March 3, 2020
Dear Green Hedges Families,
My last
Update from the Head of School
on February 26 provided an overview of what Green Hedges is doing to help prevent the spread of illness at School. Since last Wednesday, there has been quite a shift in the news about the coronavirus COVID-19 and the rate at which it is spreading. In light of these new developments, I want to further communicate what we are doing here on campus, what our emergency protocol is at this time, and our plans moving forward should we need to close Green Hedges temporarily.
In my
Update
last week, I noted that we are currently adjusting our cleaning protocols to include an expanded daily wipe down of surfaces and ensuring that hand sanitizer is readily available. Faculty are also reminding students to thoroughly wash their hands and to always sneeze or cough into their elbows. I want to please remind you that students who are ill should not be sent to School and that any communicable disease should be reported to
me
or
Mrs. Pence
. If you are unsure of whether or not to send your child(ren) to school, we ask that you err on the side of caution and keep them home and
let me
or
Mrs. Pence know
what the illness is. Please refer to page 29 of the
Green Hedges School Directory & Handbook
for our Health policy.
As it relates to our plan should we need to temporarily close the school:
- We have determined that should a parent, student, or faculty member be diagnosed with the virus, we will close Green Hedges effective immediately so that we may gather more information and ensure thorough cleaning of the school.
- Should the entire Fairfax County School system close, we will follow suit.
Other than these two scenarios, our plan is dynamic and I will continue to update and refine it on a case-by-case basis. Just this morning, the faculty came together to begin a discussion on how instruction may continue should the School close. Faculty and staff are actively thinking about this and there are a myriad of ways that teachers may work with students remotely should the need arise.
Lastly, I know that with Spring Break on the horizon, many of you are considering your plans should they require domestic or international travel. I trust that you will closely monitor any travel advisories issued and you and your child(ren) will return to Green Hedges on March 30 fully healthy or will let us know otherwise. The CDC provides specific travel recommendations on
its website
.
I am grateful to this community and the work we are doing together to keep ourselves, and our children, healthy. Please continue to be vigilant, educate yourself and your child(ren) appropriately about COVID-19, and be mindful of keeping children home when they are sick. There are many resources available on how to talk to your children about COVID-19 including
this article
and
this BrainPOP lesson
.
I will continue to do my part in monitoring the situation and keeping you apprised of any updates to our plan. As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.
