Welcome back!
We are so happy to see you all again. All changes herein are until further notice. None of us know what the future holds, so we will take this one step at a time. Routines and policies will be evaluated, periodically.
Arrivals
1. Only one family will enter the building at a time. Please limit your group to the children being dropped off and one adult. Adults must wear masks. We have painted a red rectangle on the parking lot in front of the building. If you are in that spot, it is your turn. If someone else is, please line up behind them and wait your turn to enter the building.
2. Shanna will take temperatures and do a health assessment in the entryway, there will be a wait. She will check for rashes, swelling, etc. in addition to fevers. She will also ask you general health questions about your child. Please give yourself plenty of time in the morning. We do not know how long this will take, but we hope to get faster and will certainly go as fast as is safe. Shanna will wear a mask and will wash hands, hand sanitize, or wear different gloves between every child, depending on the availability of supplies.
3. Children over 2 years and adults will use hand sanitizer in the entry, again, depending on the availability of supplies.*If your class is outside, parents are asked to go through the health check procedure in the front entry first. Then, we will take the child out to the playground.
4. No parents will go beyond the security door. Please say your goodbyes in the entryway. We will take your child’s cubby items. One of our staff will take your child to class and sign them in.
*If your child’s class is outside, please go through the health check procedure in the front entry first. We will take your child out to the playground.
Please use social distancing in the hallway. Teachers will also be entering for the day or Sam may be trying to get through to take food to classrooms. Please separate your family from others as much as possible.
All staff will wear masks around children in the building. They will periodically take breaks to take down their masks, but only when socially distanced from children, for instance when they are on the playground or on a break in the hallway.
Pick-up
1. Please use the red space out front for pick-up as well. We will dismiss children one at a time. We are considering a schedule or a call-ahead plan, to minimize wait times. Please wait in the entry with your mask on. We will get any items needed from your child’s cubby and bring them and your child to the front entry. Teachers will sign your child out.
2. If your child’s class is on the front playground when you arrive, please socially distance away from the gate and a staff member will bring your child to you. If you need to pick up belongings, please notify a staff member and we’ll go back in the building for your things.
3. If your child’s class is on the back playground when you arrive, please follow regular drop-off and pick-up procedures. Park in the red space, come in the entry, and someone will go get your child and their belongings. Again, please be prepared for wait times.
Naptime
Until further notice, napping supplies may not be brought back and forth daily. You need to bring light blankets and leave them here. We will launder sheets and blankets on site for now. No stuffed animals will be allowed until we have further guidance on their safety. For the time being, children’s cots will be set 6 feet apart until growing enrollment makes that impossible.
Mealtime
Family dining, specifically the passing of bowls and spoons, will be suspended. Staff members will serve children. According to the health department, toothbrushing has also been suspended, so you may want to brush teeth at home after breakfast. Children and staff will be spread out across all tables, so the maximum distance possible is between them. All children need their own water bottles if they don’t have them already. Communal water fountains will be closed until further notice.
Masks-UPDATED
All staff will be required to wear masks. No child 2 or under will wear masks due to suffocation risk. Pre-K and school-aged children will be encouraged to wear masks so that they will be ready for their mandatory use when they return to public school. Googols invested in ‘smile’ masks. They are masks with clear vinyl panels. The benefit is so that children can see the adults around them smiling, and so that children who are learning proper speech, can see the way the teacher’s mouth moves. Of course, were we to have any hard of hearing staff or children, they are also good for lip reading.
New Exclusions-UPDATED
Persistent Cough - If a child or staff member has a persistent cough, he or she must remain home until it resolves.
Fever - If a child or staff has a fever, they must remain home until symptom free without medication for 72 hours.
Contact with potential COVID carrier - If your child has been in contact with someone now considered to potentially have the COVID virus, you must exclude your child for 14 days from the time of contact or until that person’s test results come back negative. Or if your child is tested, until your child’s test results come back negative.
Travel outside of Kansas -Travel outside of Kansas - Googols will follow the Kansas Department of Health and Environment guidelines regarding travel which can be found on their website at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/. These restrictions can change at any time, so please check for the most recent version of the Travel Related Quarantine Table.
10-day closure - In anticipation of COVID exposure within the building at some point requiring us to shut down for 14 days, we are now building 10 extra school-days of closure into the calendar. You’ll find many programs are now including this policy. The 10-day potential closure period will be for one year starting August 1st, 2020. There will be no refunds of tuition for up to 10 school-days, at whatever point in the year this closure might happen. In that situation however, staff will remain employed and we will offer virtual learning opportunities for your children.
No refunds of tuition due to exclusions or closure - There will be no refunds of tuition due to exclusions or up to 10 days of COVID related closure. Unfortunately, our expenses remain the same, so in order for us to continue our services, we cannot offer refunds for any of the COVID related closures or exclusions listed above.
Other Precautions and Changes
No other people will be allowed in the building while children are here. That includes, delivery or maintenance people, or potential family tours.
Naturally, enhanced cleaning will happen throughout the day, wiping down doorknobs, keypads, and other common surfaces. Also, additional cleaning of outdoor playground equipment and the bathroom, will happen between each classroom’s use.
The indoor climbing structure will be closed.
UPDATED - We’ve eliminated the use of use group sensory or water tables.
UPDATED - We use a no-contact thermometer
UPDATED - We clean pens between use and email incident reports, to reduce the need to use pen and paper.
UPDATED - We’re installing many new windows throughout the building in February 2021 to improve natural ventilation and to reduce the spread of COVID.
UPDATED - We’ve invested in many new outdoor playground toys in encourage children and staff to spend more time outdoors in fresh air.
UPDATED - We’ve installed commercial air ionizers which deactivate SARS Cov 2 to 99.4% in 30 minutes treating all surfaces and breathable air in the facility.
UPDATED - We’ve purchased, and use nightly, an electrostatic sprayer that allows for efficient coating of hard nonporous surfaces, by using a disinfectant product that kills bacteria and viruses and which is made of naturally occurring salt minerals and water and free available chlorine.
We will no longer take cash payments for tuition. Checks, money orders, and credit/debit/Vision cards are still acceptable.
If your child develops a fever of 100 or above, parents will need to be available to pick up within one hour of the office phoning. Please arrange in advance for someone to do that pick up rapidly if it becomes necessary.
This goes without saying, but all of the above changes to policies and procedures are to ensure the safest environment for children and staff members. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this new ‘normal.’ We’re excited to see you all again!
Ms. Amy and Ms. Shanna
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Please CLICK HERE to download the new Covid-19 Routines and Policy pdf version
