Covid-19 Updates

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    Campus Closure
    The Cambridge School closed for in-person classes on 3/13/2020 @ 5:30pm. For the remainder of this current 2019-2020 school year, Cambridge will provide the best possible education that we can deliver through this online medium. See below for all communication sent from our COVID-19 Task Force.

    Coronavirus updates

    Cambridge Community Updates
    March 13th

    Dear Cambridge School Community,

    As you know, the coronavirus situation in our country and our community is developing quickly. We care deeply about both the safety of our students, faculty/staff and families as well as our wider community, especially the most vulnerable in it. The school leadership team and I are continuing to monitor the situation closely and will continue to communicate regularly with the entire community as new information becomes available. In the meantime, we continue to develop our contingency plans based on current recommendations and guidance.

    Possible School Closure
    At this time, we are continuing to follow guidelines issued on March 7, 2020 from the  California Department of Public Health and we will be using these guidelines to evaluate our activities.  We remain open as a school and most activities remain unaffected for now, but we are watching this situation closely and making preparations for the possibility of a school closure in the coming weeks.

    Scientific and historical studies have shown that proactive school closures—closing schools before there’s a case there—have been shown to be one of the most powerful nonpharmaceutical interventions that we can deploy. We know from past epidemics that school closure works and can save substantial number of lives and we are prepared to do so for the good of the wider community when time to do so. This article helps to explain some of the benefits of proactive school closure: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/does-closing-schools-slow-spread-novel-coronavirus

    PARENT ACTION ITEMS IN THE MEANTIME:

    • In order to help us communicate most effectively with you, it is CRITICAL that your contact information (cell phones, emails, and addresses) in Ren-Web is correct and up to date so please be sure to check that it is correct and up to date* (instructions below)
    • Alternative learning plans for most grades will include on-line learning, so please evaluate your internet capabilities and device availability at home to ensure continuity of learning. Any smart device like a smartphone, ipad/tablets, chromebook or laptop should suffice.
    • Please begin to make plans for childcare needs, if necessary.

    Auction and Gala
    While we are currently still planning to have our Auction and Gala next Saturday, March 21st, we understand that the situation could change unexpectedly based on new information over the next week.  Governor Newsom has limited public gatherings to less than 250, which is the upper end of our usual attendance and we will be limiting auction guests to that number in keeping with that injunction and encouraging social distancing even at the event. We will continue to communicate with you if so and will gladly issue refunds if the school decides to cancel the event so please feel free to RSVP at this point.  We will communicate contingency plans if the event is canceled.  If you are ill or not feeling well, we urge you not to attend the actual event.

    Spring Break and General Travel
    In light of the current global situation regarding the spread of Coronavirus, and because it has become difficult to predict what travel quarantines will be in place in the future, we ask that you carefully consider any travel plans.

    If you have any travel plans, we advise that you carefully monitor the situation at your destination in case you need to change your plans. If you do intend to travel, even just domestically, please let us know by emailing the health office at nurse@cambridgeclassical.org. Please know that we will enforce any health department or CDC recommended quarantines that are in place upon your return.

    Illness Prevention
    Thank you for your efforts in keeping sick children at home.  Guidance from the California Department of Public Health has been updated to recommend sending home students, teachers, and staff who present with a fever and/or new respiratory symptoms.

    The school has added extra cleaning and sanitation measures both in the evenings and during the day and continues to encourage frequent hand-washing, good cough etiquette, minimal touching of the face and other prudent hygiene practices.

    If you would like to have a conversation about a specific health concern for your child or a suspected COVID-19 exposure in your family, please contact our nurses, Karla Hays, RN or Michelle Thompson, RN in the health office.

    Thank you for your cooperation and patience as the leadership team works to make sure our school community and experience is interrupted as little as possible during time of uncertainty.

    Please join us in praying for all who are affected by this situation, especially those who are sick and tending to the sick, and leadership at all levels who are trying to manage this.

