No, not at this time.  However, this is subject to change should modifications need to be made to the school calendar due to the anticipated reopening of the Cayman Islands.

Not at this time.  However, this is subject to change should modifications need to be made to the daily schedule due to the anticipated reopening of the Cayman Islands.  Please find the 2021 School Day Hours here.

• Drop-off and pick-up procedures will remain the same locations.
• Parents and visitors must observe physical distancing during drop-off and pick-up.
• Any adult dropping off or picking up children on campus are required to wear a mask when indoors.
• If outside, adults on campus are strongly encouraged to wear a mask outside on campus because children under 12 years of age are unvaccinated.
• Any person with COVID or high-risk COVID-like symptoms should not be on campus.

Drop-off & Pick-up Times 2021-2022 SY Reminder

• Visitors, parents, and vendors must wear masks and sign in at the office (main administration building) and follow established screening and physical distancing protocols.  
• Visitors, parents, and vendors should allow extra time upon arrival for screening to be completed.
• Visitors and vendors are to adhere to physical distancing and PPE measures while on campus.
• Campus access during the school day is limited. For example, school tours would happen outside typical instructional hours.

Unfortunately, not at this time without a predetermined appointment.

In-person meetings with the teacher are to be minimized and by appointment. Parent Conferences will be scheduled in a manner that maximizes physical distancing.

At this time, there is after school care. 

At this time, after school activities are in session. 

Large group assemblies, gatherings and performances may be suspended.  

We understand that travel may be complicated at this time. As families are making their way back, the school will not provide an adapted home learning. 

If you will be late returning to the island, please contact your division principal as soon as possible. Advance coordination and planning between teachers and departments will be required.

In addition to social-emotional wellbeing, teachers will differentiate for all students, both of which are already inherent characteristics of many of the programs and pedagogies we use to deliver learning.

At this time, school is in-person.  It is important to note that this may change at any point in accordance with government guidelines.

Hot lunch food service is available.

Due to limited campus access, food delivery will be restricted to drop off at the north guard house only.

• Arrangements have been made for greater physical distancing

  • Early Childhood - Students will eat in their classroom or on the terraces.

  • Elementary - KG students will eat in their classroom.  Grade 1-4 will eat in grade levels at the ARC. Grade 5 will eat outdoors by the High School Building.

  • Middle and high school students have multiple outside spaces available.

• Students and staff alike must wear masks in the food service area.

Recess times are staggered, as usual, with smaller groups of children gathering in assigned areas and greater distance between each group to maximize physical distancing. A rotation will ensure each group of children has a range of different play opportunities each week. Students will not be required to wear masks while playing outside. Routine cleaning and sanitizing are in place.

• The CDC, WHO, the Cayman Islands authorities highly recommend that all people eligible for vaccination get vaccinated. CIS unequivically supports these recommendations.
• The uncomfortable reality is that the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Currently, on the Cayman Islands, there are no regulations in place that speak to prohibiting a non-vaccinated individual in a space such as schools. The Chief Medical Officer advises that people who are elderly, vulnerable, and not vaccinated wear masks, distance, and practice hand hygiene in indoor places.
• If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID, please do not come to school, and kindly inform Nurse Ann Thomas at ann.thomas@cis.ky. If you are feeling ill, sick, have a fever or other symptoms of illness, please stay home.
• Collectively, CIS staff and its third-party partners are 97% double vaccinated and increasing.
• We consider an individual's COVID vaccination status, as well as other health information a special category of data, as it is their private health information. We understand that there is curiosity and interest in knowing the specifics of everyone's status at school (and the broader CIS community and beyond for that matter).
• We understand that we are working with a population of students who are not yet eligible to receive vaccinations, so we have a heightened awareness to support our students.

At this time, schools in the Cayman Islands cannot mandate vaccinations. Schools do not have a trade and business license; as such, we do not have the ability to mandate vaccinations or some other protocols (pandemic-related or otherwise) that you may see in businesses.

