March 14, 2020 (updated 3/16/20 – School is now CLOSED through April 14th.)
Dear Mistwood Families,
This is a time for us all to come together to support each other. As such, we have been monitoring and researching the COVID-19 situation breaching into many communities. School closures, at this moment are occurring in at least 12 states, particularly where COVID-19 cases are spreading. What we know is that children, although they do not seem to be getting ill from this virus, are capable of spreading the virus. This will affect not only our older population, our parents and grandparents, great aunts and uncles, but also our immunocompromised children, our asthmatics and others with health issues. The complication of the virus being wide spread is the amount of medical hospitalization required to treat severe cases; we do not have enough of this critical care.
Although we are a small population at Mistwood, and there are no known current COVID-19 cases in Humboldt County, we, as a learning center, need to be prepared for school closure and taking extra precautionary health measures.
Currently, these are the following measures we are taking to mitigate this situation:
1. For the last two weeks, we have been cleaning with Lysol and bleach. Thanks to Tara, who came in and deep cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms with bleach. Every Sunday, we have been spraying Lysol on all high contact surfaces and disinfecting the bathrooms and kitchen.
2. If your student is ill, or you are a teacher at our school and feel ill or in a high-risk situation, please stay home. We have been encouraging this and sending home kids that are not feeling well.
3. Hand washing has been being monitored and focused on several times a day. For a video on hand-washing procedures, see: https://youtu.be/d914EnpU4Fo .
4. Mistwood will be open for the next two weeks and moving our Spring Break to a week earlier, March 30 to April 13, 2020, beginning school again Tuesday, April 14, 2020.
5. Due to extra cleaning and preparations for homeschooling, we are asking that all students are picked up by 4:30 pm, starting immediately.
6. Although we will be open for the next two weeks, (dependent on Governor’s mandated emergency orders or learning of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in Humboldt County) we are happy to prepare packets for homeschooling for those families who would like to home-school for the next two weeks. (Humboldt County updates: https://humboldtcovid19.org)
7. After Spring Break, if we cannot reopen, Alice and Rebecca are setting up Google Classroom, Skype Classes, and packets in preparing for continued school closure. We are always available by email and text to answer any questions or help with an assignment.
8. If we have to go on an extended homeschooling, tuition payments will revert to our homeschooling rate of $100 per month per student. However, if you are able to continue to pay the full tuition, we would appreciate the help in keeping the school running smoothly and bills paid.
What can you do:
A. Send an email to our new account to prepare for Google Classroom (mistwoodvillage@mistwoodvillage.org) and a Skype account to prepare for Skype classes that your student might want to attend.
B. Make sure we have your current E-mail. If you did not receive this letter in email, let us know so we can fix your email.
C. STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK.
D. If we do have school closure and you need support in any way please let us know. We are a village. We have posted a great article on our Facebook page about homeschooling and how to approach the idea with lots of fun ideas.
E. If you have time to do some cleaning, stop by and help out.
F. Have children wash their hands when arriving to school and when leaving school.
G. Keep in contact with us if you are planning to home-school. We have lots of games and ideas for the younger kids, workbooks, for those who would like them. With Group 3 and 4, we will prepare packets of work needing to be done to keep up on skills.
We are so grateful for our Mistwood Community. Each and every individual child is unique and amazing in their educational journey. If homeschooling is required, have fun. Enjoy this time with your unique and amazing student and know that help is only a phone call or Skype call away.
