Health Services

Dear Malvern Community,

While this letter is a harbinger of the opening of school, I hope the waning days of summer are relaxing and peaceful for you and your families. I am happy to report that most of our faculty, staff, and students are fully vaccinated. This fact bodes well for a safe, healthy, and productive academic year ahead. Therefore, due to our community vaccination numbers and the number of COVID cases remaining low in Chester County, our plan for the opening of school is as follows:

• Masks will be optional for vaccinated individuals (students/faculty/staff/visitors) while indoors.
• Unvaccinated individuals should wear masks indoors.
• The exception to the guidelines above will be school-wide Masses or assemblies when large numbers of students are in close proximity. For these types of indoor events, all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask. Students/Faculty/Staff are asked to carry a mask with them while on campus. The Nurse’s Office will have extra masks available at all times.
• Masks are not required when outdoors. This includes sports, class, and activities. 
• Per the CDC and Chester County Health Department, masks are required to be worn by passengers and drivers on school buses/vans regardless of vaccination status or the school mask policy.
• Locker rooms will remain open and, if you are not vaccinated, we ask you to wear a mask in those rooms.
• While proof of vaccination is not required, the honor code mandates our concern for the common good. 
• We ask all community members to be mindful that wearing a mask is a choice, and not necessarily an indication of an individual’s vaccination status. 
• Please continue to be mindful of handwashing and if you are not feeling well, please stay home.

Malvern will be open 5-days a week and classes will be held in person. For us to remain open and to protect those who are unvaccinated or ineligible to receive the vaccine, we ask that all individuals follow the guidelines outlined above. For your convenience, an on-campus clinic for anyone in the Malvern Community wishing to be vaccinated will be held on Monday, August 23, from 2:30-4:00 p.m. in the O’Neill Center. Your vaccination status should be reported to Mrs. Malone, our school nurse, as has been our practice, including any close contact with an infected person. This information is for contact tracing purposes.

The Caritas Committee will continue to monitor guidance from the Chester County Health Department. Any future mitigation protocols will be based on the community transmission rate. Please be prepared that if we are seeing high/substantial levels of COVID cases, we may ask everyone to be masked indoors on campus.

Over the past sixteen months, we have learned well how to negotiate difficult challenges with regard to teaching, learning, and living our communal life in the face of COVID-19. Our experience and the lessons learned equip us for continued success in Academic Year 2021-22. Stay well and be assured of my prayers.

In Augustine,
Rev. Donald F. Reilly, O.S.A., D. Min.
Head of School
Malvern Preparatory School

P.S. Please direct any questions you may have concerning this information to Mrs. Liz Malone, our School Nurse.

Dear Malvern Community,

Yesterday, Governor Wolf ordered a mask mandate for all K-12 schools in Pennsylvania. The mask mandate will go into effect on September 7, 2021. This mandate applies to Malvern Prep. All students, faculty, and staff, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear masks indoors beginning next Tuesday. At this time, the mandate does not apply to sports or outdoor activities.

We recognize that this order will be welcomed by some, yet cause frustration for others. In our short time together this year, our community has pulled together in the spirit of cooperation to protect one another. We ask again for everyone’s cooperation with the mask mandate and want to assure you that the new order will not affect what we have committed to for this school year - a 5-day, in-person experience, Christian Service programs, morning chapel reflections, and weekly Mass.

To clarify how this order affects Malvern:

• Beginning September 7, masks are required to be worn by everyone while indoors - this includes locker rooms.
• Masks are not required for sports or outdoor activities.
• We recommend that students bring at least two masks with them to school.
• At this time, no other mitigation measures are in place (i.e. social distancing)
• We are not aware of how long the mask mandate order will be in place.

We will continue to monitor information from the State as well as Chester County Health Department. We will provide any new information as it becomes available. Malvern’s culture of cooperation assures the continued safety of every member of our school community.

In Augustine,
Rev. Donald F. Reilly, O.S.A., D. Min.
Head of School
Malvern Preparatory School

Dear Malvern Community,

Relying on Malvern’s culture of cooperation with regard to matters of safety and the common good, we would like to share updates to Malvern’s travel policy fully aware that policies may change based on new information.

