The 2020 school year welcomed students back to NC with new policies and procedures in order to help students stay safe by preventing Covid. One of the requirements for students and staff of NC is to wear a mask whenever social distancing is not possible. Wearing masks for long periods of time can be difficult for some, so some teachers have configured some places for mask free zones where kids can take a break from their masks. This year hand sanitizer dispensers are placed outside of every room, and kids are asked to wash their hands before entering and exiting each class. 

 Some teachers have been trying to avoid or at least limit all contact with others since the virus.  There are new rules to help with that including that kids are not allowed to be in the school before 7:45 and are not allowed to be congregated in big groups. Once inside students must find a classroom and sign in or wait outside. After school the students are asked to immediately exit the building unless they are in an after school activity or sport. The purpose of this is to track the location of all students throughout the days so that if someone contracts Covid-19, the school can alert the other students that the infected student was in contact with.

At the beginning of the year if someone caught Covid-19, students that sat next to the infected student would have to be quarantined.  The length of a student’s quarantine depended on whether or not a student who may have been exposed exhibited symptoms within three days. If a student did exhibit symptoms they would have to quarantine for two weeks, if they did not contract the virus within three days they didn’t have to continue to quarantine.

Teachers and students both have mixed opinions about the masks, but everyone understands they are necessary for in-person instruction. There have been a couple incidents where students haven’t worn a mask, but for the most part, the students and staff have been very compliant and successful with the new procedures.  Students and staff of NC will do what is necessary to continue teaching and learning inside the classroom.