Berkshire's Second-Semester Plan 2020–2021

SECOND-SEMESTER PLAN 2020–2021

EXPECTATIONS FOR OVER BREAK AND

In order for Berkshire School to support our safest and healthiest return to campus in January, and to meet Massachusetts DPH requirements for quarantining and arrival testing, we are outlining the following expectations and protocols for our students and families.

Pre-arrival Quarantine & Testing: Students are asked to complete the REACH symptom survey daily for 14 days prior to arrival to campus in January.

We require that all students follow CDC recommendations to quarantine at home or in one place, with limited contact beyond family, for 14 days prior to their arrival to campus in January.

Students are required to bring a negative COVID-19 test result to campus the day of arrival. A link to a student’s prepaid VAULT home COVID-19 test will be sent to one parent/guardian via email in late December.

Arrival Dates & Times: Student arrival dates and times for on-campus testing will be determined by a sign-up form that will be sent to families via email in December when housing assignments are completed.

Students must arrive over the scheduled arrivals dates of Jan. 15–17. We are not allowing any mid-winter returns in order to ensure our safest community.

Students will arrive on the dates below based on their dorm assignment: Friday, January 15th:

CGR, MacMillan, Buck

Saturday, January 16th: Allen, de Windt, Spurr

Sunday, January 17th:

Godman, Eipper, Stanley International students may arrive on any of the three dates above.

Day students will be assigned and informed of their arrival day for testing in early January.

Note: Students who encounter travel cancellations or who are not able to arrive on campus on their designated day, please contact Lisa Miller in the Student Life Office at lmiller@berkshireschool.org.

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STUDENTS & FAMILIES

ARRIVING ON CAMPUS

Upon arrival, students will be retested on campus through the Broad Institute PCR test used on campus throughout the fall semester. Testing will take place at the Jackman L. Stewart Athletic Center before students move into their dorm.

Students will then quarantine in their dorm rooms or at home (for day students) for 24 hours until the Broad COVID-19 test results are available. Meals will be delivered to the dormitories throughout the quarantine period.

We ask parents, guardians, or caretakers to stay in their vehicles while on Berkshire's campus. Bathrooms will be available in the Jackman L. Stewart Athletic Center and are accessible through the facility's back entrance.

Each dorm will have helpers to assist students moving into their dorms so that parents, guardians, or caretakers can remain in their vehicles.

Masks: In accordance with current state mandates, we require all Berkshire community members to wear face coverings or masks, with exceptions only for those for whom it is not safe to do so due to age, medical conditions, or other considerations.

Students should plan to bring 10–14 washable masks to school.

For acceptable types of masks, visit our FAQs on the website.

Community Pledge: Berkshire School expects all community members (students, faculty, and staff) to review again and sign the Community Pledge that acknowledges each individual’s responsibility to establish and maintain a healthy and safe community on campus.

Click here for the Community Pledge.

QUESTIONS? ADDITIONAL FAQS MAY BE FOUND HERE: www.berkshireschool.org/FAQS

Note: Berkshire School will not be providing transportation to campus.

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Self-Quarantine Requirement

All students are required to quarantine at home, or in a single place, and limit their contact beyond family and essential trips outside of the home (medical appointments, etc.) for 14 days prior to arrival. Families should count back 14 days from their arrival date to begin their respective quarantine, as follows: For arrival on January 15th: self-quarantine starts on January 1st.

For arrival on January 16th: self-quarantine starts on January 2nd.

For arrival on January 17th: self-quarantine starts on January 3rd.

VAULT Home Test Kit Schedule

Students who will take the VAULT home test will test on either January 11th, 12th, or 13th depending on their arrival date: For arrival on January 15th: take and mail the test on January 11th.

For arrival on January 16th: take and mail the test on January 12th.

For arrival on January 17th: take and mail the test on January 13th. *If an additional day is needed to ensure UPS delivery in your region, 5 days between testing and arrival is acceptable.

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Swiss Cheese Model of Pandemic Defense

"The metaphor is easy enough to grasp: Multiple layers of protection, imagined as cheese slices, block the spread of the new coronavirus, SARSCoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. No one layer is perfect; each has holes, and when the holes align, the risk of infection increases. But several layers combined—social distancing, plus masks, plus hand-washing, plus testing and tracing, plus ventilation, plus government messaging— significantly reduce the overall risk. Vaccination will add one more protective layer."