• There will be no school-sponsored international travel for the 2021-22 academic year.
• Effective January 1, 2022, all Malvern Prep students, faculty members, coaches, and adult volunteers traveling overnight must be fully vaccinated in order to participate. This date allows time for individuals to be fully vaccinated prior to travel.
• School-sponsored overnight travel includes, but is not limited to, travel for Academic or Club competitions, Christian Service, or Athletic trips. 
• Those who are unvaccinated and wish to participate in school-sponsored overnight travel will be required to be tested prior to travel and those students must stay with a parent/guardian during the trip.

Due to the nature of traveling (i.e. students sharing rooms, academic experiences, interacting with communities whose infection rates may be higher, traveling via plane, etc.), reducing risks of contraction is the responsible thing to do.

Participation in any travel opportunity at Malvern is voluntary and not a requirement for matriculation or graduation, therefore, vaccination or alternate accommodations (for unvaccinated individuals) would only be required for those who wish to participate in travel opportunities.

Please be aware that if an unvaccinated member of the travel party is exposed to COVID, symptomatic, or tests positive for COVID during their travel, he/she may be required to quarantine for 10 days and/or have a negative test result before returning to campus.

Thank you for your cooperation,
The Caritas Committee

Dear Malvern Community,

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down an order that allowed the mask mandate to remain in place while the Wolf administration is appealing the decision of the Commonwealth Court.

On Monday, December 13, 2021, the Leadership Team and the Caritas Committee will discuss the school’s response to the order. It is not known, at this time, what the Chester County Health Department's position is with regard to the decision. It would be helpful to know.

An email will be sent out to the Malvern Community on Monday night with information pertaining to the use of masks. On Monday, please adhere to the current policy pertaining to masks, i.e. they need to be worn indoors unless an exception has been given.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we negotiate these matters which affect all of us.

In Augustine,
Rev. Donald F. Reilly, O.S.A., D. Min.
Head of School
Malvern Preparatory School

Dear Malvern Community,

As I advised in my communication on Saturday, December 11, the Caritas Committee and Leadership Team met today to discuss the change in the mask mandate based on the decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

At this time, the decision has been made to be mask-optional beginning on Tuesday, December 14.

• Masks are recommended for non-vaccinated individuals while indoors.
• Masks are optional for vaccinated individuals while indoors.
• Masks will still be required for ALL individuals at large gatherings (Mass, assemblies, etc.) regardless of vaccination status. These are events that typically take place in O’Neill, Chapel, and Duffy.
• Masks are required for all spectators regardless of vaccination status at athletic events in the O'Neill Center basketball court, pool, and squash courts as well as events in Alumni Hall and Dougherty Hall.
• Contact tracing will continue to take place if a positive case is identified. Unvaccinated students who have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid will have to be quarantined.

This decision is being made based on the health and safety of our full community and our goal of providing in-person instruction. We have had groups of students together in Stewart Hall for lunch without masks and have been fortunate not to have any linked Covid transmissions on campus. Further, our community is just over 70% vaccinated.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• Students, faculty, staff, and visitors should continue to bring a mask with them to campus for large assemblies.
• Please continue proper hygiene and handwashing. 
• If a student is sick, he should not come to campus. 
• We will revisit the mask requirement after the holiday break.

Thank you for your continued cooperation.

Rev. Donald F. Reilly, O.S.A., D. Min.
Head of School
Malvern Preparatory School

Dear Malvern Prep Community,

We continue to track Covid positivity rates in both our school community and Chester County. Over the last several weeks, the trend has been that rates are steadily decreasing. Additionally, over 90% of Malvern’s Faculty and Staff are vaccinated, while over 70% of our student body is vaccinated.

Both the CDC and Chester County Health Department continue to recommend mask-wearing until countrywide numbers are on the downslide. However, there is currently no mandate in place requiring that masks be worn in school. Therefore, because positivity rates in Chester County and in our Malvern Community have decreased, we believe ‘mask recommended’ by February 28 is the prudent decision.  As we have all experienced with Covid, this is a fluid situation and may change at any time.

In preparation for this change in protocol, we are asking for your help with the following:

• If you are over age 18, and it has been 6 months since your primary series of vaccination, you are due for your booster and will need the booster to be considered fully vaccinated.
• Provide proof of vaccination to Mrs. Liz Malone, School Nurse, by uploading your son’s vaccine card into Magnus.
• If you contract Covid, please inform the School Nurse. It is important we keep track of the illnesses that are on our campus. You will also be required to follow the Quarantine and Isolation Guidelines for CCHD which can be found here. 
• As advised by the Chester County Health Department, no contact tracing will be done. If you are not vaccinated, you need to know and understand the risk of contracting Covid.
• We will continue to recommend mask-wearing while indoors, regardless of vaccination status, but particularly for unvaccinated students, Faculty, Staff, and visitors to our campus to protect against the spread of Covid.
• If the environment changes and Covid risks increase, we will react appropriately.
• Reminders: continue to wash hands frequently throughout the school day and if you are feeling sick, please stay home.

