Requirements for the First Day of School
- Will students need a negative COVID-19 test before attending their first day of school?
- Will the school offer COVID-19 testing on-campus for this purpose?
- How does pooled testing work?
- Can my student be tested at an external testing facility instead?
- Will rapid Antigen tests be accepted?
- Will my child need to show their test result at the door on September 1, 2021?
- What other health documentation should be submitted before school starts?
- Will students be required to have a COVID-19 vaccine?
- Will ISB Faculty and Staff be required to have a COVID-19 vaccine?
- How do I complete the Back to School Agreement?
- Will a Magnus App daily attestation be required again this year?
- Will there be an Orientation Day?
Will students need a negative COVID-19 test before attending their first day at school?
Yes. All students, even those fully vaccinated for COVID-19, will need to provide a negative PCR test performed no earlier than 72 hours before the first day of school on Wednesday September 1st, 2021 (test must be done either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday). Please understand that, for the safety of our community, no student will be allowed to start school without a negative test result. All Faculty & Staff will also be tested at school before they come back on campus.
Students arriving from overseas should plan to take a PCR test no earlier than four days after arrival in the USA.
Will the school offer COVID-19 testing on-campus for this purpose?
Yes, there will be free PCR pooled testing at school for all students on Monday, August 30th, 2021
Where: Church Hall basement (near the gymnasium parking lot - signage will be displayed. We ask that you wear a mask in the Church Hall, regardless of your vaccination status.
When: Monday August 30th, 2021, 9am-3pm
Who is eligible: Any student enrolled at ISB, regardless of their vaccination status. (Students arriving from overseas should plan to take a PCR test no earlier than four days after arrival in the USA). Consent forms will be available onsite. Alternatively, you can print, sign and bring the form with you, or email a signed copy to Isabelle Praud.
Who should not participate: Any individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days should be excluded from pooled testing (please contact Isabelle Praud in this case). Also, if you suspect your child may have been exposed to COVID-19, the School recommends you obtain an individual PCR test at an external testing facility (see below).
Cost: Free of charge. No sign-up required.
Pooled testing involves mixing 10 test samples together in a “pool” and then testing the pooled sample with a PCR test for detection of COVID-19. Pooled testing is highly effective in identifying positive cases in areas with low transmission, which is currently the case in Massachusetts. This approach increases the number of individuals who can be tested using the same amount of resources as a single PCR test. Collected specimens are delivered to approved laboratories via same-day delivery, and results are returned within 24 hours to the School (not to the individual being tested).
The test is performed with a non-invasive anterior nasal swab. Pooled testing will be administered at school by onsite test specimen collectors from Cataldo Ambulance Service Inc. For students in grades 2 and up, the test can be conducted by self-administration under appropriate supervision and at the discretion of the trained observer. This limits the amount of PPE required for testing administrators and enables testing to be done more quickly.
Test results:
- The School will email parents/guardians on Tuesday August 31st, 2021 to inform them of the test results.
- If a pooled test result is negative, then all individuals within that pool are presumed negative. The pool testing results will be communicated directly to the school, with no further action required on the part of the families, unless the pool test comes back positive.
- If a pooled test result is positive, then all individuals in the pool must quarantine until they are retested individually. Parents of students included in a positive pool will need to retest their child at an external facility at their own cost. PCR or Antigen tests will be accepted and the result should be emailed to Isabelle Praud before the student can start school.
Can my student be tested at an external testing facility instead?
Yes. If your student does not participate in the pooled testing organized at school, you can obtain an individual PCR test at external facilities. The student will need a negative PCR test performed no earlier than 72 hours before the first day of school on Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 (ie. Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday). If your student is tested on Tuesday, you may not get the result in time for the first day of school. Students arriving from overseas should plan to take a PCR test no earlier than four days after arrival in the USA.
Please email the individual test results to Isabelle Praud. Testing sites can be found here.
Will rapid Antigen tests be accepted?
Unfortunately, Antigen rapid tests, such as Abbott BinaxNOW, will not be accepted for this first round. .
Will my child need to show their test result at the door on September 1st, 2021?
No. On the first day of school, door monitors will have access to the test result information that was submitted. If a test result has not been submitted, the student will not be allowed to start school without a negative PCR test result.
What other health documentation should be submitted before school starts?
