August 8, 2020

Dear Columbus Academy Families,

We hope this letter finds you and your families well and excited about the upcoming school year. We realize this is a very stressful time and that each family is dealing with this pandemic in the best ways possible.

With that said, Columbus Academy is fortunate to have on staff two full-time, licensed school nurses. We -- Beckie Hoagland and Janet Fireman -- want to ensure that we do our best to provide a safe and caring environment for your children while at school. We have created a detailed checklist/reminder of our policies regarding illness and the most recent ODH and CDC recommendations for COVID-19. Please know that these recommendations do change frequently, and we will do our best to continually update families as needed.

School Health Forms
All students must have up-to-date health forms submitted through FinalForms. In addition, Explorers Program and PreK students must return the Physical Exam Form with immunizations (yellow sheet in printed packets) signed by a healthcare practitioner.

Flu Vaccine
We are strongly encouraging all students to obtain their annual flu vaccines.

Daily Health Checks
This will be required for all families prior to arrival daily. More information regarding this policy and the new SchoolPass app will be provided as we get closer to the start of in-person schooling.

Child Illness Policy
It is expected that if your children are sick, they should not come to school. If your children have fevers of 100 degrees or higher, they need to be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication upon returning to school.

Emergency Contacts
Please update your emergency contacts within FinalForms. We will require parents, guardians or emergency contacts to pick up ill or sick children as soon as possible from school. We will not permit non-school adults in the building. We will escort your children out to the bus circle (in front of the Middle School next to Academy Hall) where there will be a designated parking spot for pickup.

Mask Requirement
Masks and/or neck gaiters are required for all grade levels, Explorers Program and PreK classrooms included. We are asking parents and guardians to please start preparing your children now. We realize this may be difficult for some students; they will have several mask breaks throughout the day at the discretion of their teachers. Vented masks are not recommended. Please make sure your children have several extra masks at school and remember that they will need to be washed daily. (view CDC guidance on masks)

COVID-19 Quarantine and Testing Recommendations as of August 8

  • If exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, quarantine for 14 days from the last day you had close contact and monitor for symptoms. If you live with this person, you need to separate to the best of your ability. If symptoms arise seek medical advice from your doctor and notify the school nurse. (view CDC guidance on safely ending isolation)

  • If traveling from an area that has a high positivity rate, you are recommended to quarantine for 14 days and monitor for symptoms.

  • If you test positive or have symptoms with no test completed, you need to quarantine for 10 days since the first symptom appeared or 10 days since your positive test. Additionally, you need to be symptom-/fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication and symptoms resolving. (view CDC quarantine guidelines)

Again, we will continually update parents and guardians as needed pertaining to any changes to the recommendations listed above. Please feel free to email us any time at nurse@columbusacademy.org or call our mobile phones (614-332-2764 for Beckie/614-496-9591 for Janet) during normal school hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with any questions you may have moving forward. We will do our very best to ensure the safety of all students and staff. We need your help as parents and guardians to continue to work with us and keep us informed of any health changes pertaining to your children. Please help us keep Columbus Academy a safe learning environment for all of our students.

Many thanks,

School Nurses
Beckie and Janet