December 18, 2020
Dear Four & Five-Year Old Class Families,
I know that you have had several pieces of communication from me over this past week; please know that this is not a COVID positive or exposure letter!
As you know, COVID-19 cases in North Carolina remain on the rise. Governor Cooper has been continuing to update precautionary measures regularly as he works with NCDHHS to minimize the spread of the virus. His most recent order affects preschools and early childhood centers in regards to wearing face masks (Executive Order 180). This new order requires that children aged 5 and older, regardless of whether they attend kindergarten, preschool, or childcare, wear a mask. This includes when they are inside and outside. The NCDHHS Childcare Strong Toolkit (here) and the Diocese of Raleigh Office of Education guidelines have now both been updated to reflect this order. St. Francis Preschool will implement this change beginning January 4th.
While those in our preschool who turn 5 will be required to wear a mask, we recommend that others in the class strongly consider wearing one as well. Not only will this help with maintaining good health, but also there will be more consistency in the classroom.
Our teachers understand that this will be new for many children and are happy to assist and encourage as needed. In preparation for those who will be affected by the change and for any child choosing to wear a mask while at preschool, we recommend the following:
- Have Santa bring your child masks or allow them to choose fun masks for themselves.
- Practice wearing masks for short periods of time, such as while watching a TV show or listening to a story, and slowly increase the time to develop stamina and independence for wearing a mask for an entire school day.
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Use this social story to help your child understand why masks are important.
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Read this article for ideas on how parents can talk to children about masks.
- Place two Ziploc bags in your child’s bag when he/she begins to wear the mask to preschool. Label one bag “clean” and place an extra mask inside. The second bag is for used masks that are taken off during the day. This bag should be labeled with word “used”. Parents might also choose a symbol (ie. a stop sign) to alert the child to which bag has masks that will need to be washed.
Teachers will assist the children with the Ziploc bags, but the child must be independent in taking off and putting on masks.
Thank you for your ongoing support! I know that this remains a time filled with much anxiety and uncertainty, particularly for parents. We are here to help alleviate as much of that as we can. I know that we will continue to have a wonderful and exciting preschool year in working together!
As always, please feel free to contact me at any time with questions/concerns. You can call the office and leave me a message or email me: Heidi.hobler@stfrancisraleigh.org.
Peace,
