The Mount Laurel Leaflet
Back to School Issue - August 25, 2021
A Safe Return to School - Layered Prevention Strategies
Welcome Back to School
It will take all of us working together to minimize disruption to student learning and keep our schools open safely. We focused our reopening on using a layered prevention approach. Below we have provided information on a number of areas in which we will be focusing as we return all of our students safely back to school.
According to the American Academy of Pediatricians, "Everything possible must be done to keep students in schools in-person". We must all work together to do our part not to disrupt in-person learning for our students.
Keeping District and School Pandemic Response Teams Intact
Vaccinations
We have been communicating to you about vaccine clinics, however, all eligible persons, including students 12 years and older, should get vaccinated now. Vaccinated adults and students will not have to quarantine if they are in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual.
Use the New Jersey Vaccine Appointment Finder to search for available vaccine appointments.
Governor Murphy's Executive Order 253, signed on August 23, requires all staff and volunteers in our schools to be fully vaccinated by October 18, 2021, or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. This provides another layer of prevention in helping us protect your child(ren) and our staff.
Screen for Illness Every Day, Stay Home When Sick
Parents/caregivers are strongly encouraged to monitor their children for signs of illness every day as you are the front line for assessing illness in your child(ren). Students who are sick should not attend school. Should your child be sent to school sick, please know that our schools will be following the exclusion criteria for students and staff provided by the NJDOH. Health screenings are an important mitigation measure in our layered approach
If your child does have signs of illness keep them home and contact your school nurse. We have provided an easy-to-use screener you can review each day with your child to ensure they are coming to school symptom-free and ready to learn!
The Daily Health Screener is updated to align with the NJDOH guidance. This can change as guidance changes. The Daily Health Screener is completed on an honor system by you and does not need to be submitted to your school.
Definition of COVID-19 Compatible Symptoms
- At least two of the following symptoms: fever (measure or subjective), chills, rigors (shivers), myalgia (muscle aches), headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion, or runny nose; OR
- At least one of the following symptoms: cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new olfactory disorder, or new taste disorder.
Masks
As we welcome our students back to school, we will follow Executive Order 251 signed by Governor Murphy on August 6, 2021. Executive Order 251 states:
All public, private, and parochial preschool programs and elementary and secondary schools, including charter and renaissance schools (collectively “school districts”), must maintain a policy regarding mandatory use of face masks by staff, students, and visitors in the indoor portion of the school district premises, except in the following circumstances:
- When doing so would inhibit the individual’s health, such as when the individual is exposed to extreme heat indoors;
- When the individual has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face mask without assistance;
- When a student’s documented medical condition or disability, as reflected in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Educational Plan pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, precludes the use of a face mask;
- When the individual is under two (2) years of age;
- When the individual is engaged in activity that cannot physically be performed while wearing a mask, such as eating or drinking, or playing a musical instrument that would be obstructed by a face mask;
- When the individual is engaged in high-intensity aerobic or anaerobic activity;
- When a student is participating in high-intensity physical activities during a physical education class in a well-ventilated location and able to maintain a physical distance of six feet from all other individuals; or
- When wearing a face mask creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task.
This Executive Order went into effect on Monday, August 9, 2021. The order aligns with the Mount Laurel Public Schools’ masking requirements for students, staff members, and visitors, which were in effect last year. Finally, whenever students and staff are involved in outdoor activities, although it is recommended masks be worn, it is not required.
Please note parent self-attestations, individual or parental testimonials or simply submitting a physician’s note is not sufficient. A medical exemption is subject to review by school medical personnel prior to final approval.
Transportation
Our buses will be operating at full capacity.
- If bus occupancy allows, we will maximize the physical distance between students.
- If a bus is not air-conditioned, bus windows will be open to increase the airflow.
- All high-touch surfaces on school buses will be cleaned often and at least daily.
- Seating charts will be maintained for assigned seating for contact tracing purposes.
Bus passes will be sent out to all students on Monday, August 30th.
Please be aware currently there is a national shortage of qualified school bus drivers. As a result of the bus driver shortage, it has become necessary to combine some bus stops and to service other areas with small buses. Thank you for your patience as we work through this nationwide shortage.
Cleaning and Disinfecting
- Routinely cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects that are frequently touched.
- Maintaining hand sanitizing stations with alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
- For classrooms with existing handwashing facilities, preparing stations with soap, water, and alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
- Sanitizing bathrooms daily, or between use as much as possible.
- Cleaning and sanitizing drinking fountains.
Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Etiquette
- In each classroom (for staff and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer).
- At entrances and exits of buildings.
- Near lunchrooms and toilets.
- Children ages 5 and younger will be supervised when using hand sanitizer.
- For classrooms that have existing handwashing stations, the district prepared stations with soap, water, and alcohol-based hand sanitizers (at least 60% alcohol).
Students will be encouraged and informed to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds at regular intervals, including before eating, after using the bathroom, and after blowing their nose, coughing, or sneezing. In general classroom teachers and support staff will:
- Limit the use of supplies and equipment to one student at a time and clean and disinfect between use.
