Dear Laguna Blanca Community,
As we prepare to welcome our students and families at the start of a new school year, we want to revisit information regarding our safety protocols that we shared in writing and via our divisional Zoom meetings a few weeks ago. Maintaining the safety and good health of our community is a top priority. Local health and safety guidance is being updated regularly; we are sharing the latest exposure and quarantine rules with you below. Our COVID safety plan that we communicated to you a few weeks ago remains congruent with this guidance. In this communication, we want to affirm the key points of this plan and share some decisions we have made to provide additional layers of safety for our community.
COVID-19 EXPOSURE
Please review this helpful graphic to better understand the protocols after coming into close contact with a person who has confirmed COVID-19. Our emphasis on masking is rooted in the exposure definition requiring quarantine—15 minutes or more unmasked within six feet during a 24-hour period whether or not that exposure is indoors or outdoors.
Given the prevalence and highly contagious nature of the virus, particularly the dominant Delta strain, we have to expect that some members of our community will test positive for COVID during the school year. We want students to remain in school when we do have a positive case. The new guidelines require quarantines for unvaccinated students when they or a close contact are maskless, including when outdoors (see graphic). Please keep these exposure rules in mind as you speak to your student regarding their interactions with others and the importance of masking both indoors and outdoors.
MASKING
All students and staff are required to wear masks indoors. SB County Public Health does not currently require outdoor mask-wearing at school. Therefore, Laguna Blanca will not require masking outdoors, with limited exceptions for densely populated outdoor events. These types of events will include but may not be limited to assemblies, extended time at play such as in a sandbox in the Lower School, times when students stand in lines to receive lunch, and similar occasions when distancing is reduced for extended periods of time. Unvaccinated students are strongly encouraged to wear their masks even in outdoor settings, and all members of the community are encouraged to wear their masks outdoors whenever they feel it is safer to do so.
PARENTS/GUESTS ON CAMPUS
All visitors, including parents/guardians, must be masked at all times when they are inside on campus. All visitors, including parents/guardians, must be masked even when outside on campus during the school day.
ATHLETICS
Masks are required for all students while playing indoor sports. Masks are required for all spectators at indoor sports events. Masks are not required for spectators at outdoor sports events when a safe distance between members of different households can be maintained. Any spectator who enters a campus building must wear a mask while indoors.
DAILY HEALTH ASSESSMENT (sent via text notification)
Students and families and all faculty/staff must faithfully and honestly complete their health assessment every day before they come to school. Each morning, families will receive a secure, single-use link through Ruvna to screen students for COVID symptoms at home. If the student is symptom-free, you will receive a QR code to present at arrival.
Students must not come to school if they have any of the following COVID symptoms:
Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
VACCINATION
We highly recommend that any eligible students (12 and older) are fully vaccinated before the start of school. Families, please inform our Health Coordinator at [email protected] if your child has been vaccinated. This information is important for the school to have on file as we make policy decisions and conduct contact tracing when there are positive cases on campus.
MOVING FORWARD
If we begin to see an increase in COVID cases within the community or our school, we will revisit our COVID safety policies. As we wrap up our summer break, let's all continue to do our part to keep our families and staff safe and healthy. We can't wait to see you tomorrow!
With excitement,
Ron Cino
Head of School
