Covid-19

Cross of Christ Preschool and Kindergarten

2020-2021 COVID Updates

8/31/2020- this information is subject to change

Cross of Christ Preschool and Kindergarten is open from 8:30am-2:00pm Monday through Thursday. At this time, only Cross of Christ Preschool and Kindergarten teachers, staff, and children are permitted to enter the building. This is in an effort to reduce the potential exposure to covid-19. The rationale is that if someone outside of our teacher/student/staff cohort enters the building and later tests positive for covid, the potential for our entire school to go on quarantine is much higher than if the exposure were contained to a particular cohort.

Contact Us
Please feel free to contact us at any time. Each staff member has a Cross of Christ email account. The director’s email is preschool@cross-of-christ.org. All other staff members are firstname@cross-of-christ.org. Additionally, you will be able to contact your child’s teacher through the Sandbox Parent Portal once you create a login and update your information at https://parentportal.runsandbox.com/Login.

Class Assignments and Cohorts
Children will be assigned to a “cohort”, or a class that has one teacher with a designated group of children. This cohort will move through the school day together, not entering common spaces with other cohorts except outdoors on the playground.

Home Visits
We believe that home visits are important for creating a foundation of trust between your family and your child’s teacher in a comfortable environment. This can be very reassuring for children as they transition into the new school year. This year we will be offering physically distanced outdoor Home Visits to all of our families. In the event that you decline a home visit, please let your teacher know.

Optional Programs
Lunch Bunch and the Enrichment Program for 4-year-olds are suspended at this time while we are in the “Safer at Home” phase.

Family Events
Each year, Cross of Christ Preschool and Kindergarten holds several family events to help with transitions, community and relationship building. This year, we are postponing or canceling the family concert/pajama party, Lifetouch photos, and Math and Science Night.

Drop off and Pick Up Information

Drop off times and locations will vary per class in order to limit the number of families who are present at one time. A schedule will be provided once classes are finalized.

• Children in 3-year-old classes and kindergarten will park in the main parking lot and enter through the front doors.
• Children in 4-year-old classes and WOW will park in the gravel parking lot or along 121^st street and enter through the north playground doors.

Staggered Start and End Times
In an effort to reduce the potential exposure across cohorts, the following schedule will be utilized this year:

Parents, guardians, children, and staff must wear a face covering during drop off and pick up. Please utilize the floor spots to keep a 6’ physical distance from other families. Each child will have a daily health screening, including a temperature check for children and a questionnaire in the Sandbox Parent app. Parents will sign in and out by scanning the daily QR code in the Sandbox Parent Portal. If needed, a school iPad will be available for sign in/out and disinfected between uses.

Health and Illness Policies

Daily Health Screening
All students and staff who enter the building are required to pass a daily health screening. This includes a daily temperature check and symptom questionnaire, which confirms that children/staff show no major or minor signs of illness and have had no recent contact with a person who tested positive for covid-19 in the 14 days prior.

• Any temperature 99.2-100.3 will be monitored throughout the day and/or may be excluded
• Any child or staff with a fever of 100.4 or higher or known or suspected diagnosis will be sent home
• If a child becomes ill during the school day, a parent, guardian, or emergency contact must come within 15 minutes of our phone call. Children will be made comfortable in a safe space until a family member can come.
• If symptoms do not resolve within 24 hours, a covid test may be recommended.
• In order to return to school after a covid diagnosis,
  
  • Person must be 72 hours symptom free
  • AND isolate for 10+ days after symptoms started
  • AND symptoms improving

Personal Belongings
During this time, we ask that a limited number of items be brought to school

• • A few changes of clothes to be left in your child’s cubby
  • Lunch if in kindergarten
  • Water bottle if desired
  • At least 3 clean face coverings, which will be sent home daily to be washed/returned
  • Toys from home are not permitted, especially during this time

Each child will have a weekly communication folder. Folders will be utilized to share information to and from school. They will be sent home on Wednesday or Thursday and be returned the following Monday or Tuesday.

Health and Illness Policies
Cross of Christ Preschool and Kindergarten is in contact with Broomfield County Public Health for covid-related information and updates. Because we are currently in the Sustained Community Transmission (Safer at Home or Stay at Home) phase, we will utilize the following protocol to determine if and when a child/staff member will stay home or return to school.

At-Home-Symptom-Screening-for-Parents-and-Staff.pdf

These lists refer only to new symptoms or a change in usual symptoms. A student/ staff should not be kept home for usual symptoms they experience due to a chronic condition unless they are worse than usual. These guidelines are in addition to your regular school guidance (for example, a child with vomiting should also not attend school based on usual school guidance).

If your child is/ you are experiencing any potentially life-threatening symptoms, please call 911.

Sustained Community Transmission (Safer at Home or Stay at Home):
If any of the following symptoms are present, keep the child at home/stay at home, inform the school of symptoms, and reach out to a health care provider about COVID-19 testing and next steps for treatment.