- Ensure adequate supplies to minimize sharing of high-touch materials.
- Avoid sharing electronic devices, toys, books, and other games or learning aids, or thoroughly clean and disinfect them between use.
- Keep each student’s belongings separated from others’ and in individually labeled containers, cubbies, or areas.
Ventilation
HVAC upgrades were made to district systems as part of a district-wide bond referendum in 2018. The Mount Laurel School District maintains high-quality and well-maintained HVAC systems and air-conditioned units in all school buildings.
Contact Tracing and Quarantining
Contact Tracing will take place in the school setting whenever a positive case of COVID-19 is identified in school. Our School Nurses will contact all individuals and parents whose children have been in close contact with a positive COVID-19 person. Our school nurses work closely with the Burlington County Department of Health who determine the need for any individuals to quarantine.
The COVID-19 Exclusion Criteria for Persons Who Have COVID-19 Compatible Symptoms or WhoTest Positive for COVID-19 are as follows:
- Ill individuals with COVID-19 compatible symptoms who have not been tested or individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 should stay home until at least 10 days have passed since symptom onset and at least 24 hours have passed after resolution of fever without fever-reducing medication and improvement in symptoms.
- Persons who test positive for COVID-19 but who are asymptomatic should stay home for 10 days from the positive test result.
- An alternate diagnosis (including a positive strep test or influenza swab) without a negative COVID-19 test is not acceptable for individuals who meet COVID-19 exclusion criteria to return to school earlier than the timeframes above.
Important Exception:
In an indoor classroom setting, the close contact definition excludes students who were within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student (laboratory-confirmed or a clinically compatible illness) where both the infected student and the exposed student(s) correctly and consistently wore well-fitting masks the entire time. This exception does not apply to teachers, staff, or other adults in the indoor classroom setting.
Parents will be notified when a positive case of COVID-19 occurs in their classroom along with directions about whether there is a need to quarantine or not. The confidentiality of the positive COVID-19 individual will be protected and not disclosed.
Classroom Protocols
In most cases, especially in upper grades, students will be seated in rows facing forward. However, all students in classrooms will be properly masked during instruction and when working in groups on projects together. Shared materials will be discouraged when possible.
Younger students in our elementary schools, often are seated at tables together and will be properly masked. Plexi-glass table dividers and student barriers are no longer required as they are not effective in reducing the spread of contagions in the classroom as per the CDC.
What's the Latest on Lunch?
We are committed to making our school lunch experience as pleasant as possible for our students while at the same time maintaining health and safety measures as follows:
- Requiring everyone to wear masks in the cafeteria when not eating and drinking.
- Wearing masks while going through the lunch lines.
- Re-masking once students finish their meal.
- Encouraging hand-washing or the use of hand sanitizer before and after eating.
- Avoiding self-serve food options, at least at the start of the school year.
- Discouraging students from sharing meals.
- Employing routine cleaning between groups.
How will lunch look in our school cafeterias?
Students will be seated according to assignment or by homeroom, depending on the school. This is to ensure we have podding/cohorting table by table in our cafeterias so that in the event a positive case of COVID-19 occurs we can effectively contact trace and quarantine the affected persons.
Students will not be required to sit facing the same direction 6ft apart while they eat lunch like last year. this layout will not permit our cafeteria and lunch service to operate effectively with all students in person full day.
Physical distancing will not be possible in all circumstances when we return with 100% of all students to their school buildings. Our schools will do their best to physically distance where space allows and when it does not disrupt normal operations.
Recess
Although it is recommended by the CDC during large gatherings and crowds, masks are not required for students and staff during outside recess.
Remote Instruction for Quarantining Purposes Only
Our schools will do their best to keep students learning in the event they must quarantine. A 100% of students will be in person, therefore quarantining students will receive remote instruction including the opportunity to join their peers and teachers through Google Meet and Classroom. Specific information will be provided to you from your school principal regarding your child in the event they have to quarantine.
However, students with underlying health conditions that may make them more susceptible to or exacerbate the symptoms of COVID-19 may be eligible for home instruction per the process outlined at N.J.A.C. 6A:16-10.1 or as required by the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 plan.
Dates to Remember
September
2
Kindergarten Orientations
All Elementary Schools @ 1 PM
6
Labor Day
Schools Closed
7-8
Rosh Hashanah
School Closed
9
First Day of Classes
Preschool/K-8 Full Day
14
Back to School Night
Countryside/Parkway
16
Yom Kippur
Schools Closed
21
Back to School Night
Fleetwood/Larchmont
22
Back to School Night
Hillside/Springville
23
Back to School Night
Hartford
29
Back to School Night
Hartford
30
Back to School Night
Harrington
October
5
Back to School Night
Harrington
7
Back to School Night
Lenape
STAY CONNECTED
Website: http://www.mtlaurelschools.org
Location: 330 Mount Laurel Road, Mount Laurel Township, NJ, USA
Phone: 856-235-3387
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlschools/
Twitter: @MTL_Super