Dear St. Louis Families,
Our attention remains focused on the health crisis in China and globally associated with novel coronavirus infections (COVID-19). St. Louis School is actively monitoring the CDC, the Virginia Department of Health, and Fairfax County Health Department websites for the most current information and recommendations. The current risk of COVID-19 remains low. As of today, there are no active cases in Virginia. The most up-to-date information can be found on the
CDC website
. As the global outbreak evolves, St. Louis School is preparing for the possibility of community-level outbreaks. Our response will be revised and updated as new information becomes available, but we remain focused on prevention and implementing precautionary measures.
As a reminder, common cold and flu viruses are not unusual during the winter season. We ask that everyone do their part to stay healthy. Our faculty and staff will be requiring students to follow the precautions below in order to reduce the spread of viruses. We appreciate your support of these measures and ask that you implement the same in your homes:
- Wash hands frequently
- Cover sneezes and coughs
- Stay home if fever or other flu-like symptoms
- Stay home for 24 hours without symptoms and without fever-reducing or pain-reducing medicine before coming back to school
Our faculty and staff will exercise the following precautions to help stop the spread of germs.
- Make tissues available for students to use
- Make hand sanitizer available
- Use disinfecting wipes for regular cleaning of desktops’ and students’ hands throughout the school day so commonly used surfaces (e.g. keyboards, mice, flat surfaces) can be wiped down by students and staff daily
- Identify and send to the School Nurse any students who appear to be ill so that they are cared for properly
- Ensure extreme sanitation is taken in the cafeteria and during preparation of hot lunches.
- Ensure any sick personnel are sent home as quickly as possible
Should the school close due to the spread of this illness, please know that it is our intention to continue instruction remotely as best we are able. Our faculty is hard at work preparing for this scenario, and school administration is working with the faculty to ensure they have the resources and plans to implement remote instruction. If we do have to take these steps, Constant Contact and the school website will be the primary means of parent and student communication. For grades 4-8 who have school email addresses, teachers will utilize Google classroom to convey important learning information. For grades K-2, teachers will be in contact via their newsletters through parent email contact. Please ensure that we have two emergency contacts (two in addition to parents) in Power School. Those additional contacts should have the addresses and phone numbers of any person who is authorized to pick up your student. If you have any difficulty updating your demographics, please send the changes to
attendance@stlouisschool.org
.
Additionally, we are working directly with our cleaning company, our maintenance team and our school nursing team, to take steps to thoroughly clean and sanitize our school on a regular basis. Our cleaning team is wiping down doorknobs, desks, light switches, keyboards and other surfaces that students touch throughout the day. We are also conducting demonstrations to remind students about proper handwashing techniques.
As a reminder, here is what parents/guardians can do for now:
- Please notify schools of travel plans in an effort to continue to keep our school community healthy. The countries of concern change daily and allowing us to know your plans will help us to work with you upon your return.
- Ensure that your most recent contact information (home phone, cell phone and email addresses) are on file with the school in the event a Constant Contact message needs to be sent.
- Practice and educate your children on appropriate strategies to prevent or reduce the spread of a virus.
- For current and accurate information, please refer to the Virginia Department of Health and Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention websites.
- Continually monitor the St. Louis School website for communications and social media for updates.
- Check daily for communications from teachers about assignments and homework.
- Plan to provide a good learning atmosphere during a school closure, taking into account the effects the crisis is having on your family.
- Strictly follow any guidance provided by the school on when a sick student can return to school once the school is re-opened.
For your own information, here are some helpful links on the COVID-19 outbreak provided by the Virginia Council for Private Education:
As a school community, we pray for those affected by the spread of illness and that our own family members stay safe and healthy,
God Bless,
Anne M. Dyke
Principal
