Back to School FAQ's

What does Air/HVAC mean?

• HVAC stands for Heating, Venting, Air Conditioning

• Desks will be sanitized at the beginning of every class period.
  
• Students will use a wipe, supplied by SHP, and wipe down his desk or workplace at the beginning of the class period.
• They will dispose of the wipes and use hand sanitizer to clean their hands.
  
• Wipes and hand sanitizer will be supplied by SHP in every classroom.
• Over 100, hands free, hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed throughout   the building, including all classrooms.

• SHP is under contract with a professional cleaning service that will clean all areas of the building at the conclusion of each school day.
• Our cleaning service will be providing additional help, throughout the school day, to wipe down all common area touch points. 

• Each student will always be required to bring and wear his own face mask while on school grounds. *Neck Gaiters are NOT an approved mask.
• All resources recommend that students and staff wear cloth face coverings in school.   
  
• Cloth face coverings should be washed after every day of use and/or before being used again, or if visibly soiled or damp/wet.
• Disposable face masks should be changed daily or when visibly soiled, damp or damaged.

How will SHP manage the sanitation of doorknobs and stair rails?

• SHP is under contract with a professional cleaning service that will be providing additional help, throughout the day, to wipe /clean all common area touch points including doorknobs, handrails, bathroom fixtures, etc. 

Should school districts require daily testing of all students and staff?

• There is no statewide policy for testing students and currently neither the CDC nor the NJ DOH recommend daily testing of students.

• If a student or faculty member has tested positive for COVID-19 they will be required to isolate at home.  Isolation is used to separate people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from people who are not infected. People who are in isolation should stay home until it’s safe for them to be around others.  Local health departments, working in coordination with school districts, will conduct contact tracing to determine whether an individual has been in close contact with a student and advise any affected individuals, via trained contact tracers, to self-quarantine for 14 days.
  Close contact means:
  • You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more
  • You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19
  • You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them)
  • You shared eating or drinking utensils
  They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

• Please see the attached link for a scenario/closure matrix from the CDC. 

Can teachers with health concerns or actual symptoms teach in a different area of the building? 

• Teachers are given the option of teaching from behind a plexiglass partition in all classrooms given they are not sick or exhibiting symptoms. Teachers with actual symptoms are asked to stay home, monitor their symptoms, and comply with Seton Hall Prep’s return to school protocols. 

• We have established a dedicated room located near the side entrance to Seton Hall Prep where any student or staff member presenting Covid symptoms will be assessed. This room, staffed by a nurse, is equipped with a ventilation system, a cot and chairs with surfaces that can be disinfected as well as privacy screens to help keep students appropriately distanced. If it is decided that the student will need to be sent home, they will remain in this room with the nurse until they are picked up. Staff members will be dismissed from the building. 

• When students arrive to school each morning, they may wait for their first class in any of the following locations...
  • They may sit in their first period classroom. Classrooms will be opened early each morning (prior to 7:00am)
  • They may stay outside in nice weather.
  • Freshmen may sit (socially distanced) in the auditorium and wait to be notified when to go to their first period class.
  • Sophomores may sit (socially distanced) in the dining hall and wait to be notified when to go to their first period class.
  • Juniors may sit (socially distanced) in the gym and wait to be notified when to go to their first period class.
  • Seniors may socially distance themselves sitting in the hallway.

• In the event than a teacher needs to quarantine for any reason, provided he or she is well, he or she will teach all classes remotely to the class in school.

• Please refer to the following site for more information:  https://rtvbroadcaster.com/archive/video/play/16514

• Students will need to full out a screening app before coming to school each morning.

• There is a natural break in distancing as students leave a classroom and with markers on all hallway floors spaced at six feet there will be adequate space for us to maintain social distancing. Extra time has been built into the schedule to allow for extra distance some students might have to cover between classes.

No lockers: will books all be online or will students be carrying large backpacks around with them all day?

