Health Information-Corona Virus -COVID-19

• Our custodial stuff clean all classrooms, bathrooms, and common areas daily
• Custodial staff disinfect high touch areas daily, like doorknobs, light switches, railings and table tops
• Custodial staff are using disinfectants on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of registered antimicrobial products for use against Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
• Teachers have been provided disinfectant wipes so they can clean classroom materials that were used
• We have increased the amount of signage in the bathrooms regarding proper hygiene. We are targeting the “point of performance.”
• Teachers are teaching, modeling and reinforcing for students proper hand and face hygiene.
• The health rooms have proper supplies and procedures for sick students or faculty

The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus.
The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
     ·       Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
     ·       Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. 
1.  Take steps to protect yourself 
       Clean your hands often
     ·  Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public  place, or after blowing your  nose, coughing, or sneezing.
    ·   If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and  rub them together until they feel dry.
     ·  Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
     ·  Avoid close contact
     ·  Avoid close contact with people who are sick
     ·  Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. This is especially important for people who  are at higher risk of getting very sick.
     ·  Get your flu shot.
     ·  With current seasonal influenza activity, it is likely there will be confusion as persons with influenza will exhibit similar signs and  symptoms such as fever and cough.

2.  Take steps to protect others
      Stay home if you’re sick
Please stay home if you have a fever. The school’s policy has always been that students must be fever-free, without fever reduction medicine, for 24 hours before returning to school
     ·   Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow.
     ·  Throw used tissues in the trash. 
     ·  Immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, clean your hands  with a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Wear a face mask if you are sick
     ·  If you are sick:  You should wear a face mask when you are around other people (e.g., sharing a room or vehicle) and before you enter a healthcare provider’s  office. If you are not able to wear a face mask (for example, because it causes trouble breathing), then you should do your best to cover your coughs and  sneezes, and people who are caring for you should wear a face mask if they enter your room.
     ·  If you are NOT sick: You do not need to wear a face mask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a face mask). Face  masks may be in short supply and they should be saved for caregivers.

 Clean and disinfect
     ·  Clean AND disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
     ·  If surfaces are dirty, clean them: Use detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.

This situation continues to evolve rapidly.  We ask that faculty and families consider their own health and travel advisories before deciding if it’s advisable to travel. Please also consider this decision in light of our community’s health, unforeseen travel restrictions and the possibility for quarantine or self-monitoring upon your return.

Professional Travel
We have suspended all school-sponsored, non-essential international and mainland travel

Personal Travel
We strongly urge you to use extreme caution and judgment when traveling. Please check the state and territorial health department websites for the latest mainland information, and the travel health notices for international travel.

The school does not have any student travel planned to countries with a CDC Level 2, 3 or 4 travel advisory. We often host visiting teachers and professionals from the mainland and other parts of the world. We are suspending visits from anyone from a country with a Level 2 advisory or higher.

We know spring break is approaching. In accordance with the CDC, we ask that you exercise increased caution if traveling to a location with a Level 2 advisory and reconsider from traveling to any Level 3 location. If travel to these locations is deemed necessary, I ask that you notify the school and adhere to whatever CDC guidance is in place at that time, which may include self-quarantine or self-monitoring. I have the same request if you travel somewhere that obtains advisory status, or an elevated status, during spring break. 

Cruise Ship Travel
Please check the CDC for updated information. Currently, the CDC recommends travelers, particularly those with underlying health issues, defer all cruise ship travel at this time. 

•  If an employee, student, family/household member has been placed in quarantine or diagnosed with COVID-19, you are required to immediately notify Assets School at info@assets-school.org.
• If an employee, student, family/household member has had close contact with a confirmed or under evaluation case of COVID-19, you are required to immediately notify Assets School at info@assets-school.org.
• If there is a confirmed case in our school community, we will notify parents of the possible exposure while maintaining the confidentiality of the individual as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.
• We will work with the Hawaii Department of Health and other pertinent health professionals in determining if school should be dismissed, when we can return and what other steps we should take.

What is coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
The new name of this disease is coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as COVID-19. In COVID-19, ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ and ‘D’ for disease. Formerly, this disease was referred to as “2019 novel coronavirus” or “2019-nCoV”.

