SCHOOL PLAN FOR REOPENING 2020-2021

Serra is using the online tool, Ruvna, to complete health screening for students before they arrive on campus. Parents and students will receive a text and an email on the morning that students are expected to be on campus from Ruvna. This message will include a link to a survey that must be completed before the student arrives at school. Once the survey is completed, students will receive an electronic “entrance ticket” on their smartphone that will be scanned by the supervisor at their campus entrance that morning.

Accommodations will be made for students who do not have a phone or whose phone is not available when he arrives on campus. If a student arrives at school without having completed the pre-screening, his temperature will be taken and the supervisor will ask him the screening questions before he is allowed to enter campus. Since this will delay his entrance into school and impact the entire program, it is important that all students comply with the Ruvna pre-screening requirement on a daily basis.

Serra has developed enhanced campus cleaning protocols that meet or exceed the local, state and federal guidelines. Classrooms will be cleaned after each class period and common areas will be cleaned throughout the day. The maintenance team is supported by an outside cleaning service, Service by Medallion, to ensure thorough, deep cleaning during evening hours. Medallion is also contracted to provide deep cleaning in the event of a positive COVID-19 case. In addition, the school has made a significant investment in upgrades to the ventilation systems throughout the campus.

Review Serra’s Return to School Plan for more information.

Students will be instructed to wash or sanitize their hands in transition between classes. Each classroom has a hand sanitizer station and hand washing is available in every restroom. Additional hand sanitizing stations have been added throughout the school campus. As an added precaution, students will be required to carry personal-size hand sanitizer with them at all times.

Review Serra’s Return to School Plan for more information.

All students, staff and visitors will be required to wear cloth face coverings at all times on campus, except during designated meal times and approved outdoor activities such as PE class activities where physical distancing is maintained. Only individuals who meet criteria established by the California Department of Public Health will be exempt from wearing a face covering on campus.

A face covering should be considered essential clothing that is laundered at home by hand or machine washing and worn to school each day. However, the school will have disposable face coverings available for anyone who arrives on campus without one or whose face covering is damaged during the school day.

Face coverings must comply with Serra’s dress code. They can be plain, patterned, or Serra-branded. They cannot display any offensive or sexually-suggestive language or anything related to tobacco or vaping products, alcohol or drugs.  They cannot display political ads or slogans, images, or acronyms.

Review Serra’s Return to School Plan for more information.

All bathroom fixtures, faucets, paper towels dispensers, urinals and toilets have been converted to touchless operation to limit contamination of surfaces. In addition, touchless bottle fillers have been installed throughout the campus. Communal drinking fountains are not permitted and have been turned off. Students and staff will be required to bring their own water bottles.

Serra is requesting that students planning to attend on-campus instruction be tested prior to coming to campus and once a month thereafter. San Mateo County is offering free testing for all school-age children Tuesday through Saturday. You also can secure testing through your healthcare provider or other convenient testing service.

Serra faculty and staff will be tested on a monthly basis as required by San Mateo County Health.

Families must notify the school immediately if any of the following applies to their child:

• Student has tested positive for COVID-19
• Student is being tested for COVID-19 based on his symptoms
• Student is prompted to get a COVID-19 test as a result of a Ruvna screening
• Student is identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 (within six feet for 15 minutes, regardless of face coverings).

Please keep your son at home and send an email immediately to covid@serrahs.com. Mrs. Ortiz or Mr. McGrath will contact you and will work with your family and with San Mateo County Health.

Review Serra’s Return to School Plan for more information.

A student’s assigned homeroom determines his drop off area, entrance location and his designated time for arrival. It also assigns the student to a restroom, lunchtime location and an independent study period location if he has independent study in his schedule. This assignment allows for more timely contact tracing. Please refer to the  Drop-off/Pickup Plan and Location Map for more information.

Due to strict safety screenings upon arrival to campus, students cannot arrive earlier than their designated time. Students whose first class of the day is an independent study period (first or fifth period) are advised to arrive on campus 15 minutes prior to the start of his second class scheduled on that day. If he must arrive before the start of the school day, he will report directly to the gym and be released from there to his independent study location.

All students who take Uber, Lyft, or a similar service to school should instruct the driver to drop him off on the 20th Avenue side of the school; the student should walk from there to his assigned check-in location.

Review Serra’s Return to School Plan for more information.

Students are required to display their official Serra student ID photo card at all times; Serra will provide lanyards. This will allow staff members to identify students when they are masked. Students who violate this policy will be sent home.

All classrooms, common areas and hallways have been reconfigured to limit the number of people who travel through areas of the campus, as well as to facilitate distancing between individuals. We have posted floor signage and directional signage throughout the facility to reinforce entrance, egress, and movement of individuals. Hallways have been marked by one-way directional signs to ensure that students are staying in their “lanes” in order to maintain physical distance.

