GEDS Health and Safety Procedures: Outdoor Learning Days  (10.28.20)

General Guidelines: 

For everyone’s safety, only staff and enrolled students will be allowed on the playground and inside the building. Exceptions to the rule are Preschool and Prekindergarten parents during arrival or dismissal and essential visitors (contract repairs) who will be masked and screened upon arrival. Deliveries and mail will be left outside at the main door. 

Staff and students will wear masks while onsite unless drinking, eating, or taking a break in the “mask free” area. Please Note: masks with valves are not permitted. 

Hand sanitizing stations will be placed at: 

  • Bathrooms (north and south)
  • South exit door (soccer field) 
  • East exit door (playground) 
  • Main entrance 

In addition: 

  • Hand sanitizer will be available in classrooms and on the playground. 
  • Hand soap will be available in bathrooms and classrooms. 
  • Disinfectant spray and microfiber cloths will be stored in all classrooms.  
  • Housekeeping staff will be onsite from 10:00 am-4:00 pm. 

Health Screening 

Each morning, staff and students will be screened for COVID symptoms which include: 

  • temperature of 99.5 or above 
  • cough
  • shortness of breath 
  • difficulty breathing 
  • new loss of taste or smell 
  • chills or shaking
  • muscle aches 
  • sore throat 
  • headache 
  • nausea or vomiting 
  • diarrhea 
  • fatigue 
  • congestion or runny nose 

Anyone arriving with one of these symptoms will be sent home with instructions to see their healthcare provider. Return to school is dependent on diagnosis. For more information about return, see attached Decision Aid chart. 

If a child becomes ill or symptomatic during the day, a staff member will text Ms. McHugh.  If the student presents with any COVID symptom (listed above), the child will be isolated from the other students and staff. The family will be contacted and expected to pick up the student within the hour. 

Any staff member dealing with a minor cut or scrape will be masked and wear gloves. The health station will be disinfected as needed. The outdoor health station includes: 

  • first aid kit 
  • thermometer
  • ice packs 
  • water bottles 
  • gloves 
  • masks
  • disinfectant spray for clean-up 

Daily Procedures 

Faculty and Staff Arrival: 

  • Staff will arrive wearing a mask. 
  • Staff will self-screen for temperature and COVID symptoms. 
  • If a staff member fails screening, they will be sent home with a recommendation to see a healthcare provider. For information about return, see attached Decision Aid chart. 

Kindergarten-Grade 5 Arrival: 

  • Students will arrive wearing a mask. 
  • A staff member wearing a mask will greet the family in the carpool line, do a temperature check and ask screening questions while the student is in the car. 
  • If a student fails the screening questions or presents with a temperature of 99.5 F or above, parents will take the child home with a recommendation to see a healthcare provider. For information about return, see attached Decision Aid chart.
  • If cleared to attend, the student will be accompanied around the south side of the building to the outdoor hand sanitizing station. 
  • After using hand sanitizer, the student will proceed to the designated outdoor classroom space. 

 Preschool and Prekindergarten Arrival: 

  • Parents wearing a mask will walk their child wearing a mask to the playground (around the north end of the building). 
  • Parents will use hand sanitizer at the outdoor station prior to greeting a staff member for screening. 
  • A staff member will observe the parent taking the child’s temperature with the family's thermometer. Please Note: MD Child Care Licensing requires that a parent provide the thermometer and take the child’s temperature. (Staff member will provide a thermometer if necessary). 
  • The staff member will ask additional screening questions and record information. 
  • If a student fails the screening questions or presents with a temperature of 99.5 or above, the parent will take the child home with a recommendation to see a healthcare provider.  For information about return, see attached Decision Aid chart.
  •  If cleared, parents leave and the student accompanies a teacher into the building to wash their hands with soap.   

Bathroom Breaks/Indoor Respite from Weather: 

  • Staff and students (Preschool - Grade 5) will wear masks in the building. 
  • Students will be accompanied by a staff member when they enter the building. 
  • Kindergarten through Grade 5 students and staff members will use hand sanitizer prior to entering the building. 
  • Preschool and Prekindergarten students will wash their hands with soap upon entering the building. 
  • All students will wash hands with soap before leaving the bathroom. 
  • Kindergarten through Grade 5 students will use hand sanitizer when they enter/exit any other room in the building. Preschool and Prekindergarten children will wash their hands with soap any time they enter/exit any other room. 
  • When in use, classrooms will have windows open and commercial air purifiers running. 

Snack (Preschool-Grade 5) 

  • Students will bring snacks and filled water bottles from home. 
  • Students will eat and drink outdoors. 
  • Masks will not be required during snack but ample physical distancing will be maintained. 

Daily Cleaning/Disinfecting: 

Cleaning staff will use an electrostatic disinfectant sprayer multiple times each day on high-touch areas, including:

  • Bathrooms
  • Playground equipment
  • Playground toys
  • Outdoor classroom areas
  • Classroom surfaces (when in use)
  • Disinfectant spray is available for spot cleaning

Dismissal 

  • Staff will call Kindergarten-Grade 5 students from outdoor classroom spaces as families arrive. Students will use hand sanitizer before being dismissed. 
  • Preschool and Prekindergarten parents will park and walk around the north end of the building to the playground (while maintaining social distance and wearing a mask) to pick up their children.