POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COVID-19 PREVENTION AND CONTROL

as of December 31, 2021

 

These policies and procedures are intended to guide all members of the Mount Carmel School family in mitigating against the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as set forth by the CNMI Office of the Governor. These policies and procedures are subject to change and are superseded by any directives and guidelines set forth by the CNMI Office of the Governor, the CNMI Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force, and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation. To reinforce the safety of all members of the Mount Carmel School family, the following policies and procedures will supersede any other policies or procedures set forth in this handbook, unless otherwise stipulated by the school leadership.

 

If you have questions and/or concerns about these policies and procedures, please contact the school or learn more via the following:

 

Mount Carmel School, Inc.

P. O. Box 500006

Saipan, MP 96950

 

(670) 234-6184 • (670) 235-1251

 

www.mountcarmelsaipan.com

www.facebook.com/mtcarmelcnmi

www.instagram.com/mcsknights

www.youtube.com/c/MountCarmelSchool

Follow us on Twitter @MCS_KNIGHTS

 

Personal Hygiene Behaviors

• Employees, students, and authorized guests must routinely wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• As an additional precaution, employees, students, and authorized guests must routinely disinfect their hands with hand sanitizers that contain at least 60% alcohol.
• Employees, students, and authorized guests must cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Afterwards, employees, students, and authorized guests must discard the tissue in the trash and immediately wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or disinfect their hands with hand sanitizers that contain at least 60% alcohol.

• Employees, students, and authorized guests must exercise social distancing of at least six feet apart from each other. 

• Employees, students, and authorized guests must wear face masks or face shields at all times while on campus.
• Employees, students, and authorized guests may partially remove their face masks or face shields only to eat or drink, so long as they are six feet apart from each other. Face masks or face shields must be worn immediately afterwards.

• Employees, students, and authorized guests are encouraged to not share personal items, such as books, school supplies, and electronic devices.
• Employees, students, and authorized guests are to secure personal items within bags or containers that should only be accessed by them.

 

Grounds, Facilities

• The cleaning and disinfecting of classrooms, common areas, like restrooms, the cafeteria, and offices will be cleaned more frequently throughout the day to help mitigate the spread of viruses like COVID-19.

• Classrooms are to be designed to ensure six feet physical distance between student and teacher desks.
• Student and teacher desks will be outfitted as needed with plexiglass cubicles as an added safety precaution.
• Front desk office spaces, such as the Main Office and the Business Office, will be redesigned to include larger plexiglass barriers as an added safety precaution.
• Classrooms and offices on campus will be modified to include ultraviolet lighting devices to further disinfect air that is circulated in rooms.

• The school will provide areas on or in which employees, students, and authorized guests may safely store and secure their personal items, bags, or containers, such as desks, shelves, and counters. These areas will be cleaned and disinfected on a routine basis.
• The school will provide wash stations with running water and hand soap throughout campus, as well as hand sanitizers that contain at least 60% alcohol in each classroom and office as well as strategic locations throughout campus.
• The school will post visible signs, fliers, and posters to remind all individuals on campus about key behaviors that mitigate the spread of COVID-19, such as wearing face masks or face shields, practicing proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, and exercising social distancing.
• The school will post visible markers on walls and on floors to guide all individuals to exercise social distancing of at least six feet apart from each other.

 

Adjusted Learning Environments

• To support adequate social distancing of at least six feet apart, the maximum number of students allowed in a classroom will be adjusted per grade level and depending on square footage of a classroom..

• Kindergarten through 12th grade will have face-to-face classes from Monday through Thursday. Friday will be designated as an asynchronous class day.
• Kindergarten through 12th grade classes will run from 7:30 to 3:00 pm Monday through Thursday.
• Face to face (F2F) extra curricular, F2F after school and F2F sports activities will be limited to students that participate in F2F learning and who are fully vaccinated by approved COVID-19 vaccines. Students will be screened to ensure that they are attending face to face learning and have a valid COVID-19 vaccination card.
• Should parents or guardians choose not to send their child to F2F learning and decide to avail of asynchronous learning, a parent or guardian must provide the school with a letter of intent. The letter must include the following information.
  • Name of child/children
  • Grade level
  • Duration of the asynchronous learning, and
  • reason(s) for choosing asynchronous learning
• For F1-Visa students, this is subject for approval based on the USCIS Policies.