There are many types of human coronaviruses including some that commonly cause mild upper-respiratory tract illnesses. COVID-19 is a new disease, caused be a novel (or new) coronavirus that has not previously been seen in humans.

What are the symptoms?
Reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death.  The following symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.
 · Fever
 · Cough
 · Shortness of breath
 
How does the virus spread?
The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
     ·  Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
     ·  Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
     ·  These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic (the sickest). Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms; there have been reports of this occurring with this new coronavirus, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

Who is at higher risk?
Early information out of China, where COVID-19 first started, shows that some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness. This includes:
     ·       Older adults
     ·       People who have serious chronic medical conditions like:
                   ·  Heart disease
                   ·  Diabetes
                   ·  Lung disease

What if I think I may be sick?
Please call your doctor immediately and consult this guidance from the CDC. 

Dear Assets School ‘Ohana,

As you know, we have been closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation since it’s beginning. We’ve made informed decisions based on the most current guidance from both national and local government and public health officials. Throughout the pandemic, we have promised to place the safety and well-being of your children and our employees as our topic priority, and to communicate as transparently and timely as possible. In following that commitment, we have made the decision to keep our campuses closed for the remainder of this school year.

Distance Learning Extended through the Remainder of the School Year
Obviously, we hoped the situation would be safe enough to return to campus and be able to give big “I’ve missed you” hugs, share a lunch table with friends, play on the Play Structure, and sit next to classmates again. The current health situation simply does not allow for it.

Assets remains committed to providing the highest quality distance learning program for our students. We are equally committed to making sure students and families feel as connected to the school as possible, though we must remain physically apart a little longer.

Parent and Student Surveys
At Assets, we deeply value the relationships we have with our students and parents. It is a partnership. Before distance learning started, I wrote to you asking you to be patient with yourself as we all tried something new, and to provide us feedback.  Mahalo to those who reached out via email, text, phone calls and video conferencing to share successes and troubleshoot difficulties.

Now that we are a couple weeks into distance learning and everyone has a better sense of how it is going, we want to conduct brief student and parent surveys. We are eager to hear what’s working well so far, and what is proving challenging, so we can respond in tweaking our distance learning plan to best serve our community. At the individual level, we want to support you and make sure we are providing multiple ways for you to communicate your thoughts, kudos and needs with us.

Even if you have chatted with us about your thoughts previously, we would appreciate it if everyone would participate in this brief survey. Student surveys will be shared with them directly.

Parent Survey

Summer Programs

We have been planning for multiple summer scenarios and will share more specific details with you in the next weeks so everyone can prepare for summer accordingly. The most likely scenario will involve distance learning opportunities for June and on-campus programs for July.

School Events and End-of-Year Housekeeping
To promote everyone’s health, we must continue canceling or reimagining all in-person school events scheduled for May. We are committed to making sure we find ways to still celebrate the many achievements our students accomplished this year, as well as their resilience and perseverance.

Sadly, one of the events we must reimagine is our traditional high school graduation ceremony. We will be reaching out to seniors and their parents soon to discuss more. We also continue to invite students into these conversations and decisions, as they have an important voice in how they want to commemorate and celebrate their school experience. 

Our principals and teachers will be in touch over the next month about all of the end-of-year housekeeping, such as picking up personal items left on campus and K-8 students returning their iPads.

Assets Is Here to Help
I want to reiterate that we are one community and we want to help you in whatever ways we can. We know that many families view Assets as a necessity for their child, not a luxury. If you are facing a financial challenge for the remainder of this school year or with the deposit for the re-enrollment contract, please contact Oli Faaliga in our business office. We are working individually with parents to come up with a plan that hopefully works for them.

If you already applied for tuition assistance for next year and your situation has changed, please:

•  Log into your TADS application and update any information that may reflect any changes resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Upload any supporting documentation you have (i.e. unemployment application, termination/furlough notices, etc.).

• (Optional) Complete this optional form, which will provide you an opportunity to write a more detailed description of how you are being impacted. Only the tuition assistance committee will see this information. 


If you have not yet applied for tuition assistance, you may still do so.
If you have any questions, please contact Oli at ofaaliga@assets-school.org

Wishing you and your family health, patience and joy,

Ryan Masa

Head of School

Dear Assets School ‘Ohana,

As we approach the end of spring break and the beginning of distance learning, I want to share some updates and messages.

