SBTAG Covid-19 Updates Page

SBTAG COVID-19 updates 

Check this site regularly for updates, links, and important information regarding Sha'arei Bina's efforts and policies to ensure a safe, healthy, learning environment as we resume live learning in the 2020-2021 academic school year.
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12/3/2020

Pre-Chanukah Update (with updated protocols)

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​Dear Parents, Faculty and Students:

Here in South Florida we are experiencing a major uptick in serious Covid-19 cases. At the same time the CDC regulations are changing to reflect perhaps newer information regarding the spread of the disease.

Today in school, we sent home a number of students who were exposed to a primary Covid carrier. We hope and pray that no one will be affected by having come in contact with this student.

However we are once again imploring you the adults to be abundantly cautious in exposing your children, our girls, to even the slightest risk of contagion.

To that end we are reminding you that if ANY MEMBER OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD feels ill enough to warrant taking the Covid test - please keep your children home until you know that you are negative and/or your children are negative. It is irresponsible to send a child to school if a parent or staff member even thinks that maybe they ave Covid. Better be safe than sorry.

As we are approaching Chanuka, given that we will also have a longer Chanuka weekend, please do not have large social gatherings ( more than 15 people in a closed space) other than the members of your own household. We know we have to give up on some of the joy of getting together but we survived Pesach, we can survive Chanuka as well.
As for winter break, if you are traveling bear in mind that the entire school will be zooming in the week after and everyone wil need to be tested prior to returning. We have tried to set-up Covid testing in school for your convenience but unfortunately less than 15 people signed up.

Bar Mitzvah/Bat Mitzvah /Weddings are all wonderful smachot and part of the Jewish life cycle. We do not ask you to forgo the celebration but rather do so in accord with the social distancing, mask wearing and quarantining protocols. If your child is the celebrant and you have guests then your child has to isolate for a minimum of 5 days, get tested on the 6th before returning to school. Any student of SBTAG who attends someone else's social gathering they too will have to follow the schools social gathering protocols.

We are asking for your full cooperation, as we have been receiving all along.
We know that you share with us the desire to keep the school building open, students coming in happily and healthily and b'ezrat Hashem , we will continue to do so.
As always if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to speak with a member of the administration.
Thank you, stay safe, sane and healthy

SBTAG Administration

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12/3/2020

Covid Protocols Update

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As per new CDC guidelines, if someone has been exposed to somebody with Covid, and the person exposed does not exhibit symptoms, the individual must quarantine for seven days, instead of 14.

Remember - 
If someone travels, or is at a social event indoors for more than 15 minutes, they must quarantine for six days.

Please refer to the Covid Decision-making Tree for more information regarding when to quarantine.

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11/3/2020

Decision-Making Tree

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10/13/2020

Returning to School After Yomtov

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Dear SBTAG Family and Staff:
 
We hope you all have enjoyed a healthy and fun-filled Sukkot.  As we are entering into the last days of Yom Tov, especially with Simchat Torah being a time of  expressing our joy in shul,  we want to implore you to take every precaution necessary to prevent the further spread of the Corona Virus. 
SBTAG regards the safety of our students and staff as the utmost priority. We also understand the importance of V'samachta B'Chagecha - enjoying the holidays. For everyone's sake, we are strongly requesting that you remain local and be vigilant, allowing us to continue our successful in-person learning. Please make your holiday plans accordingly.
Anyone who traveled outside of Florida -especially to the tri-state area (NY/NJ/Conn)- is required to quarantine for 14 days upon return. No student or staff member will be allowed to enter our building until their required quarantine period is completed.  All students and staff, whether they remained at home or not, are required to show proof of negative Covid testing taken no earlier than Thursday October, 15th.  

As a reminder-  we are instituting a closure of our building from October 12-October 19th.  However, classes will resume on October 13th for all students on Zoom as per the student's regular schedule. PSAT's and SAT's have been rescheduled for the last week of October.
 
At all times, SBTAG students and families are highly discouraged from attending large social gatherings such as bar/bat Mitzvahs, weddings, or other large-scale social events. These types of gatherings place the safety of the school community we have worked so hard to establish, and our entire community at serious risk. Please understand that failure to follow public health guidelines is also a failure to follow SBTAG policies, as outlined on our Covid Response Site.
 
