2021 2022 LFSF COVID PROTOCOLS

While fairly short, the Thanksgiving break is a time when families traditionally gather and travel to celebrate the holiday. 

To come back to school safely, following the approach we’ve had in the past, we are asking our families to please:

• Make sure their child is symptom free
• Upload a negative rapid test administered within 24hr of back to school to this form if their child is unvaccinated

The pandemic has demonstrated that it is the role of each and everyone of us to keep our community safe, and in a time when we are invited to reflect on gratitude, we can be grateful and proud to belong to a strong group that continues to put the safety of our students and school staff first. This is why we encourage our families to consider vaccinating their child as early as possible, since vaccination has been approved and is available for children 5 and older. Vaccination has proven to limit the spread of the COVID virus and hospitalization. If and when your child get the vaccine, please make sure to share the information with us as it is important in our decision making, whenever a case may be confirmed in our community.

Thank you, stay well and take good care,

LFSF Preparedness Team

With the first fall school break and the perspective of travel, please find below the requirements and coming back to school protocols:

• Quarantine: No quarantine is necessary for vaccinated individuals and the CDC now recommends quarantine for non vaccinated people who travel outside of the state or the country.
• Coming back to school: Because of the lower number of cases, we are bringing flexibility to our re-entry protocols. All families are asked to upload before Sunday OCT 31 at 12pm  either:
  • a proof of vaccination (for students 12 and older) or
  • a dated picture of a negative rapid test administered within 24hrs of back to school.

Rapid COVID tests are relatively inexpensive (about $25 for two tests) and readily available at any local pharmacy. Please note that no rapid test will be available at school to meet this requirement, so please make sure to prepare adequately for your child to be able to come back to school on schedule, on Monday NOV 01.

Vaccination remains the strongest protection against the spread of the virus. Internally, we are working hand in hand with the Staff association towards a 100% rate of vaccination of our personnels, ahead of what we foresee to become soon  a requirement from State authorities.

COMING BACK TO CAMPUS 

• Students will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID test prior to the first day of school and will not be allowed to attend their first day of school without it. 

• For your convenience, school COVID testing sessions will be made available to our community:
  • On ORT , on Tues AUG 24 for Gr 6 students 
  • On ASH and ORT , Thursday AUG 26 .
• Whether testing at school or independently, all families will be required to upload with their test results  by end of day :
  • Thursday AUG 26 for Gr6 students and 
  • Sunday, AUG 29 for all other grades.

ON CAMPUS

• All faculty and staff will be required to comply with the State Public Health Officer Order of August 11, 2021
• We urge all eligible students to get vaccinated unless medically exempted. We do not require vaccinations for students ages 12 and up, but we request that their vaccination status be informed by parents prior to back to school. This information will be useful in making decisions in regards to the overall health and safety of our community, and will determine the need to quarantine in the event of COVID exposure.
• Only vaccinated parents with an appointment will be able to enter our buildings. Please be aware that impromptu visitors will not be allowed in. If you have an emergency, please communicate with the section office for admittance to campus.
• Students and families should continue to self-monitor for symptoms of illness and refrain from coming to school if feeling unwell. For your convenience, please find the list of COVID symptoms here.

AT SCHOOL

• Masks are required indoors and outdoors for all adults and students at all times while on campus, regardless of vaccination status.
  Building ventilation will remain at high levels. All classrooms are equipped with MERV-13 air purifiers (as recommended by health authorities).
• Outdoor activities are encouraged as much as possible unless the air quality and the AQI become unhealthy. 
• Deep cleaning will be maintained, with special attention to meal places and highly touched surfaces.
• Physical distancing and co-horting are not required while engaging in school activities. We are very excited that students will be able to work in groups, play at recess with other classes, and interact with many different teachers.
• Hand washing will be strongly encouraged and sanitizing solutions will be widely available.
• Field trips are allowed, and students will be out taking advantage of our incredible community resources.