Health Protocols
WHEN TO KEEP YOUR STUDENT HOME (And where to find information and resources)
COMMON COLD
CHICKENPOX
FLU SEASON
STREP THROAT
COVID-19 RESOURCES AND INFO BELOW!
COVID Guidance for Seven Peaks School, 2022-23
Seven Peaks School will be following a three-pronged strategy to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the school community: Prevention, Communication, and Exclusion. Prevention.
Educate. In order to prepare students and staff for a safe and healthy year, it is important that our approach is grounded in knowing how to help ourselves and our school community stay healthy. This means teaching students to understand, at age-appropriate levels, how infectious diseases work and how we can all help the community stay healthy.
Hygiene. We will practice good hygiene at all times. This means practicing proper handwashing, keeping areas around ourselves clean, covering when sneezing or coughing, and maintaining appropriate social distancing when necessary. For students who are not feeling well, It also means staying home when these hygiene practices are not enough to keep other children in the school healthy.
Airflow. We will do our best to avoid closed-in spaces without proper airflow. This means utilizing outdoor spaces, open windows, air filters, and other means of fresh air circulation, especially during seasons when illnesses are spreading in the community. Seven Peaks also has a bipolar ionization system installed in our HVAC system that contributes to the health of the air we all breathe.
Testing. SPS will participate in a COVID-19 screening program parents can opt into for their children. We will also provide rapid tests in the office when students come down with symptoms that may be particular to COVID-19. These tests will only be given with prior permission from parents.
Masking. While SPS will not mandate masking when the state or county has not mandated them, we will support students and staff who chose to wear masks because of concerns over the spread of infectious diseases.
Vaccinations. The vaccine mandate for school employees and others who work with students is still in effect. This means that all school employees and volunteers who work with students or in the school, need to have received the first COVID-19 vaccination (the two-shot sequence from Pfizer or Moderna, or the single shot from Johnson and Johnson). Short term visitors to the school who are unvaccinated are permitted inside, but volunteers who stay to work in the building or with students outside or on field trips, must have submitted vaccination information to the school. All students who are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are strongly encouraged (but not required) to do so.
Communication. Seven Peaks will communicate to our community when:
+We are made aware of a possible exposure to your student at school
+Community transmission levels are high
+There is a change in our COVID-19 policy or plan
+There is information we think you need to know so you can make the best decision for your family.
Because of the way the state and county are handling the current COVID-19 pandemic, much of the decision-making regarding personal safety has been handed over to individuals. Because of this it is important that we give you as much information as we can in order for you to make the very best decision for your children at Seven Peaks.
Exclusion. Exclusion refers to what we’ve been talking about with the terms “isolation” and “quarantine.” If your child tests positive or is exposed to someone with COVID-19, what should you do? For a helpful answer to this question see this chart from the Oregon Department of Education. In short, the ODE and Oregon Health Authority have been following a two-symptom protocol that requires a 5 day isolation and exclusion from school if a student shows two or more primary symptoms of COVID-19 (or if there is a positive COVID-19 test). Once the criteria have been met for return to school, the student should wear a well-fitting mask for the next 5 days. If only one primary symptom is present then we follow the more standard guideline for other communicable diseases and the student can return once a fever has been gone for 24 hours and other symptoms are improving.
The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) continue to encourage schools to participate in voluntary testing programs as part of their comprehensive prevention strategies.
Seven Peaks School has agreed to join the testing program during the 2022-2023 school year. This program will offer voluntary weekly screening testing for our SPS students whose parents register. The school will not receive the test results for participating students. If there is a positive case in the school, the local public health authority will contact the school if any steps or further investigation is needed. Schools are encouraged to maintain a strong ongoing relationship with the public health authorities.
https://coronavirus.uoregon.edu/k12testing/school
Ages 5-14: https://sharedsystems.
Ages 15-18: https://sharedsystems.
UofOCovidtestflyers.pdf (English and Spanish versions)
SPS Guidelines for Covid Protocol