Classrooms have been reconfigured to hold 16 student desks placed six feet apart with a placemark on the floor under each desk ensuring the desks remain separated. Maximum occupancy adheres to physical distancing guidelines in all common spaces including the cafeteria, gym, auditorium and chapel.

In order to avoid close contact and mixing of cohorts, the Padre Blue group of students will attend school in person on Mondays and Tuesdays and virtually on Thursdays and Fridays. The Padre Gold group of students will be on campus Thursdays and Fridays and will attend virtual classes on Mondays and Tuesdays. For the near future, Wednesday Padre Core Day activities will remain virtual. This schedule allows us to eliminate crossover and to thoroughly clean the campus in between groups. 

Review Serra’s Return to School Plan for more information.

Students will be required to keep all of their books and supplies in their own backpack while on campus. Students will not be assigned nor use a locker; they must bring their books and supplies to and from home every on-campus school day. The sharing of supplies in classrooms--such as in science labs and art studios--will be limited and only allowed following strict disinfecting protocols between use. Physical education (P.E.) will be limited to non-contact activities that do not require shared equipment and can be conducted with required physical distancing.

We will not be providing food service on campus for the remainder of this semester. Students should bring food and snacks from home. Please note that food delivery services such as Door Dash or Uber Eats will not be allowed on campus. We will communicate food service plans for the second semester prior to the Christmas break.

Access will be restricted. Students may not use the library before or after school or during their independent study period. Contact Mr. Vallez-Kelly regarding library services.

Currently, all visitors are prohibited from entering the campus in accordance with Phase I of the Pandemic Recovery Framework. Campus visitors will be allowed in subsequent weeks per the phasing outlined in the framework. We will continue to monitor this policy as new information becomes available. 

Vendors and other Individuals needing to access the campus from time to time are required to check-in at the security desk at Station # 3, the Mary’s Courtyard entrance to the school. They will be required to complete a brief health assessment, have their temperature checked and wear a face covering while on campus. They will be provided with visitor identification.

We encourage all members of our Serra community to diligently follow CDC guidelines with regard to social distancing, mask wearing, health and hygiene protocols and restrictions on gatherings. The burden to provide a safe school community lies with all of us.

Any student traveling out of town during the holidays (or any other time) for competition, family or college visits or other activity must revert to our 100% Distance Learning Schedule two weeks following travel. Likewise, students who engage in high risk activities while at home, such as attending large gatherings, should engage in extra precautions for a 14-day period.

Padres,

Pledge that you’ll do what it takes to keep yourself, your  friends, and our community safe and healthy—because being a Padre is about doing the right thing for the greater good. Download and sign the Padre Pledge here.

Students are expected to leave campus immediately after school is dismissed; they will exit the school through the same door where they entered in the morning and should go directly to their vehicle or to the vehicle waiting to pick him up. Students who will be taking Uber, Lyft, or a similar service home from school will use their designated exit to leave campus and wait for their car service by the loading zone on 20th Avenue. 

Students who have an activity on campus that begins within 60 minutes of their dismissal time may wait on campus for the start of the activity. If the activity begins more than 60 minutes after the school day ends, they must leave campus and return later for the activity.

Students who have an independent study period at the end of the schedule day (fourth or seventh period) are encouraged to leave campus at the beginning of their independent student period unless they have a school activity within 60 minutes of the school day ending.

The Hybrid AB Schedule divides classes in half to facilitate physical distancing, with one group participating in on-campus instruction at Serra on two consecutive days while the other half of the class participates in online instruction. The students are grouped in either the Padre Blue Cohort or the Padre Gold Cohort. Students assigned to the blue cohort will attend classes on campus Mondays and Tuesdays each week; students assigned the gold cohort will attend classes on campus Thursdays and Fridays each week. Wednesday Padre Core Day activities will continue to take place virtually.

Serra started the 2020-2021 school year in distance learning, and it is possible that we will return to this schedule at some point in the school year, depending on local conditions. Our distance learning model has every class meeting twice a week through Zoom online at a regularly scheduled time. Students are required to log in at the start of class time, and teachers take attendance. Classes meet virtually on an A-day, B-day (Monday, Tuesday) with Wednesday as a "flex day" for counselor meetings, office hours, homework and student activities. Thursday and Friday are another A-day, B-day sequence.

Parents who have concerns about health and safety have the option to choose full-time distance learning for their son. They will need to commit to full-time distance learning for each grading period (six weeks). Students who are full-time distance learners are required to attend all classes in real time (synchronously). They are expected to be full participants and meet all class requirements. Students are eligible to participate in on-campus athletic conditioning.

Questions regarding full-time distance learning should be directed to Dean of Studies Rita Lee.