Owen-Withee School Board Approves Plan to Reopen
Saturday, August 1st, 2020 -- 2:32 PM
The Owen-Withee School Board held a special meeting on Monday.At the meeting, they approved the reopening plan for the district for the new school year. Some other items discussed include food service. Food service will continue with breakfast and lunch provided each day. Free, Reduced and Full Pay meals will be in effect during the school year.
Breakfast may be picked up when the student goes through the screening process upon arrival at school each morning. Breakfast will be taken to the classroom (1st block for MS/HS students) and eaten there. Lunch count will be taken each morning (by the classroom teacher in the elementary, on the district-provided device for MS/HS students). Lunch will be delivered to each student in the classroom they are in during the designated lunch period. Lunch will be eaten in the classroom. As always, students are more than welcome to bring a cold lunch from home. For face coverings, PPE and cleaning, the wearing of a face covering by students and staff is the most effective means of controlling this and any other virus. Face coverings are strongly recommended at all times in the school building and on school buses. The district has face coverings available for student/staff use/purchase. Students are encouraged to provide their coverings as well. Other PPE will be provided by the district, as much as practicable and available. This includes hand sanitizer, hand soap and sinks and disinfecting wipes.
The promotion of good personal hygiene, cleaning of shared equipment and surfaces and the use of face coverings will be a focus of teachers and staff. Cleaning of classrooms and shared spaces will occur during the after-school hours of each school day.
Flat surfaces and common touch areas (door knobs, light switches, etc.) will be fogged by maintenance staff using a disinfecting solution. While the disinfectant may be harmful to breathe while in vapor form over a long period of time, it is safe once it dries (usually 10 minutes). Maintenance staff, wearing proper PPE, will only do this process while classrooms are vacant of teachers and students. As a reminder to parents, if you child is sick or exhibiting symptoms, keep them home. They are not to come to school. The district will follow Clark County Health Department guidelines for dealing with a person who exhibits symptoms, tests positive for the virus or has been in close contact with someone who does test positive. Any suspected cases of COVID-19 (students/staff) must be reported to the County Health Dept.
They will follow up with testing/contact tracing/quarantine orders. In conclusion, the district has developed this plan to help reduce the chances of contracting and/or spreading the COVID-19 virus between students, staff, families and our communities. Elimination of the possibility of contracting or spreading the virus is not feasible. But, if they minimize contact, practice socially distancing, wear face coverings and practice good personal hygiene, they can go a long way to prevent its proliferation. Their goal by putting these simple things into practice is so they can stay open for face-to-face instruction throughout the school and can avoid a closure like what was experienced last spring.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.