2022 Covid-19 Policies

These policies are fluid and may change during the season. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and work with the local board of health and update you promptly of any changes. At this time, there are no specific recommendations for youth sports from the MA EEA or the Clinton Board of Health.

Covid-19 Policies (updated 2/25/2022):

A. Masks are now optional for all visitors to NVM.

B. Please continue to perform self-health checks at home before sending your students to class. We reserve the right to check any student’s temperature at any time and to send a student home if they are ill.

C. Hand sanitizer will still be readily available in multiple locations.

D. We will continue to run our Medify air purifiers.

E. The studio will still be disinfected on a regular basis, including any shared equipment.

F. If your student tests positive for Covid-19 or has to quarantine due to exposure, please let us know before returning to the studio.

G. If your student tests positive for Covid-19 and was previously at the studio during their contagious period, please let us know immediately so we can inform close contacts and the board of health.

Thank you all for your patience this season! We are thrilled we can ease up on the Covid-19 policies.

Covid-19 Policies (updated 1/2/2022):

*Effective through 1/15/22 at a minimum*

A. Masks are required for everyone while at NVM ages 5+ (regardless of vaccination status). This includes both students and spectators. We encourage students ages 2-4 to wear masks ONLY if they can safely and effectively wear one over the nose all class. If you or your student has a medical situation and cannot wear a mask, please indicate this in an email to us.

B. Please please please perform temperature and self-health checks at home before sending your students to class.

C. We will also perform temperature checks for classes ages 7 and under. Any student who has a temperature of 100.4 or greater will be asked to sit for a few minutes and will have their temperature checked again. If it is still high, they will need to go home for the evening. We reserve the right to check any student’s temperature at any time.

D. We will implement 6' distancing in classes as much as possible. This is more difficult in some of our younger classes, but we will do our best to keep them distanced when possible.

E. We will have students hand sanitize before and after class (and during when necessary).

F. Only one spectator per student is allowed at NVM at this time. If you have to have a sibling with you for logistical reasons, you and the sibling need to be in studio A waiting area.

G. We encourage all parents of studio b classes to wait in the studio A waiting area if it is crowded outside of studio B. Assistant teachers can bring younger students down to find you if they need the restroom.

H. If your student tests positive for Covid-19 or has to quarantine due to exposure, please let us know before returning to the studio.

G. If your student tests positive for Covid-19 and was previously at the studio during their contagious period, please let us know immediately so we can inform close contacts and the board of health.

**If after 1/15/22 the positivity rates have not dropped back below 5% for Clinton, Bolton, and Lancaster, we will continue to require masks and some (or all) of these other protocols until they do.

Other:

We will continue to run our Medify air purifiers in both studio spaces and the waiting area.
Hand sanitizer dispensers (with 60%+ alcohol content) will be available in multiple locations throughout the studio.
Dancers will be encouraged to wash hands/sanitize frequently, and also reminded not to touch their faces.
High touch surfaces will continue to be disinfected on a regular basis. Studio floors and shared equipment will be sanitized daily.
Please ensure your student has a bottle of water with them during class, especially if you would like them to stay masked.
We do not prorate or refund tuition because of missed classes due to illness. All students have 4 free make-up classes that they can use between September and the end of February, and we encourage everyone to use them ahead of time even if they don’t anticipate missing any classes. Students can take any other class within their age bracket for a make up class. Please email us a few days in advance of when you’d like to attend a makeup class so we can ensure there is room that week. For students that have to miss multiple classes specifically due to Covid-19 quarantining, please contact us if they would like to receive access to an online class via our studio partnership with CLI studios. This is only suggested for students 8 and up. At this time we are not suggesting that students in quarantine participate in NVM classes via zoom as it is too distracting for our instructors and other students, and they are not currently missing any recital choreography.

Previous Fall 2021 Guidelines

While in our waiting rooms- We are asking that all unvaccinated students ages 5+ plan to wear a mask while in our waiting areas before and after classes. ALL students have the option to remove the mask immediately before class begins and leave it with their belongings in the waiting area.

While Dancing- Per MA EEA Youth Sports Guidelines, students are not required to wear masks while participating in sports activities (this includes dance studios) both indoors and outdoors. Therefore, masks will be optional for our students while engaging in dance classes at the studio. Any student is welcome to continue utilizing a mask during class. We suggest that any family who feels uncomfortable with their student being around other unvaccinated, unmasked students but still wishes for their student to participate in classes at NVM to utilize a mask that provides more protection such as a KN95 or KF94. Our goal at NVM is to be as inclusive as possible, and we will make sure all students feel comfortable in class (masked or unmasked).

Please make sure to have a conversation with your student about your mask preference while dancing. You may also let the instructor know ahead of time if you wish for your student to keep their mask on.

Cleaning/Sanitizing:

Hand sanitizer dispensers (with 60%+ alcohol content) will be available in multiple locations throughout the studio.
Dancers will be encouraged to wash hands/sanitize frequently, and also reminded not to touch their faces.
High touch surfaces will continue to be disinfected on a regular basis. Studio floors and shared equipment will be sanitized daily.

Other:

We are asking that only one parent per student stay during classes starting this week, and if you absolutely need to have siblings with you, they NEED to wear masks if they are over age 5 and unvaccinated. They MUST also wait in the main lobby and not outside of studio b.
We will perform temperature checks for classes ages 7 and under, where students have a harder time letting us know if they are unwell and more difficulty social distancing. Any student who has a temperature of 100.4 or greater will be asked to sit for a few minutes and will have their temperature checked again. If it is still high, they will need to go home for the evening
We will continue to run our Medify air purifiers in both studio spaces and the waiting area.
Though we won’t be strictly 6’ distancing in boxes anymore, we will still plan to keep students as spread out as possible throughout classes. There will be times where they may be within 6’, for instance when lining up for across the floor progressions.
As always, most of our class sizes are limited to roughly 8-10 students in our smaller studio and 10-14 students in our larger studio.
We ask that parents return to escorting their students to and from class versus picking up/dropping off in the parking lot (unless the student is older/independent). We will not be responsible for students before or after class. As always, parents of students 6 and under should stay for the duration of class.
We ask that every family perform self health checks before coming to class, and NVM reserves the right to check a child’s temperature and have a child sit out or be picked up early if the student is exhibiting signs of illness.
We do not prorate or refund tuition because of missed classes due to illness. All students have 4 free make-up classes that they can use between September and February, and we encourage everyone to use them ahead of time even if they don’t anticipate missing any classes. Students can take any other class within their age bracket for a make up class. Please email us a few days in advance of when you’d like to attend a makeup class so we can ensure there is room that week. For students that have to miss multiple classes specifically due to Covid-19 quarantining, they will either be able to participate in class via zoom or will receive access to an online class via our studio partnership with CLI studios.
Please ensure your student has a bottle of water with them during class, especially if you would like them to stay masked.