2020 Back to School Guidelines

Absences due to illness, including COVID-19 symptoms, will be recorded. Parents must report the absence and reason to the school office each morning. Teachers and administrators will work with parents and students to ensure learning continues during a student’s extended absence.

Your child should come to school if they can fulfill the following requirements:

• Can energetically participate in classroom activities and recess without use of fever/symptom-reducing medicine (tylenol, Ibuprofen, cough syrup, etc.)
• Has a temperature below 100.4
• Has no new symptoms of COVID-19 such as respiratory symptoms, muscle ache, loss of taste and smell, with or without fever
• Has no symptoms of vomiting/diarrhea

Your child should stay at home and will be sent home if they have any of the following:

• They appear or complain of feeling unwell or they have a suspected communicable disease
• A temperature of 100.4 or higher, or other COVID-19 symptoms
• Students with fever will be isolated and be required to wear a face covering until they can be picked up by their parents/guardian
• Your child should stay at home if they have had close contact with someone who has COVID-19 as defined by the CDC: Individual who has had close contact (less than six feet) for more than 15 minutes

Return to school after illness/fever related to COVID-19 or exposure to COVID-19

• Students may not return until they have met CDC criteria to discontinue home isolation. For criteria please go to: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/end-home-isolation.html
• More specific guidelines will be sent home at the start of the school year

Parents must screen their child(ren) before leaving for school to ensure temperature is below 100.4. They are to check for other COVID-19 symptoms outlined by public health officials. If they fail this screening or if they have had close contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19, they should remain at home and follow the guidelines for how to return to school.

All visitors and students will be screened upon entering campus. As they walk in, students’ temperature will be taken and they will sanitize their hands. Screening locations are as follows:

Elementary: Elementary side gate (North)

Junior High & High School: High School side gate (South)

Please Note: If a student is symptomatic when entering campus or during the school day, they will be separated from others immediately and isolated with a face covering until they are picked up by an authorized adult.

Access to campus beyond the front office for guardians and visitors will be limited. There will be a temperature check and screening in order to access the rest of the campus. Face coverings will be required.

In order to maintain high standards of safety and hygiene, everyone in the school community must take responsibility for themselves and for each other. As such, expectations for social distancing and hygiene will be communicated and reinforced throughout the school.

Arrival and Departure

• There will be markers showing where students should stand as a line forms at screening stations
• There will be designated routes for entry and exit of the campus
• During drop off and pick up times, visitors—including guardians—will be limited to maintain a minimum of six feet of distance between individuals

• To the greatest extent possible, seating and desks will be rearranged in the classrooms to allow students to be 6 feet apart and facing the same direction
• When working together in labs, students will be required to wear face coverings and face shields
• Physical education activities will follow the guidelines set up for athletics programs. Currently only non-contact activities are allowed

• Students will have recess by grade level
• Some play equipment may not be available for use
• We will encourage physical activities that require less contact with surfaces
• After use of playground equipment, handwashing will be required

• The number of students at the lunch tables will be limited
• Tables will be disinfected before each use
• Students will eat outside (alternate plans will be announced for inclement weather)
• Hot lunch will continue to be available as individually plated meals
• Lunchtime activities will be limited to no contact activities

A variety of options will be implemented for social distancing:

• Some chapel programs may be held outside
• Some chapel programs will be live-streamed to every classroom simultaneously in an interactive manner
• Where group size allows, chapel will be held in the Pit or gym

At this time, all trips, field trips, and intergroup activities will be virtual through December 31, 2020. Second semester plans for field-trips and activities will be evaluated in the fall.

Personal hygiene procedures will be taught and reinforced

• Emphasis will be placed on handwashing between activities
• In the elementary, classroom routines will include teaching and reinforcing personal hygiene on a regular basis
• In junior high and high school, students will be reminded both verbally and by signage to use sanitizer upon entering each classroom and to wash hands frequently
• Classrooms that do not have sinks will be outfitted with hand sanitizer dispensers
• When appropriate, we will teach students to properly clean surfaces that they use

All food—including condiments, must be commercially prepared and packaged. Buffet or family-style meals will not be allowed. Bake sales are cancelled until further notice.

The drinking fountains will be closed. However, there will be water bottle refill stations available. Students should bring a full water bottle, clearly marked with their name. Students are not to share water bottles.

Faculty and staff will be wearing face coverings on campus.

Students in grades TK-2

• Must wear face coverings upon arrival and when visiting the office
• Face coverings are recommended for grades TK-2 during the school day

Students in grades 3-12

Students must wear face coverings:

• Upon entering and exiting school
• Moving on campus and in all areas of the school (includes hallways, bathrooms, drop-off and pick-up points)
• In classrooms where physical distancing of at least six feet cannot be maintained
• While working on campus

Students may remove face coverings:

• During the lunch period

Classrooms will be cleaned and disinfected daily. All touch points will be disinfected with a CDC approved product.

Frequently touched surfaces throughout the campus will be disinfected regularly throughout the day.

Classroom procedures will be developed to disinfect touch points throughout the day. These surfaces include desks, tables, chairs, dividers, keyboards, phones, headsets, door knobs, faucet handles and light switches.

MGA’s HVAC system is maintained regularly and equipped with appropriate filters to maintain clean air in the buildings.

As much as possible and where it is safe to do so, teachers will introduce outdoor air by having outside doors and windows open. All lunch activities and recess will be outside as much as possible.

Sports will be allowed to restart based on guidance by CIF, local health agencies, and SECC Office of Education. There are three phases for starting sports:

• Phase 1 – Non-contact practice, conditioning, no games, no spectators
• Phase 2 – Interactive practice, no games, no spectators
• Phase 3 – Games allowed with limited spectators to accommodate for social distancing

The health and safety requirements for each phase will be communicated to student athletes and parents as each phase opens. We are currently in phase 1 of restarting the athletics program.

Mesa Grande Academy teachers and administration will set up and communicate procedures at the beginning of the year to ensure that any mandated transition to distance learning happens smoothly and effectively.

These transition plans include the consistent use of one main online platform to communicate and house tools for learning, as well as a daily schedule for direct online instruction. In order to support a seamless transition, the same online platform will be used to communicate throughout the regular school year. Parents and students will be trained to use the online platform at the beginning of the year.

To ensure uninterrupted instruction, in the event that MGA needs to transition to distance learning, the new daily schedule for grades TK-12, will include a full day of synchronous and asynchronous instruction with students being connected and interacting with their teacher(s). This will be a combination of screen time, breaks, and off-screen activities.