Excerpt from "The Swiss Cheese Model of Pandemic Defense" by Siobhan Roberts, The New York Times (December 5, 2020)

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TIME

PHASE

Phase 1

Phase Phase22

Pre-arrival Quarantine & Travel

Welcome to Campus!

COVID-19 Testing

January 15–17 January 15–17

January 1–14

Fourteen days prior to travel or arrival to campus, students will begin the self-quarantine phase at home or in one place.

All students must arrive on campus with a negative COVID-19 PCR test.

Upon arrival, students will be retested on campus through the Broad Institute PCR test used on campus throughout the fall semester. Students who have tested negative will enter the "quiet" phase.

*All students are required to quarantine at home, or in a single place, and limit their contact beyond family and essential trips outside of the home (medical appointments, etc.) for 14 days prior to arrival.

Students will arrive on the dates below based on their dorm assignment:

Families should count back 14 days from their arrival date to begin their respective quarantine, as follows:

Friday, January 15th: CGR, MacMillan, Buck

For arrival on January 15th: self-

Saturday, January 16th: Allen, de Windt, Spurr

quarantine starts on January 1st.

For arrival on January 16th: self-

Sunday, January 17th: Godman, Eipper, Stanley

quarantine starts on January 2nd.

For arrival on January 17th: self-

Note: International students may arrive on any of the three dates above, and day students will be assigned their arrival day for testing in December.

quarantine starts on January 3rd.

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LINE

S 1–5

Phase 3

Phase 4

Transition to Quiet

Emerging

After the arrival testing is complete, we will enter the quiet phase through the second round of COVID-19 testing the week of January 25. Should we have positive tests in this second round of oncampus testing, we may stay in the quiet phase through the next round of testing.

Introduce modifications to protocols across school life and continued surveillance testing.

Roommates may each invite a guest from the dorm to their room for a total of four students in a dorm room.

Day students are welcomed to their dorm common room.

Options for study hall outside of the dormitory including evening group study Inter-squad athletic scrimmages (if supported by MA state guidelines Regular in-person Form meetings.

Once we have completed a full round of negative tests and feel comfortable with the community's infection rate, we will move to the emerging phase.

Surveillance testing is a smaller sample of our Berkshire community (30%–35%) that will be tested weekly, emphasizing those who come and go daily.

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TIMELINE

PHASES 1–5

Phase 5 Emerging 2.0 We continue with further modifications across school life and continued surveillance testing.

Second-Semester Activities Lunar New Year

Interdorm visitation, four students to a room across dormitories Interdorm common room visitation Athletic competition with MA opponents(if supported by MA state guidelines) Celebratory meals by Form in dining hall Outdoor All-School, in-person meetings (if supported by MA state guidelines) Parent visitation to campus

Outdoor Open Houses Winter Carnival Pro Vita Green & Gray Competitions Winter Musical Winter Music Concert Winter Dance Concert And more ...

New Spaces Indoor Turf

Note: More information for Phases 3–5 to follow in the SecondSemester.

Outdoor Skating Rink Soffer Social Spaces

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WHOM SHOULD I CONTACT?

COVID-19 & Arrival Requirements

Jean Maher

jmaher@berkshireschool.org

Arrival Dates & Times

Lisa Miller

lmiller@berkshireschool.org

International Students

Lissa McGovern

lmcgovern@berkshireschool.org

Day Students

Jen Gaenzle Smith

jgaenzlesmith@berkshireschool.org

III Form Academics

Chris Perkins

cperkins@berkshireschool.org

IV Form Academics

Mike McCabe

mmccabe@berkshireschool.org

V Form Academics

John West

jwest@berkshireschool.org

VI Form Academics

Jeff Depelteau

jdepelteau@berkshireschool.org

Athletics and Afternoon Programs

Dan Driscoll

ddriscoll@berkshireschool.org

Health

Brooke Humes

bhumes@berkshireschool.org

Counseling

Tess Adams

tadams@berkshireschool.org

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Akilah Edgerton

aedgerton@berkshireschool.org

Enrollment Status

Dana Anselmi

danaanselmi@berkshireschool.org

Financial Matters

Robert Boyd

rboyd@berkshireschool.org

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