We will closely monitor data from the Malvern Community on vaccination rates and positive Covid cases over the next two weeks to support our plan for being ‘mask recommended’ on February 28. We ask for your assistance in doing your part for the greater good of our community so that we can remain ‘mask recommended’ for the remainder of the academic year.

In Augustine,
Rev. Donald F. Reilly, O.S.A., D. Min.
Head of School
Malvern Preparatory School

If your son has experienced vomiting, diarrhea, or a fever over 100 degrees in the past 24 hours, we ask that you keep him home from school for his protection as well as the other students. If your son has an undiagnosed skin rash or itchy, red, weepy eyes, please keep him home.

If your son has asthma and/or a food allergy, we ask that you update his online health record with that information. When you update the online health record, you will be asked to upload the appropriate action plans. This will ensure that we will have the information needed if an emergency should occur.

Yes, your son can and should carry his own emergency medication while at school. We will need a doctor's note stating this and all of this information is located online, in Magnus Health. If you would also like to keep his emergency medications in the nurse's office, that is fine too.

If your son needs medication during the school day, a consent form will need to be filled out and uploaded to your son's online health record in Magnus Health. If the medication is over the counter, we will require a parent's signature. If the medication is a prescription, a physician's signature is also required. All medication will be locked in the nurse's office. The medication must be kept in the original container from the pharmacy. This form is located in the online health portal - Magnus Health.

Based on the Pennsylvania Department of Health, in order for your son to attend school, the following information is needed:

• A current physical examination for every student to attend school. This must be dated within one year from the start of the school year.
• Dental exams are required for all incoming 7th grade students, as well as new students, also dated within one year of the start of the school year.
• Proof of immunizations must be up to date. Incoming 7th grade students must have one dose of MCV vaccine as well as the tdap vaccine. Incoming 12th grade students must have their second dose of the MCV vaccine by the first day of school.

Malvern Prep has partnered with Magnus Health in order to facilitate communication about our health services. Magnus Health is a leading provider of electronic student health record (SHR) for independent schools. The SHR is an online solution for collecting, managing, and tracking student health information. This technology helps schools save time by streamlining communication with parents, reducing liability for school health professionals, and keeping schools prepared in the event of an emergency.

If your son has experienced vomiting, diarrhea, or a fever over 100 degrees in the past 24 hours, we ask that you keep him home from school for his protection as well as the other students. If your son has an undiagnosed skin rash or itchy, red, weepy eyes, please keep him home.

If your son has asthma and/or a food allergy, we ask that you update his online health record with that information. When you update the online health record, you will be asked to upload the appropriate action plans. This will ensure that we will have the information needed if an emergency should occur.

Yes, your son can and should carry his own emergency medication while at school. We will need a doctor's note stating this and all of this information is located online, in Magnus Health. If you would also like to keep his emergency medications in the nurse's office, that is fine too.

If your son needs medication during the school day, a consent form will need to be filled out and uploaded to your son's online health record in Magnus Health. If the medication is over the counter, we will require a parent's signature. If the medication is a prescription, a physician's signature is also required. All medication will be locked in the nurse's office. The medication must be kept in the original container from the pharmacy. This form is located in the online health portal - Magnus Health.

Based on the Pennsylvania Department of Health, in order for your son to attend school, the following information is needed:

• A current physical examination for every student to attend school. This must be dated within one year from the start of the school year.
• Dental exams are required for all incoming 7th grade students, as well as new students, also dated within one year of the start of the school year.
• Proof of immunizations must be up to date. Incoming 7th grade students must have one dose of MCV vaccine as well as the tdap vaccine. Incoming 12th grade students must have their second dose of the MCV vaccine by the first day of school.

Malvern Prep has partnered with Magnus Health in order to facilitate communication about our health services. Magnus Health is a leading provider of electronic student health record (SHR) for independent schools. The SHR is an online solution for collecting, managing, and tracking student health information. This technology helps schools save time by streamlining communication with parents, reducing liability for school health professionals, and keeping schools prepared in the event of an emergency.