Dear members of the Temple Christian School community, Life on campus will not look the same as it did pre-pandemic, but we believe it will still be enjoyable and meaningful. Our plan for an in-person fall term is still a work in progress, and we are considering several approaches to keep our community healthy and safe. To keep density as low as possible and limit potential risk to students and employees, school may be conducted in shifts designed to minimize the number on campus at any given time. For example, such a shift system may have half of the students in class while the other half are online. However, all test taking would be done in class. Desks will be required to face the same direction. Parents would be required to ensure that students have their own personal sanitizers and wipes each day. Students would not be permitted to share supplies. Daily attendance would be taken for both face-to-face and online instruction. When at school, all students would be required to wear standardized face masks with the school’s logo. Classroom density will be minimized, and faculty will not be closer than 6 feet to anyone else. Special teachers would maneuver from room to room. Students would have supervised mask breaks throughout the day with social distancing. Students would eat in classrooms, not the cafeteria. Help classes may be held online or outside of the classroom on the grounds of the campus. Physical barriers or screens would be installed between sinks in student bathrooms. Custodians would monitor social distancing during bathroom use, with limited numbers of students permitted in the bathroom at any one time. Appropriate markings would be positioned to ensure adherence to social distancing guidelines. In order to limit the risk of exposure to persons, we would require that parent movement be kept to a minimum in the beginning, with proper personal protective equipment and social distancing. There would be designated drive up parent drop off areas for students, with parents remaining in vehicles. Lunch birthday parties would be temporarily suspended. We are also examining ways to reduce student density around microwaves by having students bring a packed lunch that does not require heating. Chapel sizes would be reduced to accommodate social distancing. Group play on the field, gym, or basketball court, or cafeteria will not be permitted. Large scale assemblies and gatherings would be temporarily suspended. We would find safe, creative ways to deliver the spiritual component of chapels which is so critical to the education we provide. Visitors to the campus would be restricted. All staff and students would have their temperature taken daily upon arrival on campus in the fall. Anyone experiencing a temperature of more than 100.4 °F would be sent home immediately. Students with fever would be taken to a designated waiting area for parent/guardian pickup. Students who test positive for Covid-19 would be required to remain at home until authorized to return to school by a physician. The student would still be able to access classes remotely via Zoom. In the event that a case did emerge, we would immediately contact the Ministry of Health to identify additional individuals who may have been exposed and follow all national guidelines to disinfect the affected areas as well as provide recommended care. In all cases, we will follow the Ministry of Health’s guidelines for proper public health safety. We are working with the government and waiting for guidance from Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) to assess how to conduct athletic competition in the fall. We know the importance of this to the life of the school and hope to find a safe approach that can work. Parents are encouraged to settle student accounts via bank transfer where possible, so as to limit visits to the business office. Additional information regarding payment options will be forthcoming directly from the business office. Moreover, our elementary and high school principals will disseminate information specific to their respective campuses as soon as it becomes available. Lastly, we are cognizant that medical research and public health guidelines may shift and require us to continue remote teaching and learning. We welcome the opportunity to improve our student online learning experience, taking into consideration the issues that have been raised in the past. Temple Christian School is grateful to the faculty who are developing creative approaches to enrich the online instruction and tools available for remote learning. Temple Christian is committed to delivering the highest quality, personalized education possible. While there have been challenges in the past, many of you have shared encouraging, positive experiences in remote learning.
Our hope is that you and your family continue to remain safe and well during this time.
I am writing to update you about our planning process for the fall term. Two weeks ago, we formed a Health & Safety committee to develop implementation guidelines for a potential return to face-to-face instruction this fall. Members of the committee represent multiple areas in the school: administration, health services, and faculty from a diverse range of academic departments and backgrounds to ensure we plan comprehensively and wisely.
The committee has been working to develop guidelines and procedures to enable students to return to campus safely. It is predicated on our school meeting
Classroom changes
Should national health conditions require a return to remote learning, parents would be required to ensure that their students have internet access and reliable devices for online instruction.Reduction of gatherings
Monitoring of symptoms
Athletics
Further updates
No doubt you may have questions, as we all do at this juncture. We are still exploring different ways of making the fall work, and we expect to have a more finalized plan in the next month or so, as national norms emerge. Please accept our apologies for not having all the answers quite yet. Thank you for your continued involvement, and we will continue to keep you informed as we develop these ideas further.
With continued best wishes for your safety,
Samuel L. Rutherford, Ed. D.
Administrator