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ANSWERS For YOU

Updated: August 18, 2020

We will communicate with you regularly during the school year, particularly as guidance about pandemic conditions changes and evolves. We will be proactive in anticipating and meeting the needs of our students, faculty, staff, and families throughout the year. If you have questions about Prep Forward, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Community Welcome Back ForumRecording from August 17, 2020

Health and Safety

Yes. All students, faculty, staff, and visitors must wear cloth face coverings or masks within the school building throughout the day. We ask that students and staff put on their masks as soon as they arrive at school.
Students, faculty and staff are responsible for providing and caring for their own face coverings, though we will provide all students and staff with a Prep logo-marked mask when the school year begins. The school will maintain a supply of face masks for emergency or guest use.
Each day, all students, faculty, and staff must complete and submit a COVID-19 symptom screener indicating that they are symptom-free when they enter the building. The school will provide families with the symptom screener. All visitors and guests to Prep will be temperature screened at the school entrance and required to complete a symptom screening form.
Yes. We will place hand sanitizing stations in every classroom and in the hallways. We have included hand sanitizer on our back-to-school supply list. All students, faculty and must wash their hands before they enter and as they leave classrooms, offices, or community spaces. We encourage families to talk with their students about the importance of frequent hand washing.
All families, faculty and staff must notify the school (320-363-3315) if they, their student, or someone in their immediate family tests positive for COVID-19 or if they are known to have been exposed to anyone close to them who has tested positive for COVID-19. Students and staff who exhibit symptoms associated with COVID-19 must stay home. Families, faculty, and staff should contact their medical provider if they have questions about symptoms. Students or staff who become sick at school will be separated from all others and sent home as soon as possible.
Students, faculty and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must stay away from school for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms AND until they are fever-free for at least 3 days without medication AND experience improvement of any other symptoms. Anyone who has been exposed to someone close to them who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 must stay home, self-monitor and follow the Minnesota Department of Health’s Exclusion Guidelines regarding isolation for illness.
Our school building and residence hall will be cleaned daily throughout the week. We followed cleaning and disinfecting guidance provided by the Center for Disease Control. In addition, faculty and staff will routinely clean high-touch areas throughout the day, including desks, tables, and doorknobs.
Yes. Bathrooms throughout the school will be available to students, faculty and staff but with clearly marked capacity limits. We will disable drinking fountains throughout the building but will keep filling stations active. We recommend that students bring their own labelled water bottles to utilize these hydration stations.

classroom instruction

We will deliver our curriculum in multiple formats throughout the year: live in-person (on campus), remote live (every class will be streamed via Zoom), and remote recorded (all Zoom classes will be recorded and available to all students). Every classroom at all grade levels will be equipped with a tripod-mounted iPad for faculty to stream each class via Zoom for students at home participating in synchronous learning. Our goal is to accommodate the needs of our students and families as flexibly and comprehensively as possible throughout the year.
All classrooms will be set to physical distancing guidance suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Students will sit in forward-facing, diamond patterns. Middle School and Upper School dismissal times will be staggered to reduce the number of students in hallways during passing times.
Barring adjustments required by changing pandemic conditions, we will operate an eight-period class day throughout the academic year, with passing times of four minutes between classes. We will periodically use an extended period schedule (typically known as “double periods”) to accommodate science labs.

School day life

Parents and family must drop-off and pick-up students outside of the school building. Students will be allowed to enter the building after 7:30 a.m. If a student needs to be picked up early or for an appointment during the school day, a parent or family member must call the school to notify of their arrival.
Because we will work to minimize traffic in the school building, we discourage families from dropping off lunches, homework, or other items left at home after the school day begins.
Yes, though we plan to limit the number of visitors in the building to no more than three families or fifteen people at a time. All parents, visitors, and guests must check in at the front desk and complete a temperature check and symptom screener.
Because both our grab-and-go café food will be limited this year and because seating at the Refectory and Sexton Commons will be limited throughout the year, we recommend that students in both the Middle School and the Upper School bring their own lunches as often as possible. Middle School students will be assigned a room for eating. The Weber Center will serve as a primary eating space for Upper School students during the 2020-21 school year. It will be set to ensure appropriate physical distancing. Weather permitting, Upper School students will be encouraged to eat outside. Other spaces available for lunch will be clearly designated. Upper School students will be permitted to go to the Refectory for lunch, though the University plans to limit occupancy in both the Refectory and Sexton Commons.
Students who live within the boundaries of District 742 historically have had the option of taking a bus to Prep’s campus. The district has not yet shared with us their plans for fall 2020. However, we expect that if bus service to Prep is provided, physical distancing requirements will limit both seating and ride times. Consequently, we encourage families to plan in advance for alternative transportation arrangements both to and from school.
All students must leave the school building by 3:30 p.m. unless they are participating in a school-sponsored activity (e.g. clubs, athletics, academic teams, theater), proctored after-school study, or have received permission from the school to remain in the building.
We will follow Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota State High School League guidance for athletic, club and academic team competition and practices.
Not in the fall. Field trips will not be considered until later in the school year and offered only after careful review of safety.

WE WANT TO CONNECT WITH YOU!

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SAINT JOHN’S PREP IS committed to providing a safe and healthy campus for students, faculty and staff, families, and visitors.

"Prep Forward represents a beginning, not an end. We have worked together to create a range of ways to educate our students to ensure their educational experience is as uninterrupted, rigorous, and rich as possible."
Jon McGee, Head of School