Distance Learning Extended to April 30
When I wrote to you last week, I said that distance learning would start on March 30 and run through April 10 and possibly longer. In response to the mayor’s and governor’s stay-at-home orders, and health officials’ guidance, we are now extending campus closure and distance learning through April 30. Our hope remains to return to campus before the end of this school year, but the seriousness of this pandemic and its necessary mitigation strategies make distance learning through the rest of the school year a possibility. We will continue to closely monitor all government orders and public health guidance, and will communicate with you in as timely a manner as possible.

School Events
To promote everyone’s health, we must also cancel, postpone or reimagine all in-person school events scheduled for April. Our goal is to reimagine as many of these events in a different format as possible because they are great celebrations of our students and demonstrations of their creativity and brilliance. We will continue to meet about how we can best do this safely, while honoring the spirit of the event.

Our Distance Learning Approach
Even though campus is closed, we are very much open for learning!
As students transition to distance learning on Monday, March 30, our teachers are prepared to share an exceptional distance learning experience with them. Your child’s teachers and principal have more detailed information about what their distance learning plan looks like, but I’d like to offer a few thoughts on our overall approach.

As a K-12 school, our distance learning plans look really different for our youngest and oldest students, though our school’s core values weave through them.

We recognize that relationships are at the heart of all learning. This includes students’ relationships with their teachers, their relationships with the content, and their relationships with their peers. Educators like to sum this up by referencing the psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s idea that “learning is a social activity.” Moving online changes the dynamic somewhat, but we still place relationships as fundamental in this new plan. We are so excited for students to reconnect with their teachers, friends and exciting new learning activities! In this time of shelter-at-home, it’s more important than ever that students feel a sense of belonging and community.

The learning plans are thoughtful and reflect a deep understanding of developmental needs, learning differences and giftedness. They are strengths-based. Again, more than ever we need to focus on helping students develop and celebrate their talents. Wherever possible, the learning plans are integrated, differentiated and personalized. In short, they should feel like Assets School.

A Message to Parents
We understand there are many different kinds of home circumstances right now. Complete distance learning is a new experience for all of us. Although we’ve been preparing for weeks, we understand that it will be particularly new for you and your child. As with any transition, I’d encourage you to be patient with yourself and your child, and let us know what is proving challenging. Our administration and faculty will be meeting frequently to reflect on what’s working well and what we might do differently. We welcome your feedback. 

I’d also quickly note the importance of establishing routines once distance learning starts. To whatever degree possible in your household, the younger the child the more they will benefit from bedtime routines, morning routines and clearly defined “school work” time during this new schedule.

Please keep in good communication with us! Though campus is closed, we are fully operational and we want to support you in whatever ways we can. We are happy to follow-up with you individually, but are also happy to post videos or write articles on topics that appear relevant to many parents. Please feel free to call or email me. If you are more comfortable with Sandi Tadaki, Caitlin Mates or Suzy Travis, please connect with them.

What Is Giving Me Hope
We are living in uncertain times. It’s easy to feel dejected when reading the news and being confined in our homes. The pandemic is upsetting. But many things have buoyed me this week; namely, the anticipation of our students returning to our digital campus next week. I’ve seen our dedicated teachers work through their spring break to get their courses and digital classrooms exactly how they want them. I’ve seen teachers sharing resources with their colleagues every day. I’ve seen a 30-person faculty meeting held online.

I’m reminded of the words of Eric Hoffer, “In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” If true, we are in very good hands. Right now, I’m taking great inspiration from my belief in the goodness and talent of our teachers and students to help all of us imagine and chart a better path forward.

Wishing you patience when it’s tough, moments of joy and good health,


Ryan Masa
Head of School

March 17, 2020

Dear Assets School ‘Ohana,
We have made the decision to close both campuses effective Tuesday, March 17. Tomorrow (Monday, March 16) will be the last day our campuses will be open to students until at least April 10 and possibly longer. We will start Spring Break four days earlier than scheduled, instead of the original schedule which was Monday, March 23 through Friday, March 27.

