A Commitment to Health and Safety

Dear Parents,

This will be a year like no other at Trinity-Pawling. Collectively, we will be working to navigate the turbulent and uncertain waters of this pandemic. At the risk of mixing metaphors, we will be building a bridge between what school life was like before last spring and what school life will be like once there is a vaccine for COVID-19. 

During the course of this year, there will be tremendous reliance on the need to build and nurture the common good of the overall school community. Sacrifices must be made to our individual desires in order to strengthen the common good in the face of the COVID-19.

Now more than ever, the partnership between School and  home is tremendously important. In the spirit of this partnership, I would like for you to read and discuss the following information with your son before he returns to campus. Additionally, each student must electronically sign the Pride Pledge before returning to school at www.trinitypawling.org/pride-pledge. I ask that you and your son read the following information and have a discussion of what is required of each community member before he signs the Pledge and returns to campus. 

While the year will bring forth its challenges, I am confident that it will also be a time when our individual and collective resilience will grow. I am also confident that the reliance on the common good of the community will lead to strengthened relationships, enhanced mutuality, and personal growth as we navigate the waters ahead. 

I look forward to embarking on this journey with you. Onward!

William W. Taylor, Headmaster
 

About the Pride Pandemic Pledge

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. As a community, we must be aware of the contagious nature of COVID-19 and the health risks associated with contracting it. 

The following Social Health Contract is a commitment between all Trinity-Pawling community members. It is designed to provide a foundation for the health, safety, and well-being of the entire School community. Core health and safety principles from the State of New York State and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drive the School’s policies, outlined below.

This commitment will be essential to the health of our community as we navigate the Fall Term and beyond. It will require each community member (student, faculty, and staff) to comply with specific on-campus health protocols and mitigation strategies. We will ask all community members, including Day Students, to avoid high-risk activities and interactions that could negatively impact the health of our campus.

We will continue to diligently monitor several other contributing factors, including the pervasiveness of the disease in our immediate area. Our parents, students, faculty, and staff will receive initial and ongoing education concerning the prevention measures, strategies to limit exposure, and high-risk activities/behaviors.

It is also important to note that factors may likely change over time and that this contract may be amended. The health and safety of our entire community will depend on each of us doing our part to minimize the risk and exposure. 

Students, it is important to emphasize that you will be required to comply with specific mitigation standards during the academic year. These requirements, outlined below, are related to efforts to prevent the introduction or spread of COVID-19 within the School community. There will also be clear education concerning these standards and consequences for repeated violations of these conditions. Those students joining the community remotely will be expected to abide by the standards for remote learning at Trinity-Pawling, including following the Remote Learning Honor Code.
 

Health and Safety Protocols

The following are the required actions of all students, faculty, and staff members at Trinity-Pawling:

• Conduct daily self-health checks (using the Parent Square mobile application) to report specific health symptoms
• Adhere to safe social distancing precautions (6 feet)
• Avoid all physical contact with others (e.g. no shaking hands or hugging)
• Wear a mask when inside any campus building and when social distancing cannot be maintained. A student does not need to wear a mask while in his dorm room if he is alone or with his roommate. 
• Follow all hygiene standards outlined by the School, including hand washing and laundry procedures
• Campus Leaves: if a student or employee leaves campus for any reason, he/she will take steps to minimize exposure by avoiding high-risk activities, as defined by the School.
• Day Students will be required to avoid high-risk behaviors such as visiting congested areas and/or congregating with groups greater than 10.
• All students and employees will be required to test in accordance with the School’s COVID-19 testing requirements.

The School understands there will be an adjustment period to these new procedures and that there might be an instance when a student does not remember to practice a COVID-19-related procedure or practice. However, repeated or willful violations of COVID-19 procedures by a student presents a health and safety issue to the entire Trinity-Pawling community. The consequences for repeated COVID-19 procedure violations will include on-campus consequences including Saturday night study halls and Sunday work hours. If a student continues to be non-compliant with the community standards, he will be sent home to continue his studies remotely until a date determined by the School. We appreciate the patience and cooperation of all Trinity-Pawling community members.