Health & Wellness

Indoors: As per CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, and local health officials, the Holton-Arms School will require everyone (students, faculty, staff, and all visitors) to wear masks when inside School buildings or on Holton transportation—regardless of vaccination status. For students, a cloth mask (3 ply in uniform colors of blue, black, white or grey) or disposable medical mask must cover the nose and mouth and fit snugly under the chin.

Outdoors: Mask breaks are permitted outside—regardless of vaccination status—when physical distancing (at least 3 feet of space) can be maintained. This will include LS recess. 

Athletics: For P.E., MS Sports, and Interscholastic Athletics, all students and spectators must be masked indoors and can remove masks outdoors. 

Fine and Performing Arts: All students will be masked when singing indoors. The music department will continue to use protective coverings for wind instruments to limit the spread of germs. All musicals and plays will be rehearsed and performed in masks. We will regularly evaluate this policy. 

Classrooms and offices have been set up to adhere to the CDC recommendation that schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students/employees within each classroom, office, or workspace. 

Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, Holton senior leaders determined that adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccines for all eligible students was the best way to make the Holton campus and our broader community of students and adults as safe as possible. This policy decision was based on guidelines and information from the CDC, Maryland Department of Health and Maryland School Health Services, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). More details on this decision are available here. All families are reminded to update Magnus with their child(ren)’s medical forms prior to return to campus per the enrollment contract.  Students who need to coordinate the COVID-19 vaccine with other required vaccinations should update Lori Herringa, School Nurse, on expected timing. Students must submit completed medical forms prior to attending ANY on-campus activities including, pre-season, orientation, Convocation, or classes. 

All Holton faculty and staff are required to be vaccinated unless they have an approved exemption based on a verified medical condition. This requirement also applies to coaches and substitute teachers.

Visitors will be limited and allowed only on a case-by-case basis. Prior to entering the building, all visitors will be required to complete a wellness screening that includes acknowledgement of vaccination status. Please also have a government-issued ID with you and be ready to show proof of vaccination. No unscheduled visitors will be permitted. With few exceptions, unvaccinated individuals are not permitted in the building. A mask must be worn at all-times while indoors.

Unvaccinated students, including those under 12 or with a medical exemption, will be required to provide a negative PCR test result taken within 4 days of September 2 for a student to attend Convocation. If an unvaccinated student is unable to attend Convocation, they should submit a negative PCR test result taken within 4 days of when classes resume (September 8).  

Beginning Monday, September 13 Holton will begin on-campus COVID-19 testing bi-weekly for Lower School students and any medically-exempt unvaccinated persons on campus. Vaccinated Lower Schoolers have the option to participate, but will not be required. Testing will be conducted by Personalized Medicine Care Diagnostics at the Lower School. If you are new to Holton, you will need to complete this form prior to the first testing date. Returning students do not need to complete the form. 

If a student shows signs of infectious illness consistent with COVID-19 while on campus, regardless of vaccination status, they will be evaluated by the School nurse and they will remain in isolation until a parent or guardian picks them up immediately. Symptomatic individuals must submit a negative result of a PCR OR Rapid Antigen test to the School nurse and be symptom-free for 24 hours in order to return to School. New this School year, Rapid Antigen tests are only acceptable for symptomatic individuals. Our regular assurance testing with Lower School students will continue to be PCR. 

If a student shows signs of infectious illness consistent with COVID-19 while off-campus, regardless of vaccination status, they should notify their Division Director and School nurse. In consultation with their health care provider, they must submit a negative result of a PCR OR Rapid Antigen test to the School nurse and be symptom-free for 24 hours in order to return to School.

If a student tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, the student begins home isolation and may return to school when they are 10 days out from the start of symptoms, fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, AND symptoms have improved. A negative COVID-19 test is not required for a student to return after their isolation period, given they may test positive long after the 10-day period or symptoms have improved. 

Unvaccinated individuals who have close exposure to someone who tests positive for COVID-19 must quarantine for 10 days after the last contact with the infected person. Additionally, they should consult with a healthcare provider for evaluation and possible COVID-19 test. Individuals who are fully vaccinated and are not symptomatic after exposure to someone with COVID-19 do not need to quarantine or get tested for COVID-19. 

If there is a positive case on-campus, the School will report the situation to the appropriate Montgomery County health officials according to current regulations and work with them to determine next steps. The School will follow and communicate immediately any health directives for quarantining, testing, or campus closure to affected students and their parents/guardians.

Staying home when sick is not only important for one’s health and well-being, it is also essential to keep infections out of school and prevent spread to others. While we will not ask vaccinated students in grades 7-12 to complete daily wellness checks in SchoolPass, Lower School students will continue to complete these daily. New families will receive details on registering for SchoolPass shortly. However, regardless of vaccination status, we do expect community members to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 or any illness. Please check for the following symptoms and stay home until you are symptom-free for 24 hours: 

• temperature of 100.4 or higher; 

• sore throat; 

• uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing; 

• diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain; 

• new onset of severe headache, especially with fever. 

As always, please report your child’s absence to your Division Administrative Assistant. 

We are preparing the Dining Hall to return to serving normal food service, although we anticipate some adjustments to keep things safe for our unvaccinated students.

We are also excited to once again serve breakfast each morning from 7:35 - 8:15 a.m. However, at this time, for the safety of our students, parents/guardians will not be allowed to join. 

We continue to closely monitor the recommendations from the CDC and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers regarding ventilation. We are taking the following steps according to their guidelines:

• Maximizing outdoor air in the HVAC system as much as possible;

• Increasing the level of air filtration as high as possible in all locations while still allowing the system to function;

• Increasing the frequency of all filter changes;

• Operating ventilation units 24 hours per day when possible and increasing system running times.

• Continue to encourage outdoor air flow by keeping windows open throughout the building when weather allows. 

While on campus, students are expected to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer frequently. Sanitizer stations are located throughout the buildings and in classrooms.

Because the risk of COVID-19 surface transmission is considered minimal, cleaning will generally return to normal levels and frequency. In the event that a student or teacher has a suspected case of COVID-19 during the School day, the potentially infected classroom will be closed until it can be thoroughly disinfected. 

Concussion Fact Sheet

Concussions and Head Injuries Policy

Consent for Administration of ImPACT Assessment Form

Online Resources

Adult Wellness Program