COVID Procedures, July, 2020
LEGACY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY COVID PROCEDURES AS OF JULY, 2020
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
“WE CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES US STRENGTH!” PHIL 4:13
Hello and thank you for placing your child at Legacy Christian Academy during this difficult time. Legacy is trying to keep all staff, families, and students as healthy as possible during this school year-emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Please keep praying God’s covering over our school, families, and nation.
Legacy will begin school on Monday, August 24th, in the school building, with online teaching being offered as well. If you do not feel comfortable with your child attending school in person, please let the office know you will be attending online during in-school classes. There is no difference in price for in-school vs. online school at Legacy.
HERE IS THE PART OF OUR PROCEDURES THAT SOUND NEGATIVE,
BUT JUST REMEMBER: THE POSITIVE IS COMING! :)
DAILY PROCEDURES
Car Line: LCA staff will be stationed in 3 places, starting at 7:50a.m. every day. Each line is positioned according to the student’s grade. The 3rd-8th grade line will be in the parking lot, Preschool and kindergarten line will be unloading at the front door of the school, and 1-2nd grade will unload at the side entrance by the playground.
Staff will be waiting to take students’ temperatures while students are sitting in the family car and parents will fill out questions from their designated family folder concerning COVID. PARENTS ARE NOT TO LEAVE THEIR VEHICLE. If the child has no fever, and the answers to the questions are accepted, students will go to their designated spot to wait for the teacher to take their class into the building. If it is very warm, or it is raining; students will go directly to the cafeteria to their spot at the lunch tables and wait for their teacher with before care.
If a student has a fever (100 degrees or more), “72 hours must elapse from resolution of fever without fever reducing medication and 10 days must pass after symptoms first appeared” (ISBE, pg. 31) for the child to return to school. If the answers to parent questions aren’t accepted, the student will not be allowed in the school building and will need to be quarantined, doing classwork online, unless a doctor’s note is obtained for the child to return to school sooner. DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILD FEVER REDUCING MEDICINES AND BRING THEM TO SCHOOL SICK. DO NOT BRING YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL IF YOU OR SOMEONE IN YOUR HOME IS SICK.
Students are to wear masks from the moment they leave the car and as much as possible throughout the school day. Masks will be removed for snack time, lunch time, and time outside.
Classrooms will look different this year! Desks and/or tables are 6 feet apart in the classrooms. The teachers are working on individual classroom plans concerning COVID details for their rooms. Preschool and kindergarten will spend academic time in their upstairs room, and the nap room will be designated solely for naps in the afternoons—cots will be 6 feet apart.
Restrooms upstairs will have 2 toilets and one sink available. There will be dots on the floors to show 6 foot spacing. As we do every year, hand washing will be taught and emphasized throughout the school year. Students will be taught how to clean the area they use in the bathroom. PLEASE TRAIN YOUR CHILD WHILE AT HOME TO CLEAN THE AREAS USED IN THE BATHROOM WITH WIPES AND DISPOSE OF THOSE WIPES IN THE TRASH, NOT THE TOILET. Thank you!!!
There will be a new kind of recess at LCA during COVID. We will have more of a PE-type situation and students will participate in activities directed by teachers, all using social distancing.
Chapel will continue to be held downstairs and students will sit at their designated place at the lunch tables for chapel time. There will be no live speakers for chapel. Speakers will be on video or on Zoom. We will continue to take an offering and this year’s offering will go to Cassie Tassallo who is going to Colorado for Youth With A Mission to train missionaries to go on short term missions trips around the world. Miss Cassie will be checking in with us regularly!
Students are to bring their own healthy snack for morning snack that will be eaten at their desk. Students are to bring their own lunches as we have done in the past. There will be no snacks or hot lunch for purchase. The only thing for purchase will be water bottles, $1 for large or .50 for small. Teachers will take time to refill student water bottles throughout the day, not students. There are no water fountains available for use.
BRING PLENTY OF WATER FOR YOUR CHILD TO DRINK DURING THE DAY,
OR PUT MONEY ON YOUR CHILD’S ACCOUNT TO PURCHASE WATER BOTTLES.
End of the day dismissal will be like drop off. Teachers will escort their classes out to the car lines where parents will be waiting in their cars. Please
BEFORE AND AFTER CARE PROCEDURES, available only when in-school classes are happening.
BEFORE CARE:
Students and parents will come to the front door and ring the doorbell or call the school number. The before care person will come to the door and hand the parent the family folder to fill out while they take the student’s temperature. If all is well, the student will be brought into the building, and the parent may leave. If not, follow procedures stated above.
AFTER CARE:
Parents will call the school from their car to let the aftercare person know to bring the child to the door. Parents will leave their car and come to the front door of the school to get their child.
