In light of the Coronavirus pandemic, Old First Nursery School has made adjustments to our program to ensure the health and safety of our students, families, and wider community. As a member of the Brooklyn Coalition of Early Childhood Programs, we had access to the Quality Stars training that provided reopening guidance based on CDC and NYC Department of Health guidelines. Both the parent board and teachers worked together to implement best practices based on this training.
We are spending even more time outdoors in our large garden. OFNS students have always used our outdoor space for running, playing, and climbing, and now they are also painting, drawing, sculpting, reading, measuring, and more, all while enjoying our beautiful outdoor space.
In addition to our welcoming classroom space, we are lucky to have access to a large indoor space. The beautiful upper hall of the church has high ceilings, wooden floors, and plenty of room to spread out. Students enjoy the indoor climbing structure, games, books, and art activities when the weather requires them to be indoors.
Arrival and departure procedures have been adjusted to take place at the entrance to our beautiful outdoor space. We have found that our outdoor garden dropoff has helped to facilitate a gentle separation for children and their caregivers upon arrival at school.
OFNS has always been committed to handwashing and students are familiar with washing their hands upon arrival, before snack and lunch time, and after using the bathroom. This year, we have also added portable hand washing bottles that can be used for additional hand washing while children are outdoors. Hand sanitizer is available in all areas of the school, both indoors and outdoors.
OFNS does not currently require mask use. At the height of the pandemic, OFNS adopted a mask-aspiring policy when outdoors in the garden and a mask-on policy when students were indoors. Teachers gave the students safe and ample mask breaks throughout the day, and masks were not worn during nap time or while eating per CDC and NYC DOH guidance.
The school is cleaned three times per week by a professional cleaner per CDC and NYC DOH guidance.
To read our full Covid-19 Health and Safety Plan Addendum, please click here.