Author: Joshi Haskell

Dear FMSL Community,

We are continuing to closely monitor COVID-19 on a state and national level. Utilizing the recommendations of the UDOH and the CDC, we created a Tiered Emergency Operations Response Plan to be implemented at the varying stages of how this outbreak could impact our community. That plan was shared with you via email on 3/7. We are currently implementing a Level 2 response.

We encourage you to stay informed to this rapidly developing situation. We ask that you be mindful of the following advice from the UDOH and the CDC:

• If you develop symptoms that match novel coronavirus (fever, cough, shortness of breath), you should contact your healthcare provider via phone call or telehealth, and you should stay home from work, school, and all public spaces until you are symptom free.

• Older adults & people with a severe chronic medical condition should be mindful to take extra measures and to put distance between yourself & other people to reduce your risk of being exposed.

• Many rumors related to COVID-19 circulating on social media are false or contain misinformation. People should be skeptical of rumors they hear on social media that aren’t being reported by reputable health organizations or mainstream media outlets and should not share or repost items unless they are able to confirm that they are true. False and inaccurate social media posts can cause a great deal of harm.

As public conversations around coronavirus increase, children may worry about themselves, their family, and friends getting ill with COVID-19. Parents, family members, school staff, and other trusted adults can play an important role in helping children make sense of what they hear in a way that is honest, accurate, and minimizes anxiety or fear. The CDC has created guidance to help adults have conversations with children about COVID-19 and ways they can avoid getting and spreading the disease.

• General principles Include
• Remain calm and reassuring.
• Make yourself available to listen and to talk.
• Avoid language that might blame others and lead to stigma.
• Pay attention to what children see or hear on television, radio, or online.
• Provide information that is honest and accurate.
• Teach children everyday actions to reduce the spread of germs.
  • Teach them to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing their nose, coughing, or sneezing; going to the bathroom; and before eating or preparing food.
  • If soap and water are not available, teach them to use hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer should contain at least 60% alcohol. Supervise young children when they use hand sanitizer to prevent swallowing alcohol, especially in schools and childcare facilities.
  • Remind them to cough or sneeze into a tissue or their elbow, then throw the tissue into the trash.
  • Discuss any new actions that may be taken at school to help protect children and school staff.
    (e.g., increased handwashing, cancellation of events or activities)
  • Get children into a handwashing habit.

We greatly appreciate your support in implementing our safety measures and helping provide your children appropriate guidance and reassurance with this situation,

FMSL Admin.

Dear FMSL Community,

We are continuing to closely monitor the outbreak of COVID-19. We are utilizing the guidelines of the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to guide and inform us through this process. We typically rely heavily on the expertise of these agencies on issues related to public health. We follow their recommendations closely and are grateful for their support in informing us about these important issues.

Margaret Mc Donald has taken point to coordinate our Emergency Operation Plan. Our plan takes into account the CDC and local governmental recommendations, the scope of the population infected within our state and city, and the current impact of the illness upon the school population. It includes prevention efforts, measures of action for social distancing, and a quarantine scenario. An overview of its tiered response measures is being drafted and will be shared with our community as soon as it is completed. We thank the members of the Health and Safety Committee who have been instrumental in its development and review.

The following are key points from our plan that we ask all members of our community to be attentive to:

Preventative Measures

You may be able to reduce the risk of spread of coronaviruses by taking the same steps as you would to prevent infection from the flu and the common cold:

• Wash hands often with soap and water. Use hand sanitizer if water is not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
• Avoid contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home while you are sick and avoid close contact with others. Please note that we shall err on the side of caution and send all students and staff home should they fall ill at school.

Environmental Measures

Our teachers, custodians and cleaning service sanitize school surfaces regularly using health department-approved, environmentally responsible, and user-friendly chemicals to sanitize. The sanitizing of “high touch” areas is done daily throughout the flu/cold season. To date the UDOH has said, “Special sanitizing processes beyond routine cleaning, including closing schools to clean every surface in the building are not necessary or recommended to slow the spread of respiratory illness. Follow standard procedures for routine cleaning and disinfecting.” However, we have increased the frequency of the sanitizing of our high touch areas and additional areas can be targeted if the need arises.

