We are proud of our efforts to maintain our school community during this challenging year.
WillowWood’s COVID-19 Plan
For the full and detailed plan, please see Together We Will Thrive 2020.
In March we used our online platform to keep the school going under the initial lockdown and were very successful. Summer School went online as well, and while it was going, we prepared for a safe return to our beloved building.
We based our plan on three pillars: sanitization, ventilation, and outdoor education.
We cleaned our ducts, installed the highest grade of filters on the furnaces, checked all rooms for thorough ventilation and purchased HEPA filters for the less ventilated rooms.
We assessed the building with an eye to room capacity under physical distancing guidelines and moved classes as needed.
We increased airflow maximally, with doors and windows set open (except between the Lower School, who are carefully cohorted and contained in their own area of the school).
Schedules were extensively revamped to allow for staggered entries and exits through designated doors, including moving to quadmesters for the High School classes.
We purchased new touchless water fountains, changed washrooms to be single-user, and found a service to replace our cafeteria.
Plexiglass barriers were installed everywhere they were required, and indicators set to show students where and where not to sit.
Sanitization stations are available throughout the school, and students are reminded to sanitize their hands, and use wipes for common areas like doorknobs, light switches and washrooms.
All desks and chairs are “fogged” with sanitizer twice a day, and washrooms four times. Automated temperature checks are done upon building entry for every member of the community.
To allow for increased outdoor teaching opportunities, we purchased two large wedding tents, moved tables outside, and increased our WIFI’s bandwidth and range. We added two outdoor breaks to the High School schedule as the quadmester meant classes are 2.5 hours long.
When students returned we needed to explain all of the precautions, rules, schedules and etc. Signs with reminders are everywhere; lanes with arrows show the correct routes; stairwells are one-way; videos were made by teachers and sent home before classes started.
And – a direct result of last semester’s necessary Zoom mastery – announcements are now done on Zoom, shared with all classes, and are central to maintaining our collective spirit and sharing important reminders.
Lastly, we’ve ensured that all staff and students feel comfortable and empowered to let us know what they see, feel and need.
We meet regularly to consider and assess our progress and procedures, and we will continue to do this as long as required. We’re proud of our response, and the collective spirit that motivates and sustains us.
If you have questions about our COVID-19 response, please contact us anytime.