COVID-19 News and Updates

Risk Level 1 (Low Risk)

• No Kirby community cases of COVID-19

• Limited reported cases of ​COVID-19​ in Bay Area

• Average student attendance remains high 90-100%
• No advisories against non-essential travel to CA and San Francisco Bay Area
• Some countries declare public health emergency (not the US)
• Airports implement informal screening mechanisms; travel advisories recommended by WHO

Kirby School Response

• Maintain classes as normal with extended lunch period to allow for thorough hand washing
• Encourage frequent hand washing, remind community to cover coughs and sneezes
• Avoid field trips to places with known cases of community acquired COVID-19
• Continue school community gatherings 
• Follow our fever protocol from the Family Handbook

Risk Level 2 (Medium Risk)

• No Kirby community cases of COVID-19
• Bay Area cases increasing steadily including cases of community spread
• Increased student absenteeism 
• Increasing evidence of potential restrictions on airline travel / other forms of international public transportation
• COVID-19 disease behavior or contagiousness changes to higher risk level

Kirby Response

• Maintain classes as normal with extended lunch period to allow for thorough hand washing
• School day schedule may be modified to create time to plan for distance learning
• Cancel destination specific travel, events and field trips to places with known cases of community acquired COVID-19
• Increased school cleaning and disinfecting of shared surfaces
• Cancel gatherings with people from known communities with cases of community acquired cases of COVID-19
• Follow advice from state or local governmental health agencies
• Teachers may initiate a class check of temperature if a student(s) are suspected of illness
• Students will be sent home if they have a fever

Risk Level 3 (High Risk)--> Current Level

• Identified cases in the household (household staff or family) of a member of the Kirby community (includes staff, students, and contractors who work inside building)

• COVID-19 cases rapidly increasing in the Bay Area
• County/State/Federal Government directs that schools be closed
• Evidence of restricted airline travel or major travel restrictions

Kirby Response

• Follow guidance from governmental health authority on school campus dismissal and or closure 
• Cancel all co-curricular programs (clubs, athletics, public performances)
• Cancel all field trips
• Cancel all special events and community gatherings
• Suspend classes for one day to allow for staff to transition to distance learning
• Maintain a skeletal staff at school unless campus is closed with curfew enacted by governmental authority
• Implement distance learning model

Risk Level 4 (Maximum Risk)

• 30% of our community is absent and unable to participate in distance instruction

Kirby Response

• Suspend all instruction until absentee rate falls below 30% for a sustained period of time

Dear Kirby families,

As you recall from my communications last week, our first campus closure on March 10th and 11th was the result of an employee's housemate being exposed to COVID-19.  We then closed for a campus deep clean and that employee has remained off campus since that time.  We learned this week that the housemate has subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.  The staff member does not have any symptoms of illness, but I wanted to share this update with you as you make decisions around the likelihood of exposure in your household.  If the staff member does develop symptoms, I will update you again.

The families of students who had contact with this staff member have already been contacted, so if you haven't heard from me, then I am reasonably certain that your child did not have direct contact.  We are very aware of the employee's movements on the day in question (March 9th), and we don't believe there is increased risk to students who haven't been contacted directly by me.

Your trust is important to me, and I want you to have as much information as possible even when I believe risk is low.  If you've been following the County of Santa Cruz announcements, it is still believed that there are far more cases in our county than have been documented, which is why they moved on the "shelter in place" order rather than waiting until our county's documented number of cases rose.

I've heard from a number of families that there are still play dates happening in our community.  While I am hopeful that this is old news, I want to appeal once again that we do everything in our power to avoid this.  It is documented that children and adults can be asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19.  In the absence of testing, there is no way for you to be certain that you aren't spreading the virus by arranging playdates.  

As a school, we are working actively on mechanisms to facilitate social connection without physical presence.  Please let us know if you need help connecting your child to other students.  We share your goal of ensuring that your child is feeling connected with their peers.

In this together,
Christy

Dear Kirby families,

There are two important topics I’d like to cover today: one is about what you can do to slow the spread of coronavirus and the other is about our distance learning plan. 

