Please continue to practice Healthy Hygiene Habits:

• Wear a Mask--mask should be worn (if 2 years or older) when in public and when around people who do not live in your same household. Encourage your child to wear masks correctly and safely.
• Masks should cover your nose and mouth and secure it under your chin. Masks should be at least 3 layers and fit snugly against the sides of your face.
• Social/physical distance-stay at least 6 feet away from other people, and avoid gatherings with many people present.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Cover coughs and sneezes. Use a tissue to cover coughs and sneezes, then dispose of the tissue. When a tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into your elbow.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces or objects. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill.
• Wash hands frequently and for 20 seconds. Washing hands often under clean, running water can help prevent the spread of germs. For more guidance see the CDC: When and How to Wash Your Hands. If you cannot wash your hands, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60-95% alcohol.
• Follow Montessori's School of Anderson's Illness Policy as stated in the handbook, page 18, Section 6.5: MSA Students are prohibited from attending classes while ill. If your child is absent, please notify the front office. MSA is proactive in monitoring all illnesses and makes every effort to prevent illnesses from spreading. When you have verification that your child has a communicable disease, please notify the office immediately. It is preferable to bring your child late or keep him/her out for another day in order to fully recuperate rather than risk exposing the student body to a potentially communicable illness. All students must be fever, vomiting and diarrhea free for 24 hours without the aid of medications before returning to school. If your child has missed school due to illness, he/she may not participate in any other school related activity on that day or evening.
• It's not too late to receive a seasonal influenza vaccine; contact your physician for more information.
• Take the Covid-19 vaccine when you are eligible.
• Get tested for Covid-19 if you are symptomatic or have a known direct exposure. Monitor symptoms and take temperature twice daily.
• All cases of Covid-19 and influenza need to be reported to MSA.
• Please notify the office if you or your family members are planning domestic or international travel so a quarantine plan can be considered.
• Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

For additional information, please refer to the links below:

Influenza: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

Coronavirus: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html

Wishing you continued good health,

Susanna Merriman, RN

#maskup

MSA's annual Scholastic book fair is coming both in-person and online. Access our book fair, via the following link February 15 - 27: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/montessoriofanderson

• In-person fair opened Friday, February 19 in the main office conference room and will run through Wednesday, February 24.
• Students will have time as a class during the school day to browse the books and make purchases.
• Limited parent shopping hours during pick up times will be available from 2:00-4:00 February 19-24 and 11:00-12:00 on February 22 & 23.
• Masks will be required for everyone entering the building. Social distancing should be observed. Scholastic has taken steps to lessen the likelihood of virus spread by sanitizing before sending the fair to us. Everyone attending the book fair will be given disposable gloves to wear.
• New: E-Wallet available for students. Parents (or grandparents) can provide funds for book purchases by creating an E-Wallet for their child through Scholastic. Students can print a card to scan or we can look up their account at checkout. Further details are available at the MSA Scholastic Book Fair web site.

For a full 360 degree preview of this year's book fair, click on the following links (desktop/laptop users may want to click the full-screen button toward the bottom right of the panorama view on each page for a larger view), then click and drag to pan around the room to see what's available: center view, left side, and right side.