Community Health & Wellness

School personnel will be stationed at campus entrances and will conduct temperature checks with a no-touch thermometer and ask students and staff if they are exhibiting COVID-19 like symptoms. Per health department guidelines, anyone with a fever of 100.4° F or higher or exhibiting COVID symptoms will not be allowed to attend school on campus. Protocols for returning can be found on the Sickness & COVID Cases page

We anticipate an increase in absences for students, faculty, and staff as we strongly encourage anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms – or has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 – to stay at home. These absences fall under Pacifica’s Excused Absence policy and parents will need to continue to report student absences to the front office by calling the front office at (949) 887-2070. Students who must remain home due to this policy may attend class remotely (see details in Distance Learning when On-Campus Learning is Available section below).

Teachers who need to stay at home and are capable of teaching, will connect to the classroom via video conferencing to provide instruction in partnership with a substitute who is in the classroom and coordinating the video conference on campus. Teachers will have lessons prepared in advance for substitutes when they are too ill to teach from home.

See Sickness & COVID Cases page for protocols regarding when a staff or students have symptoms, is in close contact with someone infected, or is diagnosed with COVID-19.

Study hall is held in the gym or outside. Attendance will be taken on the left side bleachers at the beginning of each period. Each student will have a study hall number (alphabetically by last name) which indicates where they sit on the bleachers for roll. Once dismissed, seating in the gym and outside is arranged to maximize distancing in those spaces. Masks will be worn inside the gymnasium during study hall.

Classrooms will be dismissed using specific paths of egress in order to lessen congestion during passing periods, and dismissals will be staggered. Students will be encouraged to practice distancing during breaks by utilizing the entire outdoor space.

Outdoor space is maximized for utilization including the use of significant portions of the parking lot for seating, and opening the gym for some students to eat during lunch.

Students will still enjoy eating together, while spreading out in a reasonable fashion to allow for social interaction while still providing space to reduce transmission.

Outdoor furniture is arranged to provide reasonable distancing while outside. Additionally, late arrivals and early dismissals will mean fewer students on campus, the gym will be open for eating, and clubs will meet during lunch in open classrooms to further utilize the available space on campus.

Washing hands with soap for 20 seconds mitigates illnesses and the spread of infections to others by removing germs. Three portable handwashing stations were installed throughout the outside commons to minimize congregations in bathrooms and to encourage the practice of hand washing. Recommended practices for students and staff includes:

- Washing hands before and after eating; after coughing or sneezing; after being outside; and before and after using the restroom.
- Washing hands for 20 seconds with soap, rubbing thoroughly after application, and dry hands thoroughly.

Students and staff should use fragrance-free hand sanitizer when handwashing is not practicable. Sanitizer must be rubbed into hands until completely dry. Note: frequent handwashing is more effective than the use of hand sanitizers. Hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed at the entrance of every classroom, office area, and common space.

Recommended practices for staff and students include using hand sanitizer whenever exiting or entering a room. Or, after coughing or sneezing when hand washing is not easily accessible.

Meals, drinks, and utensils are individually packed by our lunch provider under sanitary conditions and served outdoors. Students who bring food from home are encouraged to bring it in disposable bags or disposable containers.

Frequently touched surfaces (e.g., student desks, door handles, sink handles, handrails, bathroom surfaces, tables, student desks, chairs) within the school are disinfected throughout the day at regularly scheduled intervals.

Disinfecting spray is available for students in each classroom to disinfect their chairs and desks at the beginning of each period. Additionally, these are cleaned each night by the maintenance team.

Shared classroom tools, such as art supplies, school-owned laptops, and science lab equipment, are cleaned and disinfected following each use.

We removed the use of water fountains and will continue to encourage students, faculty, and staff to utilize the bottle filling station. We encourage the use of reusable water bottles or disposable single-use water bottles. Writing the name of the student or staff on the reusable or disposable bottle will assist in reducing possible transmission. Reusable bottles that are left on campus will be thrown away.

Pacifica is now using medical-grade air filters (MERV-13) within its campus-wide HVAC systems to maximize central air filtration.

Inside each Pacifica classroom and office space air purifiers utilizing UV-C lights have been installed. Additionally, faculty are encouraged to promote fresh outdoor air as much as possible by opening windows and doors as weather permits.

Employees will use face coverings in accordance with the CDPH Guidance for the Use of Face Covering. Note, according to CDPH masks should be worn while outdoors when distancing is not feasible; but are not required when distancing is maintained.

All staff meetings, professional development training and education, and other activities involving staff will have physical distancing measures in place, or be conducted virtually or in a hybrid format when physical distancing is a challenge.

Minimal use of congregational spaces such as staff kitchen, basement office, and similar settings will be enforced.

Faculty and staff will be screened upon arriving to campus daily in the same manner as students by having their temperature checked and asked if they are displaying any COVID Symptoms or have been in close contact with a positive COVID case.