Nurses Notes: Rising Cases

Good Day VIMSIA Families - The VI Department of Health reports a concerning rise in COVID-19 cases on St. Thomas.  Despite vaccination efforts, we are still dealing with the potential for infection and transmission within our community.  I want to take this opportunity to ask that we all step up to do our part to keep ourselves, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and family members safe! 

Please adhere to the VIMSIA Covid Honor Code and the VI Government's mandates.  Even if you are vaccinated, it is still possible to contract and transmit COVID-19 unknowingly.  It is important to keep safe distancing, handwashing, and mask protocols when in public places.  Ask other members of your "pod" to do the same.  

If your child is experiencing moderate to severe cold symptoms (runny nose, sore throat, cough, with or without fever), please keep them home from school until the symptoms have resolved. 

For those 12 years of age and older who have not yet been vaccinated, we at VIMSIA strongly encourage you to consider doing so as soon as possible.  The closer the territory gets to herd immunity, the less chance of having spikes, as we see now.  You can schedule your appointment with your own medical provider, or go to https://www.covid19.usvi.care/... to schedule with the VI DOH. 

Please know that VIMSIA continues to prioritize the health and safety of our students, teachers, and families while making every attempt for everyone to safely enjoy pre-Covid activities such as Prom, Graduation, End Session, and Musicales.  We appreciate everyone's commitment to helping us reach our goals and end our school year COVID-FREE!

Nurse's Notes: Masks

Hello VIMSIA Families! I am pleased to report there remains NO staff or students under quarantine due to active or close contact with Covid-19. A REMINDER to please be sure your child(ren) come to school with a SPARE mask! We want to be sure everyone has a replacement available if a mask becomes soiled or wet.

As a courtesy to our teachers and staff assisting with arrival and departure, we respectfully ask that parents wear masks in the car when offloading or onboarding your child(ren). However, If you need to get out of your car for any reason during this time, wearing a mask IS absolutely required in accordance with our Covid protocols. We appreciate your cooperation and adherence to these requests! Have a safe and enjoyable weekend!

Nurse's Notes: Bubbles...and overlapping Bubbles...what does this mean in a Covid world??

Bubbles...and overlapping Bubbles...what does this mean in a Covid world??

By now, we have all heard of the term “bubbles” to refer to our own personal pods of household members or close friends whom we consider to be “safe” to interact within close quarters. 

But here’s the thing about Covid Bubbles...We all have multiple bubbles, and they can overlap with each other.  Think about this: Adults have a home bubble, a social bubble, and maybe a work bubble, even a gym bubble.  Kids have a home, social, and school bubble.  Maybe some kids from school are also in their home/social bubble, but there are other kids in that bubble who are NOT in the school bubble.  Same with the grown-ups.  

The other thing is that, like real bubbles, Covid bubbles are penetrable.  They can “pop” easily. And all it takes is one overlapping bubble to pop a multitude of other bubbles.  This is what we see right now happening in our community.  And it does pose a threat to our ability to maintain a Covid free campus at VIMSIA.  

Holiday time in a Covid world is proving to be tough to navigate.  Nobody wants to miss visiting our loved ones or missing out on celebrating an event.  It is our human nature to desire to gather together and socialize.  Parents, teachers, students are all being forced to consider their actions within the community, knowing the consequences that could arise and affect others in their various bubbles.  At VIMSIA, we care for our entire community's wellbeing but have a special obligation to our “School Bubble.”  It takes commitment from ALL of us to prevent our school bubble from being “popped.”

So please - do your part, play your role in protecting ALL of your Bubbles.  Comply with mask-wearing, sanitizing, social distancing, and don’t get lax, even if you think you are safe.  Because as we are finding out, Covid-19 knows how to break all the rules.  We are all going through many disappointments this year. As someone said to me today, “There is nothing about Covid that doesn’t suck”!  Let’s support each other to get through these times to continue to provide on-campus learning, stay healthy, and be together next year for the celebrations that we all love.

Yours in Health, 

Nurse Sally

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Nurse's Notes: General Updates

Good Day VIMSIA families! A reminder to keep up your hand-washing and mask-wearing! Colds and Flu are transmitted the same way Covid is - let's stay vigilant to keep ourselves and families safe and healthy! PLEASE be sure your child/ren's masks are clean and fit well when coming to school. Last but not least, be sure you get your Flu Shots - 'Tis the Season!!

More news:

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. Did you know that diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in school-age youth in the United States, affecting about 193,000 youth under 20 years old? You can find out more from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Nurse's Notes: Mask Compliance and Safety!

Good Day Parents!  We at VIMSIA are very proud of the efforts by all to keep our campus safe and COVID-free.  However, it is of utmost importance that we do NOT let down our guard!  We have seen some students on campus recently with ill-fitting and/or vented masks, even Buffs.  We are following CDC guidelines for our mask policy that can be found at this link.  We ask for your cooperation to help us maintain a safe environment for our students and staff by following these guidelines:

• Be sure the mask fits!  If the mask cannot stay above the nose or cover the chin, or the ear loops get loose, please replace it with a better fitting mask!  

• Carry a Spare!  Kids get sweaty running around - please send a spare mask just in case it is needed.

• NO Vented Masks and NO Buffs - this is our policy per CDC guidelines

Students arriving on campus without a compliant mask will be given a disposable, approved mask to wear - however, we expect and appreciate your cooperation to provide adequate facial coverings for your child(ren).  For those of you with little ones, disposable child size masks can be purchased at Medicine Shoppe in Havensight.  Thank you for doing your part for a safe and healthy VIMSIA campus.  

And don't forget - get your flu shots too!  'Tis the Season!

Yours in Health, 

Nurse Sally

Nurse's Notes: Great Shake Out

Hello VIMSIA Families and Staff!  The entire school will have education and drills for our Safety and Emergency Preparedness Week scheduled for the week of October 26.  In addition to fire safety and drills, we are participating in the Earthquake Country Alliances annual "Great Shake Out" program for earthquake preparedness.  We encourage families and staff to visit www.ShakeOut.org for more information and be ready to "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" to support our school's response and recovery efforts in the event of a major earthquake! 

Nurses Now: Staying Safe in the Rain

We’ve had a lot of rain this week, making our ramps and pavements slippery.  Whether you are on or off-campus, be sure to take care when walking to prevent injuries from slipping and falling!

You can reduce the risk of slipping on wet ramps and pavement by:

• taking your time and paying attention to where you are going

• adjusting your stride to a pace that is suitable for the walking surface and the tasks you are doing

• avoid running - especially on upward or downward hills/pathways

• walking with the toes pointed slightly outward

• making wide turns at corners

• bending slightly forward to center your gravity and keeping your hands free from pockets or holding objects

Nurses Notes: Mask Storage

Who hasn't had trouble finding where they left their mask in the house when running out the door? Can't tell whose is whose? Found its way to the bottom of a purse, or hanging from the rearview mirror?  This is a common scenario for us as we adjust to the new normal in a COVID-19 world.  Here are some tips for keeping your family's masks clean, handy, and ready to go with you!

• Mark a quart-size Ziploc bag with your name, and one for each household member, and keep the mask in the bag when not in use.

• Create a designated space in the house for masks to be stored - ideally a small table or shelf near the entrance

• If you're creative, a "DIY" project can make coat hooks into "mask hooks" with a hook for each family member, so the masks don't get mixed up