Social Distancing Measures

Currently there are no restrictions on public gatherings and therefore school life is being conducted as normal. However, this situation is developing rapidly and FMSL staff is formulating plans and measures should the situation worsen. This includes “distance learning” should school closure become necessary.

Communication 

We shall use our emergency notification system for Alerts if circumstances require your immediate action or attention. Otherwise our FMSL newsletter and email shall be our main method for weekly Updates; please note that while these updates will provide important information they are unlikely to require immediate action. So as to allow our teaching staff time to develop “distance learning” plans and put extra attention into the sanitizing of their classrooms we are limiting the Compass Weekly Reports to a general comment. Please note, this shall mean teachers will not be providing  individual comments nor will they be uploading photos.  We appreciate your understanding.

Stigma

Stigma and discrimination can occur when people associate an infectious disease, such as COVID-19, with a particular population or nationality. Fear and anxiety regarding coronavirus may lead to social stigma towards Chinese or other Asian Americans. We appreciate your help in ensuring that you are providing support and facts:

• Viruses cannot target people from specific populations, ethnicities, or racial backgrounds.
• Wearing a face mask does not mean that a person is ill.
• Show compassion and support for those who have been most closely impacted.

This is a rapidly developing situation and we recognize that our families are likely concerned and that you and your children may have many questions.  State leaders have launched a website, coronavirus.utah.gov,  to share accurate information about the virus and how the state is responding. We recommend that you utilize this resource to avail of the latest information. It has many helpful resources such as: how we can take proactive steps to stop the spread of germs, travel recommendations, frequently asked questions along with many other other community resources.

If your Spring Break plans include overseas travel we highly recommend that you check to see how your travel may be impacted and what extra precautions you should take to protect yourself.

We appreciate everyone’s continued attention and diligence in helping safeguard our students, their families and our whole FMSL community.

Flyers for the UDOH and CDC have been posted outside of each classroom and at the main entrances to the school. Additional copies are available in the front office for families to take, alternatively they are available below for your convenience

• Symptoms (https://health.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/COVID-19.pdf)
• Reduce your risk (https://health.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Reduce-Your-Risk-COVID-19.pdf)

A well-established Montessori school in the Salt Lake City area is looking to hire substitute teachers for our Toddler, Early Childhood and Elementary classrooms. Experience working with children is necessary and familiarity with Montessori philosophy is a plus. You should be flexible and able to adapt to each classroom’s expectations, and be able to process information and directions quickly. General safety knowledge, courtesy, and ethics are required.

It would be ideal that you have a flexible schedule to be on call. You will often be called first thing in the morning and asked to substitute that day. School hours are 7:30 am – 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Candidates must have First Aid and CPR Certification or obtain certification immediately upon being hired (offered on-site). Candidates must also be able to pass a background check.

Please send a resume, letter of interest, and a brief description of your availability to jobs@mcsslc.com

Praise is a pretty controversial topic and one could easily find plenty of research that supports both its pros and cons. What do we think about praise in the Montessori environment? Simply put, we believe in supporting intrinsic motivation and that is done through the recognition of hard work, appreciation of natural curiosity and helping a child recognize the internal joy that comes from success.  One study, Dweck, C. S. (2006) Mindset. NY, NY: Penguin Random House) showed us that students who were given praise for things that were out of their control (ie; being smart or naturally good at something) were less willing to try hard things and even went so far as to inaccurately share their successes and failures (ie; they lied about results because of their embarrassment of failure). Those who were given recognition for their willingness to work hard, do hard things, try new things despite potential failure, etc. were overall more successful and, better yet, they believed that they had the potential to grow and develop new skills and talents.  Want to know more? I recommend the book Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D