Dear Families,
First, THANK YOU for all that you continue to do and for your kind words regarding my last communication. I have been working diligently from my home office to get the gears in place to re-open Heartwood to your families during this Peacetime Emergency, and am delighted to inform you that Heartwood will re-open on April 20 to provide child-care for Critical Sector Workers as defined in Governor Walz’s Executive Order 20-33 who perform work that can only be done at a place outside the home. We will continue operating in the following model until further notice.
Beginning April 20, Heartwood will be open from 8am – 4pm, Monday through Friday.
While our staffing structure will have changed during this time, we hope to maintain a familiar daily routine for the children. Notably, following the CDC’s guidance on Best Practices for Social Distancing, while acknowledging that children cannot social distance, we will staff only one adult per group of children in attendance each day. For the remainder of April, the adults on-site will be either Ms. Rochelle or Ms. Asha, and myself. Beginning in May, Julia and Lara will re-enter our on-site staffing rotation.
Children may arrive from 8am – 9am, when we are playing outside. You will walk your child to the back gate, and wait while the attending staff person takes your child’s temperature; any child with a temperature reading greater than 99.4 degrees will not be permitted to attend. No child will be admitted after 9:00am any day & parents will not be permitted inside the school building at any time during this Covid-19 Operating Model.
If you have a child in attendance until noon, we will bring your child to meet you at the back gate.
Otherwise, children will play outside again from 3pm – 4pm. During this time, you will again park in the parking lot and wait for staff to bring your child to the gate for dismissal.
Again, THANK YOU for all you do & for your patience as we put key pieces and players into place to make this happen.
If you hope to access childcare any day(s) April 20 – May 1, please let me know so we can plan accordingly. Likewise, I would appreciate knowing your plans and childcare needs for May. You can RSVP for either or both months HERE.
As always – if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me!
In solidarity,
Emily
heartwoodmontessori.org 