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Safety Precautions

We take the risk of COVID-19 quite seriously and are taking all necessary and possible precautions to try and limit the risk.

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Throughout the school year, the following additional precautions will be taken:

In order to implement the lowest possible risk, as recommended by the CDC, each class will work on a rotating system throughout the day where students spend the day in their own classes and no crossing with other students. Students remain distanced, as feasible, and do not share objects. All of our students are from the local geographic area and our staff will be restricted to the local area as well.

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Stopping the potential spread

Though our cleanliness and hygiene policies are already stringent, we will be implementing and even more stringent routine. All students and staff members will be required to wash their hands by CDC regulations numerous times throughout the day during, and not limited to, the following events: before, during, after meals, snacks, any food or beverage distribution/collection; distribution/collection of any toys and/or playing, learning, etc. materials; prior to pick-up times, after interaction with any parents or guardian; prior to drop-off times, after interaction with any parents or guardian; prior to/during/or after any interaction with anyone or anything outside the center; and many more times throughout the day.

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Additional precautions taken are, but not limited to, the following:

  1. All materials will be sanitized after each use and limited throughout the center;

  2. Drop-off and Pick-up occurrences will be limited and monitored. Parents/Guardians picking up or dropping off the students will not be permitted inside the center unless absolutely necessary. Furthermore, masks and gloves will be required at drop-off/pick-up times.
  3. Students must arrive in masks as well, which will then be individually stored throughout the day. We will not force children to wear masks all day as this will cause potential respiratory issues, however, there may be events that warrant masks in which case students will be wearing them for a limited amount of time. When students are picked up, the masks will be worn until the student is safely handed off to the parent/guardian. All drop-offs and pick-ups will take place outside to limit interaction.

  4. All staff will adhere to strict hygiene rules as well and will follow all mask and glove protocols just as students and parents.

  5. There will be a designated contact person on our staff responsible specifically for monitoring COVID-related safety and health measures.

  6. The following supplies will be readily available throughout our centers for the entirety of the camp: soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol, paper towels, tissues, disinfectant wipes, no-touch/foot pedal trash cans, and more.

  7. We will continue in our standard routine of cleaning and disinfecting the center each evening.

  8. Our ventilation and water systems will be checked by professionals prior to the start of as well throughout the year to assure that everything is in working order.

  9. This is one of the most important facets that will allow us to maintain a safe and healthy environment: we already have a strict policy against sending your child to the program when they are sick, however, for the purpose of utmost safety and prevention tactics, this policy will now be extended to households. Should any member of your household, or those who have visited in the last two weeks, show any signs of potential illness, whether COVID-related or not, must inform us immediately. Sick staff members or students should not return to the premises until they have met CDC’s criteria to discontinue home isolation. Please note that we understand the difficulty of having to keep your child home but that difficulty is not equivalent to the risk that sending a sick (or exposed) child to the center possess so this will be strictly enforced. Prior to beginning the school year, we require that each member of your household have been or is tested for COVID-19. A medical note will be required for each member prior to starting the program.

  10. We will have an intensive health and safety training for all staff members as well as substitute staff available in the event that a staff member is sick or showing possible symptoms.

  11. We will be conducting daily health checks (e.g., temperature screening and/or symptom checking) of staff and students safely and respectfully, and in accordance with any applicable privacy laws and regulations.

  12. In the event that a staff member or student displays any symptoms, we will have a designated isolation room until the staff member can leave or until the student can be picked up.

  13. Other updates and safety measures will be added as we continue to understand the guidelines presented.

  14. All children (and adults) will have their temperature checked upon dropping off and picking up arrivals.

 

We learn more about COVID-19 every day, and as more information becomes available, CDC will continue to update and share information. As our knowledge and understanding of COVID-19 evolves, this guidance may change.

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As parents, your responsibility it to monitor your child for signs of infectious illness daily. Students who are sick or showing any symptoms are not permitted to come on premises until a doctor has cleared them.

 

COVID-19 is a newly identified disease caused by the virus, SARS-CoV-2. Scientists are still learning about how it spreads, how it impacts children, and what role children may play in its spread. Limited data about COVID-19 in children suggest that children are less likely to get COVID-19 than adults, and if they do contract COVID-19, they generally have less serious illness than adults. While uncommon, deaths and rare illness such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) may still occur.

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People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of reported symptoms – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms can include:

  • Fever or chills

  • Cough

  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

  • Fatigue

  • Muscle or body aches

  • Headache

  • New loss of taste or smell

  • Sore throat

  • Congestion or runny nose

  • Nausea or vomiting

  • Diarrhea

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This list does not include all possible symptoms and children and youth with SARS-CoV-2 infection may experience any, all, or none of these symptoms. Given the wide range of symptoms and the fact that some people with SARS-CoV-2 infection (the virus that causes COVID-19) are asymptomatic, there are limitations to symptom screening conducted by schools for the identification of COVID-19.

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Many of the symptoms of COVID-19 are also common in other childhood illnesses like the common cold, the flu, or seasonal allergies. The table below illustrates some of the overlap between the symptoms of COVID-19 and other common illnesses. The table below provides a break as given by the CDC and DOE guidelines. Please note that this table does not include all possible symptoms of COVID-19.

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Students who are sick with contagious illnesses cannot attend school, but most illnesses do not require the same level or length of isolation that COVID-19 does. Excluding students from school for longer than what is called for in existing school policies (e.g., fever free without medication for 24-hours) based on COVID-19 symptoms alone risks repeated, long-term unnecessary student absence.

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