COVID-19 | KA HANA PONO HALEIWA

POLICIES & INFORMATION ON

EFFORTS TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19

Aloha Ka Hana Pono Ohana! Locally and family owned and operated – at Ka Hana Pono we share your priorities for quality, safe, nurturing care. We are one family and we are all weathering this situation together. Thank you for everything that you’re doing to keep our community safe and healthy. We remain committed to providing safe and healthy childcare for you.

Governor Ige stated the following during a March 2020 address regarding continuity of what he called essential services: “Our schools are important. There are many cascading impacts of closing schools. We believe that having schools that practice appropriate social distancing methods to create a safe and stable learning environment for our children is very important in this time for our entire community.”The governor's 5/5/20 Proclamation allows child-care centers to allow attendance of children regardless of their parents' job classification. Prior to the 5/5 proclamation, both the State of Hawaii and City & County of Honolulu's Stay-Home orders 3/23 & 3/25 defined child care centers as providing an essential service and directed child care centers to stay open in order to provide "services that enable (essential) employees...to work as permitted."

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Ka Hana Pono will be closely monitoring and following the directives of state and county officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH), the Hawaii Department of Human Services, and other relevant governmental agencies.

Our small class and group sizes, ability to stagger play, activity and nap times, plus small-group snack and lunch cycles already fit the CDC and State's recommendations of how schools can safely operate at this time. Governor Ige has said that state public schools are looking to adopt many of these practices that licensed centers and providers already have in place, including measures like the cleaning of frequently touched surfaces and daily wellness checks of enrolled children and staff that include temperature taking. At Ka Hana Pono we will continue to do our very best to remain safely open to support the families in our community.

Keep in mind that due to the dynamic and fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, guidance from officials and agencies could change at a moment's notice, and we will quickly abide by any necessary changes and communicate that with our enrolled families. Thank you for understanding that we may need to rapidly adapt our procedures as agencies direct us to, including temporary closure if directed. We will also close on a temporary case by case basis if any situation arises in which services cannot be safely rendered.

Our utmost priority is the safety and well-being of all the children in our care, their families, our staff, and our community.

We appreciate your consideration and cooperation with our collective efforts. We are committed to providing the essential service of safe, reliable childcare so that parents/families can continue to work and fulfill all of their important obligations. Mahalo!

Effective immediately and until further notice:

A non-medical face-mask is required to be worn by all adults dropping off, picking up, visiting or otherwise in any of our school buildings.
- Per the CDC, when feasible, staff members and children age 6 and up should wear face coverings within the school buildings.
- Masks are not required for children under age 6, however, you may send your child with a mask if you would like to.

Reasons for all enrolled students, parents, staff and visitors not to attend school:

Illness. Any type of illness within 24 hours such as: fever, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive cough, shortness of breath, or rash. Refer to Ka Hana Pono’s Health Policy and Reminders for more details.

Out of State Travel. Families and staff of the school are encouraged to limit nonessential travel. Anyone who travels off island must quarantine for 14 days per the current state of Hawaii mandate and will be required to be absent from school during this time.

In accordance with the CDC recommendations, we encourage everyone to help prevent the spread of respiratory illness (including the flu), by following a few of these preventive actions:

Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, when coming inside from the playground, before eating, and after going to the bathroom
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
Avoid close contact with people who are sick
Stay home when 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

In an effort to avoid the spread of COVID-19, our policies and procedures for health and safety include:

Hand washing or the supervised use of hand sanitizer upon arrival to the school
Social distancing: modify dropoff and pickup routines, limit the mixing of children, as much space as possible between children at naptime, teachers sign in/out students, limiting the amount of new people coming into the classrooms
Daily Wellness Checks: parents wearing masks at dropoff and pickup, temperature checks and checking in with the parent/guardian on how the child is feeling each morning
Illness policy advising when to stay home : Temperature of 100.4 ° or higher, vomiting, or two or more diarrhea incidents. In these instances, your child is allowed to return to school after 24 hours only if they are symptom free and without the aid of any medication
Daily sanitization of frequently touched surfaces, toys, tables after each use, diaper changing tables and toilets after each use, other materials and equipment. After hours, every evening, the school undergoes additional cleaning and disinfecting of bathrooms, floors, carpets, and other common areas.
- Children's blankets, pillows, any stuffed animals / comfort items, and extra clothes will all remain in your child's backpack until needed and put back into your child's backpack when done. These items and the children's water bottles will need to be taken home each day for cleaning.
There will be no food preparation done at school.
- The school will still have snacks available, they will be individually wrapped / prepackaged snacks such as: applesauce, string cheese, oranges, bananas, animal crackers, fig & granola bars. Milk and water will always be available. We will incorporate as much whole foods, fresh fruit and vegetables as possible.
- Parents are to take the children's water bottles home each day for cleaning.
- Parents will provide a lunch and two snacks from home, recommended to be in accordance with USDA guidelines.

