Campus Reopening Plan – Grades 6-12 WOODSTOCK SCHOOL – 11 February 2022
01 Overview
Woodstock School
Overview • Students from Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 are invited to return to campus on Sunday, 27 February 2022. • Students from Grades 6, 7, and 8 are invited to return to campus on Wednesday, 9 March 2022. • We strongly encourage all students to return to campus on the allotted date for their grade. Students who do not to return to campus will be given asynchronous lessons, and will not join a Zoom call for classes. Recordings of lessons will be available on ManageBac for students who cannot return to campus. • Social distancing will be required for students at all times and mask use is mandatory. • There will be some restrictions for students, such as no outside ordering of food or visits to the bazaar for students on campus. • Once on campus, students will not be allowed to leave until Summer Break, except for medical reasons. • Should the situation with Covid-19 worsen, we may require students to leave campus on short notice. Parents must be prepared to pick up their children with 72-hours notice. Students from countries outside India must identify a contact located within India that they can stay with in the event of a campus evacuation.
Woodstock School
Covid-19 testing and vaccinations Covid Testing • Students will be tested twice, once before they travel and once after their quarantine. Students should not travel if their test is positive, or if they or anyone in their family is symptomatic and/or has tested positive. • Random testing of students and Woodstock Staff will be conducted every 15 days to ensure the continued safety of the community. Covid Vaccinations • As per the records submitted to our Health Centre, only 140 (of the 320 eligible students) have taken the Covid vaccination. • We strongly advise all eligible students who can be vaccinated against Covid to do so. • Currently these are students in India who are born before 31 Dec 2007 or who are in countries which are vaccinating under 18 yearolds. • Otherwise, the Health Centre can arrange Covid-19 vaccinations for eligible students. • Vaccinated students will be given priority to facilities such as the gym. • Currently, all Woodstock School staff and employees are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
02 Arrival on Campus
Woodstock School
Arrival on Campus • Grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 students should arrive on campus on Sunday, 27 February. Grade 6, 7 and 8 students should arrive on campus on Wednesday, 9 March. Students must arrive no later than 6:00pm unless given prior approval for exceptional reasons. • By Wednesday, 16 February at the latest, students must complete and submit the following items: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Travel form – Click here to complete the travel form Indemnity and Consent Form – Click here to sign the Indemnity and Consent Form. Student Community Agreement - Click here to sign the Covid-19 Community Agreement. Health insurance - Email proof of health insurance policy, covering hospitalization in case the student tests positive for Covid19, to health@woodstock.ac.in. Please include the student's name and grade.
• Students must take an RT-PCR test before travelling to campus. The test must be done within 72 hours prior to arrival at school. As soon as the RT-PCR report is received, parents must send the soft copy to health@woodstock.ac.in. • Students should ideally be accompanied by at least one of their parents when travelling and arriving at Woodstock. Students may not arrive in groups. • During their travel, students should avoid contact with any other travelers and come directly to Woodstock School without stopping to meet friends or family in the area. • If arriving at Dehradun/Delhi airport, it is advised to drive directly to school by taxi with vaccinated driver. We recommend that you arrive at Dehradun airport rather than Delhi if possible. If located within hours from Mussoorie, it is advised to travel by own vehicle on the same day or by a taxi with vaccinated adults and driver.
Woodstock School
Arrival on Campus • While travelling, students will carry: 1) Small suitcase with all their requirements for quarantine including their study materials: a. Laptop and charger b. Headphones/earphones c. Textbooks, study materials for the first week, etc. d. Tuck (note there will be no access to the kitchen during quarantine) e. Two water bottles f. Personal toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, small shampoo, soap, and toilet paper) g. Comfortable lounge clothes and underwear for a week - no laundry will be done during quarantine week after the first change h. Warm clothes including jackets and sweaters – it will be cold in Mussoorie when students arrive. i. Warm socks and slippers j. Personal towels k. A quilt or duvet and warm blankets 2) Any personal medication and prescriptions in a separate bag. 3) Extra sets of PPE (face masks, face shield, gloves) that they can discard after various points where risk of contamination is higher. 4) Larger luggage to be sent to the dorms after sanitization (they will not be able to access this during quarantine). Each piece to be clearly labelled with your name and your dorm (Midlands/Hostel). This bag will be sent to your allotted room. a. Clothes to wear to school b. Anything you won't need for ten days
03 PLAN AND RATIONALE
Woodstock School
Plan and Rationale: Travel Students are encouraged to return to campus in two batches on Sunday, 27 February and Wednesday, 9 March. Rationale: Bringing students together allows for testing to be done onsite at the Health Centre itself as the labs will come to Woodstock School for larger numbers of students. Individual students who come on a different schedule will have to be received and undergo the whole process involving the entire team of WS dedicated for this purpose. These students shall have to be taken to LCH for testing. Students to do a RT-PCR test 24-72 hours before their departure (subject to how long it takes to get the result). Rationale: As a first level of checks and to ensure that students who are sick do not travel. Students should not travel if the test is positive, or if they or anyone in their family is symptomatic or has tested positive. Rationale: This is in accordance with the government regulations. Such students can delay travel until they test negative with an RT-PCR certificate after symptoms have cleared. Students must minimize interaction between each other before arriving at Woodstock. Ideally students should travel directly from home to dorms. If it is not possible to travel directly to dorms, please avoid contact with any Woodstock students or families before students arrive in campus. Rationale: To avoid potential transmission between students before they arrive on campus. Parents should ideally accompany students to Woodstock School. Rationale: To prevent students meeting and associating with each other while travelling to campus, and avoiding transmission within the student body before they return to campus.
