I am so excited to share with you that we are off to an excellent start for the 2020-2021 school year. I am so glad the sun is shining and happy voices can be heard on the playground! I also want to let you know about a few adjustments that we are making. Starting tomorrow morning, we will no longer require temperature checks at morning drop off. We will be sending you a symptom checker asking you to self-report your child’s symptoms from home. Yesterday due to the rain, we sent out the self-report text link and quickly noticed that it was not working for some families. We have made a change in the shared settings, which should allow everyone to access the link. It looks like we are getting all the kinks worked out early this school year (hopefully).
Last night I received new information from the Bay County Health Department, which is what led to the change with temperature procedures. The health department and HNES have formed a great relationship over the past months. Every COVID protocol is being implemented in coordination with our local health department. I am continuously monitoring their updates and recommendations. These many measures, such as plexiglass partials, masks, classroom pods, and handwashing, are being implemented to decrease potential exposure so that large sections of the school will not have to be quarantined in the event of a positive case. I will welcome the day when we can start pulling back these measures and return to our traditional format of school.
Also, as a reminder, please do not drop off your children early to a closed gate. If your child needs to be dropped off early, they are welcome to join BASE. We are evaluating the traffic flow, and after the removal of the temperature checkpoints, I would like to see how that affects the traffic flow before making any changes.
God Bless,
Cynthia Fuller
Head of School