During this time of COVID-19, we have added many new words and terms to our everyday language. As we continue to communicate about reopening in the fall and using some of these new words, we thought it would be helpful to compile a list of terms and what they mean for a better understanding moving forward. 

All students and employees that come to campus are subject to a thermal temperature check at one of the designated stations on a daily basis. This is to be done before they enter any shared space, classroom, or office at the beginning of each day. Coaches and personnel that only come after school hours will be required to have a temperature check as well. 

• Any student that has a temperature reading of 100.4 degrees or above will be isolated and re-checked. If their temperature remains elevated, that student will be taken to a separate, safe holding area for reunification with their parent or parent-approved responsible person. Student drivers will be allowed to drive themselves back home after communicating with their emergency contact. Staff assisting in the recheck process will be required to wear face masks and gloves. Face shields and gowns are optional unless there is a need to monitor someone for longer than 10 minutes. 

• Any employee that has a temperature reading of 100.4 degrees or above will be isolated and re-checked. If their temperature remains elevated, they will be asked to leave and have a COVID-19 test as soon as possible. 

• 5th-12th grade students, employees, and visitors who pass through a thermal scanner and are not flagged for an elevated temperature or have passed a temperature recheck will be given a wristband each day to verify that they have been checked and approved to stay on campus before heading to any other part of campus. Individuals seen in any campus building without a wristband will be asked to go to a selected temperature scanning location to be checked and receive a wristband. This applies to late arrivals as well.  

Click here for more details in the Family Handbook

• All age levels need to wear a mask for the screening process at check in
• PS- K will not be required to wear masks consistently during the day
• 1st-4th will wear masks with modifications based on classroom activity
• 5th- 12th- will wear masks the majority of the day

Please supply 2 to 3 clean masks daily for your student. 

Students with health concerns regarding masks will be evaluated on case by case basis to make compliant with requirement. Gaiter style masks are not acceptable for Lower, Middle and Upper School students, Faculty and Staff. 

Click here for more details in the Family Handbook

All individuals on campus should wash hands frequently.

Hand sanitizer is effective but should be used when soap and water are not available.

Cleaning Throughout the School Day

Commonly touched surfaces (door handles, light switches, desks) may be disinfected using disposable wipes throughout the day. 

In spaces where students move throughout the day, it is necessary to clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces (doorknobs, desks, chairs, etc.) between each group of students. After applying disinfectant according to the product instructions, students and staff should wash hands thoroughly with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.

In bathrooms and other shared spaces, commonly touched surfaces (door handles, light switches, faucets, etc.) will be disinfected throughout the day. Gloves and cleaning supplies to clean and disinfect these surfaces are handled by staff according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and staff should wash hands regularly.  

Outdoor areas like playgrounds in schools and parks generally require normal routine cleaning, but do not require disinfection.

• It is not necessary to spray disinfectant on outdoor playgrounds – it is not an efficient use of supplies and is not proven to reduce risk of COVID-19 to the public.
• High touch surfaces made of plastic or metal, such as grab bars and railings, should be cleaned routinely.
• Cleaning and disinfection of wooden surfaces (play structures, benches, tables) or groundcovers (mulch, sand) is not recommended.

Click here for more details in the Family Handbook

We require that any student or employee identified with COVID-19 notifies Gaston Day School so that we may begin to take mandated precautions for closing any section of the school to include the entire school. The privacy of the information provided to us is paramount. We will only release information to local or state health officials as required.

The Gaston County Health Department is also required to notify us of any person(s) that has tested positive for COVID-19 and is associated with Gaston Day School, while they conduct their health assessment and track potential affected persons.

Return to school of students or employees that have tested positive with COVID-19 must meet the following criteria:

1. 10 days since positive COVID diagnosis must have past AND
2. Have been asymptomatic for 72 hours (fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medicines and other COVID symptoms improving) AND
3. Have a doctors note certifying that you are ok to return to school

Return of students or employees with direct contact of person that has tested positive with COVID-19:

1. You must wait 14 days before returning to school AND fever free without the use of fever-reducing medicines for 24 hours OR have a doctors note certifying that you are ok to return to school                                                                 

Direct contact is defined as being within 6ft of an infected person with or without a mask for more than ten minutes.

