Germantown High School introduces COVID precautions for start of school year

GERMANTOWN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Students were welcomed back to class at Germantown High School Tuesday morning, Sept. 1, but the school setting looks quite a bit different from when they left the building in March.

The district opted for a hybrid learning model for the high school. Principal Joel Farren said enrollment is at around 1,350 students and 18 percent opted for virtual learning at home.

The rest of the student population will attend school with an A and B day schedule.

Farren said the responsibility of keeping students safe will fall on staff, parents and students themselves.

“It starts at home. We’re asking parents to take temperatures, don’t send them if they’re sick. When they get on the bus they have all sorts of provisions… usually some buses would get here early. We’re limiting the time in the cafeteria for breakfast,” said Farren. “There’s a lot of room in here compared to when we have everybody here. In the classroom, the social distancing piece… Hand sanitizer all over the place, there are stickers in the office for when you’re interacting with others. Masks are mandatory. If someone doesn’t wear them they’ll get a warning and if it continues to be an issue they’ll be sent home to do virtual.”

Germantown School District Nurse Tammy Mamayek said a number of safety precautions were implemented throughout the building.

“We have quite a few changes here. In our main office we have our Plexiglas guards that are surrounding all the countertops throughout. On our floor in the main entrance, you’ll see we have our six feet markers to make sure to remind kids to stay six feet apart. As you can see, all of our bubblers are shut off there is no sharing of any of that; however, they can use a water bottle here so kids can still make sure they have their water. As you can see in our cafeteria, we have our dean of students marking off all the seats. All of the X’s are where students should not be sitting. In regards to that, too, we have our sanitizer. We have our gallon sanitizers throughout the building. We have some too for the kids to use. We have some at all the entrances as well. Kids and staff will be wearing their masks at all times, except for when they’re actively eating,” said Mamayek.

Farren said he hoped for a great first day of school for students after a summer of trying to work through opening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve been an administrator for the 16 years and I’d say the last month has been the most challenging for a variety of reasons and so we just ask for patience from our students and staff as we continue to work through this,” said Farren.