Thank you for continuing on this journey with us this year! We are excited to return to daily programming with indoor and outdoor spaces. Now that our whole team is fully vaccinated, we are prepared to have everyone in the space together again each day. This plan is set to take effect Monday April 19, 2021. (The last educators on our team are two weeks after their second vaccination a few days before this.)
Safety Plan Highlights
- 5 days a week of Jewish Enrichment at Makom Community from 3:00-5pm!
- All three Jewish Enrichment kevutzot (age groups) can be at Makom Community on the same day of the week.
- BMitzvah will meet outdoors at a cohort member’s home.
- Temperature checks at home & screening questions as you drop your children off. Please take your kiddo(s) temperature at home and keep the home if their temperature is above 100.4 degrees fahrenheit.
- Pick up and Drop off at Makom Community will continue to be on Ionic Street for all kevuotzot.
- Drop off at Chester Arthur or Makom Community will continue to include screening questions.
- Everyone masked indoors or outdoors.
- HEPA filtration in every classroom.
- Daily and Shabbat Tefilah will continue to be outdoors.
Student Arrival & Departure
For the Chester Arthur walking group, a masked teacher will pick up a group of students. Pickup and dropoff at Makom Community is on Ionic Street. Whether you drop off at Chester Arthur or at Makom Community at 3pm, you can expect a teacher to ask screening questions about your household/pod. Children who have returned to school can be picked up from school. Please keep us informed if your child(ren) are moving from fully remote school days to having hybrid days where they will need pickup.
As students come inside, they will go through these steps:
- Hand sanitizer at the door
- Put down belongings in their classroom
- Bathroom, if needed. Wash hands with soap and water. A staff member will monitor handwashing to support appropriate hand washing techniques.
- Return to the classroom for enrichment activities.
Each kevutzah will be assigned a bathroom. Staff members will be assigned to the same bathroom as their students.
PPE for Staff
Staff will wear a KN-95 mask or surgical mask and either their own glasses or safety goggles provided by Makom Community. Staff will be screened for fever and symptoms every day upon arrival.
PPE for Students
All children will be required to wear masks during the day. Please send your child with at least one backup mask. Please use a mask that has ear loops or ties behind the head and has a minimum of two layers. Neck gaiters are only one layer and have no ear loops. Please save those for when you are not at Makom Community.
Cleaning Plan
We are continuing daily professional cleaning. We will also have staff members do additional cleaning in preparation for students to arrive each day, particularly high-touch surfaces. We will also announce handwashing breaks throughout the afternoon as learners transition from one activity to another and after 15 minutes of using a shared toy (legos or similar).
We will limit which toys (and how many) are available to students, if they are ones that are best shared. If we have shared toys out, they will be sanitized daily and only available to one table of children at a time.
Social Distancing Plan
The data we currently have indicates that young children are not significant spreaders of COVID-19, and the most significant way to keep COVID-19 from spreading at Makom Community will be to have all our staff vaccinated and limit other adults (parents, grandparents, caregivers) from entering the building. In order to keep our groups small and stable, everyone is on a 5 day schedule for the remainder of this school year. We want to acknowledge that keeping more kids on fuller schedules will mean less exposure for everyone.
As of April 19, 2021, we will continue to prioritize holding Tefilah and gross motor activities outdoors.
Staffing
In order to keep our staffing stable, we will assign a lead teacher to each of our K-4th grade groups (Garinim, Shorashim, Nizanim). Each group will have a maximum of 12 students in attendance any day of the week, with their regular teacher(s).
Student supplies
Each student will have a container of frequently used supplies that are not to be shared. These items will be kept in each classroom and help minimize the spread of germs and keep cleaning manageable. These will be restocked weekly (and as needed).
Meal/Snack Plan
In order for kiddos to keep their mask on during the duration of their time at Makom Community, we will not be providing snack during Jewish Enrichment. If your child is coming from school and needs a snack during Jewish Enrichment, we will make an individual plan to get them snack in an outdoor space where they are fully distanced. That could be taking a snack break before walking with them to Makom or bringing them to Ionic Street when they arrive at Makom and have washed hands. We look forward to resuming snack when our programming returns to its original 3-6p schedule.
Sporting Activities
When kids play outdoors, we will wash hands upon return to Makom Community and sanitize any shared sports equipment the day it is used.
Communication Plan
As always, we want to keep parents in the loop about what is going on with their kids! We will let you know if there is a known positive case or symptoms of COVID-19 at Makom Community. We will share the age group the child is in so you have a good understanding of how likely it is that your child was (or was not) exposed.
Parental Disclosure
By sending your child(ren) to Makom Community programming, parents are agreeing to:
- Perform a daily temperature check before sending their child to Makom Community.
- Notify Makom Community immediately if their child or any member of their household or pod has COVID-19 symptoms.
- Notify Makom Community immediately if their child has come into contact with someone COVID-19-positive or known to be symptomatic. Close contact means 15 minutes or more within a 6ft indoor distance of someone symptomatic, presumed COVID-19 positive, or confirmed COVID-19 positive.
- Their child is waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test.
Parents who knowingly do not report these issues to Makom Community are subject to their child’s removal from Makom Community programming.
If someone begins not feeling well at Makom Community or symptoms are observed:
If we observe a COVID-19 a child or staff member who is symptomatic with a fever 100.4 or higher or any two other COVID-19 symptoms, they will be quarantined in our space until they can be picked up, outdoors with a staff member if possible. Parents will be called immediately. We ask that you pick up as soon as possible in this scenario. A symptomatic staff member will be sent home immediately.
In case of exposure
We are working very hard to keep each of our kevutzot (groups) totally separated. They will have separate storage space, restrooms to use, and not mix groups throughout the day. If a member of one kevutzah (group) reports becoming symptomatic, any child or adult who was in close contact with them within 48 hours of becoming symptomatic will be asked to self-quarantine. If any member of your household/pod is exposed, no members from your household can attend Makom Community during that quarantine. Everyone else will be monitored for symptoms. In following the CDC’s guidance, fully vaccinated staff (2 weeks after second vaccination) are not required to quarantine in cases of exposure.
Contact Tracing at Makom Community
In kevtzot of 12 learners, children will limit contact with people not at their tables. Each teacher will be responsible for using our internal contact tracing system to note when there is close contact between classmates.
Anytime someone (teacher or student) is sent home for symptoms, we will update all enrolled families. That update will include what group the symptomatic individual was in and whether or not they were in close contact with particular children. Our staff will be mindful of which children they are in close contact with (6 feet or less for 15 minutes or more). If a staff member is symptomatic, then the entire kevutzah would need to go to remote learning for 14 days.
When can staff & students return
Self-quarantine for exposure ends if after 14 days the exposed person is continuously symptom-free and has not been in close contact with someone else symptomatic. If your child has a diagnosed case of COVID-19, they can return to Makom Community after it has been at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared, child has had no fever and been off anti-fever medication for 3 days, and symptoms have improved. While learners are self-quarantined, they will have distance learning from Makom Community available to them.
Thank you for helping to keep our Makom Community students, teachers, and families safe during this strange and stressful time. We’ll hold each other through this and undoubtedly have many stories to tell about this school year when we look back on it.