HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Overview

Our plan promotes the safety, health, and welfare of our entire school community. This plan is subject to change as new information becomes available, and as government mandates are imposed or lifted.

Daily Health Symptom Surveillance

All parents/guardians must answer a brief series of questions prior to arrival using a new app called School Pass. You will receive a welcome letter, download and login instructions for School Pass next week. Upon arrival, faculty and staff will confirm the student’s temperature and receipt of the daily report via School Pass before they exit the vehicle and enter the school.

If you answer yes to any of the questions on the app (see samples on the right), please keep your child at home.

For the 2020-21 school year, parents will also use School Pass for any changes to arrival and dismissal (for example, to report an absence, report an early pickup, or allow another family to pick your child up). These instructions will also be included in the School Pass email next week.

Do you have a fever (temperature equal to or greater than 100.3+ without taking fever-reducing medication)?

Are you experiencing shortness of breath or difficulty breathing?

Do you have a cough? Do you have the chills?

Have you lost your sense of smell or taste?

Do you have a sore throat? Do you have muscle aches?

Have you experienced any GI symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or loss of appetite?

Have you been in close contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or been placed on quarantine for possible contact with COVID-19? fhcds.org | 3

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Arrival (UPDATED)

Student entrance assignments are determined by grade level of students by carload. Arrival window is 7:55–8:25 a.m. this fall.

• Piazza Entrance: students in the vehicle are all in Preschool–

Grade 2 • Main Entrance: students in the vehicle are in Grades 3–5, mixed divisions, AND/OR expected for early arrival between 7:30–7:55 a.m. • Upper School: students in the vehicle are all in Grades 6–8

All students arriving after 8:25 a.m. must enter through the main entrance.

> CHECK IN: Students will have their temperatures checked PRIOR TO EXITING the vehicle every morning. At each entrance, lines will form at a Check In station marked by a large banner. Please put your vehicle in PARK and have students MASK UP!

< HANG OUT: If a student’s temperature registers above normal (100.3 +), parents will have the option of leaving with their student immediately or pulling forward to a recheck area. FH staff will recheck a student’s temperature after a 10-minute wait. There is a recheck area at each of the three entrances marked by a large Falcons banner. Staff will instruct parents to pull ahead to this area if necessary.

Dismissal

To protect our students’ health and safety and the integrity of our cohorts, dismissal at Far Hills will look very different during the pandemic. Specific instructions for when and where to pick up your child will be sent via email next week.

Carpool Safety

We do not recommend carpooling with other families to school at this time.

However, we understand there may be some instances when it is necessary. Should you have to carpool, we ask that you please follow the Center for Disease Controls steps “to prevent getting and spreading COVID-19”:

Stay home if you are sick or had close contact with someone who has the coronavirus. Everyone in the car must wear a mask. Everyone in the car must wash or sanitize their hands upon exit. Keep the car windows lowered to increase ventilation inside the car. Run the car’s ventilation system in non-recirculation mode.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Social-Emotional Learning

At Far Hills, we understand that before our students can grow as scholars, we need to create a safe and supportive environment where they can develop and flourish socially and emotionally first. Our strong human-centered approach to whole-child development is the bedrock foundation by which all other learning occurs.

This year, more than ever, attention to students’ emotional well-being is of paramount importance. In addition to morning Advisory/ Homeroom, we will continue Advisory lunches and mindfulness to our schedule to provide a safe time and space each day for students to:

• share and discuss feelings; • strengthen self-awareness and self-management to develop motivation, self-control, and emotional regulation; • enhance social awareness in embracing diversity and showing empathy toward others; • build relationship skills by learning how to work collaboratively and resolve conflict; • embrace mindfulness to cultivate attention and manage stress; and • develop responsible decision-making skills to build resilience and become productive global citizens.

Mindfulness

In Lower School, our mindfulness videos’ popularity during Distance Learning speaks to the demand for more mindful resources by teachers, parents, and students. This fall, students in Kindergarten–Grade 4 will view 10-minute mindfulness video lessons from Grade 2 Teacher Sue Miller. Topics include grounding, anchor breathing, heartfulness, impulse control, body scanning, mindful listening and communication, and how to handle difficult and uncomfortable emotions. Check out our mindfulness playlist on our YouTube channel.