Both topics require explanation; I hope you’ll bear with me.

First, I want to make a heartfelt appeal for your partnership in the investment of social distancing. It has been recommended by Santa Cruz County and the State of California. While it comes with other risks--businesses may close, food insecurity may rise, and housing pressures may increase--the lessons of the 1918 flu pandemic and the stories of the overwhelmed Italian medical system provide evidence that these sacrifices are worth making. 

Yet they will only work if we all do it--commit to it--together. 

Social isolation will almost certainly be psychologically stressful, but I encourage you to look for tools to work through the isolation. Protecting our vulnerable populations, our grandparents, high risk students, and other loved ones, must be prioritized. I am taking this very seriously and hope you will join me in making the small sacrifices today that will have big impacts on our community long term. I hope you will also consider this with respect to traveling away from Santa Cruz during the coming weeks and Spring Break. Please accept this as a gentle nudge to start thinking on Spring Break as it is coming up and I know many of us have travel plans.

The second message I have is regarding our Distance Learning Plan.  I want to start with the goals of this program:

1. Continuity of education
2. Continuity of community
3. Making space for the unexpected

P-Learning will be your home-base; a single point of contact for your student. Starting Monday, lessons, links to online tools, instructions and attachments will all be posted on class pages on P-Learning. As to the structure of the week, students can expect to see new material for a class made available by the time that class would be scheduled to begin. Attendance won’t be taken by the teacher, rather we are relying on self reporting so please email absent@kirby.org to let us know if your child is ill or otherwise unable to participate (for any reason) in Distance Learning. 

Synchronous Mondays

On Mondays, students will be expected to make their best effort to log into class at the time the class would normally meet.  Teachers will be available in some form of real-time communication format at the time of that class. Students will access the class via a link on P-Learning.  The link will direct them to a class discussion board or video conferencing session over which the teacher is presiding. The time for each class should not exceed 50 minutes on Mondays.  Zero period classes will make arrangements to meet with their classes at another agreed upon time--no need for the students to get up that early.

Flexible Tuesday-Friday

Faculty may offer live video or chat access during the scheduled class period or they may post a time by which students can expect to hear a response from them that day.  The information about whether the teacher can be accessed live during class or via written communication at a later time will be posted on the P-Learning page.  (This is further explained in the Zoom meeting held on Friday, March 13th with our community).

What software tools can my child expect to use?

The primary services we will be using for instruction are:

• P-Learning

• Google Suite (Chat, Meet, Docs, Sheets, etc.)

• Zoom

• EdPuzzle

• YouTube

These resources were chosen for their flexibility between devices and their general user-friendly design.  They should also be accessible via browser. If your child has any challenges accessing these tools, don’t hesitate to request help (by submitting a Help Desk Ticket) so we can support you.

What if I don’t have the technology I need?

One of our main priorities has been to ensure that there is equitable access to resources during this period.  We are still working to meet family needs and are close to filling all of the home technology gaps--we hope this will all be worked out by Monday.  If something changes about your access, let us know right away.

What if my child is feeling lonely?

Our counselor, Geoff Ashmun, will continue to offer services through a secure online system. 

[Details of how to connect with Geoff were included in the original email and have been edited from this public document.]

Another way to let us know that your child would benefit from more connection is by emailing deanofstudents@kirby.org.  This email will reach a list of administrators that will be monitoring the academic and emotional well-being of our students.

The plan to resume school on April 13th (which is AP Review day--April 14th for all other classes) will be reviewed the week of March 30th.  My goal is to send a confirmation of that plan or an update by April 1st. I will be sharing a Spring Break travel disclosure form out at that time as well so we may assess the risk of bringing our community back together.

Feeling energized by the collaboration and support--thank you!

With gratitude,
Christy

PS--In case you missed the Zoom call, please email me with the subject line "Zoom Link" and I will forward it to you. I plan to host another Zoom call next Friday at noon. (Please see my original email from March 13, 2020 at 5:46pm for the link).

Dear Kirby Families,

As we prepare for our extended School Dismissal, I wanted to leave you with some information about our academic program over the next few weeks, some things you can do to help, and how to reach out should you need to communicate with us about anything.

