staff and students at St. Thomas More School and Utopia Preschool. While this decision will no doubt cause inconvenience to some of our families, we believe that it is in the best interest of the whole STM community. Families and school personnel will have extra time to quarantine and be ready for a safer return to campus. All faculty and staff will be tested the week before reopening. We urge you to use this extra time to quarantine with your family. While testing for students is not required, we are strongly recommending that students get tested where possible. | 
