Reopening FAQs

Students will have breaks from masks while outdoors or while eating at their desks, distanced.

Students are able to take their masks off when they are 6' distanced outside. Other occasions for removing masks include:

• When eating or drinking (distanced)
• When engaged in high-intensity aerobic or anaerobic activity
• When participating in high-intensity physical activities during a physical education class in a well-ventilated location and able to maintain a physical distance of six feet from all others
• When wearing a face covering creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task.

Yes. Governor Murphy’s executive order mandates the use of face coverings by staff, students, and visitors, with some exceptions. The language from the executive order (#175) regarding face coverings is here:https://nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/pdf/EO-175.pdf

Please see the link to our face covering guidelines for acceptable face coverings. Face coverings with exhalation should not be used.

A medical exemption from a physician must be submitted and approved by administration and the School Nurse.

Yes. The most important thing parents can do to keep children and our school safe and open for in-person instruction is to diligently avoid sending symptomatic children to school. Part of that diligence is to take your child’s temperature BEFORE arriving at school each morning, and filling out the Health and Absence Survey, affirming that your child does not have a fever or other symptoms.

Each morning the school will send out a Health and Absence Survey for all students and staff. Parents will be asked to verify that each child does not have a fever or other symptoms, and has not been exposed to a known Coronavirus case. Parents will be asked at drop-off whether they filled out the survey, and if not, we will ask you to pull into the parking lot to complete the survey before your children enter the building. Children presenting symptoms during the school day will be sent home.

No, we will not be taking every person’s temperature. However, for those who present symptoms or for those whose Health and Attendance Surveys were incomplete, we will take the temperature using a contactless infared thermometer. In both cases, the parents will be contacted. Please note that The CDC recommends that K-12 schools NOT conduct symptom screenings or take temperatures; they recommend that the parents screen their children before school. We will only do so in the absence of a completed Health and Absence Survey.

We have rearranged the entire school and schedule to achieve distancing for each class. For further details about the schedules, see p. 5 and 6 of our Reopening Plan. Some highlights:

• Desks have replaced shared tables in various classrooms to achieve distancing.
• Common areas, such as Multipurpose Rooms, the Middle School Den, and third floor lounge and library, have been reconfigured and furnished to be used as classrooms.
• Students will go directly to their classrooms in the morning and, while indoors, will remain in classrooms except for bathroom breaks, PE, and recess (weather permitting).
• Middle and Upper School classes are broken into A and B cohorts, allowing us to achieve smaller class sizes and maintain social distancing in the classroom. In most cases students will go between two classrooms that are assigned to each grade. (Note: the A and B cohorts are not separate from each other all day. They do combine for some classes. Breaking into cohorts enables distancing in our classrooms - generally we can fit half a class into a classroom with distancing, but there are only a few rooms that will fit a whole class with distancing.)
• Lockers will not be in use this fall.
• Lower School afternoons are optional. Fridays will be taught remotely for Middle and Upper School students.
• Chapel will rotate with one class live each week, the rest following in their classrooms on Zoom.
• Lunch will be held by class, either outdoors or at desks.

We have reviewed the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air conditioning Engineers) recommendations and met with our HVAC servicer, resulting in increasing the flow of outside air into the building and upgrading our filtration system to meet the MERV 13 rating that is recommended by ASHRAE to address COVID. The air in the building will not circulate class to class.

1. Fresh air is important. Therefore, when we cannot be outside, we will set our systems to bring in fresh air throughout the school day, both through our air duct system and through open windows. Your students need to bring layers to school - some classrooms will be colder than usual this winter.

2. An air purifier that employs a medical grade HEPA (high efficiency particle air) filter will successfully filter 100% of particulate in the air, down to 0.1 microns (coronavirus is 0.13 microns). Studies say that if the virus is airborne, a 0.1 micron HEPA filter will catch it. These air purifiers will clean the entire room's air four times in one hour. In response to these facts, we have purchased medical grade HEPA air purifiers for every classroom.

The purchase of HEPA filters for every classroom will also enable us to control the settings of each filter directly and adjust them for each room and each type of use.

Yes, as much as possible. Several tents are already on campus, and we have extended our internet service to reach outdoor areas. We have great outdoor spaces in which to meet. However, many activities are not feasible outdoors. We will still be indoors for much of the day.

Faculty and staff will clean and disinfect high touch areas throughout the school day and professional cleaners will do so each evening. In addition, the entire building will be cleaned via electrostatic disinfecting every weekend, an effective way to disinfect both porous (e.g., carpets, upholstered furniture) and non-porous surfaces. As our first line of defense, we will be encouraging students to wash their hands as often as possible, and use hand sanitizer when washing is not readily available. To this end, contactless hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed in every classroom and at all entrances.

If you answer yes to any of the questions in the Health Survey, we ask that you keep your child at home, mark their absence in the Health and Absence Survey, and seek guidance from your primary care physician.

