Covid 19 Policy - Tanbridge Academy

We meet or exceed Alberta Health regulations with our Covid protocols.

Tanbridge Academy is an independent private school. Currently, we have 118 students enrolled in our program (from junior kindergarten to grade 9). We have 10 classes that will be operating with a maximum of 14 students and 1 teacher.

Cohorts

For each of our classes, we will have 14 students and a classroom teacher. The teachers from grades 6- 9 will be moving from class to class. The students from kindergarten to grade 5 will remain in their homeroom with their teachers. Students will be assigned a desk and a chair, and they will be keeping their belongings by their desk or assigned areas. Students will not be using lockers.

Physical Distancing

Students will have their own individual desks as close to two metres apart as possible. Students’ desks will be placed in rows and arranged where students will be facing the front of the classroom (not each other).

Foot Traffic

We will be guiding foot traffic flow through entrances and hallways by placing permanent stickers on the floor.

Masks

Students in grades 4 to 9, staff, and visitors must wear a mask when entering the school, and in common areas where social distancing cannot be maintained. Once they are at their desk and have distanced themselves from their peers, they are able to take their masks off. Students will be provided with envelopes to store their mask when it is not in use at their desk. Students will need to place their masks back on when walking through the school hallway or going to the washroom.
Students in junior kindergarten to grade 3 are highly encouraged to wear a mask when entering the school and in common areas where social distancing cannot be maintained.
Tanbridge staff will be required to wear a mask throughout the school day.
Students will be expected to not share masks.
Families are encouraged to visibly label their child’s reusable masks.
Families are encouraged to appropriately wash their students' masks after daily use.

School Supplies

Students will be provided with their own school supplies (pencils, markers, calculators, textbooks and notebooks). Students will be asked not to bring toys or unnecessary items to school.

Handwashing or Hand Sanitizing

Hand sanitizers will be placed in every classroom, hallway, washrooms, gym and front door entrance for visitors. Tanbridge staff will show students where all the hand sanitizer dispensers are located.

Students and Tanbridge staff will be asked to wash their hands when:

entering and exiting the school
after students use the washroom
before eating and after eating (snacks and lunch)
before and after going out onto the playground
before and after going to gym class
before and after going to drama class
after sneezing or coughing

Daily Operation of Tanbridge:

Pick up/Drop off: We have implemented a staggered pick up and drop off time for our parents.

Parents/guardians and caregivers must remain outside the school to pick up and drop off their children.
Drop off Times: Students from grades 1-5 will arrive at 8:30 a.m. Students from grades 6-9 will arrive at 8:45 a.m., and the kindergarten students will arrive at 9:00 a.m.
Pick up Times: Students in kindergarten will be picked up at 3:00 p.m. grade 1-5 students will be picked up at 3:30 p.m., and students in grades 6-9 will be picked up at 3:40 p.m.
We will have designated entrance and exit doors for specific grades. This will minimize the number of students exiting out of one door.

Washroom Procedure:

Social distancing will be highly encouraged in the washroom. Only two students will be allowed in the shared washrooms at a time. If two people are in the washroom, students are expected to wait in the hallway on the floor decals provided.
Proper handwashing reminders will be placed at all bathroom sinks.

Changeroom Procedure:

Social distancing will be highly encouraged while students are changing for their sports programs and/or physical education classes.
Designated spaces will be provided for students to appropriately social distance while changing.

School Bussing:

Before Travelling on the School Bus:

Using the screening form provided, parents and caregivers must assess their children daily before sending them to school on the bus.
A bus cleaning log will be kept. Drivers will clean high-touch surfaces in school buses before and after students are on the bus.

While Travelling on the Tanbridge School Bus:

All students must wear a mask on the bus.
Students will be assigned seats, and members of the same household will sit together. Cohorts of siblings on buses will only occur where siblings are on the same route.
If a student displays symptoms while on the school bus, the driver will isolate the student at the front of the bus in a designated area and inform the school upon arrival. Parents/guardians will then be contacted to pick up their child.

Food & Nutrition Services:

No food or drink sharing between staff or students. Everyone will be required to pack in and pack out all unused or leftover food each day.
Students are required to bring nut-free snacks and meals to school.
Parents/guardians will be asked to have student food provided in clean containers with their own utensils.
Students will be asked not to share utensils, dishes, or water bottles and drink containers.
Hot lunches will be individually packaged for students and staff if they partake in the hot lunch program.
Due to Alberta Health regulations, students will not be participating in a Culinary Arts program until further notice.

Water Stations:

Each class will be outfitted with a water station for students’ water bottles to be filled.
Teachers will be responsible for managing this station.

Recess and Lunch Times:

We will have staggered lunch and recess breaks to maintain physical distancing. Students will be expected to sanitize their hands upon entering the school, and then wash their hands upon entering their classrooms.

Morning Recess Times: Kindergarten students from 10:00-10:20, grade 1-3 students from 10:30-10:45.
Lunch Times: All students will be eating in their classrooms (at their assigned seats). Desks and tables that are used during lunchtime will be sanitized before and after each use.
Afternoon Recess Times: Grade 4-9 students from 11:45 to 12:05, kindergarten to grade 3 students from 12:10 to 12:30.

