Dear PC Parents,
As I mentioned in our last email communication on Friday, we are writing to update you as plans evolve related to the COVID-19 outbreak. While it is our goal to keep school as normal as possible, we have needed to make decisions about our educational programming moving forward. We write to update you on these plans, including remote learning, school trips, hygiene initiatives, and event cancellations or alterations.
REMOTE LEARNING, FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Classes Cancelled Friday, March 13 Faculty and administrators continue to work on the remote learning plan and technology we will use in the event that school must close. To accelerate that work, we will cancel classes, pre-K to 12, on Friday, March 13. We will communicate more about the remote learning plan very soon.
We realize this is short notice and hope you can begin to make plans. We are making arrangements to offer child care and will provide those details as well as decisions about extracurricular activities for Friday as soon as they are in place.
PSATs for Penn Charter 10th graders will continue as scheduled on Saturday.
TRIPS, EVENTS AND ATHLETICS
Also, the Junior Prom scheduled for Saturday is postponed; we will communicate soon about a new date for later in the spring.
The decision to cancel the trips and prom was made after careful thought, and we know that the outcome will be disappointing for some. Given the uncertain nature of the virus, we do not want to put our students at risk or our chaperones in an uncomfortable position should they find themselves in the midst of a localized outbreak. Nor do we want to have children in a location that might make it difficult for their families to retrieve them. The school will work with all necessary third parties on recouping funds already paid for these trips.
In addition, relying on advice issued by local health departments, we will evaluate on a case-by-case basis how the virus might impact local field trips and class trips and athletic competitions; for example, the AP Computer Science trip to the Garden State Discovery Museum is cancelled because of the exposure it creates to crowds and, for the same reason, the indoor track team members scheduled to compete in the New York City area this week will not attend. At this point, local athletic competitions will continue as scheduled. Please note that, the Inter-Ac has advised all schools to discontinue handshakes.
SANITATION We have extra cleaning personnel on campus today cleaning the dining room, the hallways, including doorknobs and railings, other high traffic areas, and other spaces where we hold larger gatherings. Our routine housekeeping throughout the day continues, as will our stepped up weekend deep cleaning.
HAND-WASHING Public health experts have identified the importance of effective hand-washing in helping to stop the spread of the virus. To that end, we have established the following protocols in the three divisions and in athletics.
Lower School. Although helping students with hand-washing is already part of their daily work in Lower School, teachers are working to establish the following practice throughout the division: Students are asked to wash their hands at multiple points throughout the day using warm water and soap, modeling methods such as the WHO recommended approach, or whichever strategy is most developmentally appropriate for the students. This includes before and after snack/lunch and after recess, and, of course, after using the bathroom. Hand sanitizer has been made available in each classroom for students and faculty to use throughout the day. Students are encouraged to use an elbow bump or friendly wave in place of handshakes or other forms of direct contact.
Middle and Upper School. Teachers will encourage students to wash hands at least 3-4 times per school day with proper technique: warm water, antibacterial soap, 20 seconds in duration. Hand sanitizer is available as students enter the lunch room, and we will post a teacher at the entrance to remind students to use the sanitizer if they haven't already washed their hands. Students are encouraged to greet each other with elbow tap or fist bump, no hand-shaking for now.
Athletics: We are urging students to wash hands whenever they enter the locker rooms and before they leave school to go home. As noted above, we have also eliminated the handshake before and after contests.
GREAT DAY TO BE A QUAKER In an effort to keep the school day as normal as possible for as long as possible, we are cancelling the on-campus activities scheduled for the fifth annual Great Day to Be a Quaker on Thursday, March 12. This includes an OPC Breakfast, a Parent Community breakfast with Overseers, the OPC evening celebration in Center City, and in-school activities such as the popular photo booth in Lower School. Some of the online activities we had planned for the day will go forward, albeit in a muted fashion. Any gifts that donors make to Penn Charter between now and Color Day, May 22, will be credited to Great Day to Be a Quaker.
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS Our three school counselors have curated the following resources for parents, which they believe offer the best information not only for parents but for students of all ages, too.
We are proceeding with an abundance of caution and care, contacting local health officials for information and guidance, and remaining flexible in the light of this rapidly evolving situation.
Sincerely, Darryl J. Ford, Head of School Beth Glascott, Assistant Head of School
|