Woodstock School
Plan and Rationale: Arrival and Quarantine On entry, thermal screening at the gate for all members in the vehicle. Woodstock is now a No Mask, No Entry campus. Only one car at a time will be allowed into the parking lot. The next car waits till the student has disembarked and the first car has left. Rationale: To enable social distancing on arrival. If anyone in the car has a temperature, the student will not be allowed on campus, and should consult a doctor. Accompanying family members will not be allowed to enter the campus beyond the Ridgewood parking lot. All meetings with dorm parents, nurses, other staff will have to be virtual. Rationale: To minimize contact with the external community. Students will be checked into the quarantine rooms for seven days. Rationale: This is a reasonable isolation period before the second RT-PCR test to cover incubation time. Dorm parents will supervise students in the quarantine centre and food will be served on trays to each room. Rationale: To minimize contact, ensure contact tracing and for the safety of all. RT-PCR test is conducted on the sixth day for the batch. Rationale: To ensure the safety of everyone on the campus.
Woodstock School
Plan and Rationale: Sharing Rooms During Quarantine Grade 9-12 students Grade 9-12 students who are vaccinated against Covid-19 and those who have tested positive recently and have sufficient Covid antibodies have the choice of sharing a room with one other student during the quarantine period. In all cases the relevant certificates and Covid antibodies reports must be supplied to our Heath Centre as soon as possible. This group includes: • Fully vaccinated students. • Partially vaccinated students who are not yet due their second dose. In the case of Covaxin, the second dose must be administered between the 28th and 42nd day after their first dose. Students who have exceeded 42 days after their first dose of Covaxin will be considered unvaccinated. • Students who have tested positive for Covid-19 within 90 days of their date of arrival on campus, providing they can demonstrate sufficient levels of antibodies. A Covid antibody titre (level) report demonstrating adequate levels of antibodies against Covid-19. This test should have been taken within ten days of their arrival to the school and supplied to the Health Centre. Grade 9-12 students who are not vaccinated will be required to have their own room during quarantine. Rationale: Vaccination against Covid-19 is the best way to protect students and the wider community from the virus. The vast majority of students in this age group are eligible for the vaccination and should do so as a priority. Vaccinated students are at lower risk of contracting and transmitting Covid-19. Unvaccinated students are at higher risk and therefore have to quarantine alone.
Woodstock School
Plan and Rationale: Sharing Rooms During Quarantine Continued Grade 6-8 students Middle Years students will have the choice of sharing a room, even if they are not vaccinated against Covid-19. Rationale: Children in this age group are more likely to suffer from homesickness when they first arrive on campus, particularly as for many this will be there first time in dorms. We also expect the number of Covid-19 cases to decline further by Wednesday, 9 March, reducing the risk of contracting the virus while travelling. Finally, with all grades back we will be close to full capacity, without enough rooms to house all Grade 6-8 students in their own room during quarantine. Considerations in choosing a quarantine roommate Please discuss these quarantine arrangements with your child before they share their preferences. Consider the risk of contracting Covid-19 from a roommate who arrives on campus with the virus, which will mean a further period of isolation, as well as the potential risk of the illness. This is balanced against the potential benefits to their wellbeing by quarantining with a companion. Students will be taking lessons while in quarantine, so quarantining with a student in the same section will be beneficial.
Woodstock School
Plan and Rationale: Residential Life Woodstock School’s Covid-19 protocols are designed to help prevent the introduction of the disease into our community, and to minimize its spread should infection occur. We aim to strike a balance between giving students an active and enjoyable campus experience, while keeping them and the wider community safe from Covid-19. We will continue to review and amend these protocols once students are on campus as the situation with Covid-19 changes. Once on campus, students will remain until the end of the semester. Out of Boarding requests are not allowed, and visitors will not be allowed on campus. Rationale: To aim to protect the Woodstock 'bio-bubble' be avoiding outside contact were possible. Social distancing will be maintained and mask use is mandatory at times outside of dorm rooms and mealtimes. Rationale: To comply with government guidelines and reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19. Visits to the bazaar, outside vendors, and ordering in food from outside restaurants will not be allowed. Rationale: To minimize outside contact and therefore risk. Employees will have minimum contact with students and will be masked and socially distanced when in the vicinity. Rationale: To minimize contact with anyone who has contact with the outside world. Students who break Covid-19 protocols may be required by the school to leave campus at short notice. Rationale: To protect the rest of the student body and wider Woodstock School community.
