There are more details below on all of these items, but we need all families to attend to these items right away:

• Send your student to school with a face mask 😷 (and a spare) everyday. Ensure that it fits properly, is one they feel comfortable in, and that they are committed to wear.
• Talk to your student about proper wearing of a face mask.
• Inform the school via email about students' vaccine status (vaccinated, in-process, unvaccinated).
• Reach out to the school immediately should you observe symptoms in your student, someone in the household tests positive or has a suspected case, or you believe your student was otherwise exposed to COVID.

This communication is going out to all families of TCS@ODU students. This updates the COVID safety measures we are taking but also the quarantine procedure. Please read the entire newsletter so that you are aware of how we are keeping everyone safe. Thank you.

Deans Ingman, Rulong, and Selemon

These measures are being utilized on a regular basis in order to ensure the safety of all students, staff, and your families.

Currently we have the following protocols in place:

• Air ionizers to scrub the air of viruses, bacteria, and mold spores.
• Hand sanitizer in each classroom and strategically throughout the building.
• Touch point sanitizing throughout the building during the day.
• Face masks required for all staff, students and visitors.
• Physical distance of 3 feet in classrooms.
• Random symptom screening (temperature and symptoms).
• Rapid antigen tests can be administered by families of students who suspect their student has COVID.
  
• Pooled sampling will commence at the school in the coming weeks. More information below and forthcoming.

Face masks should be worn at all times in the building except when eating during breakfast and lunch times.

We remind students regularly of how to properly wear a mask. We need your backing and support in this endeavor. Please remind your students of the importance of correctly wearing their mask.

The biggest problem is students wearing it beneath the nose. This DOES NOT protect them from COVID. They must cover their noses and mouth.

In addition, we are going to limit eating to the gym. Students should not be eating in the hallway or classrooms. Students may drink water anywhere in the building, however, they should limit the amount of time their mask is down to fewer than 2 minutes.

If students correctly follow all safety measures (masking, physical distancing, and the overlapping strategies mentioned above), students may remain in school after an exposure as long as they are not symptomatic.

If one of those elements was not followed and a student was exposed, if they are vaccinated they may remain in school unless they test positive. If they test positive they should quarantine for 10 days from date of the positive test.

If a student did not consistently wear a mask and they are not vaccinated, they must quarantine for at least 7 days if they tested negative at least 5 days after exposure. If they test positive they must quarantine for 10 days.

We are following this quarantine flow chart from Ohio Department of Health should you have questions:

You can see from the above, that if your student is vaccinated they have a greater opportunity to remain in person for learning. Many studies have shown how effective the vaccines are and all of our students are of the age to receive the vaccine. We highly suggest that all families strongly consider getting their student vaccinated as it will help them stay in school should they be exposed. Vaccines do not guarantee that you won't contract the illness, but they reduce the severity of the illness.

Please inform the front office of your students' vaccine status so that we know how to proceed in the event of an exposure. If you have your completed vaccine card, you can email us a picture of the card. If your student is unvaccinated please send us an email with their name in the subject line and their status in the body of the email (statuses: vaccinated, completed first round, completed second round, or unvaccinated).

Should your student be exposed to a student or staff member who tested positive for COVID you will receive an email from the school. The email will provide information for you about the case (privacy protected) and how you can proceed.

If your student tests positive, you will receive an email from the school detailing what they should now do and when they can return to school.

If you suspect symptoms or exposure, do not send your student to school. Please call the school at your earliest convenience so we can talk through what's going on.

The school has access to home test kits which we can send home in cases with COVID is suspected. This is the deep nasal swab test and it can be completed in 30 minutes total time.

It requires a non-phone device which is internet capable and connected. The device should have a webcam that is enabled. It also requires a smart phone to download an app. You establish an account via the app and can register your student under the name of the responsible adult.

It is important that you download the app and follow all instructions from the app in order have a valid test. Once you receive your results, you can share them with the school in order to learn about next steps.

Very soon we will kick off our partnership with Battelle Memorial Institute. This partnership will allow us to test small groups of students together (called a pool) with a shallow nasal swab. This will allow us to determine if there are positive cases in our community. Families will have access to an online platform which will allow them to consent as well as be notified of their students' testing status.

While we respect family's wishes if they choose not to consent their student, we cannot assure their safety or the safety of others and so may need to conduct more regular symptom screening or suggest a greater sensitivity to quarantining if family's opt out in the interest of community safety.

We are all in this together and we are here to help so please reach out should you have questions about the pooled testing.

This virus and all of the issues that it has caused has impacted our entire school community. We have made many changes in the name of safety to ensure your student and your family is safe. This is a community endeavor, however. We need everyone to be equally cautious in order that we do not spread COVID. This means masking up in group settings outside of school, when shopping, etc. We implore you all to think about all of the other families that are connected with our school as you go about your day-to-day. We also NEED students to be on the same page with us with masking during the day to keep our community spread low.

We are in the process of getting laptops out to every student and hope to have that process completed within a week. This will help students who may need to quarantine keep up on their academic work utilizing Google Classroom.

We know that this virus is very challenging for families, please also know that it's challenging for your students' teachers. But we are committed to continuing to work hard to ensure the safety of everyone!

#Wereallinthistogether

Deans Ingman, Rulong, and Selemon