We are remaining open for a full-day of school tomorrow, however we fully understand if you want to keep your child at home. Staying home tomorrow will be an “excused absence.” We are remaining open largely to accommodate families who are not able to make child care arrangements on such short notice. If your child does stay home tomorrow, please stop by briefly to allow your child to gather their iPads, charger, books, and any other materials they will need at home.   

After Spring Break, the school will transition to our distance learning plan and provide instruction online for two weeks (March 30 – April 10). As I’ve mentioned before, our faculty members have developed plans for all grade levels. We will follow-up with more specific information about distance learning later this week. By early April, we will have a better sense of the COVID-19 spread in Hawaii and will provide an update on what we believe will be the safest next steps for our Assets School family.

Today, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) advised against gatherings of more than 50 people. for the next eight weeks. Schools were not officially mentioned in this advisory, but our decision was informed by credible public health sources such as the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO). Knowledge about this virus is evolving daily and our responsibility is to make the best decisions we can each day for the safety of our students, faculty, staff and their networks of family and friends in our community.

We have made a proactive decision. To our knowledge, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our school community. However, State of Hawaii health officials have stated that community spread of the virus will occur. We want to minimize the possibility of COVID-19 occurring through Assets School and do everything we possibly can to stop community spread.

Søren Kierkegaard once wrote in his journal, “It is perfectly true, as the philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards.” We are acting as quickly and thoughtfully as we can in what we believe is the most socially conscious way to care for your child, our school, state and world. May our actions be worthy of our students’ trust in us and their aspirations for the future.

We will communicate with you regularly throughout the week. As a reminder, after we contact you, we also post information and updates at assets-school.org/COVID-19

For our children and each other,

Ryan Masa
Head of School

March 16, 2020

Dear Assets School ‘Ohana:

We want to inform you that this afternoon the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) announced it was “suspending all spring sporting programs effective Monday, March 16. The suspension will be in effect until Monday, April 13, at which point the ILH will reevaluate the situation." This includes no practice.

Suzy Travis and John Medeiros met and notified high school spring sport athletes. Ken Powell met and notified middle school spring sport athletes.
Coach Grocki will share the news with the golf team at practice today.
Coach Brian will share the news with the intermediate boys volleyball team at practice today.

We will follow-up with athletes’ families when we know more information about if and when the season resumes.
We know sports are a source of joy, self-esteem, strength and camaraderie for many of our students. We will continue to support them during this suspension, and if their seasons ultimately end.

If you have any questions, please contact our Athletic Director, John Medeiros at jmedeiros@assets-school.org.

March 12, 2020  
Re: COVID-19

Dear Assets School ‘ohana,
We continue to monitor the evolving novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Our students’ and employees’ well-being remains our top priority. I’d like to update you on what we’re doing to promote the health of our community, and our communication with each
other.

New Webpage
We have developed a new webpage with all Assets-related COVID-19 updates and communications. We will still text you urgent alerts, and send you emails like this one. We hope the webpage will serve as an information hub for you. Please find the page at assets-school.org/COVID-19 .

Test of Our Text Alert System
We sent everyone a text today at 2:00pm to ensure your information is current in our system. If you did not receive a text from us at this time, please contact Cindy Herndon at cherndon@assets-school.org.

What We Know
The World Health Organization declared the situation a pandemic yesterday. As of my writing, there are two confirmed cases in Hawaii, with six individuals under investigation and forty-one self-monitoring with Department of Health supervision.

We continue to prepare for various scenarios and are monitoring recommendations from the local and national public health agencies.

The Aloha United Way (AUW) has recently extended its public call center hours to 7 a.m. –10 p.m., 7 days a week. AUW 211 is the state’s only hotline partnering with the Hawaii Department of Health. For more information or questions about COVID-19:
     Call 2-1-1 from any location in the state
     Text 877-275-6569
     Email:  info211@auw.org

How We Are Responding
Our administration is meeting daily and monitoring the situation. Our janitorial staff is cleaning rooms daily, and cleaning all high-touch areas on campus, like door knobs, light switches, and railings. We have confirmed that our staff is using antimicrobial products designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as effective against COVID-19. Every teacher received Clorox wipes to disinfect classroom areas or materials, as they know best what was used that morning or day. Our nurse and health aides are equipped with the supplies needed to care for a sick student or teacher. We provided Clorox wipes to the bus drivers to ensure the bus are being cleaned daily.

