March 11, 2020

Coronavirus Update 9
Dear San Marino Unified Staff, Students, Families, and Community,

As we have been, we will continue to check in weekly, if not sooner, to provide any information we can related to developments related to COVID-19 and our plans of action to combat its spread in our community. We want you to know that we are aware of today's news updates from the World Health Organization, who provided the news that COVID-19 has been labeled a "pandemic", as are we apprised of the new developments in LA County, where there has been the tragic passing of an elderly man and where the number of confirmed cases continues to rise.

While there are no instances of COVID-19 in our schools at this time, please find more details below on the continued measures we are taking to protect our students, teachers, staff, and families from being impacted by this and any other illness. Please also find our update to the Board of Education at last night's meeting here . 

School Cleanliness and Supplies
  • We have health supplies in our health offices, as do we have supplies and the ability to order additional supplies as needed per school site.
  • Our custodial team is trained in using virus-killing disinfectant chemicals.
  • Daily cleaning is taking place in all of our classrooms and restrooms by our custodians, which includes wiping down all surfaces, chairs, door handles, light switches, toilets, toilet flushers, faucets, and sinks. 
  • Training is required to use certain disinfectant chemicals in classes. Though it is not required of teachers, many of our teachers are taking this training to continue additional cleaning efforts throughout the day.
  • At our Board of Education Meeting last night, Board President C. Joseph Chang donated 1,000 medical masks to the District in the event we need to use those.

School Closure Preparedness
  • At this time, we have no immediate need to close our schools.
  • In the event we need to close our schools, it will be an informed decision made in conjunction with input from our county and/or state health officials.
  • Our Chief Technology Officer and Technology Services team are in the process of preparing faculty and student guides and testing technical capabilities for online classes should school closures need to take place. The first round of training for our teachers took place yesterday, Tuesday, March 10.

Student Absences
  • If your child is sick, please keep your child home. Illness-related absences will be excused. Please note, if symptoms are mild, there may be no need to see a doctor. As such, in most cases, the district will not require a doctor's note for a student who is absent from school because of illness. 
  • We understand and respect community concern about student health and safety. Some families have asked about keeping their children home based on the fear of contracting COVID-19 at school. At this time, and per Education Code, schools are unable to mark an absence as excused for a family's election to keep their healthy child home. We want to reaffirm here, however, please keep your sick child home. 

Travel Related to Student Groups
  • At this time, there have been no directives from governing agencies to cancel travel related to student programs, activities, and competition. Students, their families, and teachers overseeing student groups are advised to take all safety precautions when traveling and will experience no negative repercussions if they elect to not participate.
  • We are daily reconsidering this and will update our community on any changes in policies and procedures as soon as possible.

What Our Staff, Students, and Families Can Do to Help
  • Continue to practice healthy habits . Here are those listed by the LA County Department of Public Health:
    • Stay home if you are sick. Sick people make healthy people sick.
    • If you have mild symptoms, there may be no need to go to a medical facility to see a doctor.
    • Certain patients, such as the elderly and those that are immune compromised or have underlying health conditions, should call their doctor earlier.
    • If you have questions, please call the clinic or your doctor before going in. If you do not have a healthcare provider, call 211 for assistance finding support near you.
    • Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
    • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
    • Get immunized against the flu to protect yourself and your family, and reduce the potential strain on the healthcare system, which may be impacted by COVID-19 concerns.
  • Stay informed through trusted sources . We will continue to provide updates as we have them. You may also continue to stay informed through these important factual resources:
 
What's Next
  • We will continue to provide weekly updates via our Constant Contacts listserve to our staff, families, and community. 
  • We will continue to coordinate efforts with the City of San Marino, as well as work closely with LACOE, the LA County Department of Public Health, California Departments of Education and Public Health, and the CDC.
  • As with all other agencies, we are continuously keeping informed so that we may implement any updates to policies and procedures we can as we continue to evolve with this rapidly evolving situation.

Times like these remind us of how important it is for all of us to work together and do our part to keep each other healthy and safe. Please remember, you may find this update, Update 9, and all other updates on our website . Thank you for your support! 