Any family member of a SBTAG student in attendance of an event that by Sha'arei Bina's administration's determination violates health guidelines, is an unacceptable risk. Families engaging in such dangerous behaviors may result in students being removed from in-person learning or subject to disciplinary actions from the school. Anyone who may have been in close contact with a positive case at an event must stay home and alert the school's administration (rbrand@shaareibina.org, office@shaareibina.org). In most cases, quarantine is only precautionary, however, it significantly protects our school community and the community at large.
 
It is critical that we do not become complacent and let our guard down as the chagim draw to an end. Yeshivot across the nation have closed either entirely or partially due to the continued outbreak. Together, we urge all community members to adhere to these universal guidelines, which apply for all community members, even those who have developed antibodies.
 
Families must not host guests other than family members to sleep at their homes.
Students must remain home with their families throughout the chagim.
When students or adults gather together, they must always be socially distanced, masked and outdoors and never in large groups. Parents must provide constant supervision. We have seen that although it is not natural for students to socially distance, when reminded to do so, they comply.
Students must be in their home communities for Simchat Torah.
If anyone in the household is under quarantine, even out of precaution, the family may not host social gatherings, even outdoors.
Meals that include guests from other families must only be held outdoors and socially distanced.
 
Please refer to our Covid Response Site for detailed information on our policies of returning to school.
Please see the schedule below for the updated calendar. 
 
Only with your partnership can we expect to remain open for in-person learning. It is our sincere prayer that everyone remains healthy and safe.
 
We wish all Sha'arei Bina Families a Chag Sameach, a Gut Kvitel,

                                   The SBTAG Administration and Medical Advisory Board
 
 
******************************************************************************************************************
Reminder! 
 
Classes for all students resume on October 13th . HOWEVER, the school building will be closed until October 19th.  ALL CLASSES FOR ALL STUDENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED REMOTELY.  This will allow enough time for proper quarantining after the likely socializing that may happen during the holidays.  All students and staff must provide proof of Negative results of Covid testing,  no earlier than Thursday October 15th.  
 
If you have any questions or concerns please email RBrand@shaareibina.org (Dr. Brand) or the school, office@shaareibina.org 

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10/2/2020

Important Sukkot Message from the SBTAG Rabbinic Advisory Board

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9/18/2020

Pre-Rosh Hashanah Update

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Dear SBTAG Family and Staff:
 
With gratitude to Hashem we are blessed to be completing our third week of school. From the start we have not taken the Covid pandemic lightly. A great deal of planning and hard work went into ensuring our ability to open our doors after our six-month hiatus. We have invested significant amounts of time, funding, and resources to provide both in-person and remote learning and growth opportunities while keeping our students and staff safe. Seeing how happy our students are to be back with their friends and learning in a safe environment is exhilarating.
 
In South Florida there has been little abatement in the number of Covid cases. We must be ever vigilant to protect ourselves, our families, and our friends, so that we can curb the onslaught of the virus. Masks and Social Distancing must always be adhered to. We turn to you to be our partners in this endeavor. Sha'arei Bina has done quite a bit to ensure health and safety within our buildings but staying open will only be possible with your partnership, vigilantly following all CDC guidelines outside school as well.
 
The chagim are typically a time for families and friends to come together in shul and at home. Celebrations, outings during Chol Hamoed, even Simchas Torah, now must be rethought and replanned. We are depending on you, our Sha'arei Bina family, to take your individual responsibilities seriously so that we may help keep our community healthy. We implore the entire SBTAG community to continue social distancing and mask wearing.
 
SBTAG regards the safety of our students and staff as the utmost priority. We also understand the importance of V'samachta B'Chagecha - enjoying the holidays. For everyone's sake, we are strongly requesting that you remain local and be vigilant, allowing us to continue our successful in-person learning. Please make your holiday plans accordingly. Anyone traveling outside of Florida will be required to quarantine for 14 days upon return. No student or staff member will be allowed to enter our building until their required quarantine period is completed. To that end we are instituting a total closure of our building from October 12-October 19th. However, classes will resume on October 13th for all students on Zoom as per the student's regular schedule. PSAT's and SAT's have been rescheduled for the last week of October. (Please see calendar events at the end of this message).
 
At all times, SBTAG students and families are highly discouraged from attending large social gatherings such as bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings, or other large-scale social events. These types of gatherings place the safety of the school community which we have worked so hard to establish, and our entire community, at serious risk. Please understand that failure to follow public health guidelines is also a failure to follow SBTAG policies, as outlined on our Covid Response Site.
 