We increased signage in and around the bathrooms regarding proper hygiene. Teachers are teaching, modeling, reminding, and reinforcing proper hygiene practices for students.

We suspended all school-sponsored travel to the mainland and internationally. We are suspending visitors from any country with a Level 2 or higher travel alert from the CDC.

A Quick Word on Supporting Our Students’ Executive Function Skills
We know a lot of our students have lagging executive function skills, which can make it difficult to follow through on things they know, like the importance of washing your hands. One way you can support at home is to try to support them at the moment they have to do the behavior. We call this the “point of performance.” Telling kids to wash their hands isn’t as effective as a sign above the sink reminding them to wash their hands for 20 seconds. We all benefit from these supports in our life. That’s why so many restaurants have “employees must wash hands” signs posted in the bathroom. If you’re in a theater, before the movie starts a message will remind you to turn off your cell phone. If you look around at that moment, most people are checking their pockets and
purses to double check. It’s not about teaching, it’s about prompting. We all know these social and health norms, but we benefit from reminders. For example, if you want your child to wash his hands when he walks in the door, think about what supports you can put in place before or as they enter the house. For your convenience, you can find ready-to-print poster from the CDC.

Distance Learning Plan
We are prepared if school administration or state health officials decide Assets needs to close. We have procedures in case of a short closure or a more extended one. If school needs to close just a day or two, we would simply close and teachers would not be teaching online. If we expect the closure to be an extended one, our teachers will move class online so we can continue to connect with students, offer them meaningful learning experiences and provide them some consistency in an unsettling time. We realize this would be a disruptive option and teachers are planning accordingly. What this looks like is different for high schoolers and our youngest students. We will try to provide both synchronous (especially for high school) and asynchronous options. We will also hold virtual “office hours” so teachers can connect digitally with individual students.  

How You Can Help
Please protect yourself through the preventive measures that we’ve all discussed, like washing your hands, practicing face hygiene, and avoiding individuals who are sick. The biggest way you can help us protect the community is to stay home if you are sick. We
have given this guidance clearly to parents, students and employees. Do not come to campus if you have a fever. You must be fever free for 24-hours, without any fever-reducing medication, before returning to campus. If you are experiencing respiratory issues, please contact your doctor.

Travel Guidance
This situation continues to evolve rapidly.  We ask that faculty and families consider their own health and travel advisories before deciding if it’s advisable to travel. Please also consider this decision in light of our community’s health, unforeseen travel restrictions and the possibility for quarantine or self-monitoring upon your return. For more information, please visit our Assets COVID-19 hub.

Responding to a Confirmed Case or “Close Contact”
If anyone in the Assets community is diagnosed with COVID-19, quarantined or has had close contact with a confirmed case, notify Assets School immediately at  info@assets-school.org. We will work with the Hawaii Department of Health and other pertinent health professionals in determining if school should be dismissed, when we can return and what other steps we should take.

Moving Forward
Over the past days, I’ve thought a lot about the writer Wendell Berry’s words on community. 

A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and
that the people who share the place define and limit the possibilities of each other's lives. It is
the knowledge that people have of each other, their concern for each other, their trust in each other, the freedom with which they come and go among themselves.

Now more than ever is a time to take care of each other. I’m glad to be sharing this special community with you. Wishing you health and joy.

For our children and each other,

Ryan Masa
Head of School 

March 11, 2020

Dear Assets School ‘Ohana:
When Hawaii’s first two COVID-19 cases were confirmed this week and additional guidelines followed from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about “social distancing” and group events, we had to seriously consider whether we should go forward with our annual Illumination Gala on March 14.

Early this morning, I participated in a call with the Executive Committee of our Board of Trustees. After thoroughly discussing the most current information and safety recommendations for COVID-19, we decided to cancel this year’s Illumination Gala. We came to this decision from the belief that protecting the health and well-being of our Assets ‘Ohana and guests, as well as our community, is our highest obligation.