The air filtration systems have MERV ratings 8 to 13. These ratings are the same as typically found in hospital laboratories and superior commercial / residential buildings.

Selected air handling units use a double filter system. The pre-filters (MERV 8) are changed every three months as part of our regular protocol. The primary filters (MERV 13) are changed annually as part of our regular protocol. All filters are inspected every three months and if needed an early change is made. The above protocol meets and exceeds industry standard.

The air-handling units utilize UV-C technology (Ultraviolet Light) to neutralize airborne pathogens.

The school monitors air quality outside and inside the school. In addition to particulate matter, the meters also measure carbon dioxide concentration, VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) temperature and humidity. All of the above readings are consistently in the good or better range.

The soil at CIS was tested prior to the two recent building projects. In both cases soil readings showed that the soil at the school site is safe and typical of soil readings on Grand Cayman Island. Soil, like water and air, is something we monitor. In an abundance of caution, we are sending random soil samples to a lab in the USA for testing.

The drinking water at CIS is from the Cayman Water Company Ltd. This is the same water company that supplies water for all residences, hotels, business, doctor offices, dental clinics, etc. from roughly Marbel Drive (near St. Matthew’s University Residence) to West Bay.

Water on Grand Cayman Island, unlike many other places in the world, is not drawn from lakes, rivers, or reservoirs, thus island drinking water is not affected by groundwater. The water comes from the desalination plants on Grand Cayman Island.

The drinking fountains at CIS are all individually filtered, and the filters are changed on a regular basis.

The DEH (Department of Environmental Health) conducts additional tests on our water annually. This is beyond the regular monitoring by the Cayman Water Company.

The school is cleaned every day and higher use areas are cleaned throughout the day as well. The products used are anti-bacterial, antiviral and are rated as environmentally safe, as well as specific to different surface materials.

A regular cleaning schedule will be adhered to throughout the day to include the cleaning of high touch surfaces, using detergents and disinfectants recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as electrostatic disinfection daily. Hand sanitizing stations are readily available at key points on campus.

Difficult to access exterior surfaces such as overhangs, high access locations, specialized equipment and rooves are cleaned every six months. In the rare event of a landfill fire, the school does an additional cleaning of these surfaces.

During holiday breaks for students (i.e., mid-term, winter, spring, summer) the school does additional deeper cleaning of all areas of the school.

• Reduction of gathering sizes as per new regulations.
• No field trips that are indoors or involve mixing with groups outside or inside of CIS.
• Activities such as learning buddies between younger and older grades paused until further notice.
• Inter-scholastic competitions and collaborations are paused until further notice.
• Parent / Student Conferences have already been designed using advanced scheduling to enhance the efficacy of the conferences, which is already in line with gathering size restrictions.

THE WEARING OF MASKS IS REQUIRED FOR ALL PEOPLE in KINDERGARTEN AND OLDER

• All staff, visitors, and students (elementary, middle, and high school) and are expected to wear masks while moving through the school, indoors, and in a group setting.

• Masks may be removed when playing outdoors, eating, or working independently at a desk / work station.

• Students who are unable to put on and take off masks without assistance and teachers who rely on mouth cues such as lip reading for communication with students are exempt but distance should be maintained. CIS will keep in communication with The Ministry of Education and they in turn continue to work with Public Health to further fine-tune this guidance where necessary.

  • All individuals (kindergarten and older) are expected to bring two masks to school per day. The masks are to be worn correctly and in an efficacious manner.

• • Outside time provides some breaks from masks, as does physically distanced independent work.

• During drop-off and pick-up whilst outside, physical distancing may not be feasible, thus masks are strongly encouraged.

• • Masks may not be required at specific times during the instructional day, such as outdoor recess and outdoor strenuous PE activities.

• Students in the Early Childhood do not have to wear masks. They may wear masks if they wish.

• Face shields alone are not an approved prevention device but may be worn optionally by staff and students.

• Lost masks that are found by staff will be disposed of for health and safety reasons.