Accessing Kirby Classes

p-Learning (kirby.learning.powerschool.com)
This will be your child’s “home base” for accessing all of Kirby’s academic programs. Our teachers will update their p-Learning pages to reflect how they will conduct their classes. They will include explicit instructions for the new formats of their courses (along with helpful links and attachments), so it is vital that each student carefully review the new expectations. Families, please feel free to also familiarize yourselves with the pages as well.

Office Hours
Our teachers will avail themselves for individual or group help at various specific times during each week. The interactions will be live either by email, Google Hangouts, Zoom conferencing, or p-Learning Discussion Board. Please see each teacher’s p-Learning page for more details.

Video/Audio Needs
Our teachers are using a variety of ways to continue instruction, but many of them will be using software or applications that require the use of sound and video. Many students should be able to use the webcams and mics on their home computers or laptops (and smartphones) to interface with the various applications. However, depending on other environmental factors at home, you may want to consider headphones. In any case, it may be important to find and designate spaces at home where your child would be able to virtually interact with others or at least watch a video recording. Though this is not a comprehensive list, some of the online applications that your child may be expected to use (all of which are free) include: Zoom, Google Hangouts - students should use their Kirby accounts to log on, and YouTube or EdPuzzle.

Also, it is important to note that using video/audio/live-conferencing can drain your device of battery charge much more quickly. Having a charger for those situations would be handy. If your family is on a wireless data plan, please know that audio/video streaming that is done through this service provider will likely go through your available data very quickly. Therefore, please remind your student to use any home internet connection (WiFi or otherwise) for school, if possible.

Other Tech-Related Items
Please let us know if you or your student has a technological need or issue that is keeping them from properly accessing any aspect of their classes. The best way to do this while the building is closed is to complete a Help Desk Ticket: Someone will reach out to you shortly after you submit one.

Please let us know ASAP if your child is in need of a computer with embedded camera/mic/speakers at this time. It is imperative that we have this information as soon as possible so we can check in with your child on Friday before the long dismissal. If you have any immediate need for a computer, please complete a Help Desk form to let us know! (A link to the Help Desk Form is on P-Learning).

Attendance

Over the next several weeks, all Kirby students will be marked “Present” for each class period each day. Should your child become ill and unable to participate in online instruction for one or more periods, please email attendance@kirby.org. This is the only way we will know that your child was “absent” for class that day. Our teachers will be checking the attendance logs and student engagement levels to make sure that no one is falling through the cracks.

Also, I wanted to reiterate what Christy Hutton, our Head of School, wrote the other night, and emphasize that students will not be academically penalized should they not physically attend school today (3/12/20) and/or tomorrow (3/13/20).

Please be assured that all of our teachers are reviewing the new protocols for online instruction in their classes today and tomorrow. They know that this transition can be slightly messy, and they are committed to demonstrating flexibility and understanding in these uncertain times in true Kirby fashion.

Lastly, although many of you are already aware of who to email for various needs, I wanted to provide you with a quick-list of some important ones should you want to connect with us over the next few weeks:

Information Type	Contact	Email
Academic Concerns	Lawrence Shin	academicoffice@kirby.org
Accommodations & Learning Differences	Sally Donnelly	sdonnelly@kirby.org
Grade Reports, Transcripts & Checklists	Stephenie Dekking	sdekking@kirby.org
International Students	Amy Hemmert	ahemmert@kirby.org
Student Attendance		attendance@kirby.org
*Please know that due to the school building being closed, you may not want to reach us via phone for any urgent needs.

 

Thank you,

Lawrence Shin
Academic Dean
Academicoffice@kirby.org

Dear Kirby families,

A few families requested clarification about the schedule for Thursday and Friday.  We will be holding a regular block schedule those days, with a 3:35pm release on Thursday and a 2pm release on Friday.  As a reminder, you may want to send your child with an extra bag to bring home belongings that they don't wish to leave at school for a prolonged period of time.  