    SDG,

    Jean Kim
    Head of School

    *Instructions on how to update your personal information in RenWeb:
    Go to: https://www.renweb.com/  and login with your username and password.
    From the left nav, click “School” then select “Web Forms”
    From the display, click the button next to the name you want to edit information for – such as ‘Parent’ and edit their information, including cell phone and address.
    Please DO NOT edit “Parent Alert Cell Phone “yes”” or you will NOT receive Parent Alert text messages in the event we need to send you a Parent Alert.
    If you make changes to your contact information, please make sure to click “save” at the bottom left before making edits to another name.

    Campus Closure: Why are we doing this?

    Closing a school is not a decision that is made lightly, and it wasn’t in this case. There is overwhelming historical and current evidence to show that proactive measures to stop the spread of disease through social distancing has a profound impact on outcomes. 

    Dramatic measures, such as school closures, are most effective when they happen before there is widespread incidence of disease in a community. A delay of even a few days can have a significant impact on the rate of disease spread and the resulting overall mortality. 

    For further reading on the effectiveness on proactive social distancing measures (such as school closures) during a pandemic, see here: 

    Does closing schools slow the spread of coronavirus? Past outbreaks provide clues

    Strategies for mitigating an influenza pandemic

    Nonpharmaceutical Interventions Implemented by US Cities During the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic

    This is why social distancing is critical to slowing the coronavirus outbreak.

    For lots of charts and data comparing the mitigation and containment measures of various countries, and the effects on case spread, see here.  

     
    School Policies Amidst Coronavirus spread

    Campus Exclusion Policy 

    1. Anyone stepping onto campus grounds (includes students, employees, parents, family members, supporters of other teams or competitors, other guests/visitors):

    a. Must not have traveled to CDC Level 2 and 3 countries in the past 14 days;
    b. Or must not have been in direct contact with someone who traveled to these countries within the 14 days prior to contact with you;
    c. Or must not have been exposed to someone in the past 14 days who has tested positive for COVID-19;
    d. Or must not be exhibiting cold or flu-like symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, difficulty breathing);
    e. Or must not be a member of a household where someone is in quarantine (self or externally imposed)

    If you fall into any of the five categories A-E above, do not come to campus. Seek medical advice.

    2. Anyone picking up a student (who is not remaining on campus): Please minimize contact with others and follow CDC guidelines to reduce your exposure.

    COVID Exposure Protocol 
    1. Employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 must notify their supervisor and must remain off campus for 14 days or until receiving a test verifying that they have tested negative for COVID-19. 
    1. Students who have been exposed to COVID-19 should similarly inform the attendance office and must remain off campus for 14 days or until receiving a test verifying that they have tested negative for COVID-19.  
    School Closure Policy
    In consultation with the local public health department, the head of school may consider if school closure is warranted based on the risk level in the community. Considerations for a closure may include the risk of exposure, the potential community-wide health impact and the recommendation of the department of public health. During a school closure, students and families should not come to campus. Employees may be allowed to come to campus depending on the risk in the community and the advice of the department of public health.
     
    Criteria for Re-Opening School 
    In consultation with the local public health department and consistent with CDC guidelines, The Cambridge School administration will determine the criteria for re-opening. As with a closing, considerations for a re-opening may include the continued risk of exposure and the potential community-wide health impact. The effect of a closure on the students’ learning experience will also be a factor.
    COVID-19 Additional Resources
    SPRING BREAK TRAVEL NOTICE:In light of the current global situation regarding the spread of Coronavirus, and because it has become difficult to predict what travel quarantines will be in place in the future, we ask you to carefully consider your spring break travel plans. Due to the unpredictability of this rapidly evolving situation, it is our recommendation that long-distance travel during the spring break be avoided. If your spring break plans include travel, we advise that you carefully monitor the situation at your destination in case you need to change your plans. Please know that we will enforce any health department or CDC recommended quarantines that are in place upon your return. Travel destination monitoring and travel alerts can be found here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices.