Dear 7th and 11th Grade Parents and Guardians,
We are looking forward to welcoming our 7th and 11th grade students back to campus on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Our 7th graders will join us for onsite programming in the morning, and our 11th graders will return for onsite programming in the afternoon.
Please review the information below regarding COVID-19 testing and schedule specifics. These details can also be found on our Middle and Upper School Distributed Learning webpage at wildwood.org/mudistributedlearning. As we continue with onsite Visit Days, it is a good idea to bookmark and check this page regularly for updates. Participation Survey Response Required by Feb. 9: Please complete this survey by Tuesday, Feb. 9. This will let us know if your student will be attending the Visit Day on Wednesday, Feb. 17, and whether you will be using our COVID-19 testing services for your student on Wednesday, Feb. 10 on campus.
These days are optional for students. Our schedule, (rolled out Jan. 4), ensures that we can accommodate these onsite visits without impacting academic class time. Middle school students will be able to visit in the morning and then return home with plenty of time to join their B4 and B5 classes. Upper school students will be visiting campus in the afternoons during their asynchronous blocks, so they won't be missing live classes on these visit days.
For Upper School Students Driving Themselves to Campus During Onsite Visit Days: If your student will be driving themselves to campus and you have already submitted the Participation Survey, please complete the entire survey again and mark "Yes" so we can reserve a parking spot for your student. We will communicate parking information with your student directly. Wednesday, Feb. 10: Drive-Through COVID-19 Testing at Middle and Upper Campus: All students returning onsite will be required to have a negative COVID-19 test result within the week before their return. To make this easier for families, we are providing onsite PCR nasal swab COVID-19 testing for 7th and 11th grade students at the middle and upper campus at the following times:.
Though we wish we could offer more options, we are beholden to our testing partner, PMH Laboratory, which, as you can imagine, is in high demand. PMH schedules time for us based on the number of tests we plan to administer on a given day, which is why your survey feedback is so valuable. We've staggered the times to help everyone get in and out quickly and easily. That said, if you are unable to make it during your student's designated time, you may come anytime between 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Please review the testing information and instructions, and fill out the required forms completely, found here, prior to arriving for onsite testing. Please make sure you also have a photocopy of your child's insurance information ready. On page 1 of the PMH Laboratory form, be sure to add your email address and ensure that "Wildwood School" is listed in the client section (at the top of the page). Please have your student keep their mask on until directed to remove it by the tester. Students will remain in the car for the test.
If your student tests at Wildwood, you will not need to submit test results. A consolidated report will be sent to Christina Kyong, associate head of school and lead pandemic coordinator. Click here for instructions on how to register for PMH Laboratory's portal to access your student's results. Results are typically available within 48-60 hours.
If you choose not to have your student tested on campus, please provide documentation of the negative test result to 6-12covidinfo@wildwood.org by Friday, Feb. 12. Wednesday, Feb. 17: 7th and 11th Grade Onsite Schedule Students will visit us for half-days in one of two blocks: A.M. (7th graders visit in the morning from 8:40-11:30 a.m.) and P.M. (11th graders visit in the afternoon from 12-3 p.m.). You will receive more detailed information, including drop-off/pick-up times and procedures later next week.
The half-day visit will include a campus tour, advisory time, community building activities, and opportunities to connect with their cohort of peers. We know that our students will love the opportunity to see each other in person and to see the campus again or for the first time. Safety Strategies All mitigation strategies will be used to bring students back to campus safely, including protected cohorts, wearing masks, staying physically distanced, handwashing/hand-sanitizing, daily symptom screening (via SchoolPass), and community COVID-19 testing. We will also be using our outdoor spaces as much as possible, so please send your student with layers in case it gets chilly.
Already, these strategies have proven their value with our successful elementary campus reopening this week. During our first week of testing students (the last week of January), we had no positive cases out of the 185 faculty and students tested.
That said, we know that we cannot eliminate all risks. We urge you to please continue practicing the guidelines within our Return to Campus Agreement, as well as those set by the L.A. County Department of Public Health. If we all truly respect these guidelines, we'll all get back to school faster. Questions Please contact 6-12CovidInfo@wildwood.org for any middle and upper school-related COVID-19 questions.
Thank you! Jaimi Boehm Director of Middle School Vanessa Stotland Interim Director of Upper School Wildwood School |