At the recommendation of the Center for Disease Control, during the COVID-19 pandemic the following additional health and safety preventative measures should be taken into consideration:

Implementing social distancing strategies
Intensifying cleaning and disinfection efforts
Modifying drop off and pick up procedures
Implementing wellness screening procedures up arrival
Practicing frequent, healthy, hand-washing

1. Social Distancing Strategies + Group Size:

The preschool versions of “Social Distancing” are being discussed, with teaching and learning about staying safe from germs being practiced as much as possible throughout the day & especially during meal & nap times.

Teachers will come outside the facility to welcome each child as they arrive. At pickup, teachers will walk each child outside to meet their parents on the front deck or at their cars. This CDC recommendation is to limit transmission / the spread of illness by reducing the number of persons entering the classrooms.

Teachers will be adhering to social distancing recommendations when interacting with parents & all adults. The CDC recommends limiting direct contact between parents / adults and school staff members and adhering to social distancing recommendations of staying 6ft apart.

There will be as much outdoor learning, activities and play as possible each day.

As much as possible classes will include the same group of children and providers each day.

We have cancelled or postponed special events such as our graduation ceremony, holiday events, and special performances where large groups may gather.

Limiting transmission/ the spread of any illness will be taken into consideration regarding all of our daily activities. For example we will be:
- Ensuring that children’s nap time mats are spaced out as much as possible, ideally 6 feet apart. When possible, placing children head to toe in order to further reduce the potential for viral spread will be done.
- When both classrooms are open we will be:
  - Keeping each group of children in their specific classrooms.
  - Limiting the mixing of children, such as staggering playground times and keeping groups separate for special activities such as art, music, and exercising.

No non essential visitors or volunteers. New families can tour by appointment only and must wear non medical face masks inside our school buildings.

Our administrative staff, such as Angelica Friedmann, Executive Director, are teleworking from home.

Group Size Guidance:

It is important to note that the CDC describes how schools and childcare centers can safely continue to operate and those guidelines are not the same as for what the CDC calls "mass gatherings" and events.

The CDC has not stated a cap or maximum for school or childcare group sizes. However, our small class sizes and low ratios are in compliance with both national accreditation and local licensing safety group and class size ratios. Ka Hana Pono is licensed for 18 students per day. The CDC and the State are no longer limiting group sizes to ten.

Here is a link to the CDC’s guidance: CDC and COVID19 – Information for Schools and Childcare Programs

2. Cleaning and Disinfecting:

Surfaces and objects that are frequently touched, especially toys and games – are cleaned, sanitized and/or disinfected hourly and as needed. This includes cleaning objects/surfaces such as doorknobs, light switches, classroom sink handles, countertops, nap pads, toilet training potties, desks, chairs, cubbies, and playground structures.
All cleaning products are used according to the directions on the label.
Here is a link to a list of products that are EPA-approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19
When surfaces are dirty, they are cleaned using soap and water prior to disinfection.
All cleaning materials are kept secure and out of reach of children.
Cleaning products are not to be used near children, and staff will ensure that there is adequate ventilation when using these products.
Outdoor areas are sanitized daily (or more often if necessary)

Cleaning and Sanitizing Toys

Toys that cannot be cleaned and sanitized are not being used.
Toys that children have placed in their mouths or that are otherwise contaminated by body secretions or excretions are set aside until they are cleaned by hand by a person wearing gloves. These items are cleaned with water and detergent, rinsed, sanitized with an EPA-registered disinfectant, rinsed again, and air-dried.
Cloth toys are not being used at all.
Toys that need to be cleaned are set aside in a container with soapy water.
Children’s books, like other paper-based materials such as mail or envelopes, are not considered a high risk for transmission and do not need additional cleaning or disinfection procedures.

Cleaning and Disinfecting Blankets, Stuffed Animals, etc…

Parents are to take home any blankets, pillows or comfort items each day for washing. When not in use those items will be stored in each child’s individual cubby box.
Cots are labeled for each child.

3. Parent Drop-off and Pick-Up:

Teachers will be adhering to social distancing recommendations of staying 6ft apart when interacting with parents as much as possible.
Teachers will come outside the facility to pick up the children as they arrive.
No shoes inside the classroom, children will take their shoes off and leave them outside the front door of the school. Teachers will take the shoes to the back playground area.
Hand hygiene stations are set up at the entrance of the facility, so that children can clean their hands before they enter.
- If a sink with soap & water is not available, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol will be provided. Hand sanitizer is kept out of children’s reach and use is supervised.