Return of students or employees sent home with an elevated temperature:

1. Fever free without the use of fever-reducing medicines for 24 hours AND a doctor’s note certifying that you are ok to return to school.   

All return policies related to COVID-19 are subject to change based on state and local regulations. 

Click here for more details in the Family Handbook

Specific times for pick up and or drop off may fluctuate based on unforeseen circumstances. However, initial times will be disseminated to bus riders as usual. In the interest of our obligation to the health and safety of our students, we may be faced with the necessity for staggered pick-up and drop-off times. Unless otherwise notified that we are going to a staggered time for pick-up and/or drop-off, there will only be one time for morning pick-up and afternoon drop-off. 

Bus drivers will self-check their temperature at the beginning of the day before entering their buses. If their temperature is above 100.4 degrees, they must perform a recheck. If their temperature remains elevated, they are not allowed to drive the bus and must notify their supervisor in a timely manner so that appropriate arrangements are made for someone else to complete their route. Please refer to our Health & Wellness section for our return to campus policy. 

Due to close proximity within the confinement of our school buses, all bus riders, regardless of age, including the bus driver, will be required to wear a face mask. If they do not have a mask, one will be provided to them. 

As students receive a signal from the driver to get on the bus, the bus driver will take their temperatures while wearing a mask and gloves. If the student’s temperature is above 100.4 degrees, a second reading will be taken. If the student’s temperature remains elevated, the student will not be permitted to ride the bus or attend school and must return to a parent’s vehicle. Therefore, it is important for all parents of a bus rider, regardless of age, to wait and ensure their child can ride the bus to school. If your child is sent back home with you, please do not bring them to school the same day. 

Students boarding the bus should use hand sanitizer provided by the bus driver. Students on the bus should wear face masks at all times and follow instructions of the driver. Markings are provided to indicate where students should sit to maintain as much distance as possible between individuals (students living in the same house may sit together). The bus driver will dismiss students from the bus individually to maintain spacing and to prevent early release when on campus. The bus driver will regularly disinfect commonly touched surfaces on the bus using disposable wipes while wearing gloves.

Upon campus arrival, all bus riders will go through one of our designated check-in stations before going to their classroom.  Bus drivers should maintain designated entry points for specific grades. In the afternoon, when it is time for bus riders to leave, each bus rider will exit according to our already established age groups from their location or classroom. All students will be picked up from the same area they were dropped off. All bus riders, including the bus driver, will be required to wear a face mask for drop-off. 

It is common for members of our GDS family to travel within the United States and abroad/international at any time of the school year. Although we do not discourage freedom of travel, we do ask that you use caution when traveling. As designated under the CDC travel advisory, members of our GDS family may be subject to self-quarantine upon their return. If a quarantine is imposed upon you, you are required to notify Gaston Day School by phone and/or email if you are in quarantine status within 24 hours of being quarantined or as soon as you return to the United States.

Please understand that all U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and their immediate families who are returning from a restricted country must self-quarantine in their homes for 14 days after their arrival. In order to ensure compliance, local and state public health officials will contact individuals in the days and weeks following their arrival.

If your student is planning to travel at any point during the 20-21 school year, please complete the Travel Information Form.

We have also adopted 3 Daily Questions that each of us should ask ourselves before coming on campus everyday. This includes GDS Faculty, Staff, Administrators, all students, parents, coaches, volunteers, substitute teachers, and outside vendors. 

Have you had close contact (within 6 feet, mask or no mask, for at least 10 minutes) in the last 14 days with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, or has any health department or health care provider been in contact with you and advised you to quarantine?

Yes  | You should not be at school. Please contact the school and follow our return to school policy.

No  |  You can be at school if you are not experiencing symptoms.

Do you have any of these symptoms?

Fever  |  Chills   |  Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing  |  New cough  |  New loss of taste or smell

If you have any of these symptoms, you should go home, stay away from other people and family members & should call your healthcare provider.

