Covid-19 Resources
Covid-19 Family Handbook
Creating a safe educational environment for the GSB community. (Last Update: March 2, 2022)
Our Guiding Principles
- We all share the responsibility in keeping our community safe.
- Our focus will be on the public health, well-being, and safety of the whole community and not on individual preferences.
- To achieve our goal to provide an educational experience as safely as possible, we will all be required to adjust how we conduct ourselves.
- Giving each other immediate, urgent feedback.
- Ensuring that we never become lax with the protocol.
- Understand that we view the CDC and State guidelines as our baseline, but we are called to do more.
Recent Community Letters
GSB Health and Safety Update (4-11-22) GSB Health and Safety Update (2-15-22) Quarantine and Isolation Update (01-14-22) GSB Health and Safety Update (12-30-21) Upper School Testing & Screening Procedures (8-10-21) Lower and Middle School Testing & Screening Procedures (8-10-21) Letter From School Nurses Regarding Covid-19 Testing for Return of School (8-4-21) Letter From Head of School Regarding Covid-19 (8-3-21)Covid Testing for Pre-Season Fall Sports 2021 Magnus Health 2021-22 Enrollment Letter & InstructionsCovid-19 Testing Schedule
GSB has partnered with Mirimus Labs to conduct weekly PCR testing. The testing is non-invasive and saliva-based. Mirimus Labs meets our criteria to reliably conduct the testing with a high degree of accuracy and rapid turnaround. Many of our peer schools have demonstrated that pooled testing is an effective way to receive accurate information, which will help limit the spread of the virus.
Test Distribution Day | Test Collection Day |
---|---|
8/16 - 8/20 and 8/23 | 8/24 to 8/25 |
9/2 and 9/3 | 9/9 |
9/13 and 9/14 | 9/15 |
9/20 and 9/21 | 9/22 |
9/27 and 9/28 | 9/29 |
10/4 and 10/5 | 10/6 |
10/11 and 10/12 | 10/13 |
11/1 and 11/2 | 11/3 |
11/29 and 11/30 | 12/1 |
12/6 and 12/7 | 12/8 |
Winter Break: 12/17 |
|
1/6 | 1/10 |
1/18 | 1/19 |
1/25 | 1/26 |
2/1 | 2/2 |
2/8 | 2/9 |
3/28 and 3/29 (All Community) | 3/30 (All Community) |
Testing Results
Sample Collection Date |
Total Number of Tests Administered |
Number of Potentially Positive Pairs |
---|---|---|
9/9/2021 | 743 | 1 |
9/15/2021 | 740 | 1 |
9/22/2021 | 743 | 0 |
9/29/2021 | 747 | 0 |
10/6/2021 | 741 | 0 |
10/13/2021 | 747 | 0 |
11/3/2021 | 749 | 0 |
12/1/2021 | 754 | 1 |
12/8/2021 | 753 | 2 |
1/2/2022 and 1/3/2022 | 667 | 47 |
1/10/2022 | 607 | 15 |
1/26/2022 | 570 | 10 |
2/2/2022 | 556 | 1 |
2/9/2022 | 143 | 1 |
3/30/2022 | 618 | 3 |
GSB Pooled Testing Procedure
Step 1 – Pick up a Kit
Lower School Students | Upper School Student Athletes |
---|---|
Kits will be distributed before dismissal and placed in the student bags. | Kits will be distributed during advisory. |
Kits include:
Saliva Collection Tub | Saliva Straw | Alcohol Wipe | Tube Bag |
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|
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Step 2 – Collect Saliva Sample
Do not spit until the morning of your test. For best results, please do not eat, drink, or brush teeth within 30 minutes of providing your sample. Do not use mouthwash two hours before collecting sample. Ideally, it is best to collect the saliva sample first thing in the morning. On the morning of your test, collect your saliva sample following these steps, or watch this video.
To increase saliva production, you may wish to try:
- Gently rubbing the outside of your cheeks
- Making chewing motions with your mouth
- Smelling or imagining sour foods such as lemons
- Thinking about your own favorite food
Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Open saliva straw pouch and remove saliva straw | Unscrew tube cap and insert ridged end of saliva straw into tube | Pool saliva in mouth and push saliva through straw into tube until half full | Remove and discard saliva straw and securely cap tube | Wipe tube with alcohol wipe, place into tube bag and seal | Drop off the baggie at the designated location for your Division |
Step 3 – Drop Off Your Sample
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On Collection Day between 7:15 and 7:45 a.m. for Faculty/Staff and Vendors
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On Collection Day between 7:45 and 9:00 a.m. for All Students
Drop off will take place during morning check-in at your typical check-in station. It must be dropped off before 9:00 a.m. on the designated collection day if you plan to be off campus. It may be dropped off by a parent. The bags must be labeled with the individual's name.
For your reference, a detailed FAQ about COVID-19 testing at GSB follows. We believe that the testing of the GSB community will help us quickly identify, isolate and/or quarantine needs to stop further community spread.
NOTE: Return only the filled collection tub.
FAQs About COVID-19 Testing
- Why is GSB implementing testing?
- Who will be tested?
- What is pooled testing?
- How will testing be conducted?
- When and how will we hear about the results of testing?
- How reliable is the test?
- Is there a potential for false positives?
- What are the costs associated with this testing?