Teachers will be signing in and signing out each student.
If more than one family arrives at the school at the same time, we ask that parents wait in their car(s) so that Teachers can do daily wellness checks and sign each child in – one at a time.
Teachers will come outside the facility at the end of the day to walk children to their cars.
Ideally, the same parent or designated person should drop off and pick up the child every day. If possible, older people such as elderly grandparents or those with serious underlying medical conditions should not dropoff or pick up children, due to being more at risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

4. Wellness Checks Upon Arrival:

Persons who have a fever of 100.40 or above or are showing other signs of illness will not be admitted to the facility. Parents are encouraged to be on the alert for signs of illness in their children and to keep them home when they are sick.

Screening of children upon arrival:
- The most protective methods incorporate social distancing (maintaining a distance of 6 feet between adults)
- Parents will be asked to take their child’s temperature either before coming to the facility or upon arrival at the facility using the schools infrared no touch thermometer.
- Upon a families arrival, teachers will do their best to stand 6 feet away from the parent/guardian and child until the temperature results are given or test taken.
- Temperatures at dropoff will be recorded.
- The parent/guardian will be asked to confirm that the child does not have a fever, shortness of breath or cough, and that the child has not taken any medication within the last 24 hours.
- Teachers will make a visual inspection of the child for signs of illness which could include flushed cheeks, red eyes, rapid breathing or difficulty breathing (without recent physical activity), fatigue, or extreme fussiness.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) is not needed during wellness checks
- Thermometers will be sanitized after each use.

5. Healthy Hand Hygiene Behavior:

All children, staff, and volunteers should engage in hand hygiene at the following times:

Arrival to the facility and after breaks
Before and after preparing food or drinks
Before and after eating or handling food, or feeding children
Before and after administering medication or medical ointment
Before and after diapering
After using the toilet or helping a child use the bathroom
After coming in contact with bodily fluid
After handling animals or cleaning up animal waste
After playing outdoors or in sand
After handling garbage

Hands are washed with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

If hands are not visibly dirty, alcohol-based hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol will be used if soap and water are not readily available.

Children are supervised when they use hand sanitizer to prevent ingestion.

Children are assisted with hand-washing. After assisting children with hand-washing, staff should also wash their hands.

Click here to sign up for public state-health notifications.

CDC guidelines which state parameters for continued safe operation of schools can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/considerations-for-school-closure.pdf and here https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/guidance-for-schools.html

Here is a link to a Printable, PDF Version of the Waiver

WAIVER/RELEASE FOR COMMUNICABLE DISEASES INCLUDING COVID-19

ASSUMPTION OF RISK / WAIVER OF LIABILITY / INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

In consideration of being allowed to participate on behalf of Ka Hana Pono Daycare and Preschool and related events and activities, the undersigned acknowledges, appreciates, and agrees that:

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 is extremely contagious and is believed to spread mainly from person-to-person contact.

Ka Hana Pono Daycare and Preschool has preventative measures and precautions in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other common illnesses such as influenza and gastroenteritis; however, the school cannot guarantee that you or your child(ren) will not become infected with COVID-19.

By signing this agreement, I acknowledge the contagious nature of COVID-19 and voluntarily assume the risk that my child(ren) and I may be exposed to or infected by COVID-19 by attending the school. I acknowledge that while particular rules and personal discipline may reduce this risk, the risk of serious illness and death does exist; and,

I knowingly and freely assume all such risks, both known and unknown, and I assume full responsibility for my participation; and,

I understand that the risk of becoming exposed to or infected by COVID-19 at the school may result from the actions, omissions, or negligence of myself and others, including, but not limited to, school employees, enrolled children, and their families, visitors and volunteers.

I voluntarily agree to assume all of the foregoing risks and accept sole responsibility for any injury to my child(ren) or myself (including, but not limited to, personal injury, disability, and death), illness, damage, loss, claim, liability, or expense, of any kind, that I or my child(ren) may experience or incur in connection with my child(ren)’s attendance at the school or participation in school programming (“Claims”).

On my behalf, and on behalf of my children, I hereby release, covenant not to sue, discharge, and hold harmless the school, its employees, owners, agents, and representatives, of and from the Claims, including all liabilities, claims, actions, damages, costs or expenses of any kind arising out of or relating thereto.

I understand and agree that this release includes any Claims based on the actions, omissions, or negligence of the school, its employees, agents, and representatives, whether a COVID-19 infection occurs before, during, or after participation in any school program activities.

This is to certify that I, as parent/guardian, with legal responsibility for this participant, have read and explained the provisions in this waiver/release to my child/ward including the risks of presence and participation and his/her personal responsibilities for adhering to the rules and regulations for protection against communicable diseases.

I HAVE READ THIS RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT, AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND ITS TERMS.

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Name(s) of Child(ren) / Participant(s) Date(s) of birth

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Signature of Parent/Guardian Date

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Print Name of Parent/Guardian Printed name of school staff