Jonathan Hernandez ‘24
On August 31, 2020, St. Mark’s released its School Operations Evaluation Criteria, which was made to describe the criteria St. Mark’s is using to evaluate if the school’s operations need to be adjusted during this school year. One of the facilities highlighted in the Criteria was the Health Services annex.
(The layout of the annex)
The Director of Health Services, Adria Pavletic, was able to help explain the annex’s role this year. She first gave thanks to Ms. Duran, Director of Facilities, and her facilities team for making the annex a cheerful and comfortable place. Due to COVID-19 having a variety of symptoms, any student who exhibits any signs of infectious disease will be admitted to the annex. Ms. Pavletic noted how some of the symptoms may include “nasal congestion, sore throat, nausea, headache, or just feeling unwell in general.”
When a student is admitted, the health services nurses are to assess the student and determine what the proper plan of care will be. However, if an individual is seriously ill, they are to be taken to a local hospital for care. Ms. Pavletic gives thanks for the COVID-19 PCR testing that is available to the St. Mark’s community, which is performed each week so that the Health Services Office can track cases, if any.
The school has also taken many other precautions to ensure the safety of the student body and the faculty and staff. They have ensured that classroom spaces are disinfected after each class and that common areas in houses and that commonly used spaces are disinfected throughout the day.
The school has also encouraged students to wash their hands frequently and effectively and require students to wear effective face masks of multiple fabric layers, physical distance, and submit a daily health check.
As of now, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at St. Mark’s. The precautions have ensured that St. Mark’s has not had a case of COVID-19 and will help the community be prepared for the next semester if COVID-19 is still present in the winter.