COVID-19 Policies

The school continues to consult with local health authorities and medical advisors to promote the health of all in the school community and to ensure that our girls have access to the full Newton Country Day School experience with minimal interruption. We are prepared to augment these strategies as needed to respond to current COVID-19 information in our region and school community.

This information is up to date as of August 1, 2023.

Vaccination Policy

Mask-Optional Policy

Masks are optional for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

The exceptions to the mask-optional policy are when visiting the Health Office and returning to school while in the 10-day isolation period after testing positive for COVID-19.

Students, faculty and staff who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 are encouraged to be vigilant and monitor themselves for symptoms. If someone has been a close contact and develops any symptoms, it is recommended they mask and take a COVID-19 test.

The school respects that people have different risk tolerance levels and supports each person’s choice regarding mask-wearing.

Symptom Monitoring

All members of the school community are asked to self-monitor for symptoms and stay home, take an at-home antigen or PCR test, and notify the Health Office if experiencing the following:

Fever (100.0℉ or higher)
Chills or shaking chills
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
New loss of taste or smell
Muscle aches or body aches
Cough (not due to other medically documented cause)
Sore throat
Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
Headache, when in combination with other symptoms
Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to a history of allergies which has been medically documented by a physician and uploaded to Magnus)

If these symptoms arise during the school day, a member of the Health Office staff will evaluate the student and determine the best course of action. If a student goes home with suspected COVID-19, she can return to school with a negative test result (at-home antigen or PCR test), symptoms significantly resolved, and fever free without medication for 24 hours.

Free at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen tests are available at COVID Home Tests | USPS.

Quarantine and Isolation

If a member of the school community tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of symptoms, the person must isolate at home for at least 5 days.

The person can return to school on day 6, assuming the following:

Fever free for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medications
Significantly improved symptoms
Must wear a mask at school until completion of day 10

Note: Day “0” is the day of the positive test result or the onset of symptoms.

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