The complex in Cay Hill
~ School updates policies ~
CAY HILL--Two teachers and two pupils of Learning Unlimited (LU) Preparatory School have tested positive for COVID-19 in a recent outbreak in the school’s elementary programme. In the wake of sharp criticism from parents, LU has updated its health and safety policies in an effort to stop cases from emerging on campus.
LU said on Sunday that it has been in contact with the Health Ministry’s Collective Prevention Services (CPS) about the positive cases. It also said two internal meetings had been held on Friday, February 5 – one with senior school management and the other with its board.
As of today, Monday, the school expects that only two teachers and two pupils will have tested positive for COVID-19. They will remain in quarantine and will not be in school until cleared.
An entire first-grade class had been quarantined, including three of the class teachers. Two of the teachers in this class completed their 14-day quarantine over the weekend. These two teachers and the rest of the class are expected back in school today.
The remaining first-grade teacher is halfway through her quarantine period, said LU. The school also has a fourth-grade teacher who is similarly in the middle of quarantine.
The two positive pupils belong to the quarantined third-grade class. LU said there are also “a few positive-tested students who have been in remote learning for an extended period of time and are not in school,” as well as an undisclosed number of students who were exposed to COVID-19 outside of school and are awaiting test results.
LU stressed that the positive cases are but a small percentage of the school’s more than 350 staff and students. “When you view the picture in that context, we are not sure that small of a number would represent a ‘cluster’ per se, though it certainly has sent a warning bell for us to review and update our safety protocols,” said the school.
LU has updated its health and safety policies in response to the recent positive cases.
Now, all after-school activities and sports classes for pre-school to eighth grade have been cancelled until further notice. Additionally, the staff lounge cannot be used until further notice, which will mean “teachers will not eat/socialise together for the time being.”
The school will start a new schedule today that will keep all primary school grades in “tight, controlled bubbles,” including for recess and lunch. “There will be virtually no overlap of any grades from pre-school to grade five on any activities from this point forward until the end of the year,” said LU.
As for middle- and high-school grades, their lunch times will be “actively monitored to ensure the lunchroom is at no more than 50 per cent of full occupancy at any time.” Middle school (grades six to eight) and high school (grades nine to 11) are to now eat lunch at different times, while grade 12 will eat lunch separately from all others.
Finally, LU promised to implement “weekly e-mail notifications and daily reminders in every class for the entire school community to remind them consistently of our safety protocols and emphasise that only by working together can we limit the numbers of COVID-19 cases.”
LU has also put in a new protocol in section 13 of its COVID-19 handbook. “When a student reasonably believes that they have been exposed to COVID-19, all siblings attending LU must also remain at home until a negative test has been received. Students in this situation will be allowed to participate in the hybrid programme until test results have been received,” reads the new protocol.
This new provision was added to the four existing ones: “If a student tests positive, his/her sibling must quarantine at home and adhere to CPS guidelines until they can return; if a family member tests positive (but not the student), the student needs to quarantine at home and follow CPS guidelines; when one person tests positive in a classroom, parents of that class are informed, the students who wish to stay home will be allowed online but are not required to, and classes will remain taught on-campus; and if two (or more) persons in a grade level are concurrently tested positive at any time, then the entire class will be placed in quarantine. All classes will be taught online until the class is cleared to resume in-person.”
LU said it has increased its vigilance and pledged full cooperation with CPS, but stressed that there are many “rumours and ‘fake news’ circulating about what’s occurring at the school.”
“To close the school will cause extremely difficult scenarios for parents and the school alike. However, if a multitude of cases over the various grade levels are detected and become unmanageable in the present system, and school closure remains the only logical plan, LU will, of course, do so,” concluded the school.