Before and after care will be held in the cafeteria where students will sit at their same assigned place for lunch and chapel. They will need to bring something from home or have homework to do to keep them entertained during their stay. They may bring breakfast or snack, but they will be cleaning up after themselves. All surfaces will be cleaned after they leave their place to go to class in the morning or to go home after school. Students may be taken outside, depending on the number of students in after care, observing social distancing requirements.
OTHER ITEMS:
There will be no in-home visits by teachers, but there can be a Zoom call if the parents so choose to participate.
There will be no birthday snacks brought in for the classroom.
There will be no field trips.
CHANGE OF HOURS FOR SCHOOL: Before care begins at 6am and runs until 8am. School starts at 8am and runs until 3:10p.m. After care is from 3:10-5:30p.m.
The first TWO weeks of school we are dismissing at 2p.m. After care is available for those who need it, and you will be billed for it at the end of the month as all after care is billed.
ONLINE SCHOOL is not available for preschool/kindergarten students when in-school classes are available. LCA feels these young students need to be in the classroom with their teacher for optimal learning.
The hours for online classes and in-school classes when happening simultaneously are the same, 8-3:10 for full time students and 8-2 for part-time students.
PARENT ORIENTATION will be Monday, August 17th, and we are SO excited to see you and your family! You may attend in person or online via Facebook Live. Parent Orientation starts at 7p.m., downstairs in the chapel area, socially distanced, wearing masks. We will spend time praying and then go over any procedures that need clarifying. Then you will be dismissed to your child’s classroom for a brief meeting with the teacher, to go over the classroom handbook. DO NOT BRING ANY OF YOUR CHILD’S SUPPLIES ON MONDAY, AUGUST 17TH. If you are joining us on Facebook Live, you will not be able to join us for the classroom portion of the meeting. But, ALL FAMILIES ARE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE TEACHER FOR A TIME TO DROP OFF THE SUPPLIES FOR STUDENTS, TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, AUGUST 18TH-21ST. Teachers will go over the items covered in the Parent Orientation during this meeting time.
ALL FAMILIES WILL BE REQUIRED TO SIGN A WAIVER THAT SAYS THEY WILL NOT HOLD LEGACY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY LIABLE IF THEIR CHILD OR A FAMILY MEMBER GETS COVID OR ANY OTHER VIRUS OR MEDICAL ISSUE DURING THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR. Legacy will not pay for doctor’s visits, work time missed, or any other related charges for anyone who gets COVID or other medical issues throughout the school year.
PROCEDURES FOR ONLINE CLASSES AT LCA
The staff at LCA learned a lot from March through May when all our classes were taught online. We want your child’s online learning experience to be the best, so whether your child starts the year online or we all go online, here are a few guidelines for online classes from the Legacy Staff:
Students are to be up, dressed, fed and bathroom habits accomplished before class begins so class can begin on time with students awake and ready to start their day. Students should not be eating during class unless it is a designated snack time.
Students need a “workspace” which includes an area that has access to strong wifi and does not have distractions such as television or other devices, toys, or food. Phones, if not being used for class, need to be in a different space, away from the workspace. Their workspace should include a flat area large enough for the computer or device they will use for classes, notebook, papers, supplies, etc. They need to have a water bottle close by, so they don’t leave class to attain one. There should NOT be a window behind the student, as the teacher can only see the child’s silhouette.
Students need all their supplies readily available. ALL STUDENTS NEED HEADPHONES TO WEAR DURING CLASS.
Students will need to keep their face in the frame so the teacher can see them. Please prepare for this now, experimenting with ways to have an iPad or phone propped up so that the student can be seen.
Parents are responsible for getting students online for classes. Parents are also responsible for making sure students watch the video sent to them for classes that are missed by students.
Grading will continue to be the same for both online and onsite classes, according to the LCA handbook.
The hours for online classes and in-school classes are the same, 8-3:10. Remember that when in-school classes are available, online classes are not available for preschool/kindergarten students.
When LCA is mandated to go to online teaching only, hours are 8:30 until about 3:00 for elementary students and preschool/kindergarten will be engaged from 8:30-2, Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, classes will end at noon. This will allow teachers to put packets together for future weeks and for parents to come to the school and pick up packets for the coming week. Parents will need to do this before 4pm on Fridays.LCA staff is more than willing to answer any questions you have concerning online classes when you have a meeting with them some time the week of August 18-21.
IMMEDIATE SCHOOL NEEDS:
before care person to work 6-8a.m.
after care person to work 3-5:30p.m.
cleaning products for bathroom use
bottled waters, large and small
helpful suggestions, encouragement, and prayers!
Many hours have gone into developing these procedures and I would like to thank the LCA staff and Christian School Board for all their input. And thank you parents for being supportive, loving, and caring during this time. Your family means so much to all of us here at Legacy!
I’m sure you will have lots of questions that you may want answered before August 24th, so feel free to contact me at the school at 618-345-9571.
Sincerely,
Mrs. G.