Lakeside School

Comply with federal, state, and local orders.

All families and employees are expected to follow directives from national, state, and local authorities to maintain their own health and safety during this pandemic. These include Washington State Department of Public Health, Public Health - Seattle & King County, and the CDC Guide on Protecting Yourself and Others.

Get vaccinated when eligible.

Updated Nov. 16: Every individual hired to work with students on campus is required to be vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccine is required for Lakeside employees and students without a medical or religious exemption. Please review Lakeside School’s policy on the COVID-19 vaccines and this Nov. 16 update on pediatric vaccines for students under 12. Students under 12 should be fully vaccinated by Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. Getting vaccinated is the biggest thing we can do to keep all our students safe. We want to thank every person for following this requirement and uploading student vaccination records in a timely fashion. As of the morning of Aug. 9, 99% of our employees and 95% of our eligible students are fully vaccinated.

Get tested.

With increased concerns about the Delta variant and breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals, Lakeside will continue to test every student and employee throughout fall 2021. Lakeside's testing policy has been adjusted from the Aug. 11 update. In fall 2021, the following testing protocol will be used:

• All individuals who are unvaccinated will be required to be tested every week with PCR testing.
• All individuals who are vaccinated will be required to be tested regularly with PCR testing. This will occur on a rolling basis, with one-third of students and adults being tested each week. Upper School students will receive an email to sign up for testing; Middle School parents and guardians will receive an email to sign up their students.
• Any individual who experiences COVID-19 symptoms will be tested immediately with an antigen test; depending on the outcome, they may be directed to get a PCR test off-campus.

Testing will take place on Thursday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Lakeside’s campus. There will be no cost to families. All parents and guardians and Upper School students received an email from COVID-19 Health and Safety Officer Bryan Smith about baseline testing. 

Participate in contact tracing.

As part of Lakeside’s commitment to preventing the spread of COVID-19 within the school community, we will continue to work with Trace Innovations on contact tracing. If there is a positive case of COVID-19 on campus, qualified and specially trained Lakeside employees will use the Trace Innovations app and work with the Washington State Department of Health to safely conduct contact tracing. Lakeside will communicate with families of potentially exposed students; unvaccinated students will be asked to quarantine for a period of several days to determine possible symptoms and evaluate test results. View detailed instructions for downloading and using the Trace Innovations app on iOS devices, or Android devices. Read more in this FAQ from Trace Innovations. Learn about Trace Innovation's privacy measures in this PDF.

Please complete this form if you need the school to provide your student with a device for contact tracing. 

The Trace Innovations app needs to be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Users who have the previous, side-loaded version of the app should delete it, and redownload from their respective app store. They will log in with their existing username and password.

Find detailed instructions here: trace-innovations.com/apponboarding.

Contact Lakeside if a family member tests positive for COVID-19.

If a student or a member of their household tests positive for COVID-19, a parent/guardian must notify the school as soon as possible. Please contact Bryan Smith (healthandsafety@lakesideschool.org; 206-440-2833), who is serving as our COVID-19 health and safety officer, with questions or to report a positive COVID-19 test result. This information will remain confidential and will allow the school to engage in effective contact tracing procedures to limit possible infection of others.

Stay home if sick.

Students and employees showing signs or symptoms of COVID-19 must not come to school. Parents/guardians must keep them at home and away from others and report the illness to the school. If a student feels well enough to do schoolwork but not to come to school, the school will work with the student and family so they can participate in class. 

If a student is on campus and develops COVID-like symptoms during the day, they will be sent to a private space on campus and evaluated by a trained Lakeside employee. The student will have their temperature taken, given a KN-95 mask, and isolated in a separate room if they show two or more signs of possible infection. Lakeside will contact the family to pick up their student and, if necessary, arrange for possible COVID testing for that student.

Quarantine if requested.

The state has updated quarantine protocols to reduce students missing school. Fully vaccinated students and employees who do not have symptoms do not have to quarantine when exposed to COVID-19; they should be tested 3-5 days after exposure and wear a mask indoors for up to 14 days.

Anyone in a household who tests positive for COVID or who has been notified by the State Department of Health that they were in contact with an individual infected with COVID-19 must notify Lakeside as soon as possible. Based on the circumstance and the vaccination status of the student, the family may be asked to keep their student home from school for a period of time and receive a negative COVID test before returning to campus.

Keep medical information up to date.

All medical forms must be updated with family and emergency contacts and current medical forms for a student to attend the first day of school. Log into Magnus Health to see your student’s required forms.  

Participate in health screenings.

Updated 9/27: Families of unvaccinated students will be required to complete a quick screening wellness check each day. The system is administered by Magnus Health; all information provided to them is confidential. The screening check for unvaccinated Middle School students should be completed by a parent/guardian; unvaccinated Upper School students can complete their own check. Screenings must occur prior to a student coming to campus and must be submitted by 7:45 a.m. each morning. Unvaccinated students who come to campus without a completed wellness check will be sent to a trained employee who will administer a screening. 

Check temperature daily.

Families with unvaccinated students will take their student’s temperature each morning they are scheduled to be on campus and report the temperature on the Magnus Health app. Students will be checked for a high temperature if they show COVID-19 symptoms or are generally ill while at school.

Wear a face covering.

As required by the State Department of Health, all students and adults must wear face coverings or masks when indoors, on buses, or in any school-sponsored vehicle. A face covering completely covers the mouth and nose and fits securely on the sides of the face and under the chin. Face coverings and masks must fit and be worn correctly. Along with vaccination, face coverings and masks are the most effective tool to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Contact Lakeside’s family support program if your family needs assistance with masks.

Updated Aug. 25: Masks are not required outdoors for all persons. However, all students and adults, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings where it’s hard to maintain physical distance. Protocols around masking during athletics were released in late August and follow the State Department of Health and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association guidelines. 

Practice physical distancing.

In all classrooms, students will be at individual desks at least three feet apart. Students and teachers should maintain a physical distance of three feet or more to the degree possible. We will maximize opportunities to increase physical space between students during all scheduled activities and limit interactions in large group settings.

Practice excellent hygiene.

Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds — especially after being in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

Be safe when you eat.

For students in grades 7-12, breakfast and lunch will be served each day at the Upper and Middle schools, and snacks will be available for purchase. Families will not need to preorder food in advance. Students will have the choice of an entrée meal or different grab-and-go options. They will eat outside whenever possible or at designated locations on campus that allow for 6-foot physical distancing and proper ventilation.

Students in grades 5 and 6 will not have the option for breakfast but may purchase snacks to be picked up at lunch. They will have a boxed lunch option that they will eat in their classrooms, so that these younger students remain a separate pod from the rest of the student body. Families will not need to preorder food in advance.

Avoid unnecessary travel.

Families should be careful of air travel — especially over school breaks. Please follow guidelines from the CDC and the Washington State Department of Health. Unvaccinated students that travel by plane must quarantine for seven days upon return and get a negative PCR test before they may return to classes. Vaccinated students do not need to quarantine but must get tested three to five days after the flight and monitor for symptoms.