2020-2021 COVID-19 Protocols

I pray that this letter finds you and your family members safe and healthy! We are busily preparing for the start of the school year, although, as you know, the rules keep shifting week to week. Many of you have reached out wondering what our reopening plan is going to look like. We do have some protocols set in place that we are working on now to be prepared for our first day of school. As the summer progresses, we will be sure to update you on any changes or adjustments. Back in May, state legislators had informed those of us in private and parochial schools that the State Department of Education requirements would not apply to us. However, that has since changed. We are developing our plan to be in compliance with these regulations. Our greatest concern is for the safety and well-being of all of our students, their families, and our faculty and staff. While we understand that it is not possible to fully eliminate the spread and transmission of a virus, we do feel that our proposed plan will help to minimize and hopefully prevent the spread within our school and community. Please note the following protocols and how we plan to implement these protocols within our facility.

Masks/face shields (either option is acceptable)

• The requirement states that students must wear masks or face shields unless students can be socially distanced. We are currently working on the logistics of using spaces throughout our building to allow for students to be 6 feet apart so that they will not have to wear masks during instructional periods.
• Masks will be worn moving from room to room around the building. We will be limiting students’ movement by having specials teachers come to the students in their instructional space.
• Lunch periods will be separated to allow for students to be appropriately socially distanced so that masks will not be needed.
• Masks will be required by students and parents upon entering and exiting the building.

Wellness checks

• Parents are asked to do a temperature check on students prior to leaving for school or sending on the bus. If the student registers a temperature higher than their normal temperature, please keep them home.
• Students will have a temperature scan prior to entering the building. Car drop off will continue to be by the school entrance, bus drop off will be in the rear of the building by the gymnasium, and preschool students will enter at the front church entrance. A student with a temperature higher than 100.4 will be sent home immediately.
• Temperatures may also be taken at lunch to detect any students who may become ill during the day.
• Parents are asked to keep children home who display any of the following symptoms: coughing, excessive sneezing, runny nose, fever, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, headache, rash, respiratory distress (other than previously diagnosed asthma), chills, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, conjunctivitis, sore throat, muscle pain, or any other symptoms indicating illness. We are asking parents to monitor the health of their children very closely to keep all of our students from being exposed to any illness as much as possible.
• Parents and employees must complete a waiver at the beginning of the school year with required signatures releasing CBS of any liability in regard to Covid-19.

Lockers (7th-12th grades)

• Classes will be assigned specific locker times throughout the day.
• Lockers will be staggered so that students from the same grade will not be assigned next to each other.
• Students will be asked to wipe down their locker handles and doors daily.

Classrooms

• Classrooms will be sanitized daily. Desks will be wiped down throughout the day and between classes when a new group of students will be coming to that room.
• Hand sanitizer will be available in each classroom.

Hallways/traffic patterns

• Hallways will be one-way directional. Only one class walking through the hallway at a time socially distanced. Bathroom times will be staggered; only 2-3 students in a bathroom at a time.
• In the secondary, dismissal from classrooms will be staggered to allow for fewer students passing through hallways.

PE/recess/athletics

• PE and recess activities will encourage social distancing.
• PE and recess will be held outside weather permitting.
• PE and recess equipment will be sanitized regularly.
• The ACCAC (Atlantic Coast Christian Athletics Conference) teams are working closely together to ensure that athletics will take place in the fall and in compliance with regulations. More information will be provided as the sports season and practice schedules become finalized.

Parents/volunteers

• Parents will have very limited access to the building to minimize risk.
• Volunteers/substitute teachers must have temperatures checked prior to entry into the building.

Livestream option

• We are working on getting equipment that would allow for livestreaming classrooms in real time. Due to the cost of implementing this option, we cannot guarantee that every classroom will have that capability, but we are working on solutions to make it accessible to as many students as possible who would need this option.

As we get closer to the start of the school year, we will continue to keep you updated regarding any
changes to these protocols. We will also be planning parent meetings (either virtual or in person) by department in the month of August to address any concerns directly. And as restrictions ease or alter as we proceed into the school year, we will notify you of any adjustments to the policies that have been put in place. While this is certainly not how we had hoped the start of this year would look, we do want to encourage all of you to be willing to set aside differences and come together to make the 2020-2021 school year the best one ever! The impact of this virus has left many schools struggling, and I know of several already who have decided to close. I know none of us wants to see that happen to our school; it is crucial that we come together despite these unusual difficulties to ensure the best possible future for our children and our program. With everyone working together, I know it can happen. I love every member of our Calvary community and want you to know that I am praying for each of our families as they prepare for the start of the year. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

Mrs. Nichols
School Administrator