Any family member of a SBTAG student in attendance of an event that by Sha'arei Bina's administration's determination violates health guidelines, is an unacceptable risk. Families engaging in such dangerous behaviors may result in students being removed from in-person learning or subject to disciplinary actions from the school. Anyone who may have been in close contact at an event with a "positive case person"  must stay home and alert the school's administration (rbrand@shaareibina.org, office@shaareibina.org). In most cases, quarantine is only precautionary; however, it significantly protects our school community and the community at large.
 
It is critical that we do not become complacent and let our guard down as the chagim approach. Yeshivot across the nation have closed either entirely or partially due to the continued outbreak. Together, we urge all community members to adhere to these universal guidelines, even those who have developed antibodies. 
 
Families must not host guests other than family members to sleep at their homes.

Students must remain home with their families throughout the chagim.

When students or adults gather together, they must always be socially distanced, masked and outdoors and never in large groups. Parents must provide constant supervision. We have seen that although it is not natural for students to socially distance, when reminded to do so, they comply.

Students must be in their home communities for Simchat Torah.

If anyone in the household is under quarantine, even out of precaution, the family may not host social gatherings, even outdoors.

Meals that include guests from other families must only be held outdoors and socially distanced.

 
Please refer to our Covid Response Site for detailed information on our policies of returning to school.
Please see the schedule below for the (tentative) plans for the month of Tishrei (Sept. 18- Oct. 19).
 
Only with your partnership can we expect to remain open for in-person learning. It is our sincere prayer that everyone remains healthy and safe.
 
We wish all Sha'arei Bina Families a Happy and a Healthy, a Sweet and a Peaceful New Year.
 
The SBTAG Administration and Medical Advisory Board
 
 
****************************************************************
School Schedule for the Month of Tishrei:
Friday, September 18th - Erev Rosh Hashanah - NO sessions

Rosh Hashanah is Shabbat and Sunday
 
Monday, September 21st - Tsom Gedalya - the School building will be closed for all students, Middle School and High School alike. However, we will have a special Tsom Gedalya program (attendance for students is mandatory) beginning with Tefillat Shacharit at 9 a.m. followed by Tehillim taking place entirely on ZOOM. The details of the program will be explained after davening. School will be dismissed at noon.
 
On Tuesday, September 22nd, we invite the Ninth Grade back to our building for classes. Room 14 is the  designated room for 9th grade. Please check your schedules for your locker numbers. Those students who have chosen to learn remotely will be able to have access, as previously, through Zoom. The teachers will be conducting classes on site. (Middle School continues as before). Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth grade remain home for remote learning.
 
Regular schedule of classes during Aseret Yemei Teshuva up until and including Friday September 25th. Monday, September 28th is Yom Kippur.  
 
6-9th grades have classes in the building until erev Sukkot (From 9/29-10/1) .
 
We break for Sukkot from October 2nd - October 12th.
Classes for all students resume on October 13th.  HOWEVER, the school building will be closed until October 19th. ALL CLASSES FOR ALL STUDENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED REMOTELY. This will allow enough time for proper quarantining after the likely socializing that may happen during the holidays.

If you have any questions or concerns, please send and email to rbrand@shaareibina.org.
 

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9/11/2020

Travel and Social Distancing Policy UPDATE

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As we look ahead to the High Holidays (Yamim Noraim) and Sukkot we realize that some families may take this opportunity to unite with family and friends, locally and out-of-state.   As a school we want to plan ahead to avoid any possible upsurge in the spread of the Covid- 19 virus.  However, we need everyone's full cooperation with the understanding that as a community we are all responsible for each other.   In light of recent studies it appears that Covid-19 is a life-threatening disease in people of all ages,"Social distancing, facial coverings and other approaches to prevent transmission are as important in young adults as in older people," JAMA Intern Med. Published online September 9, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.5415    

We urge you to please read our updated Travel and Social Distancing Policy which can be found here as well as on our Covid Response Site. 

Your health and safety are our number one priority! 

Rochelle Brand, Ed.D, Head of School
The SBTAG Administration and The Medical Advisory Board

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9/7/2020

Open Letter to the Jewish Community

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Dear Parents, Faculty, and Friends,

The following letter was recently published in the Jewish Press and a number of other newspapers.  While the letter is addressed to the Jewish Community in the 5 Towns, We believe it applies equally to our Jewish Community here in South Florida.   As we are approaching the Yom Tovim and thoughts of gatherings with family and guests are anticipated we wanted to bring to your attention that as a precaution we will be asking ANYONE who goes out of State or attends a large gathering (bar/bat mitzvah, wedding), without properly socially distancing, to self-quarantine for a minimum of 10-14 days.  Further details will be added to our Covid Blog.  

