News

All parents are invited to join us on Zoom Friday, September 4, at 9:00 a.m. for the first Springmont Parent Association (SPA) Meeting of the 2020-21 school year.  Help us plan ways to build community and connections in this time of physical distancing. Need the Zoom link or have questions? Email Lauren Stevenson

Thank you to all who took last week's pulse survey! We were delighted to hear that 89% of those who attended our Virtual Opening Night and completed the survey thought the presentations were Excellent or Good and that of those who completed the survey 77% rated their carpool experience Excellent and the rest of respondents selected Good.

Springmont is committed to keeping the channels of communication between parents and the school open and flowing!  Each week, we are asking parents to complete a 1 or 2 question survey so that we can keep a pulse on how things are going for our families. Surveys are available in Springmont Weekly News each Monday and will close each Friday at 3 p.m. Your feedback is important to us!  

THANK YOU, Ann Colonna! As announced by Head of School Jon Alden during his Opening Night video remarks, Ann is Springmont's 2019-20 Volunteer of the Year! Ann is starting just her third year as a Springmont parent but has already proven to be a valuable, committed and reliable volunteer for any and all Springmont needs!  Leslie Wachter said she leaned on Ann in the Media Center many times this past year, and Lauren Stevenson shared that she can’t recall any volunteer meetings to which Ann didn’t show up with a positive outlook and plenty of time and energy to give.  Ann is a quiet hero to so many at Springmont and we are thrilled to honor and thank her for her many hours of service to our community.

If you’d like to join her and other awesome volunteers, join the Springmont Parent Association Slack Channel to become part of the conversation.  Email Lauren Stevenson for the link or if you have questions.

Springmont is committed to keeping the channels of communication between parents and the school open and flowing! Beginning today, we will be asking parents to complete short (1-2 question) weekly surveys so that we can keep a pulse on how things are going for our families.  Surveys are available in Springmont Weekly News each Monday and will close each Friday at 3 p.m. Your feedback is important to us!  

This Wednesday morning, August 26, all parents and staff will receive a text and voice message to test Parent Alert, our schoolwide emergency alert system. These TEST messages will be sent to the cell phone numbers entered during Enrollment/Annual Registration. If you do not receive your text and voice mail, please email Christy Pelzer with your updated/preferred cell phone number.

Parent Alert is used to alert parents to important, time-sensitive information in the case of inclement weather or other unusual circumstances.  It will not be used for generic reminders, so please do not opt-out. 

As mentioned and illustrated in our Springmont is Back! video, we will soon be using an app that allows parents to complete our Daily Health Screening before arriving on campus and staff members to scan QR codes as vehicles arrive on campus!  SWS (School Wellness Screener) is ready for download and will generate the QR codes as seen in the video. Because we want each family to create just ONE account (and use the app to share that account with the second parent/guardian), we will be sending an email with enrollment instructions to the email address listed for each child's mother.  Of course, fathers/guardians are welcome to complete the app enrollment (and share the account with the second parent/guardian) instead.  Please be on the lookout for the emailed instructions (including Springmont's school code)!

All parents are strongly encouraged to attend the official kick-off of the new school year this Thursday, August 20, beginning at 6:30 p.m.  As announced in Friday's Head of School Update, in order to be able to record each Teacher's session for parents with multiple students or those unable to attend, we cannot use our original plan for "breakout rooms."  Instead, Jon's remarks will be pre-recorded and a link for watching provided. This will allow parents to use the links below to directly join their child's Teacher in a Zoom meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. Teachers will share lots of important information and answer questions so make sure to join us! (There is no longer any need to pre-register.) 

Links were shared in Monday's Springmont Weekly News.  Questions? Email Andrea Restifo

Springmont's topmost priority is the health & safety of our students, families, faculty and staff.  Therefore, we will continue to keep up with the latest in scientific studies about the virus and recommendations for its prevention, adjusting our policies and procedures as new information becomes available.

•    As new scientific research reported in The New York Times last week indicates that COVID-19 can be spread via aerosols and droplets at distances greater than 6 feet, Springmont has decided to update our student mask/face-covering policy effective immediately. Students, ages 3 and older, will be strongly encouraged to wear masks/face coverings at all times (except while eating or drinking) while indoors, even when sitting 6’ apart and/or using plexiglass dividers.  While we understand this may be challenging for our younger students, we know that students are adaptable and resilient and Teachers and Assistants will be there to help.  

•    As noted in the Head of School Update on Friday, the CDC recently updated its face mask guidance, warning against the use of vented masks.  “The purpose of masks is to keep respiratory droplets from reaching others to aid with source control. However, masks with one-way valves or vents allow air to be exhaled through a hole in the material, which can result in expelled respiratory droplets that can reach others. This type of mask does not prevent the person wearing the mask from transmitting COVID-19 to others. Therefore, CDC does not recommend using masks for source control if they have an exhalation valve or vent.” Additionally, a study by Duke University concluded that single-layer or knitted gaiters do not protect the wearer or those around them.  In keeping with best practices, Springmont will prohibit gaiters and vented or valved face masks for students, parents, faculty, and staff on campus effective Tuesday, August 18.  We also suggest you discontinue the use of these types of masks/face-coverings entirely as they do not help slow the community spread of COVID-19.
 

The Springmont Parent Association (SPA), formerly known as IMPACT, now has a Slack channel!  Volunteerism is sure to look a little different this year, but we hope you will join the conversation to help us stay connected to one another and honor our beloved school traditions, even as they are re-imagined! Click here to join!  Questions? Email Lauren Stevenson

It was wonderful to see our first groups of students on campus today and we look forward to seeing everyone by week's end!  We hope you will make a habit of reading our weekly newsletter, Springmont Weekly News, each Monday.  It will contain school news, interesting articles about our curriculum and school happenings, calendar reminders, and links to important information.

In addition, we hope all parents will follow and like us on Facebook and Instagram.  This is where we share our school spirit and lots of pictures, including some from today!  Make sure to share with friends and family! 

Click here to watch SPRINGMONT IS BACK!, our new video which highlights some of our new health & safety measures.

You may notice our new carpool hangers in the video!  

• Two per student will be distributed to families on your first day of school this week.  Please make sure to hang the sign from your rearview mirror at arrival and dismissal carpool each day; this will help us direct you and keep our carpool efficient and safe for all.  
• As you won't have your new carpool signs as you arrive on your first day, it will be very helpful to our staff if you know the name of your child's teacher when you arrive. This will help us direct you that first day on campus.

As you arrive on campus each day, please make sure everyone in your vehicle is wearing a mask/face-covering.  We will be completing a Daily Health Screening & Temperature Check on all those in your vehicle each school day. The Daily Health Screening app seen in the video will be ready soon.  In the meantime, please be prepared to answer the following questions as you arrive on campus each day:

1. Do you or anyone in your household have a fever*, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or other respiratory symptoms? (*Fever is determined by a thermometer reading 100.4 or higher OR by subjective signs such as flushed cheeks, fatigue, extreme fussiness, chills, shivering, sweating, achiness, headache, or not eating or drinking

2. Do you or anyone in your household have any two of the following symptoms: chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell?

3. Have you or anyone in your household had any of these symptoms in the last 14 days?

4. Have you or anyone in your household been in contact with anyone with these symptoms in the last 14 days?

5. Have you or anyone in your household potentially been exposed** to COVID-19 or have reason to believe you have COVID-19? (**Exposure is sharing a household or having close contact with anyone with COVID-19 or having symptoms of COVID 19.)

6. Have you or anyone in your household traveled outside of Georgia in the last 14 days?