COVID-19 Notre Dame School Closure FAQ

If your child exhibits cold-like symptoms, keep them at home. Avoid events with large groups of children, such as daycare, play gyms, birthday parties, or other types of child-centric businesses. If your otherwise healthy child has a low-grade fever, please call your doctor, present his or her symptoms, and ask whether you should bring your child in.

Symptoms most commonly include fever with cough or shortness of breath, although some people could have no symptoms at all. Headache, sore throat and runny nose also occur with this virus. Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear as soon as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure.

See the coronavirus guidance from the CDC here:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html

(From PBS)

Share age-appropriate facts and corrected misinformation, and keep it simple. “You know what it’s like to have a cold or the flu — how sometimes you get a cough or have a fever? This is kind of like that. Most people who catch this sickness stay home, rest and get all better. And we have wonderful doctors and nurses who can help people when they need it.”

Reassure them that they are safe, which is the most important message kids can hear from you. They take their emotional cues from your tone. “You don’t need to worry. Right now, lots of amazing grownups are working hard to keep people healthy. Luckily, we already know a lot about how to keep healthy!”

Emphasize simple things your family can do to be “germ busters” — for all types of germs that are out there. As Harvard’s Dr. Richard Weissbourd once said, kids and adults alike are “more distressed when we feel helpless and passive, and more comfortable when we are taking action.” The hygiene routines that slow the spread of the COVID-19 are the same habits that help keep us healthy all year round.

Notre Dame's professional cleaning crew of seven from AJM Maintenance Inc. has been completely focused on the cleaning and disinfecting of the entire school complex. They begin each day by spraying disinfectant on all door handles, light switches, garbage bins and misting all lockers handles even before they start their normal thorough cleaning routine.

Now that the campus will be free of students and staff for an extended period, cleaning personnel are spending additional time in each classroom, focused on desks and other hard surfaces.

We make these decisions on the advice of our school administrative staff as well as from local and state government officials and health experts to ensure that we are doing what is best for the safety, health and well-being of all our students, staff and families. The intent of this current schedule is to provide NDPMA students, staff and families with the ability to socially distance themselves from one another and slow the spread of coronavirus in our community while at the same time provide the least disruption to our NDPMA academic program.

We will not allow students, faculty or staff to return to the buildings and facilities of NDPMA until all have been completely cleaned and disinfected, and the Governor has given schools the "all clear" to return.

This is a false claim that has been circulating on social media. There is simply no evidence that infrared thermal scanners are dangerous. The FDA has endorsed and provided guidelines for the use of these devices. Notre Dame is following the guidelines laid out by local, state and national health officials regarding health screenings of faculty and students, including the use of thermal non-contact infrared thermometers.