Daily Screening:

Parents and caregivers will be asked to assess their children daily for symptoms of common cold, influenza, COVID-I9, or other infectious respiratory diseases before sending them to school. Anyone showing symptoms listed on the self-screening form must remain home.
All adults entering a school must assess themselves daily. No person can enter if they answer yes to any of the questions on the self-screening form.
If your child suffers from any allergy-related symptoms that may be similar to COVID-19 symptoms, a doctor’s note must be provided to the school.

Stay Home If Sick:

If students or staff are ill with any common cold, influenza or COVID-19-like symptoms, they must stay home and either isolate for 10 calendar days following the onset of symptoms or until symptoms resolve, whichever is longer. They need to contact 8-1-1 for guidance or complete the AHS Self-Assessment to determine if testing is required.
Students and employees will stay home until they have been assessed by a health care provider to exclude COVID-19 or other infectious diseases AND their symptoms have resolved.
If you have been tested for COVID-19, visit the AHS page Advice for People Tested for COVID-19 for instructions on when you can return to school.

Illness at School:

Students exhibiting signs of illness will be moved to a supervised, designated infirmary room or area in the school until they can be picked up.
The area/room will have an "Infirmary, Do Not Enter" sign that will be posted when the room is in use.
After the room is used, a sign will be posted indicating the room must be cleaned. Custodial staff will then provide enhanced cleaning. If a confirmed case of COVID-19 results, then the AHS Zone Medical Officer will provide instructions for further cleaning and disinfecting.
Parents/guardians will be notified and advised to pick up their child immediately, within one hour.
Parents/guardians must designate an emergency contact for student pick up if they are unable to pick up their child. All families must adhere to this.
All items the student touched/used that day will be cleaned and disinfected after the student has been picked up. Items that cannot be cleaned and disinfected (e.g. paper, books, cardboard puzzles) will be removed from the classroom and stored in a sealed container for a minimum of 10 days.

Absences:

Tanbridge Academy will support students and staff to learn or work at home if they are required to self-isolate.

Sport Activities:

Students travelling to and from their sport program by bus will need to wear a mask while on the bus and while entering the school. They may remove their masks once seated at their individual desk.

Cases of COVID-19 in School:

If there are cases of COVID-19 identified within Tanbridge Academy, the AHS Zone Medical Officer of Health will work directly with the school administration to provide follow-up recommendations and messaging for staff, parents/guardians, and students.
The decision to send a cohort/class home or to close a school will be made by the Local Medical Officer of Health. If students are required to self-isolate, Tanbridge Academy will support students to learn or work at home.

Cleaning Schedules:

We will have custodians working throughout the school day to clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces.
Tanbridge will be cleaned thoroughly every evening after the school is closed. The following surfaces will be disinfected daily by facility staff:

Classrooms: desks, chairs, pencil sharpeners, telephones, doorknobs, light switches, sink faucets, and soap and hand sanitizer dispensers.
Washrooms: all surfaces.
Offices: desks, chairs, telephones, light switches, and doorknobs.
High-touch points will be cleaned multiple times during the day.
Desk and tables that are used during snack and lunchtime will be sanitized before and after each use.
Additional hands-free garbage bins with removable linings will be placed at all entrances and exits.

Shared Equipment:

We highly recommend that students bring their own technology when possible to reduce sharing.
Computers and iPads will be cleaned and disinfected by the classroom teacher after each use. Disinfectant wipes will be used to clean the items.
If Physical Education teachers are using gym equipment for their students, he or she will clean and disinfect equipment before and after each use. Students will be asked to wash or sanitize their hands before and after class.
Math manipulatives and other non-technological instructional materials will be organized per student. Materials will be cleaned and/or quarantined for 10 days prior to redistribution.
We will be informing parents/guardians that children do not bring toys from home.

Playgrounds:

Students will be washing or sanitizing their hands before and after they play on the playground structures.
A playground schedule (staggered times) will be followed by the teachers to decrease the number of students on the playground.

School Councils:

TAPA meetings are usually held once a month.
If Tanbridge Academy Parent Association meetings occur at the school, the self-screening questionnaire must be completed before entering the school, and all rules for physical distancing and health measures for indoor gatherings will be followed.

Parent/Guardian Access:

Whenever possible, remote/online meetings will be utilized to communicate with families. When required, in-person meetings will be accommodated with social distancing and the appropriate health protocols in place.
Parents, caregivers, volunteers, partners and other adults need to make an appointment if they require to meet with the teachers or administrative staff in person or online.
Parents/guardians will remain outside of the school to pick up and drop off their children.
All visitors in the school will sign in at the main office.
Anyone entering a school will review the self-screening tool prior to entering the school and will not be admitted if they are feeling unwell.
All parents/guardians will be asked to sanitize or wash their hands once entering the school and maintain physical distancing.

Communication to Tanbridge staff, parents and students. We will inform parents via email and at the Parent Orientation on Monday, August 24, of the guidelines that they must abide by while their child is enrolled at Tanbridge Academy. At the Parent Orientation, each family will receive a paper copy of the guidelines and must sign off on the document.

Tanbridge Covid Policy