• Students will leave all textbooks home.  Teachers will provide them with whatever materials they might need for the class.

• Dismissal will look like a fire drill with all students using the closest exit to their room.  To cut down on congestion the first floor will be dismissed first and two minutes later the second floor and then two minutes later the third floor. Since the students will not be going to their lockers there will be sufficient time to get to the buses to the train.

• None of bus routes have more than 19 students on them. Buses from the train and parking lot will max out at 33.  All students will be required to wear a mask whenever they are being transported.

Will we be relaxing the dress code at all?

• We will most likely be deferring the wearing of blazers.

What time are students allowed into the building in the morning?

• Students will be allowed to enter the building at 6:30 AM.  There will be common areas for them to congregate.  When they arrive, they will have to go their first period classroom and stay there.
  

Lunchtime (once added): will this be taking place inside? NJ is still not allowing indoor dining for restaurants.  Are the rules different for school?

• As long as the students maintain a six-foot distance, we can have lunches in school.  Hot lunches and snacks will not be served.  We will have to use all classrooms as well as the auditorium and gym to social distance students at lunch.
  

How are you enforcing social distancing/mask wearing among students?

• Both are new rules and they will be enforced just like any other rule we have.

What if a student forgets their mask?

• We have masks that will be provided if a student forgets, breaks or loses his.
  

What repercussions will occur if a student refuses to abide by the guidelines?

• They will be issued detentions and demerits.
  

Will there be an option to opt in and out of transportation based on your learning model selection or will there only be opt in or out for the year?

• We will be flexible with all transportation options.

• Lab sciences will have demo labs run by the teacher at the front of the room for this school year in lieu of group labs.
  

If parents opt into the all virtual learning model at the beginning of the year, what is the process for opting back into in-person instruction?  For example, must they stick with that model for a marking period, month, etc.  I know it say not daily or frequent but having a parameter here is helpful in the decision-making process. 

• If the student and parent decide that they want to switch from remote to in-person learning, simply call the student’s School Counselor and notify him. Students may change from remote to in-person at any time.

• We will not keep the phased in schedule past the first three days of school. We felt that half days for two weeks would be a practical stepping-stone towards full day attendance.  There are many new practices and protocols that students need to learn, and we felt this was the best way to do this.
  Staggered schedules present many transportation problems.

• Anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 must stay home. Teachers with health concerns may teach remotely from home.  Very few teachers are doing so.
  Anyone developing symptoms at school will be taken to the quarantine room.

• According to the American Academy of Pediatrics:
• “Evidence suggests that spacing as close as 3 feet may approach the benefits of 6 feet of space, particularly if students are wearing face coverings and are asymptomatic.”

• The hybrid model was our earliest plan and was developed in May when fewer guidelines were available. The largest obstacles were transportation and the difficulty of maintaining student engagement.  Based on our experience of the spring and the implications of beginning the year with these obstacles, our focus has shifted to delivering full, in-person education with all possible safety protocols in place,
• We feel that with all the modifications we have in place (screening, cleaning, social distancing, PPE, increased ventilation, and random testing regularly) the risks are not significantly reduced by having fewer students in the building. Our consultation with an infectious disease doctor confirmed this.

• We are distinguishing ordinary sick days from the choice of remote learning by those families who have reasons of the need to avoid any risk of exposure to COVID-19. These reasons would include (but are not limited to) an immuno-compromised student or family member, an asthmatic student or family member, a diabetic student or family member, or any reason which is related to the risk of exposure.
• If the state mandates that schools close due to an increase in Covid-19 cases, we would follow that mandate.

How are those students learning from home actively included in the SHP community?

• Teachers will all be equally focused on students in the building as well as students at home through video conferencing.
  Currently activities are all remote.
• When activities resume, our Director of Activities will be making sure that all students who are learning remotely will have the opportunity to learn about and participate [virtually] in all school activities.