Lakewood Elementary School

*Our indoor/outdoor DRAFT lunch plan is as follows. It is still a work in progress because every day we have learned something new to implement or to change. Once I get the approval for volunteers, we will be sharing a sign up schedule for parent volunteers to work OUTSIDE, and only with the lunch period. Supervision of students both indoors and outdoors has been our largest concern.

**Indoor lunch procedures:

We are seating no more than 4-6 students at a cafeteria table with students all facing in one direction and no one across from them. Our cafeteria holds 400 people; we currently have less than 90 individuals (staff and students) in any given lunch period.

We are utilizing 2 empty classrooms and 2 current classrooms for certain grade levels/classes to promote social distancing for our larger grade levels.

Students will be assigned seats for contract tracing purposes. We are still working on this so the children can sit with a friend.  We will begin offering outdoor lunch next Wednesday as students learn our routines.

We have two industrial strength air filter units located in the cafeteria that are running continuously.

Windows and/or doors will be opened in the cafeteria and in classrooms when the temperature outside is neither too hot or cold.

      **Outdoor lunch procedures:

• Students will be invited to bring a beach towel or yoga mat next week to sit on for outdoor lunch on the sidewalks/bus circle for Wednesday, September 8-Friday, September 10. We are in the process of ordering special foam floor tiles for the students to sit on and once we get them, students will bring their towel or yoga mat home.
• When weather permits, we will offer indoor or outdoor seating options for all students. This will be an option open to all grade levels during lunch; if a student does not want this option, they may opt to sit inside at an assigned seat.
• Weather permitting means a clear forecast with no chance of inclement weather and a temperature (adjusted for the heat index and wind chill) between 65-85 degrees on warm days. 
• If students choose to sit outside, they will distance from one another on their beach towels/foam mats. (Next week, if students who do not have a beach towel but wish to participate can sit on the ground). All students will remain distanced from others by 3-6 ft or more.
• Students who do not wish to participate will eat in the cafeteria at their assigned seat, maintaining the limit of 6 students max at a table.
• Administrators will look at forecast to determine if it is possible to offer outdoor options.

We have observed and reflected much this week on the plan we created a few weeks ago. Our goal is to promote a safe outdoor/indoor lunch and recess period. We have just hired our second monitor and are still getting staff arranged to cover/monitor both the outdoor lunches as well as those students who want to remain inside. I have not been allowed to have parent volunteers help yet and I am going to have to rely on this help for the outdoor lunches at some point. 

I totally understand the apprehension parents have however I am following the CDC and MCPS provided guidelines. I must indicate that I also have parents requesting to have their child remain indoors due to heat, bugs, allergies, etc. so I am listening to all feedback and must take this into account too.

*Quarantine Procedures:

As we return to school, we continue to rely on our families and each individual to screen themselves daily for symptoms.  To help us avoid quarantine, we are asking that you please continue to screen your children at home and if they have even one symptom of COVID-19, or are awaiting COVID test results, please do not send them to school. 

This is particularly important as if your child has any of the following single symptoms they will be sent home and not be able to return to school until they have a negative test, alternate diagnosis, or complete a full 10-day quarantine. During that period of time, all other students who have been in their close contact will have to be in a temporary quarantine while the other families wait on the outcome of that testing for your child.  This  could be potentially disruptive to your children and families moving in and out of quarantine and to avoid it takes all of us working together.  It is a collective responsibility that we exercise extreme caution and be conservative in our approach.    

The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe headache, diarrhea or vomiting.  Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms.  This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.   

Finally, thank you for your patience.  Please know that the staff and I want to keep your children safe as well as ourselves, so we are doing everything carefully and while kids are still learning basic routines. It may not be happening as fast as some like, but I want to ensure we are doing it correctly the first time to avoid constant changes.