Community Service

January is a time of fresh starts. With that in mind, our community service focus for the next few weeks is collecting toiletries for Clean Start. Clean Start serves the homeless, poor, and marginalized in Anderson by providing facilities for them to achieve basic hygiene and cleanliness, restoring their sense of self-worth and dignity. We can help by providing the following supplies:

• Shampoo and soap

• Small deodorants (or spray)

• Vaseline/lotion/chapstick

• Q-tips

• Toilet paper

• Air fresheners

• Disposable razors & shaving cream

• Toothbrushes & toothpastes

• Mouthwash

• White socks

COVID Update

• Since returning from the holidays, we have had several families report a COVID-positive family member or possible exposure to a COVID-positive person. In an effort to prevent the need for a whole-class quarantine, we are following the strictest CDC guidelines for quarantining and return-to-school.

• With the current levels of COVID in the local community, mask-wearing is more important than ever. All students (PR-HS) should arrive at school wearing a mask. Please discuss the importance of proper mask-wearing with your child (noses covered). We cannot let our guard down now!

YEARBOOKS

• MSA upper school students work hard each year to document the school year in a yearbook professionally published by Jostens. All members of our MSA community (Infants - High School) are pictured. Without a doubt, 2020-2021 will be a year to remember, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to purchase this unique memento of the 2020-2021 school year! Buy your MSA yearbook now - only $35! Prices go up after January! Email Matt Dabney (mdabney@msasc.org) or click here to reserve yours today.

Festival of Lights

• This coming week we will be sharing our whole-school Festival of Lights video. There is so much more to Festival of Lights than can be captured in a short video, but we want to acknowledge and celebrate this school-wide cultural study with all of you! If you want to learn more, be sure to talk to your student about the continent/country that s/he studied. Our next Festival of Lights will be 2023!

We’re off to a great start in 2021!

Dr. Dana Hill

Remember that you can always check the MSA website calendar for upcoming calendar events.

February 15 - President's Day - All Programs Closed, IT-PR extended day available

March 19 - All Programs Closed

March 22 - IT-UE closed for Conference Day, IT-PR extended day available

April 2 - All Programs Closed

April 5-9 - Spring Break - All Programs Closed, IT-PR extended day available

Mask use is the single most effective mitigation strategy that our community can implement in order to offer protection against Covid-19 until everyone who wants and qualifies for the vaccine becomes available.

Mask use campaigns must be consistent in order to be effective and protect everyone. Masks use along with proper hand washing and physical distancing are the three key measures that individuals can take to decrease their own risk of contracting COVID-19 and decrease the chance that they may infect someone else.

Upstate South Carolina counties have had some of the highest daily cases of Covid-19. Anderson County community spread remains alarmingly high and as a result of the increased rate of transmission and positivity rate in the community, our health care facilities are becoming overburdened and hospital bed availability limited. We have to act now and ask for your continued help so that we can protect the children, staff and faculty and ultimately, the MSA families.

What can you do to assist in protecting our community?

• Send your child to school in a well fitting mask (3-ply is best)
• Help your child with proper mask technique
• Arrive at the classroom masked
  
• Frequently wash the mask
  
• Encourage mask use
  
• Practice good hand hygiene
• Practice good respiratory etiquette
• Reinforce proper mask use
  
• Proper social modeling
• Encourage good nutrition, hydration, exercise and sleep
• Encourage outdoor play
• Do not send your student to school if sick
• If your child has symptoms consistent with Covid-19, call your healthcare provider
• Notify the school if your child will be absent
  
• Notify the school if anyone in the household tests positive or has an exposure to Covid

What is MSA doing?

• Additional disinfecting and sanitizing throughout the day and after school
  
• Temperature screening at arrival and dismissal
  
• Mandatory masking for all ages 3-adult
  
• PPE available
  
• Access to hand hygiene agents
  
• Visitor screening
  
• Ultrastatic treatment daily (all classes and playground equipment)
  
• Air purification and circulation of fresh air throughout the day
  
• Monitor Physical distancing
  
• Monitoring all illnesses
  
• Contact tracing
  
• Rapid isolations for those who become ill

Proper use of Masks:

DO's

• Hands should be clean prior to putting on masks.
• Do - Use it to completely cover your nose and mouth

• Do - Read the directions provided to you on use of the mask

• Do - Put it on properly and adjust it as necessary throughout the day

• Do - Wash your hands and face after removing the mask before touching your face

• Do - Keep it clean

• Do - Keep it away from running machinery or equipment that could entangle the mask

• Do - Keep it on your person when you are not using it

• Do - Request a new disposable mask if it becomes damaged or in any way unsanitary

DON'T's

• Don’t - Let it obstruct your vision

• Don’t - Wear it if it causes any difficulty in your ability to breathe

• Don’t - Wear it if it causes your safety glasses or reading glasses to fog up and impair your vision
  

• Don’t - Let it hang down around your neck

Thank you for your assistance with supporting MSA's mask usage policy. It is with your assistance that we can continue to operate in the safest, healthiest environment possible.

Take care and wishing you continued good health,

Susanna Merriman, RN