Woodstock School
Plan and Rationale: Residential Life Continued Social Activities We aim to provide a range of social activities and other enrichment opportunities for students once it is safe to do so. All activities will be supervised by staff to ensure that protocols are maintained. Last semester social activities included class nights, Centre for Imagination events, and group hikes within the Woodstock campus. Students have a collective responsibility to maintain protocols, violations of which may result in these being cancelled for some or all students. Rationale: To enable students to meet and socialise in a safe and supervised way. Sports We plan to enable students to participate in a range of sporting activities, once the Uttarakhand Government allows this and the situation is safe to do so. Last semester we were able to offer a range of sports and other opportunities to exercise to students, while doing so in a way that minimises risk to students. Only vaccinated students will be able to use the Fitness Room in the gym. Rationale: Sport is beneficial to students' health and wellbeing, if done so in a safe and responsible way. Devices Students in Grades 6-11 are given their laptops (and cell phones for Grades 9-11) during certain times of the day and then collected during Quiet Time right before Lights Out. Students in Grades 12 are allowed to keep their electronic items as long as they are used responsibly. The Dorm Parents may confiscate or limit the use of electronic items at any time if guidelines are not followed or they feel the items are taking away from the student’s residential experience. Rationale: Unhealthy sleep patterns lead to a decrease in immunity to all illnesses. Removing devices for the night removes the temptation for students to stay online until late in the night. Grade 12 students can keep their devices to help them prepare for their final examinations.
Woodstock School
Plan and Rationale: School level Masks must be worn at all times at school level. Rationale: To establish the new normal and in compliance with government regulations. Students may eat together in small groups but must be seated diagonally from each other and socially distanced from the other groups. Rationale: To allow for the mental well-being of the students, but to be cautious since one has to be unmasked to eat. Classrooms, dorms, toilets and frequent contact points will be regularly disinfected. Rationale: For sanitization purposes, and protection of the community. Students will be briefed thoroughly on all protocols on arrival and with the help of signage around school. Consequences will be established for students who violate the protocols, which could include sending them home. Rationale: To ensure that the community is not put at risk and the government regulations are complied with.
Woodstock School
Lessons and Learning: • During quarantine, students who return to campus will conduct online lessons from their dorm rooms. There will be scope to catchup with any work which they miss while travelling to campus. • Once students on campus break quarantine, they will return to campus and will conduct classes in person. Students will have access to their teachers and peers outside of class time, as well as school facilities and locations. • All returning students are required to bring their laptop and headphones/earphones to school, in the event that we need to return to an online learning scenario while on campus. • Students and teachers will be masked and socially distanced at all times, including during classes.
Woodstock School
Lessons and Learning: • Students who do not return to campus will be given asynchronous lessons to complete on their own schedule, and will not join a Zoom call for classes. This is because of the diminishing returns blended learning can offer when the vast majority of students are together in the classroom, which we expect to be the case in the Spring Semester. All students are strongly encouraged to return to campus if possible for the benefit of their educational, social, and wellbeing needs. • In addition to finding recordings, assignments, resources, and other instructions on ManageBac, students who do not return to campus will be able to meet teachers during their established office hours or other scheduled times. • Students will be required to check in regularly with their Advisors in order to ensure they are maintaining a schedule and are engaged with their classwork and other school activities. • Parents of students who do not return to campus are requested to take an active role in monitoring their child's schooling to ensure that their students view all classes, complete all assignments, and participate in synchronous summative testing as required.
04 HEALTH FACILITIES
Woodstock School
Health Facilities • Three health facilities are in place: 1. Woodstock Health Centre at residence level will serve as the health facility for non-Covid cases. 2. Ridgewood dormitory will serve as a Covid care and quarantine centre with two fully separated wings. a) One wing will serve as a Covid Centre for students who are suspected of or diagnosed as having Covid, who are being tested and awaiting results in individual rooms. b) The second wing will be used as a Quarantine Centre. 3. A section of the Covid Centre will serve as the isolation Centre for Covid positive students. It will be under constant supervision by the health team. • Sample collection for Covid testing will be done for batches on campus by qualified lab technicians from Landour Community Hospital. Testing is done by an ICMR accredited lab in Dehradun. 1. RT-PCR tests will be administered for students who are symptomatic. 2. All students who have been in contact with or suspect they have been exposed to Covid-19 cases will be quarantined for 7 days with the RT-PCR test to be conducted. • Cases with medium to high symptoms will be admitted at Max Hospital in Dehradun. 1. At present, Max Hospital is willing to take both symptomatic as well as asymptomatic cases. Students will be taken to the hospital, in consultation with parents. 2. We have an agreement with Max Hospital for Woodstock students' safety, care and admission. 3. Max hospital senior staff have been on campus to train our staff on sanitization. 4. A team of nurses, drivers and staff have been to Max hospital for Covid training. 5. Please be aware that Woodstock School cannot guarantee admission to or treatment by Max Hospital.
Thank you.