 

Entrance and Exit Procedures

• All individuals that enter campus must be screened by campus security or other school officials for COVID-19 symptoms, which includes a temperature check.
• Teachers, staff, and administrators that arrive on campus and do not have access to campus security or other school officials will conduct a self-screening and log information at designated checkpoint for submission to the school administration.
• Any individual attempting to enter campus that exhibit signs of COVID-19 like a high body temperature reading will be directed to exit campus immediately.

• For morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up, parents and families will have three drop-off/pick-up stations, one at the gymnasium, one at the elementary-C Building entrance, and one at the Maturana driveway.
• For each station, students arriving on campus are to remain in their vehicles until allowed to exit by school officials.
• Once a student or family of students exits their vehicle they will be guided towards screening points to take temperature. Once cleared, the student will proceed directly to their classroom.
• Please note that only one parent or authorized family member may walk their child to a classroom. This option is limited to Kindergarten (K-4 & K-5) students.

• During pick-up, parents and families will not be permitted to exit their vehicles. Instead, school personnel will utilize a digital order system to take student names, summon those students, and line them up safely for pick-up.
• During afternoon pick-up, the Main Office will be closed to relieve congestion and allow staff to assist with supervision. 
• Employees, students, and authorized guests must exercise social distancing of at least six feet apart from each other. Students from the same household may congregate while in line for morning arrival screening or for afternoon pick-up. 

 

Response Procedures to Positive COVID-19 Cases

• If any individual on campus is designated as a confirmed positive case for COVID-19, he/she will be escorted to a waiting room from where they will wait to leave campus.
• Physical distancing will be ensured within that waiting room, hand sanitizers will be available, and the waiting room will be deep cleaned and disinfected after each use. 
• The waiting room will be situated to allow for adequate supervision.
• The school will provide such individuals with guidance and information on what steps to take next after returning home, such as home or government provided quarantine, and COVID-19 testing.

• If a student, faculty or staff is confirmed positive for COVID-19 off campus, he/she is instructed to stay home or in a designated government quarantine facility until he/she is cleared by a negative government provided COVID-19 reading.
  • A parent/guardian must notify the school of test date and result (positive result).
  • A document from the COVID-Task Force must be provided to the school indicating a NEGATIVE result.

• In the event of a confirmed COVID-19 case amongst employees or students that were present or suspected to have been present on campus during the time frame that they tested positive, the school will notify the affected classroom/office stakeholders and follow current action plans recommended by official health organizations, executives, and experts. The school will also inform any relevant government/public health agencies to determine if a case investigation or contact tracing is necessary. The school will ensure that privacy is respected of the affected individuals and will comply with all applicable government regulations, laws, and statutes.

Employees 

If medically eligible, Mount Carmel School employees are required to have completed their COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of their vaccination card or record to the Main Office.

• All MCS employees are required to be tested on a monthly basis at the school scheduled testing days.
• An updated vaccination shot card must be provided to the office. 
• At the beginning of each school year (first day of work), all employees must provide a copy of their most recent vaccination card and a copy of their PCR test results.

 

Media Outreach

The school will raise awareness about behaviors that mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

• The school will post visible signs, fliers, and posters to remind all individuals on campus about key behaviors that mitigate the spread of COVID-19, such as wearing face masks or face shields, practicing proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, and exercising physical distancing.
• The school will post visible markers on walls and on floors to guide all individuals to exercise physical distancing of at least six feet apart from each other.
• The school will utilize its communications platforms, including email, website, and social media outlets, to share important information and updates from public health officials.

The school will communicate policies and procedures to all of its stakeholders.

• The school will utilize its communications platforms, including email, website, and social media outlets, to share these policies and procedures.
• The school will utilize its communications platforms, including email, website, and social media outlets, to share guidelines, policies, and procedures from all appropriate government and public health officials.