Sincerely, 
San Marino Unified School District



聖馬力諾學區關於冠狀病毒的更新信息（九）


親愛的聖馬力諾學區的教職員工、學生、家長和居民們大家好，

我們希望您收到此郵件時一切安好。 正常情況下，每週我們將一如既往地與大家更新一次，來盡可能地提供關於COVID-19疫情的進展，以及學區對抗病毒傳播的措施的信息。
我們希望您知道我們知道世界衛生組織今天的新聞更新，該新聞提供了新聞，即COVID-19被標記為"大流行"，我們也知道了LA縣的新動向。是一位老人的悲慘逝世，確診病例的數量繼續增加。
雖然在我們的學校中沒有COVID-19的病例，但請在下面找到更多詳細信息，以了解我們在保護學生、教職員工和學區各家庭免受這種疾病和任何其他疾病的影響而持續採取的措施。另外，您可以在 此處 了解學區在昨天的教育委員會的例會上匯報的內容。
我們的衛生室備有衛生用品，學區各學校也有用品儲備，我們也有能力在有需要的時候訂購更多的用品。
  • 我們的保潔團隊接受了如何使用病毒消毒劑的培訓。
  • 保潔人員在學區所有的教室和洗手間進行每日清潔，包括擦拭所有表面、椅子、門把手、電燈開關、馬桶、馬桶沖洗開關、水龍頭和水槽。
  • 需要培訓以在課堂上使用某些消毒劑。我們的許多老師正在接受培訓，以全天繼續清潔工作。
  • 在昨晚的教育委員會會議上，董事會主席C. Joseph Chang向該地區捐贈了1,000副醫用口罩，以備不時之需。
學校關閉的準備
  • 目前，我們無需立即關閉學校。
  • 如果我們需要關閉學校，這將是我們依照縣和/或州衛生官員的指示做出的明智決定。
  • 我們的首席技術官和技術服務團隊正在準備教師和學生指南，並測試在線課程的技術能力以應對需要停課的情況。 老師們的第一輪培訓就在今天，3月10日星期二。
學生缺勤
  • 如果您的孩子生病了，請讓您的孩子留在家裡。 與疾病有關的缺席將被視為有正當理由的缺席。請注意，如果症狀較輕，則可能無需看醫生。因此，在大多數情況下，學區不會要求生病缺課的學生提供醫生出具的證明。
  • 我們了解並尊重社區對學生健康和安全的關注。 一些家庭出於擔心學生在學校感染COVID-19病毒而要求將自己的孩子留在家中。 根據《教育法》，目前學校無法將這樣的缺勤記錄為有正當理由的缺勤。學區希望在此重申，請將生病的學生留在家中。
與學生團體和集會有關的旅行
  • 目前，上級管理機構沒有發出取消與學生課程、活動和競賽有關的旅行計劃的指示。 建議學生、相關家庭和負責監督學生團體的老師在旅行時採取一切安全預防措施，並可以選擇取消參加活動，且不會因此受到懲罰。
  • 我們每天都在重新考慮如何應對，並將盡快向我們的社區告知任何相關政策和程序的變更。
我們的教職員工、學生和家庭如何保持健康
  • 繼續保持良好的健康習慣。以下是今天的洛杉磯縣公共衛生部門新聞稿中列出的內容：
    • 如果您生病了，請待在家裡。生病的人會使沒病的人生病。
    • 如果症狀較輕，則可能無需去醫療機構看醫生。
    • 某些患者，例如老年人、免疫力低下或具有潛在健康狀況的患者，應及早致電醫生。
    • 如有疑問，請在看醫生之前致電診所或醫生。如果您沒有醫療服務的提供者，請致電211，以尋求附近的醫療支持。
    • 用肥皂和水洗手至少20秒鐘，尤其是去洗手間後和進食前，以及 擦鼻涕、咳嗽或打噴嚏後。
    • 咳嗽或打噴嚏時用紙巾蓋住，然後將紙巾丟進垃圾桶。
    • 接種流感疫苗以保護自己和家人，並減輕COVID-19對醫療保健系統可能帶來的潛在壓力。
  • 通過可信賴的信息來源隨時了解情況。我們將繼續提供更新。您還可以通過以下重要的事實提供方繼續保持對疫情的跟蹤：
下一步的措施
  • 我們將繼續通過Constant Contacts平台每週發送電子通知給學區的教職員、各個家庭和我們的社區來提供更新。
  • 我們將繼續與聖馬力諾市政府、洛杉磯縣教育辦公室、洛杉磯公共衛生部、加州教育與衛生部以及CDC密切合作。
  • 與所有其他機構一樣，學區堅持不遺餘力地調整現有的政策和應對程序，來應對面瞬息萬變的疫情發展。
每當有此類重大事件發生的時候，也是提醒所有人思考和了解面對如何在最艱難的情況下為我們的學生們提供高品質的教學。請別忘記，您可以隨時訪問 我們的網站 上找到所有的疫情更新，包括這封郵件和過去的郵件。我們衷心感謝您的支持！
 
真誠地，
聖馬力諾聯合學區