Watchung Hills School Reopening Plan: Masks, COVID Screening

WARREN, NJ — The fall school year is set to start in one week and Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Jewett highlighted some of the things students can expect when they return in-person to the Watchung Hills Regional School District.

"We are looking to make the year as normal as possible despite the fact that we will be in masks," said Jewett at the Aug. 17 meeting.

School days:

• Full days, in-person instruction
• The district is working on offering a virtual or remote option for students who have to quarantine.

Masks:

• All students and staff must wear masks inside school buildings and on school buses.

COVID Screening:

• Parents will be asked to monitor their kids for symptoms of COVID-19.
• There will no longer be temperature kiosks at the district or a COVID intake form.

Lunch:

• Masks are not required when eating but students must wear a mask when waiting in line or purchasing lunch.
• There are designated areas for lunch.

Social distancing:

• Social distancing will be encouraged.
• Classrooms will be spaced as much as they can.

School events:

• The district is evaluating some of the September and October large capacity events such as Back to School events to see if it will be in-person or keep remote.

Vaccinations:

• Teachers, Staff - Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order on Monday stating that all pre-K-12 school personnel must be vaccinated or undergo regular testing for COVID-19 at least once or twice a week. Read More: NJ Teachers, State Employees Must Be Vaccinated Or Face Testing

"Personally and professionally I am very much looking forward to having all of our students and staff back in September," said Jewett.

She noted, "it's very heartening to see the life around the building" as students began fall sports a the school.

"It's nice to drive to school in the morning and see all of the activity as opposed to last year at this time when we had no idea if school was starting and it was so desolate," said Jewett.

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