Country Montessori School
Admin Corner
August 6, 2020
“Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.” Dr. Maria Montessori
Upcoming Dates/Events:
- August 7 – Last day of summer camp
- August 20 – Virtual Orientation, 2:00-3:00 PM
- August 21 – New student/new classroom orientation (enrolled on-site students only) Information coming-9:00-10:00
- August 24 – First day of school (On-site and Virtual)
- September 7 – No school, Labor Day
Dear CMS Families,
We want to thank all of you for your support and patience during this time. Our goal is to keep our community informed and be as accurate as we can in our communication with all of you, as county updates change often. In addition we appreciate your patience in hearing from us in regards to how the county information that is being released pertains to CMS and our programs.
Our first priority is and will continue to be providing a safe learning environment for our students, staff and families and adjusting accordingly to meet mandated guidelines.
CMS wants to honor our families who want to have their students on-site and we are committed to that. Currently the state mandate does not allow us to have elementary students on-site. We will be prepared to offer on-site instruction as long as there is no county or state order that prohibits us. In the event that we are required to temporarily stop on-site instruction, we are offering a high quality virtual option. CMS is preparing to apply for the elementary waiver for our elementary program. Our early childhood program is not impacted by the latest updates to schools reopening.
Waiver
We have been researching this option since we knew it was going to be a possibility on July 17. CMS has been monitoring the release of information given by the county on the criteria needed to apply. A sample of the application has been released and we are in the process of compiling the documentation of criteria that is required. As of today the actual application is not yet available. It needs to be submitted at least 14 days prior to the desired reopening date. We will inform our elementary families who have signed up for on-site instruction once we have submitted the application and when we receive the approval.
Early Childhood Program/ Kindergarten
Our EC classrooms, Ladybugs, Bumblebees and Dragonflys will be on-site, as the EC program is under Community Care Licensing and as of now there have been no changes.
Virtual Learners
We will be hosting an orientation for our virtual program for parents on Thursday, August 20 from 2:00-3:00. A Zoom invitation will be sent out closer to the date.
Fall Before and After School Child Care
Those who selected on-site on their fall preference form will be receiving a sign up form later today to confirm if they need before or after school care. You will also be asked to provide an estimate of the time you will be dropping off and picking up your child from before or after school care so that we can plan accordingly. Please fill this form out at your earliest convenience.
We understand that we have families that will need to utilize before and after school child care. Our goal is to offer child care for those families who will need to utilize it on a regular basis. To the furthest extent possible we will create child care groups similar to the consistent groups in the classroom. Our ability to offer child care will be dependent upon the number of families that will need to utilize it on a consistent basis and staff availability.
Face Masks
CMS will be following the COVID-19 Industry Guidance for Schools regarding face masks. All students in 3rd grade – 5th grade will be required to wear a face mask. For 3rd – 5th grade (who are required to wear a face mask) a face shield is not an acceptable alternative to a face mask. At this time all other grades (Early Childhood – 1st Grade) are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask. In accordance with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH): All persons two years of age or older who are present in the county shall have possession of a face covering when they leave their home or place of residence.
We are requiring that ALL students, regardless of their age, wear their face mask during morning arrivals and dismissals as they are entering their respective classrooms. This will help us to ensure we are all in compliance with the CDPH requirement that everyone have a mask in their possession. Once in their classroom, Early Childhood through 2nd grade students may take their mask off if needed in accordance with their parents preference. However, we strongly encourage all students to wear their face masks as much as possible. Teachers and staff will wear a face mask throughout the day.
Lunch Ordering
We will be postponing lunch ordering from outside vendors. We will not be offering lunch ordering through winter break. In the coming months we will revisit lunch ordering and provide updates. Parents will be responsible for providing their own lunch for school.
On-Site Classrooms-Elementary and Early Childhood
Below you will see pictures of our elementary and Early Childhood classrooms that we have designed to meet the required criteria by the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Education.
Classroom Environments:
- Stable groups (numbers to be provided based on enrollment)
- Classroom spaces divided by shelving or partisan
- Tables/work rugs spaced 6 feet apart and assigned seating for both (each child will have their own workspace not shared by anyone else)
- Plastic/Cardboard table corrals for tables of more than one student
- No apron/jacket racks
- Designated bathrooms
- Designated cubby space for lunches, work
- Student water bottles will be permitted (will be placed on their table)
- Each student will have a pencil box of supplies on their table
- Group snack
- Assigned lunch tables/seats-Rotation for elementary
- Utilizing outdoor learning spaces
- Designated/Rotation of playground
- Open windows
School Health & Safety
Country Montessori School is committed to providing a healthy and safe environment for all our students, their families, our staff and the community. We are diligently working to ensure we are following county health, community care licensing and CDC recommended safety measures.
SAFETY MEASURES
CMS will be implementing the following safety procedures in addition to existing health and safety protocols:
- Daily temperature checks are mandatory for all students and staff before drop-off. Any student with a temperature exceeding 100 degrees will not be allowed to attend school that day.
- Stable groups of students will be put in place
- Teachers will remain with the same stable group to the extent possible
- Visitors on campus are limited and must be allowed in by administration
- CMS will follow enhanced sanitation practices and practice frequent handwashing
- Handless sanitizer stations will be in all buildings
- Staff will sanitize supplies and facilities throughout the day
- Daily cleaning and enhanced sanitation will occur at the end of each day with a focus on disinfecting all “high touch” areas
- Lunch areas for all students will be set up to allow for social distancing
- CMS staff will wear face mask throughout the day
- County regulations require children 2 years and older to be in the possession of a mask and to wear it when it is not possible to meet the 6 feet social distance.
- Outdoor space will be utilized as much as possible
- Recess times will reflect the same grouping of students
- Play structures will be phased in and sanitized (schedule TBD)
- Water fountains will be taped off
- All outdoor playground toys / equipment used will be sanitized regularly
- Parents who are dropping off at CMS will also be subject to a temperature check
- Parents will sign in using a no touch sign in with a QR code they will scan with their smartphone camera app.
- Parents who are dropping off must also wear a face mask that covers their nose and mouth
- Parents will be asked to fill out a daily self-disclosure form
Daily Self-Declaration by Families
In an effort to protect the health and safety of our entire community families and staff will need to fill out a daily self-declaration prior to entering the campus.
Cheers,
The CMS Family