Like every year, students will not be able to start school without submitting the required health and immunization forms. If your healthcare providers cannot schedule an immunization visit before the start of school, please consult with them about other options to ensure timely immunizations of your children. Also, please note that the School will require all students to get a flu vaccine by December 2021.
Will students be required to have a COVID-19 vaccine?
At the time of this communication, there are no COVID-19 vaccine requirements for students, even though the School strongly recommends it for all eligible students, following a consultation with a healthcare provider. Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. It is possible that COVID-19 vaccine requirements may be introduced by the State or by the School at a later date and if so, we will promptly notify all families. Here, as with any other vaccination requirement, students would be able to seek a medical or religious exemption.
If your student is already vaccinated against COVID-19, we kindly ask that you email a copy of the COVID-19 vaccination proof to the School Nurse Maeve Glynn Hermida.
Will ISB Faculty and Staff be required to have a COVID-19 vaccine?
The School requires all faculty, staff, and coaches to be fully vaccinated by August 24, 2021, and will work with third parties to ensure a maximum number of contractors is also vaccinated. Unvaccinated contractors will be required to wear a mask.
How do I complete the Back to School Agreement?
For the upcoming school year, we will again be using Magnus Health App for completing the Return to School Agreement prior to the first day of school.
RETURNING families: the login information for Magnus and the process are the same as last school year unless you are adding a new child; if so, see instructions below for new families to add your child.
NEW families: here are detailed instructions on how to download and use the Magnus Health App. Please note Magnus provides a step-by-step instructional video when you log in.
Please follow these steps to get started.
- Log into your Parent Portal and click "Your Student Academic Info".
- Click on the Magnus Health orange banner at the top.
- Log into Magnus Health using the same credentials as the Parent Portal.
- Change your username and password as prompted.
- Download the "Magnus Mobile V2" app from the Apple Store or the Google Play store.
- Access the Mobile App from your smartphone and enter your new username/password combination.
- Click on the Student Health Tracker icon (ignore the other icons other than COVID-19, they are deactivated).
- Read and sign the Return to School Agreement before Tuesday, August 31st, 2021.
- You can also sign the Agreement on the Parent Portal under the Magnus Health banner.
Will a Magnus App daily attestation be required again this year?
Yes. This kind of screening process will help us create the safest possible environment for your students and our Faculty & Staff by avoiding screenings at the door where person-to-person transmissions could take place.
Starting Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 (accessible ONLY through the Magnus Mobile V2 app)
- All ISB students, even those fully vaccinated, will be required to complete a daily health screening before leaving home for school. We ask that the screening be completed no later than 7:30 AM (or 6:30 AM for students using ISB buses) each day. If they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, they should not come to school, and they should inform our nurse.
- It is critical to stay home when feeling sick and seek testing and care.
- Any fully vaccinated person who experiences symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, and be tested if indicated.
- Upon completing the COVID-19 symptom check from your smartphone through the Magnus Health App, you will receive a "GO" message if cleared to enter the campus, and this "GO" screen must be presented in order to enter the buildings each day. Students who arrive at school without completing the daily health screening will not be able to enter the campus, and their parents will be notified.
- Students using our bus service should complete the screening before 6:30 AM before they board the bus.
- Vendors and visitors will also be required to fill in the attestation.
- RETURNING families: the login information for Magnus and the process are the same as last school year unless you are adding a new child; if so, see instructions below for new families to add your child.
- NEW families: see detailed instructions on how to download and use the Magnus Health App here.
- School’s personnel will be available in front of the school to assist you with Magnus on August 31st, 2021 afternoon during Orientation and at drop-off on September 1st-2nd, 2021.
Again, here are detailed instructions for downloading and using the Magnus Health App.
Will there be an Orientation Day?
Yes. Orientation will take place by division on Tuesday August 31st, 2021 on campus.
- Elementary School division (Maternelle and Lower School) - 1pm to 3pm. A virtual option will also be available for families who cannot be on campus.
- Secondary School division (Middle and Upper School) - 3pm to 4pm. New students will also receive a separate invitation for an all-day event on Tuesday.
You will have the opportunity to meet faculty outdoors, and visit the campus in a safe way. We kindly ask that you limit the number of adults coming to campus, and that you and your students wear a mask while indoors. More information will be provided by each division.