❏ Feeling feverish, having chills, or temperature 100.4°F or higher.
❏ New or unexplained persistent cough.
❏ Shortness of breath.
❏ Difficulty breathing.
❏ Loss of taste or smell.
❏ Fatigue.
❏ Muscle aches.
❏ Headache.
❏ Sore throat.
❏ Nausea or vomiting.
❏ Diarrhea.
❏ Runny nose or congestion.

If a student is absent from school due to illness or because they are required to quarantine due to a family member testing positive for covid, tuition will not be reimbursed for missed days, per our regular illness policy.

If a class is required to quarantine for up to 14 calendar days due to having direct contact with someone who tests positive for, tuition will not be reimbursed, but the teacher or another staff member will provide home learning materials to be picked up at the school by parents. (Direct contact is defined as being with someone for at least 15 minutes)

If a class or the school is required to close for longer than 14 calendar days, tuition will be reduced by a percentage in order to keep the school running at a baseline minimum. The teachers will gather materials needed for an at-home learning plan, picked up by parents at the school on a weekly basis or other determined interval. In the event that closures continue due to a government-mandated shut down, these policies will be revisited and a parent survey will be utilized to help formulate the next steps.

Cleaning and Disinfecting
Cross of Christ Preschool and Kindergarten has always followed the recommended guidelines in CDPHE’s Rules and Regulations governing the Health and Sanitation of Childcare Centers manual. We will continue to follow the protocols and use the EPA’s recommended products for sanitizer and disinfectant against Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, we will follow the updated guidance for cleaning, sanitizing and disinfection. There will be daily intensified cleaning of high touch surfaces throughout the day such as doorknobs, light switches, faucets, etc. Bathrooms will be disinfected at least 2 times per day, based on current recommended guidelines. The school will be thoroughly cleaned after each school day.

Teachers will reduce the number of materials to those that are easily cleaned every day. Toys/materials are not shared between classrooms, and everything is disinfected before being returned to shared shelves for another class to use. Toys/materials that cannot be sanitized daily, such as shared sensory tables, soft toys, stuffed animals, pillows, fabric, dress up clothing, etc. have been removed from the classrooms for the time being. 

Classroom Information and Procedures

Our classrooms have been intentionally redesigned to adhere to the recommended guidelines for covid-related safety protocols. An outdoor classroom space may be utilized in addition to our two playgrounds to spend more time outdoors while the weather permits. We will still maintain our teacher:child ratios of 1:7 in three-year-olds, 1:9 in four-year olds, and 1:12 in kindergarten.

There will be less furniture and materials in the classrooms to accommodate physical distancing requirements. When possible, windows will be open to allow for ventilation and air flow.

Start and end times will be staggered to provide more time for children to enter the building in their cohorts in order to reduce the potential exposure within different groups. Children will stay with their cohorts (classes) throughout each day and not share common spaces with other classes besides the playground (two classes at a time on the playground.)

Teachers and children will maintain physical distancing when possible. There may be a limit to the number of children playing at centers and eating at tables. Chapel and Movement/Music will be taught by teachers in the classrooms or outdoors.

Face Coverings
Broomfield Public Health reports that practicing the 3 W’s (Wearing masks, Watching your distance, and Washing your hands) are the most reliable way to prevent the spread of covid-19. Therefore, we are requiring masks for adults and strongly encouraging them for children.

• All adults and children over the age of 3 wear face coverings during drop off/pick up
• Staff wears face coverings at all times in the building
• It is strongly recommended that children over the age of 3 wear face coverings during the day.
• Two ply cotton (non-medical) face coverings are recommended. Gaitors are permitted but not recommended unless children can easily keep them up over their mouth and nose. Disposable face coverings are permitted but not recommended to be used for more than one day.
• Children should bring 3 clean face coverings each day. They will be returned at the end of each day.
• We encourage families to practice wearing face coverings at home before starting school. Start with 5 or 10 minutes at a time and work up to longer periods. Our staff is mindful of the fact that children may not be used to wearing face coverings for longer periods of time and will utilize social stories or other strategies to help children become more comfortable over time.

Hand Washing
Cross of Christ Preschool and Kindergarten will continue to follow the handwashing procedures as recommended by child care licensing and Colorado Shines:

Staff and children will wash hands with soap and running water for 20 seconds:

• Upon entering and before exiting the building
• When caregivers move from caring from one group/classroom to another
• Before and after
  
  • Preparing food
  • Eating snack or lunch
  • Handling food and beverages
  • Giving medication
  • Administering basic first aid to scrapes/cuts
  • Entering and exited shared spaces and playgrounds
• After
  
  • Using the toilet
  • Blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
  • Coming in from outdoors
  • Any times that hands become soiled

Hand Sanitizer
The CDC recommends the use of hand sanitizer ONLY when proper handwashing with soap and running water is not available. Teachers and staff are permitted to use hand sanitizer for themselves but may not give to children unless handwashing is not readily available and children are supervised. We will only use hand sanitizer that is on the approved list and not on the FDA’s recalled list of hand sanitizers with methanol.