Since you were last at school, have you been diagnosed with COVID-19?

Yes

No

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 based on a test, your symptoms, or do not get a COVID-19 test but have had symptoms, you should not be at school and should stay at home until you meet the guidelines within our return to school policy. 

We expect to shift between operating modes in the upcoming 20-21 school year. School will begin on August 13th and 14th, under Phase Orange.

• Phase Green – Open / No Restrictions
• Phase Yellow – Open / Minimal Physical Distancing
  
• Phase Orange – Open / Moderate Physical Distancing
• Phase Red – Closed / Virtual Learning Only

Click here for the Lower School Opening Day email

Click here for the Middle/Upper School Opening Day email

Click here for more details in the Family Handbook

GREEN

GDS is open and traditional learning resumes.

YELLOW

Will be implemented assuming state COVID-19 metrics continue to stabilize and/or move in a positive direction. All requirements in this guidance apply to the yellow mode. GDS is open with a slight modified schedule and routine.

• Lower School will not share enrichment teachers with the other divisions. Enrichment schedule will still follow a 7 day rotation when we are all on campus. If we have to rotate numbers on campus – LS enrichments will switch to a 5 day rotation.
• The 7/8 grades will operate on an AB block schedule, with four classes meeting on A days and four classes meeting on B days. 5/6 will operate on an AB rotation with six classes a day. Core classes will meet every day for grades 5 and 6. Electives may shift at each quarter to prevent sharing teachers across divisions.
• The US schedule will operate on a block schedule with 4 courses in 1st and 3rd quarters and 4 courses in 2nd and 4th quarters.

ORANGE

Will be required if state COVID-19 metrics worsen and it is determined additional restrictions are necessary. All requirements in this guidance apply, with additional requirements in social distancing and minimizing exposure. GDS is open with a modified schedule and routine.

• Lower School will not share enrichments teachers with the other divisions. Enrichment schedule will still follow a 7 day rotation when we are all on campus. If we have to rotate numbers on campus – LS enrichments will switch to a 5 day rotation.
• The 7/8 grades will operate on an AB block schedule, with four classes meeting on A days and four classes meeting on B days. 5/6 will operate on an AB rotation with six classes a day. Core classes will meet every day for grades 5 and 6. Electives may shift at each quarter to prevent sharing teachers across divisions.
• The US schedule will operate on a block schedule with 4 courses in 1st and 3rd quarters and 4 courses in 2nd and 4th quarters.

RED

Will be implemented only if state COVID-19 metrics worsen significantly enough to require suspension of in-person instruction and the implementation of remote learning for all students. GDS campus is closed and virtual learning and teaching continues at home. The 4 courses a day can easily transition to off campus learning as needed. Asynchronous learning will be more structured based on grade level activities.

• Lower School teachers under my direction will establish daily sync/async educational plans.
• Like the Upper School, 7/8 students will transition to synchronous, virtual learning, utilizing 4 classes meeting per day. 7/8 students will continue to attend all of their classes on the same two day rotation as they experienced on campus. 5/6 will adjust to a four class schedule of their core classes only in the mornings, while offering optional enrichment classes in the afternoon for any students looking to enjoy their favorite electives.

Throughout the 20-21 school year, we may have a number of students learning from home. This could be because:

• a student is ill
• is following return to school policies
• family choice

Students are able to learn from home at any point during the school year with parent permission. Parents are expected to complete the online form in order to notify the school when a student is learning from home. Parents can choose to have their student learn from home, or return to campus as they see fit throughout the year. If they want their child to attend virtually all year long, that is allowed as well. To notify the school of your family’s intent, please complete the Learning From Home Form.

LOWER SCHOOL

Remote Learning for an extended time frame- See remote learning schedules by grade level on your child’s On Campus page. Remote learning will involve whole group and small group synchronous instruction in conjunction with asynchronous  assignments.  Students will have 3- 4 hours a day of instruction delivered in a combination of synchronous instruction and/or small groups and independent assignments and project based learning activities. 