I also wanted to assure all families that there will be no penalty for keeping your child or children home on Thursday and Friday.  We are suspending academic penalties for absence for the foreseeable future.  I respect the decision of any parent who wishes to keep their child(ren) home.

For the sake of staff and students who are coming to school tomorrow, I ask that everyone be extra vigilant about illness.  If your child has any sort of illness, please keep them home.  If you believe your child to be healthy, I encourage you to check their temperature before leaving the house in the morning as an added precaution for everyone's peace of mind.  

Our faculty came up with some fantastic ideas to keep your kids engaged in the coming weeks.  I'll be sending another email later this week with more details about the structure and expectations of our distance learning plan.  Please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to check out a Chromebook this Friday after school.  We will be ready with a checkout system when students are released that day.  

I can't thank you enough for the continuous notes of support and feedback.  I am so grateful for the partnership of this community.

Warm regards,
Christy

Dear Kirby families,

In spite of the physical isolation, Kirby staff have been able to do collaborative problem solving today that has me feeling optimistic about the road ahead.  

First, I'll offer an update on the status of our campus.  The cleaning company we work with is also responsible for medical offices in the county, and they were able to bring us the benefit of their experience in health hazard mitigation.  We feel confident that the school has been thoroughly cleaned.

Additionally, we were given clearer information about our potential for exposure.  The sick household member of our staff (not a staff member) was told yesterday that they may have been exposed to an active case of COVID-19.  This message was clarified today to suggest that they were only exposed to someone who was previously exposed.  This extra degree of separation suggests that the risk to our community is very low.  With this clarification plus the added measure of the campus deep clean, we believe it is safe to return to school for classes as planned on Thursday.

This experience taught us a few lessons about the pain of uncertainty and the potentially costly delay in the conveyance of accurate, reliable information.  As we watch the shift of San Jose State University and UC Santa Cruz to a largely online format, we are weighing the balance of the anxiety of in-person gatherings against the loss of human contact in the online learning environment.  We have come to the conclusion that the best way to care for our community is to develop a concrete timeline that we can prepare for and work toward together.

We intend to follow through with the plan to finish out the week as described in the previous email.  Tomorrow we will gather as a staff to prepare for our conversion to online learning, and Thursday and Friday we will hold regular in-person classes.  That will be the last time we intend to gather as a community until the end of Spring Break.

As of Monday, we will begin online instruction for all classes.  Students will be instructed to log in during their designated class times with the expectation that teachers will be present via webcam or chat on Mondays and available either during class or in otherwise-scheduled office hours Tuesday through Friday.  It is our hope that this plan will minimize the impact of illness on our community.  If your child is, for any reason beyond their control, unable to participate in classes, it is very important that you email ABSENT@KIRBY.ORG (just as you would on a regular school day) to report their absence.  This way we can keep track of our overall rate of illness in the community and ensure that students don't fall behind.

With this in mind, we will be asking students to prepare to take home all of their belongings on Friday to prepare for in-home learning.  We will also check in with students about their capacity to engage in the technical aspects of the online platforms so they can troubleshoot with their teachers before they are expected to log in on their own.

Although this means we will only have two in-person days before our two-week online learning experience, I request that you continue to monitor your child for illness and keep them home if they are not well.  We will continue to monitor temperatures if we believe a student appears to be unwell at school.  

It occurred to me today that preparing for this on our timeline rather than COVID-19's timeline already feels less anxious and more intentional.  I hope this plan brings you and your child a similar peace of mind as we mindfully enter into this time of uncertainty together.

With gratitude,
Christy Hutton
Head of School

Dear Kirby families,

I am writing to inform you that a member of a Kirby staff household has been exposed to COVID-19.  This person has not been diagnosed with COVID-19; however, they are experiencing illness and have been told to continue monitoring their symptoms.  The safety of our community is very important to us, and I do not want a staff member or student to feel the need to choose between their personal safety and engaging in their job or education.  In the interest of community safety, we plan to close immediately for a deep sanitation cleaning of the campus.  

