When Strelitz International Academy opens in August, we will be following the guidance & recommendations of the Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Department of Education, Virginia Council for Private Education, CDC and WHO to formulate best practices. Our policies and procedures may be stricter than guidance allows for because we want to keep our school community safe & healthy. Even if the guidelines allow for less, SIA will be striving for more.
Guidance regarding how to safely open schools seems to be evolving daily; however, three main concepts have remained consistent:
- cloth face coverings (masks)
- social distancing
- hand hygiene
Our classrooms will be set up to distance students as far as physically possible while safely accommodating everyone for on campus education. In order to do this, we will be encouraging all students over two years old to wear a mask when possible. We will not expect Early Years teachers to spend the day getting kids to put their masks back on, our preschoolers will not be forced to mask up and infants & toddlers are not permitted to wear a face covering. No child will nap in a mask. There will be times that K-5 students will be required to wear a mask. Faculty and staff will lead by example, practicing safe distancing and face covering compliance. Staff will be expected to wear a face covering as much as possible in our building, especially when social distancing is not possible.* Outdoor learning will be used when able.
GETTING YOUR CHILD READY TO WEAR A MASK:
If your child has not yet experienced wearing a mask or cloth face covering, please start to get them accustomed to this vital exercise. Try different cloth face coverings to see what your child prefers and empower them to help keep themselves and others healthy, Start having your child wear a mask for short times and work up to longer periods of time, especially in situations where there is no way to social distance..
Suggestions for younger children, from
HealthyChildren.org
, on making mask wearing less scary include:
- Look in the mirror with the face coverings on and talk about it.
- Put a cloth face covering on a favorite stuffed animal.
- Decorate them so they're more personalized and fun.
- Show your child pictures of other children wearing them.
- Draw one on their favorite book character.
Kids take their cues from those around them. Be honest & mindful of where your child is developmentally, but focus on the good that mask wearing does and how they are helping to keep others healthy. Discuss other things your family is doing to help stop germs such as washing hands, keeping distance when seeing family & friends, covering our coughs & sneezes and not touching our faces.
In an article for the NY Times, Dr. Perri Klass writes,”Most children enjoy the chance to feel morally superior to adults; go ahead and encourage a little righteousness. Remind them that they are smarter than these grown-ups who are not protecting others and not protecting themselves; masks do both.” A link to Dr. Klass’ article is
here
. He also suggests that kids take turns being the family mask monitor… this could also extend to handwashing monitors or other activities that we all need help remembering.
NEW WAYS TO GREET FRIENDS:
Chances are, your kids have missed their school friends and teachers. In a school community like SIA, there is much excitement when we all return after being apart for the summer. We have been apart since March and as much as we may want hugs, talk to your kids, starting now, about personal space &
new ways to greet friends & teachers without touching
.
HANDWASHING:
Hand washing, covering coughs & sneezes have always been reinforced at SIA, but these activities are more important than ever. Keep up with your child’s hand washing habits and encouragement. Look for ways to get them to wash for 20 seconds & teach safe use of hand sanitizers to kids old enough to use them. The SIA Clinic site has resources, videos and activities for hand washing:
Tips for Teaching Hand Washing to Preschoolers
We look forward to partnering with you to help maintain the safest possible environment at SIA.
*Staff who are unable to wear a cloth face covering will have provided documentation from their doctor & face shields will be made available.