• • PS/PK – should be on campus as a child care facility- see section on Early School 
  • K-1 45- 70 min of synchronous instruction daily 
  • 2-4  70 -90 mins of synchronous instruction daily 

• K-1
  • 3-4 short recorded lessons a week
  • 45-70 mins a day of direction instruction-  broken up into small segments
    •  15- 20 mins of  small group instruction 
• 2-4
  • 1-2 recorded review lessons – if needed
  • 70-90 mins a day of direct instruction broken up into 20-30 blocks
    •  15- 20 mins of  small group instruction

Policy if children are out sick for more than 2 days- or if parents chooses to learn remotely 

• Teachers will record direct instruction for lessons in Math and Language Arts that introduces new material.  It will be sent out as a recording on a delay of 24 hours- Science and SS recordings will occur as the teacher sees apporatite to the learning process. 
• Assignments will be delivered in a variety of ways- 
  • Google classroom
  • SeeSaw
  • Textbooks
  • Other materials as needed

• Family responsibility for Assignments and completion 
  • Parents are responsible for picking up material is a timely manner from the school 
  • Cycle for completing work and returning will follow a 36 hour delay policy
    • Ex. receive work at 3 pm on Monday
    • Return work 8 am on Wednesday 
      • That gives the student an entire day to complete work and upload or return to school
  • Grades will be taken on school work and assessments
• Touchpoints
  • A parent can arrange with the teacher one 20-30 minute session a week for help or support. 

That is not our plan. We are planning to return to school with in person classes. GDS is making every possible investment to create a safe campus and we feel confident in our plan to reopen.

The answer is a little more complicated than a yes/no but most people will be required to wear masks. Gaston Day is following CDC Guidelines. You can refer to our Health and Hygiene video under the Videos section in the sidebar or you can read more details in our Family Handbook by clicking here. Gaiter style masks are not acceptable for Lower, Middle and Upper School students, Faculty and Staff.

MIDDLE SCHOOL/UPPER SCHOOL

Yes, students will be able to learn from home with parent permission when classes resume in August. Those that are learning from home would attend class via Google Meet and participate in the discussion and activities just as if being on campus. Please contact your Division Head for further information and fill out the Learning From Home Form. 

LOWER SCHOOL

Please contact Head of Lower School for further information and fill out the Learning From Home Form. 

Remote Learning for an extended time frame- See remote learning schedules by grade level on your child’s On Campus page. Remote learning will involve whole group and small group synchronous instruction in conjunction with asynchronous  assignments.  Students will have 3- 4 hours a day of instruction delivered in a combination of synchronous instruction and/or small groups and independent assignments and project based learning activities. 

• • PS/PK – should be on campus as a child care facility- see section on Early School 
  • K-1 45- 70 min of synchronous instruction daily 
  • 2-4  70 -90 mins of synchronous instruction daily 

• K-1
  • 3-4 short recorded lessons a week
  • 45-70 mins a day of direction instruction-  broken up into small segments
    •  15- 20 mins of  small group instruction 
• 2-4
  • 1-2 recorded review lessons – if needed
  • 70-90 mins a day of direct instruction broken up into 20-30 blocks
    •  15- 20 mins of  small group instruction 

Policy if children are out sick for more than 2 days- or if parents chooses to learn remotely 

• Teachers will record direct instruction for lessons in Math and Language Arts that introduces new material.  It will be sent out as a recording on a delay of 24 hours- Science and SS recordings will occur as the teacher sees apporatite to the learning process. 
• Assignments will be delivered in a variety of ways- 
  • Google classroom
  • SeeSaw
  • Textbooks
  • Other materials as needed

• Family responsibility for Assignments and completion 
  • Parents are responsible for picking up material is a timely manner from the school 
  • Cycle for completing work and returning will follow a 36 hour delay policy
    • Ex. receive work at 3 pm on Monday
    • Return work 8 am on Wednesday 
      • That gives the student an entire day to complete work and upload or return to school
  • Grades will be taken on school work and assessments
• Touchpoints
  • A parent can arrange with the teacher one 20-30 minute session a week for help or support. 