Here is the letter (without the signature of the close to 150 doctors). We urge you to read it in its entirety. 

"We are writing to express our unanimous medical opinion regarding our community's actions and attitudes towards the Covid-19 pandemic.  Our consensus group includes physicians from a variety of specialties.  We wish to express our clear and concerted support for some positions that we feel are medically indisputable:

1) Covid-19 remains a clear and present danger.  After a quiet summer, cases are now on the rise, specifically in our community.  Covid-19 is not a political issue, nor is it old news.  If our goal is to keep shuls and schools open and our neighborhood stores in business, we need to recognize that the uptick demands that we take it seriously and follow appropriate precautions.

2) People who have a positive test, recent exposure or who have been in a region requiring quarantine need to strictly uphold the quarantine without exception, including for shul and school.  In questions of doubt regarding exposure, we should attempt to be stringent, not lenient.  (Travel from states on the New York State designated travel advisory list or known Covid-19 exposure requires a 14-day quarantine period)

In the event of a positive Covid-19 test, an individual is required to isolate for at minimum 10 days, or longer based on the duration of symptoms. The quarantine regulations are not suggestions, they are absolute requirements.  Violating them will undoubtedly lead to accelerated community spread and puts lives at real risk.  People should be in close contact with their physicians regarding any Covid-related concerns.

3) Masking to prevent Covid-19 infection has a strong evidence base that is agreed upon by the overwhelming majority of doctors and public health experts. There is no credible evidence that masks have any risks for those who wear them. They are most effective when worn both by those who have the virus and those at risk of catching it. 

Wearing a mask is not just about one's personal choice, but also about not spreading the virus to others in the event of asymptomatic or early infection. Masks should not have a breathing valve or vent, since these expose others to potential infection. Masks with breathing valves are for protecting the wearer from environmental dust and debris and not meant for infection control.

4) Local schools and yeshivot have invested substantial effort into formulating safe plans to allow schools to open and remain open.  The details of these plans may vary, but the medical advisory boards have done their utmost to ensure schools can stay open safely. By helping their children adhere to these new rules, parents can play an integral role in enabling in-person school to continue.

5) As current contact tracing evidence has shown, many of the new cases of infection have arisen from large gatherings (weddings, bar and bat mitzvah, concerts ...) where social distancing and/or mask wearing was not strictly observed.   While we pray that we should know of happy occasions, these must be celebrated according to a "new norm" and in a fashion that will cause the least risk of community transmission.  Large gatherings are best kept to a small number of people, outdoors if possible, with social distancing and mask rules applied. More information can be found at

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/COVID19-events-gatherings-readiness-and-planning-tool.pdf  (search: social gatherings).

Finally, biomedical research is a body of knowledge like any other.  Interpreting it requires knowledge of medicine and understanding of statistics.  Assuming that someone has thoroughly researched a position based on their reading a popular summary or even an abstract alone can lead to erroneous and dangerous conclusions.

You trust us to take care of you when you are sick and at your most vulnerable, and in life and death decisions. You trust us to deliver your babies, treat your children, manage your chronic conditions, and fix your fractures.  We collectively request that you trust us in this, as well.

Best wishes for a safe and healthy New Year.  Shana Tova! 

Rochelle Brand, Ed.D
Head of School 

SBTAG Administration

SBTAG Medical Advisory Board 

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8/25/2020

CDC Decision-Making Guide

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The CDC has published a document with a plethora of information for parents regarding making decisions on school-related matters.  It can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/decision-tool.html

Note two recent updates by the CDC:
August 21 the CDC revised its travel guidance and dropped its strict travel guidance that persons returning from out of country or cruise ship travel self-isolate for 14 days.  It’s recommended to read the full guidance.

August 24 the CDC revised its guidance to greatly reduce the situations in which an asymptomatic person should be tested.  There are still exceptions, especially for those asymptomatic individuals who are medically vulnerable and those who spend a lot of time around medically vulnerable individuals.  It’s recommended to read the full guidance.

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8/19/2020

Daily Home Screening Tool

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