Accordingly, we will be shifting our previous plans for the upcoming week.  Campus will be closed to ALL VISITORS tomorrow, March 10th, during the deep cleaning.  Campus will also be closed for classes on Wednesday, March 11th, so that faculty may engage in the necessary planning to convert to our distance learning model.  We will not be offering any distance learning programming tomorrow, so we encourage all of our staff and families to take this time to tend to their health. It is our intention to resume regular classes on Thursday, March 12th.  We will have a normal schedule on Thursday and Friday rather than the minimum-day schedule that was communicated last week.

You will receive a message from me by tomorrow at 5pm with an update about the plans for the week.  Since no one will be permitted to work on campus tomorrow, I kindly request that you please reach out to staff via email.

Thank you for your patience and support as we partner in supporting the safety of our community.

With gratitude,
Christy

Dear Kirby families,

In preparing for response scenarios as COVID-19 concerns mount, the Kirby faculty has begun the collaborative and creative work that will be required to deliver curriculum to students at home.  While spirits remain high, this is no small undertaking.

In order to offset some of the extra hours needed for this curriculum re-development, we will modify next week’s schedule, building in two modified-schedule days for professional development with dismissal at 12:15pm on both days. If you have a hardship and are unable to pick up your student at 12:15pm, please contact Laura Lucas. We will be able to provide lunch and supervised study hall until 4pm as needed. The schedule for these days will be:

Thursday, March 12th					Friday		March 13th
Period 0	7:35-8:25					Period 0	7:35-8:25
Period 1	8:30-9:20					Tutorial	8:30-9:20
Period 2	9:25-10:15					Period 5	9:25-10:15
Break	10:15-10:30					Break	10:15-10:30
Period 3	10:30-11:20					Period 6	10:30-11:20
Period 4	11:25-12:15					Period 7	11:25-12:15

 

Distance learning represents an opportunity to approach learning in a new way--team projects must be re-thought, presentations and labs need to evolve, discussions and lessons have to be re-imagined. It will be a different experience from learning at school, should it come to pass. There will be different content expectations and assessments, the weekly schedule will be more flexible, and there will be an added emphasis on connecting with others to reduce isolation. Details on these plans will be shared if or when we implement a distance learning plan. Taking time for this work is important and enables staff to thoughtfully prepare for the possibility of enacting a high-quality distance learning model.

We are also working to ensure that all students are able to experience remote learning equally. If you haven’t taken the accessibility survey, we hope you will take a moment to do so now.  

We have prepared a COVID-19 response page on our website to keep you updated with news and information.  As I shared with the student community this week, we are proud to support the efforts being made to protect vulnerable members of our population from this emerging pandemic.  We will be ready to do our part when the time comes.

With appreciation,

Christy Hutton
Head of School

Dear Kirby families,

As we monitor the trajectory of the diagnosed COVID-19 cases on the West coast, it seems prudent to make preparations to convert to a distance learning model in the next few weeks.  We are fortunate to live in an era where we don’t have to choose between societal safety and continuity of education. There are powerful collaborative tools that should allow us to keep your students engaged in active learning while limiting the impact of the virus on our student, faculty/staff and extended populations.  Heads of schools and administrators across the San Francisco Bay Area gathered for a conference call in an attempt to define best practices in this uncharted territory of school planning. After gathering input from over 50 school leaders, Kirby administration went forward with several decisions that we wanted to let you know about as soon as possible for planning purposes.  

In the absence of a governmental health directive, the criteria that Kirby (and other schools) has defined for transitioning to distance learning is the following:  if any member of a household (including household staff or family members) is presumptively diagnosed by a medical professional with COVID-19, we will close the campus for classes.  To be clear, we have not met this criteria and, to the best of my knowledge, there are still no known cases in Santa Cruz County.

Additionally, we are examining which events in the near future should be scaled back, postponed, or canceled, based on risk factors such as the level of physical interaction, the number of attendees from other exposed communities, and the level of reported cases in the location of the event.

The following events are being modified, canceled, or rescheduled:

• Athletic events in or with communities with COVID-19 “community spread” diagnoses are being canceled
• Parent Education Series nights are being canceled
• Field trips to populated areas or including public transportation outside Santa Cruz county are being canceled, however local field trips or nature-based experiences will go ahead as planned
• The 25th Anniversary Benefit Gala is being rescheduled

This weekend’s planned College Talk for seniors and their parents will go ahead as planned.