• The first step is to notify the Health Department, anyone considered to have had direct contact, and our cleaning crew.
• We have a very detailed procedural map that helps us make decisions based on recommendations from the CDC and local health officials. Please know that we will be working in partnership with those agencies when a case is found at GDS. Some instances require quarantine and some don’t, it really depends on the type of exposure. For a detailed account of our policy please visit the Policies and Procedures Manual.
• Our cohort groups make containment a much more manageable task. Wearing masks reduces the risk of exposure by an exponential amount.

A mask is always required but face shield may be worn with a mask for added protection. Lower school teachers may wear a face shield during class instruction however they must have a mask on when working with a child or outside the classroom.

We are working on a comprehensive overhaul to our HVAC system. Every building will have anti-viral technology in the air ducts. This groundbreaking technology has been proven to kill coronavirus on surfaces and circulating in the air.

Yes, student temperatures will be checked every morning when they enter their school building with our thermal scanners.

If a teacher tests positive cohort groups will be notified.

Face masks are required. If your student wants the added protection of a shield with their mask they are welcome to wear that also.

This will be allowed every day. We want to make washing clothes easier and the students will not be using the locker rooms to change. We do need to make sure that the shorts are mid thigh (check your student and inseams before ordering). This year, leggings with an oversized t-shirt is acceptable. We want students comfortable and presentable for school. Athletic attire will include sweatpants and athletic shorts (must be mid thigh). Of course, t-shirts and sweatshirts are acceptable as well.

PE will initially move away from game play to focus on health, wellness, mindfulness, and general fitness. When skill work is eventually introduced, it will follow Stage 2 protocols as outlined by the NFHS and NCISAA. Some of our athletic teams have utilized these this summer to conduct safe yet meaningful workouts. We will not be using locker rooms to start off so students should take advantage of their relaxed dress code on days when they have PE. Additionally, these classes will be taking place outdoors as much as possible, and they will be modified when weather requires staying indoors.

9th grade PE will be conducted as an independent study where students will log hours throughout the year.

MS PE will be outside as much as possible, and will focus on individual activities. On Days when students cannot go outside, students will focus on health, wellness, and mindfulness in the classroom.

LS PE will be outside, with time in between classes to clean equipment – on rainy days they will be inside for simple lessons on health and wellness.

If we have moved to virtual learning, all tests and quizzes will be online. For students learning from home, all tests and quizzes will be available for them online. Also, teachers are encouraged to utilize more application based assessments as needed throughout as an alternative to traditional tests and quizzes.

Parents can choose to have their student learn from home or return to campus as they see fit throughout the year. If they want their child to attend virtually all year long, that is allowed as well. To notify the school of your family’s intent, please complete the Learn From Home form located on the right sidebar under Forms.

Lockers will be set up prior to the start of school and maintained throughout the year for students learning from home. These students, or their parents, will then be able to visit the lockers to retrieve materials as needed. We are planning the first pickup for Wednesday, August 12. Students learning from home will receive more information about the process via email.

LS school families will need to connect with HR teacher- because it will be a different level of communication.

If campus is open, students will be able to attend virtually from home. However, daily lessons will not be recorded on a regular basis. If we have moved to virtual learning, daily lessons will be recorded when possible.

At this time, in LS, that is not the plan, they only plan to record when needed.

Mr. Fischer has worked hard to ensure a safe band program. We don’t plan to share any instruments that involve hard-to-sanitize pieces.

We will ask all students to remain physically distanced while masks are off and students are eating or drinking. As soon as they are done with their lunch, we will ask students to wear their mask again (after lunch they will be encouraged to switch to a new mask).

Yes, Lower School will be synchronous if we go full remote.

There will not be partitions in classrooms since students will be spaced 6ft. apart. In Lower School, there are a few classrooms where students may work at a longer table, and those tables will have partitions.

Yes, in the right sidebar under Videos, we have videos for Middle and Upper School about what their day will look like. Lower School will be sending out videos, via email from each Homeroom, about what their layouts are like.

Yes, in the right sidebar under Videos, we have included a link to the Town Hall recording.