In general, yes. If one of your children is symptomatic or was exposed to Covid, then all of their siblings need to remain home until the symptomatic child is cleared. If in doubt, please call and consult our School Nurse.

Students will eat outside whenever practical, or they will eat at their desks in their classrooms.

Once informed, the School Nurse will notify the local public health office and the parents of any students who were exposed to the COVID positive person. Currently “exposure” is considered to be more than 10 minutes within 6 feet of a COVID-positive person. Any persons exposed will need to quarantine for 14 days after the last exposure.

If a domestic family member who does not attend our school tests positive, the non-infected Wilberforce student would have to go into quarantine. However, the other members of that child’s class do NOT have to quarantine. They have not had direct exposure to a Covid positive person.

With many states on the NJ travel advisory, it is recommended to self quarantine for 14 days upon return from any state on the list. This list will be updated regularly.
https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/travel-and-transportation/which-states-are-on-the-travel-advisory-list-are-there-travel-restrictions-to-or-from-new-jersey

Parents are invited by appointment with a teacher or staff member. For example, for birthday celebrations, parents may arrange with the teacher to bring snacks, following safety guidelines as provided by the teacher. PTF meetings will be off campus or by appointment outside.

PTF will be hosting meetings and all parents are invited and encouraged to join. Some PTF meetings will be on campus, outside; some will be off campus. Watch for PTF bulletins for times and places to meet.

By appointment with teachers or staff members.

Yes, mostly in the tents outside, with appropriate social distancing and masks.

Yes. The class will be live-streamed, and the student will be visible on the teacher’s computer, through Zoom. The teacher will have a direct microphone to assure good sound for the student at home, and the at-home students can ask questions live.

In addition, there will be times, depending on the grade level, for off-line questions and answers.

• Classes will be live-streamed via Zoom at the same time they are delivered at school.
• At-Home students will be able to ask questions and interact with their teachers.
• Still, this experience will not be the same as either in-school learning or last
  spring’s remote learning.
  
• For example, the internet will have interruptions. At times Zoom may malfunction.
  
• In addition, while the At-Home students should be able to hear their teachers clearly, often At-Home students may have difficulty clearly hearing their fellow students.

• Recordings will be available on an “as-needed” basis.
  
• This means that recordings will NOT automatically be posted for At-Home students.
  
• Thus, in most cases, students should attend simultaneously with their classmates.
  
• For Middle and Upper School students, teachers will take attendance for each class period.
  
• If a student is unable to attend a class session (because that student is sick or otherwise unable to attend), that student or the student’s parents may request a class recording after the class period. This request should be timely, as recordings will not be saved indefinitely.

No, a uniform need not be purchased. However, if the student participates in a performance, that student will need a uniform, and so will need to borrow one for the performance (possible because such performances are often videos).

We recommend using the phone app called CAM Scanner to hand in classwork.

• For On-Campus students, each one needs face coverings that fit them well and are as comfortable as possible. (See additional guidance provided in the question below.

• For At-Home students, you need a good/reliable computer, a printer, and either a scanner or a scanning app on your phone (or tablet). (See above, where we recommend CAM Scanner.)

Yes.

Yes. You must confirm all of your scheduling choices with the Head of the Lower School.

No.

The governor’s order calls for “Implementation of enhanced social distancing and infection control protocols for music, choir, and physical education classes that are conducted in indoor spaces, particularly where students are not wearing face coverings.” Thus, we will conduct these activities outdoors as much as possible. We are still working on the best protocols for “enhanced social distancing and protocols for these activities.” On days when classes do not have PE, we are considering ways to ensure that our Lower School students have physical activity each day.

Wilberforce is a part of the NJSIAA league for middle and upper school. The league has said that fall sports can move forward within the governor’s safety guidelines. They have delayed the start of competitions to begin 10/1/20 and end 11/13/10. Pre-season practices for Middle and Upper School begin on August 24. Regular practices begin on 9/14/20 (these dates are called for by NJSIAA). Winter sports are TBD.

We are not sure yet whether we can offer Young Runners Club or Soccer Shots.

Yes, we are offering math help virtually.

Homework Club (Lower School) and Study Hall (Middle/Upper School) only. 3:30-6:00.

Please see the link to our face covering guidelines.

• While we hope students will continue on-campus if they have made that choice, we recognize that family situations can change rapidly, and parents may believe that their child is better off at home. In those cases, a student can move from On-Campus to At-Home in the middle of a semester/trimester.
  
• Once a student makes that move (even mid-semester/trimester), he or she must remain at home for the remainder of the semester/trimester.
  
• Please keep the heads of the Lower and Middle/Upper School informed of any changes that arise, and do so as soon as possible.
  
• Of course, sickness or quarantine may force an On-Campus student to be at home temporarily. In those cases, the student may return to school as soon as the situation permits.