Whether their children are going back to school in person or will be learning remotely, families are getting ready.
In conversations with the Gazette, parents/guardians say they’re thinking of safety, and deciding how to handle masks. And, they’re incorporating strategies developed over the past six months since the pandemic began.
‘On with the mask’
Students will have to wear masks when they return to Shelter Island School on September 10. The district says kids may take their masks off when they’re at their desks. But some families prefer that masks stay on.
“I’m asking my kids to wear their masks all day,” said Laurene Meehan, who has a compromised immune system and needs to be extra cautious.
“That’s going to be a huge burden, so I’m going to have them start practicing mask-wearing around the house the week before school starts,” Meehan said. “I don’t want to cause them huge anxiety, all I can ask is that they wear masks all day except for outdoor time.”
At Ross School, Liss Larsen is Assistant Director of Lower School Admissions. She said the number one concern from families is whether their children will be comfortable wearing masks in school.
“I have been giving advice to the parents I speak with, equating wearing a mask to wearing shoes,” said Larsen, a Shelter Islander who also serves at the school’s Communications Director. “You take them off when you’re home with your family, and you put them on when you leave the house.”
“Shoes protect your feet. Masks could be treated much the same way,” she said. “On with the uniform, on with the mask. It’s part of our new reality.”
[For details about reopening at Ross School, follow this link]
Keep it exciting
Tracy McCarthy said her daughter Eliza, who is moving up to fourth grade at Shelter Island School, is very happy and excited to be going back to school. She’s happy to have a new teacher, a new classroom, and especially to be meeting new friends. Three new students will be joining her class this year.
“Our strategy will be to keep her excited about school as well as to keep her safe,” McCarthy said.
“I feel good about it being right here and going back a full five days,” said McCarthy, an elected trustee on the Board of Education. The small size of Shelter Island School typically presents challenges, she said, but not in this case.
“I feel the school and its size is finally beneficial, as it could afford and accumulate the materials necessary to make the school safe for the kids.”
Pared down supplies
Our Lady of the Hamptons (OLH) asked families in an email to provide brown-bagged lunches for the first few days. Following a ‘less is more’ philosophy, the school also distributed a pared-down list of school supplies. And it asked students to keep textbooks home so there’s no need for items to be cleaned, carried, and stored.
Bethany Notley, who has two children attended OLH, says she’s happy with the changes, but is ramping up mask supplies.
“I bought a bulk supply of disposable masks and plan on shoving several in ziplock bags to put in the kid’s backpacks and our cars so that I can be sure the kid’s masks are clean,” she said.
Hilary McDonald’s three children will return to OLH with their classmates when school resumes full-time on September 14.
“I’m confident that the school is doing everything possible to keep the students safe,” she wrote, adding, “They need to be back in school.”
[Here’s more information about OLH’s reopening plans]
Already started to homeschool
Ron Jernick says his daughter, Lexi, has already started to homeschool as a seventh-grader. She was enrolled in the Shelter Island School and took part in remote learning after the building closed in March. Instead of going back to campus, she’s using space she created during that transition and following an online curriculum.
“We figured if she was willing to try homeschool, we would be willing to try,” Jernick said. “She’s very structured and really organized. She has a desk and all her notebooks set up. She gets up around 9, has breakfast, and gets to work, finishing up around 1 PM.”
“She looks forward to it daily,” he said. “When there’s been a problem, she works through it with help from videos until she can understand it and move forward.”
[If you’re interested in homeschooling, follow this link to learn about state requirements]
Wearable hand sanitzer
Kim Feierstein says she’s motivated to provide a little extra protection because she has a newborn at home. And she interacts daily with her parents. All of them at higher risk for complications should they catch the virus. Her two older children returned to class at the Hayground School on Wednesday.
“We ordered three different versions of hand sanitizer bracelets for the boys to see which was best about a month ago,” she said. “We are asking the boys to use it after they wash their hands, and before and after they touch shared surfaces like doorknobs.”
“We also purchased lanyards so they don’t lose their masks or lay them down on a contaminated surface,” she said. Feierstein will also employ a strategy that anyone who wore a school uniform or had designated school clothes can appreciate: having the kids change clothes after they come home. To be extra careful, they’ll also shower nightly, she said.
[The Hayground School has posted information about its reopening here]
Got tips to share?
If you have tips to share about how to make the transition back to school easier — and safer — for all, send them to me at j.oneill-bliss@shelterislandgazette.com and we’ll incorporate them in this post.
