March 5 – Precautions before Spring Break
Dear Families:
As your children and you prepare for a well-deserved break from school, we would like to inform you what we are doing here at Keystone to minimize the risk from the COVID-19 coronavirus. Among our actions:
- Our Safety Committee of administrators and teachers is actively monitoring the situation on a local, state and national level and we are in touch with local health officials.
- During Spring Break, the entire campus will be scrubbed and hard surfaces sanitized.
- We are continuing to refine our preparations for the possibility that events warrant adjusting activities or taking more serious measures on campus.
Because the situation around the world is fluid, we ask your help in tracking where students are visiting during the upcoming break. If you are traveling outside the United States, please notify us at snutt@keystoneschool.org.
If you are traveling to a country that is currently on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travel advisory list or changes status and lands on the travel advisory list, we would like to talk to you before your children return to school.
Right now, the best ways we can combat the spread of the virus are simple, yet effective steps:
- Wash hands regularly for at least 20 seconds and use hand sanitizer.
- Cough or sneeze either in tissues or the bend of the elbow.
- Keep hands away from mouth and nose.
- In the event of an absence for medical reasons, please notify School Nurse Penny Moyer (pmoyer@keystoneschool.org) in addition to notifying your children’s teachers.
- When your children have a fever, please make sure they’re fever free 24 hours before returning to school. Our faculty and staff are following the same 24 hour rule.
Finally, please keep in mind that this public health crisis can worry children. Here are a couple of news articles and a pamphlet that can help you talk about this virus with your children.
https://parenting.nytimes.com/childrens-health/coronavirus-kids-talk
https://www.hemot.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pamphlet_HEMOT_english.pdf
Should circumstances change during the time off, we will update you with additional information. In the meantime, have a safe, restful and healthy Spring Break.
Sincerely,
Billy Handmaker
William B. Handmaker
Head of School