The Auction Benefit is postponed until May 30th, as we believe that it would be better to not bring together parents, grandparents, alumni/ae, and distinguished guests from various workplaces and geographic locations during this time.

Athletic events with teams from Santa Cruz county are currently unmodified, and will not be postponed or canceled unless cases are diagnosed in those communities. 

In addition to our normal practice of inviting students to stay home if they are sick, we will be enacting a new protocol in which faculty or staff who identify a student who is visibly ill may request a “class check” in which a class will be interrupted momentarily to privately check the temperatures and overall well-being of the students.  If a student is identified as ill, we will reach out to parents and make arrangements for the student to go home or get a medical evaluation.

As I mentioned in my communication yesterday, we have a faculty meeting scheduled for tomorrow afternoon in which we will collectively prepare.  I will email again tomorrow with any updates that result from this meeting.

The results from yesterday’s survey will be very important to the faculty plans.  If you haven’t yet had a chance to fill out the survey, please take the time to do so by noon tomorrow.  I want to thank this community for the extensions of partnership and appreciation that flooded my email yesterday.  In the interest of sharing resources, I wanted to offer a video (attached) that was shared with me by Stacey Knapp, mother of seniors Cole and Wyatt Edminster, that contains a helpful explanation of COVID-19 that might help in your conversations at home.  

With appreciation,

Christy Hutton
Head of School

Dear Kirby families,

I wanted to let you know a little about what the school is doing to prepare for the ever-increasing likelihood that COVID-19 will impact our community.

We have added signage to the halls and bathrooms about effective hand washing methods.  I've asked all faculty who teach students just before lunch to review the hand washing protocol and give the students early release so that there is time for everyone to use a bathroom sink before eating today and in the future.  We already have hand sanitizer stations installed in several places around the cafe, but we will emphasize to students that hand washing remains the most effective deterrent against the spread of viruses (including flu).  We will monitor the lunch line and food service to ensure that the utensils and food distribution are handled appropriately.

I let faculty know on Friday that we should begin preparation for an online learning model so that we do not have to lose school days in the event of a quarantine.  I ask that you please fill out this survey as soon as possible so we can assess the best method of continued education.

We are having an administrative staff meeting to formalize our plan tomorrow morning and we are gathering faculty on Wednesday after school.  I will have a detailed plan to share with you by the end of the week.

In the meantime, please remind your student(s) how to cover their cough at home and refrain from sending students to school who have had a fever in the last 24 hours.  These protocols will create good habits but also help limit the spread of flu, which is already circulating through our community.  

Will be in touch again soon,

Christy Hutton 
Head of School

PS--As a former member of the academic science research community, I have seen a lot of support for the message in this article.  It's a long read, but worth considering.

Dear Kirby families,

We were contacted by the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency with recommendations about how to prevent the spread of the recently-arrived-to California coronavirus.  

We were informed that to date, Santa Cruz County does not have any confirmed cases of coronavirus. Nor do they have any evidence to suggest that the novel coronavirus is circulating in Santa Cruz County or the Bay Area. 

However, a recently published report has documented asymptomatic transmission of the virus which means a person who does not yet have symptoms spreads the infections to others. How often this occurs is not known, but if asymptomatic transmission does occur, it would likely occur in the day or two before the infected individual starts showing symptoms. 

Evidence of asymptomatic transmission is in part why the federal government has made the decision to formally quarantine all travelers returning to the US from Hubei province (where Wuhan city is located), China, and to ask people returning from other parts of China to voluntarily self-quarantine for 14 days since their last day in China. 

Because of the concern of asymptomatic transmission, especially from travelers who returned from Hubei province, we are now following the federal guidelines and asking Kirby families: 

1. If your child has been in Hubei province within the last 14 days, please keep them home from school for 14 days since their last day in China. Please contact the Santa Cruz County Communicable Disease Unit at 831-454-4114 during business hours or, if after hours, at 831-471-1170, so that they can provide guidance on monitoring your child carefully for symptoms. 

