Dear Parents,
As we prepare to reopen our school from the 24th of October 2021, Sunday, our priority is to ensure the health and safety of the children and staff that come to our school every day. Kids Care follows COVID-19 and communicable disease guidelines set forth by the District Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre , and we have our own set of policies and protocols to keep everyone safe. However, even strict adherence to all guidelines does not guarantee a risk-free environment. We ask all families and staff to actively participate in measures that will support our goal of containing the spread of the virus, and we will only be successful with the consistent help and cooperation of every family and staff member.
HEALTH SCREENING
To minimise the risk of illness in the school and prevent the spread of COVID-19, all parents are requested to consider these symptoms before sending their child to school everyday.
(If your child does show any of the symptoms he/she should stay home until they are 24-hours symptom-free OR get a negative COVID test.)
(Note: if someone is excluded on Tuesday due to symptoms, they cannot return to school on Wednesday morning; they must wait till Thursday morning to return, if and only if, they have been symptom-free for 24 hours.)
Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 include:
1.Cough
2.Shortness of breath
3.Fatigue
4.Body and muscle ache
5.Sore throat
6.Loss of taste and smell
7.Diarrhoea
8.Congestion or runny nose
9.Nausea or vomiting
10.Headache
11. Fever or chills
If the answer is YES to any of the above, then parents are requested to do the needful and also to inform the school.
This is also applicable if the child is exposed to any family member showing these above mentioned symptoms at home as well.
TRAVEL
Families and staff are encouraged to limit travel during the pandemic. If children travel out of the valley, Kids Care will expect them to remain masked any time they are INDOORS with unvaccinated people or people whose vaccination status is unknown. If they cannot abide by this masking requirement, then we require that families follow the government’s quarantine and testing recommendations.
IF A CHILD/STAFF MEMBER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19:
If a child develops COVID-19 symptoms during the day, parents/guardians will be notified immediately and MUST pick up their child as soon as possible but within one hour of being notified. Any staff member who develops these symptoms during the day will be sent home immediately.
Upon learning of a positive test in our school, Kids Care is required to follow their directives of the District Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre , including possible classroom or building closure.
Unless otherwise directed by the District Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre, children and teachers in the classroom where the positive test was confirmed will be excluded from Kids Care for 10 calendar days from the date of the positive test.
Parents/guardians of children in an affected classroom will be notified; names will not be disclosed (unless the family/individual gives permission), but the classroom/group will be disclosed. Families and staff in other classrooms in the school will be notified that a classroom has been closed.
The classroom will be immediately closed off, cleaned and sanitised
2. IF A STAFF/CHILD’S FAMILY MEMBER (who lives with them in the same household) TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19:
Staff/child will be excluded from school and asked to quarantine for the required amount of time according to the District Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre.
If a child/staff member is exposed to someone outside the household who tests positive for COVID-19: This is considered a “secondary exposure” and the family is not required to report this to the school, however, in the interest of transparency and protecting our community, we encourage families to inform the school.
OTHER COVID PROTOCOLS
MASK/FACIAL COVERING POLICY
All staff and children must wear masks at all times while INDOORS, except when eating or napping or unless doing so would be contrary to his or her health or safety because of a medical condition. If a medical condition does exist, documentation will be required from a licensed medical practitioner.
Parents must wear masks when dropping off or picking up children. All visitors to Kids Care must wear a mask at all times.
Mask/Facial covering policy can be a bit relaxed for:
1.A child with a documented medical condition, special health care need, or developmental need (such as sensory integration) for whom wearing a mask or face covering would be contrary to their health or safety.
2.A child with a documented disability or special education need for whom wearing a mask or face covering would be contrary to their needs.
3.Children who are newly enrolled within the past two months and are working toward mask wearing.
Every family will be required to send in six, child-sized masks, clearly labeled with the child’s name in their bags everyday. This will help us ensure that the masks are not mixed up.
4.Staff will work with children who have difficulty complying with the mask requirement by issuing gentle reminders and means of support. Children will not be disciplined or excluded from the program or isolated from their peers due to non-compliance with mask wearing. However, if a family refuses to have their child wear a face mask, continued enrolment will not be permitted.
HYGIENE
Children will be taught proper hand washing techniques, washing hands for a minimum of 20 seconds whenever they wash hands.
Hand sanitiser will be available for staff and children throughout the school both inside and outside; children’s use of hand sanitiser will always be under supervision of parent or teacher.
Regular hand washing and/or hand sanitising by staff and children will be done:
1. At arrival
o Before and after eating
2. After sneezing, coughing or nose blowing
3.After using the restroom
4.After touching surface that maybe contaminated
CLEANING AND DISINFECTING
Cleaning procedures have always been a priority at Kids Care. We will continue to incorporate cleaning into teachers’ responsibilities for all high touch surfaces in the classroom throughout the day (tables, chairs, doorknobs, etc.)
All regular cleaning, sanitising, and disinfecting procedures will be followed in accordance with the recommendations of Health Department.
In addition to following our regular cleaning schedule, we will have enhanced cleaning of restrooms, classrooms, high touch surfaces and hallways at regular intervals throughout the day.
Staff will launder sheets and other washable materials on a weekly basis, or more frequently as needed.
We will limit other adults in the building (deliveries, repairs, etc.) and will ensure those individuals wear masks and are not in proximity of the children or teaching staff.
GROUPS AND SCHEDULES
Maximum number of kids in a class at Kids Care is currently 15 children and no more than three staff. Classes are kept in strict cohorts with no mixing of groups. Additional staff may join groups when they are outside.
School will open at 8:45 am and we ask that all children arrive by 9:00 am.
Outdoor playtime will be different for different classes to minimise the mixing of children.
The parent will escort the child till the red gate only where they will be received by a teacher. Parents will not be permitted inside and they should exit the property promptly to allow the next family to enter.
Parents/Guardians must wear masks at all times and will not be allowed inside the building except for emergencies.
Only one adult from each family should attend drop off or pick up.
Parents should maintain at least 6-foot distance from other parents during pick ups and drop offs.
School will end at 1:00 pm for classes Playgroup and Nursery and at 2:00 pm for classes UKG and LKG as the school has been directed to minimise their hours by the District Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre.
School will operate on Sundays for the rest of the academic year, except on the last Sunday of each month to compensate for the days lost due to the pandemic.
We thank you for doing your part to protect our community’s health and keep our school open!
Always grateful for your constant cooperation and support.
Pratima Rai
(Principal)
*Notice: This is to inform you that the price of petroleum has increased by more than 20% since we last updated our transportation fee. This leaves us compelled to revise our transportation fee as per the inflation rate in the middle of the academic year as we prepare to start our physical classes.
We will not revise our food and any other miscellaneous fee as of now for the rest of the academic year, even though the cost of everything has gone up, as we understand that it is a tough time for all of us.
However, the above will be subject to change according to the inflation rate from our next academic year.