We understand that money raised from the Gala is the main source of funding for our tuition assistance program, which directly impacts our students and their families.  We also know this pandemic is seriously impacting Hawaii’s economy, so there will likely be an even greater need for tuition assistance next year and possibly longer.

With this in mind, the Executive Committee has committed to immediately implementing a board-driven campaign to raise tuition assistance funds directly from various sources in our community.  In addition, Board members are considering this year’s Gala a “virtual event” and contributing their table purchase donations to the tuition assistance program. In this spirit, we plan to move auction items online for community bidding, and will follow up with more information in coming days.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and myself, I want to extend a heartfelt mahalo to everyone who worked so hard to create an extraordinary Illumination Gala and everyone who purchased tables, tickets and donated wonderful auction items. Most importantly, we are so very grateful for your support of Assets School and we truly hope you understand this decision.  Please call my office at 440-3612 if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Ryan Masa
Head of School

February 28, 2020

Dear Assets School ‘ohana,
With all we do, the safety and well-being of our students and community is our top priority and north star. As you know, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Hawaii Department of Health (HIDOH) issued statements this week regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) that made a lot of news. Because of the increased attention around this disease, I want to share our thinking and preparation to promote the health of our community.

Staying Well-Informed
We have been actively monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak. We actively review information from the CDC, HIDOH and World Health Organization (WHO). We are also in communication with support organizations like the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools (HAIS) and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

As of my writing, there are no confirmed cases in Hawaii and 80 individuals are self-monitoring with HIDOH supervision. We are planning for various scenarios and will continue to monitor the situation and follow recommendations from the local and national public health agencies.

Guidance for Schools
We are basing our preparation on the CDC’s interim guidance on COVID-19 for K-12 schools, and their comprehensive guidelines for the pandemic flu. We are giving particular focus to preventive measures at the personal, community and environmental level.

Focusing on Personal Preventive Measures
I ask you to partner with us in helping ensure all Assets community members (students, faculty and parents) adhere to these CDC and HIDOH recommendations for limiting the transmission of any respiratory illness (including COVID-19 and flu):

·       Stay home when you are sick. Please stay home if you have a fever. The school’s policy has always been that students must be fever-free, without fever reduction medicine, for 24 hours before returning to school.
·       Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
·       If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
·       Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
·       Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
·       Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
·       Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
·       Get your flu shot. With current seasonal influenza activity, it is likely there will be confusion as persons with influenza will exhibit similar signs and symptoms such as fever and cough. It is strongly recommend residents six months and older protect themselves against flu by receiving the seasonal influenza vaccination.

One More Word on Hand and Face Hygiene
At school, teachers are reminding students of the importance of good hand and face hygiene. This is one of the most important things we can do to deter infection transmission. I’ve read studies that very few people actually wash their hands for 20 seconds, and many people miss their wrists, thumbs and between their fingers – not just children, all people. Another study estimated that we touch our face 15-23 times an hour, often subconsciously. Depending on age, we already ban or discourage students from sharing food, but this has a higher emphasis now. This flu season, let’s help our children, and each other, be mindful about our hands, nose, and mouths. 

Environmental Preventive Measures
We have a wonderful janitorial and maintenance staff. While we always focus on keeping the facilities healthy and clean, we are particularly focused right now on cleaning communal and classroom surfaces, like doorknobs, light switches, handrails and keyboards. We are increasing our supply of hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes so these are more readily accessible to all community members.

Travel Guidance
The school does not have any student travel planned to countries with a CDC Level 2, 3 or 4 travel advisory. We often host visiting teachers and professionals from the mainland and other parts of the world. We are suspending visits from anyone from a country with a Level 2 advisory or higher.

We know spring break is approaching. In accordance with the CDC, we ask that you exercise increased caution if traveling to a location with a Level 2 advisory and reconsider from traveling to any Level 3 location. If travel to these locations is deemed necessary, I ask that you notify the school and adhere to whatever CDC guidance is in place at that time, which may include self-quarantine or self-monitoring. I have the same request if you travel somewhere that obtains advisory status, or an elevated status, during spring break. 

Moving Forward

This is a rapidly evolving situation and we will keep you updated as it relates to Assets. In times that can be unsettling, I am grateful for our partnership with each other, your support and care. 

Best wishes and warmest aloha,
Ryan Masa