Family members of travelers who visited Hubei province within the last 14 days do not need to quarantine at home, but they should also monitor for symptoms and avoid attending large gatherings. 

2. Students or staff who have been to other areas of mainland China (this excludes Hong Kong) within the last 14 days and who returned February 2 or later, should not come to school for 14 days since the last day in China. Per federal guidance being released today, they should also call the Santa Cruz County Communicable Disease Unit at 831-454-4114 during business hours or, if after hours, at 831-471-1170 for further guidance. 

For students and staff who came back to the U.S. before February 2, they may wish to consider staying home for 14 days after they left mainland China, but it is not mandatory, and they should continue monitoring themselves for symptoms until the end of the 14 days. Per federal guidance being released today, they should also call the public health department during regular business hours (408-885-3980, Monday through Friday, from 8am-5pm) for further guidance. In either case, if they become symptomatic within 14 days since their last day in China with fever (including chills or night sweats), cough, or shortness of breath, they should call a healthcare provider and let them know their travel history and symptoms. 

We encourage all students and staff to take common-sense precautions to prevent the spread of all infectious diseases, including common illnesses like colds and flu: 

• We encourage all students and staff to stay home when they are sick. 
• Those who have a fever at school will be sent home immediately and will need to stay there for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever without the use of fever-reducing medicine. 
• Please review proper hand hygiene with students--frequent washing and/or use of hand sanitizer is encouraged at school.
• Please review and encourage proper cough etiquette—cough or sneeze into a tissue, sleeve, or arm. 
• We will perform routine surface cleaning, particularly for high-touch surfaces. 

The Public Health Division has a webpage dedicated to novel coronavirus in English and Spanish at santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus. They have committed to keeping this page up to date as things develop.  It is important that students feel supported and welcome as always at Kirby, so if a student expresses concern to you that a classmate or staff member appears to be sick at school, please call the front desk at 831-423-0658 to let us know so we can approach that person with sensitivity.  Kirby School is committed to keeping the safety and well-being of our students our top priority.  

Thanks for your partnership in keeping our kids healthy!

Warm regards,

Christy Hutton
Head of School

It was lovely to see your faces again today!  Here is a link to today's Zoom meeting recording (link redacted for privacy).  (Agenda items outlined below)

1. Return to school: County Office of Education has said schools are dismissed through May 5th
   and we should be prepared to remain dismissed through the end of the year.
   a) Our plan is to maintain Distance Learning through the semester if we must. (An update will be provided no later than Wednesday, April 1st).
   b) We are still working on plans to re-create the step-up and high school graduation ceremonies for the students.
2. Student absentee rate is at an all-time low and we want students to participate to the extent they can
   a) If your child is ill or experiencing symptoms that would make it difficult to
   complete the full workload, please inform us via absent@kirby.org.
3. Preparing for the next phase of the pandemic by doing what we do best
   a) Focusing encouraging our community to lead healthy, balanced lives and collaboratinga) Focusing encouraging our community to lead healthy, balanced lives and collaborating
4. b) If Governor’s research data holds true, about half of us will contract the virus over
   the next couple of months. Of those roughly 400 people, the CDC article
   published yesterday indicates that 21-31% will require hospitalization to recover.
   This means that, for us, between 80-120 people in this community will face
   challenges that will make it difficult to make school the top priority of their
   household.

 

I've attached the outline of agenda items I covered in case you don't have time to listen to the whole thing.  The discussion from the "chat" window is also attached.

I want to add one note I neglected to include when I was questioned about homework during Spring Break--while we don't assign homework in general, there are some types of work that can be expected:

• Extra Credit/ Enrichment opportunities
• Reading novels or chapters of novels
• Make-up work 

It's hard to believe we are already two weeks into this--and it also feels like school has been closed forever.  I will have a couple more surveys coming out next week to gather feedback about what we could do to support students and families during and after Spring Break.  These surveys have been very helpful thus far.

Wishing you all a lovely and healthy weekend!

Warm regards,
Christy