COVID Protocols for Students

SCHOOL SCREENING FORM

Each student’s parent/guardian must complete and submit the School Screening Form daily. No student will be admitted into school unless the form was submitted and, according to the form, the student is cleared for school. The link can be found on the school website in the Parent/Guardian section of the COVID PROTOCOLS tab. The link will also be emailed to parents/guardians.

MASKING

Students must wear a mask at all times when they are in our building, unless they are engaged in active eating or drinking. Masks should be appropriate for school and therefore should not have any logo or wording on it. Masks must cover the nose and mouth and extend under the chin. (Use of a KN-95 mask or double-masking with a surgical mask and a two-layer cloth mask offer the greatest protection and are therefore recommended, but not required.)

SOCIAL DISTANCING

As per the most recent guidance from the CDC and Newark Health Department, we will practice social distancing. When you are masked appropriate social distancing is 3 feet, whenever possible. When not masked because engaged in active eating/drinking, appropriate social distancing is 6 feet. Every room in our building has been set up to accommodate these distances. YOU MAY NOT MOVE DESKS OR CHAIRS!

ARRIVAL

In an effort to ensure our students are practicing appropriate social distancing and to lessen the time that they are unmonitored in the morning, students may not enter the building until 7:30am, at which time you may report to the cafeteria or media center. During this time, you should be seated and masked. Students may not move chairs!

Students can report to their homeroom beginning at 8:00am. If you are in the building at this time, gather your belongings and report to homeroom. Do not linger in the cafeteria, locker room or hallways.

LOCKERS

Students are assigned every other locker, when possible, in order to create safe distancing. Students may not go to their lockers during lunch mods. Therefore you should be prepared with all of your belongings for the entire day when you report to homeroom.

CAFETERIA

The cafeteria is set up to distance students 6 feet. There may be times when there are not enough seats for the number of students who will be in the cafeteria for their lunch or free mods. In this case, you are to report to the moderator who will then direct you to Heritage Gym, which is also set up for students to distance 6 feet. No student should report to Heritage Gym without the direction of the teacher on duty. If you are on a free mod and not eating, there may be times when you are directed to the Media Center.

HALLWAY DIRECTIONS

Please try to remain socially distanced while moving from class to class. We have designated specific staircases and hallways as “one way” to facilitate traffic flow.

The main staircase in the old (Heritage) building will be one way going up. The back staircase will be one way going down.

The hallway outside of the main office will be one way going north (towards Corrigan). The hallway outside of 201-204 will be one way going south (towards Providence Gym).

There may be exceptions to these directions in some cases, but you should always stay to the right of any staircase or hallway while traveling from one place to another and keep socially distanced whenever possible.

ASSIGNED SEATING AND CLASSES

All students will have assigned seats in every class. These seating charts will be used in the event that we have a positive COVID case and must carry out contact tracing. Please always sit in your assigned seat.

Hand sanitizer will be available in all classrooms and at sanitizing stations in hallways and building entrances. Students may not share school supplies, so you must have your own materials, such as pens, pencils, erasers, looseleaf paper, etc.

DISMISSAL

If you remain in the building after dismissal, you are to be in a room with a faculty member present. If you attempt to see a teacher after school and they are not in their classroom, you may not sit in their room and wait for them. You can inquire about their whereabouts in the main office.

All teachers will have a sign in book for any students working in their classrooms after school. Please follow each teacher’s procedure for signing in and out after school.

The entire building will be disinfected at the end of each day. In order for this to be possible, the building will be closed at 4:30 pm.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

There will be no extra curricular activities until further notice with the exception of volleyball and cross-country. All of our home games will be closed to adhere to recommended practices for prevention of COVID breakouts. No spectators will be admitted.

ILLNESS

If you do not feel well or are exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19, please do not come to school.

If you begin to feel ill during the school day, inform you teacher. You will be directed to the main office where your temperature will be taken and you will then be evaluated by our school nurse.

ISOLATION ROOM

An office on the 2nd floor has been designated as the isolation room. Any student who is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 will be sent there to wait for their parent to pick them up.

COVID/QUARANTINE STATUS

Any information regarding your COVID or quarantine status should be communicated to Ms. Tyburczy immediately so that appropriate action and support may be communicated to you and others if affected.

If there is a positive case in our community, and if you have been identified as a person who may have been exposed to an individual who contracts COVID-19, the Administration will contact you and your parent via email with all necessary information and instructions. You and your parent/guardian should check your email at least once a day for communications from SVA.

If you have tested positive for COVID or were quarantined because you had “close contact” exposure to a positive case, you may not return to school until you submit a negative PCR test. For this reason, we encourage you and your parent/guardian to locate a testing site that is convenient for you, so that you are prepared to act promptly if you need to be tested.