• The school will monitor government mandates with respect to masks. Any changes related to wearing of masks will be as per the guidance from the Ministry of Education, the Public Health Department, and Chief Medical Officer.

Parents are required to take their child’s temperature at home prior to coming to school. If the child is ill, experiencing a temperature of 100°F/37.8°C or greater, or experiencing other symptoms, the child must stay home.

If a child develops a fever while at school, we will contact parents to come and collect their child.

Daily health screening procedures have been established for Early Childhood as required under government regulations. This includes daily temperature checks for children and faculty prior to school entry.

Elementary and Secondary students' temperatures will be taken on entry to the classroom each morning.

• Distance will be maximized between personal workspaces in the classroom where feasible within the educational program.

• Alternative strategies may be employed, such as physical dividers or staggered movement, as seen fit.

• Government regulations on gathering sizes will be used. Large group assemblies, gatherings, and performances will be reduced or possibly avoided based on local conditions and government allowances.

• Early Childhood and Elementary students may remain in cohorts based on classes or grade levels.

• All people on campus, including authorized visitors, are required to practice physical distancing.

Hand Hygiene is a general term referring to any action of hand cleaning. Hand hygiene relates to the removal of visible soil and removal or killing of transient microorganisms from the hands. Hand hygiene may be accomplished using soap and running water or a hand sanitizer (60 - 90% alcohol-based). Washing with soap and running water must be performed when hands are visibly soiled.

• Regular hand washing routines are established for all persons on site.
• Sanitizing hands is required before entering common spaces.
• Hands will be sanitized on entry/exit to campus and/or classrooms.

A regular cleaning schedule will be adhered to throughout the day to include the cleaning of high touch surfaces, using detergents and disinfectants recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as electrostatic disinfection daily. Hand sanitizing stations are readily available at key points on campus.

PE classes may be changed slightly to maximize physical distancing. Masks are not required outdoors. Indoors, mask requirements may vary depending on the nature of the activity. In music classes, steps such as covering the bell of an instrument will be introduced. In the case of singing, feasible physical distancing will be practiced. The notion in both PE and music is to do what we can to mitigate risks whilst still maintaining as much normalcy as possible in such classes. The above may be modified if government regulations / mandates were to change.

• If headache, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, body pain, difficulty breathing, or fever are present, please stay at home.

• If symptoms such as fever or other COVID-19 related symptoms are found at home, notify the school Nurse and division principal by email or phone as soon as possible.

Nurse Ann - ann.thomas@cis.ky

• At school, the CIS Nurse will supervise the health of all CIS students and employees, supported by the front office staff, administration, and the crisis management team.

• If headache, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, body pain, difficultybreathing, or fever are present at school, CIS follows established health response procedures.

• If there are suspected cases with fever, respiratory symptoms and other symptoms, the nurse will report these immediately to the Division Principal and Director (Head of School) as well as the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority.

• Parents will pick up the student at an agreed upon location. The nurse escorts the student to the parents.

• The school must report any confirmed case of COVID-19 associated with the facilities to the Health Services Authority.

At school, if a student or staff member is suspected of or has a confirmed case of COVID-19, such persons will be isolated in a pre-designated space until appropriate transportation arrangements can be made.

Person Confirmed With A Positive COVID-19 Test Result

• Regulated quarantine, if needed, may vary based on the nature and magnitude of exposure. In turn, learning supported by the school may vary based on the nature and magnitude of the exposure.

Individual Student Absence Due To COVID-19 Or High-risk COVID-19 Related Symptoms

• Absence for COVID-19 or high-risk COVID-19 related symptoms is an authorized reason for non-attendance at school.  

• Please know that CIS does not provide a parallel home learning program specifically for individual COVID-19-related absences. CIS will work with student / family to assist with missed classwork. For example teachers will be able to provide self-directed homework for students during an absence. This is similar to current practice if a student were to be away from school.

The school has prepared plans for an enhanced Home Learning Program with additional synchronous time and greater alignment with on-campus learning schedules. Should the school campus need to close under emergency circumstances, we are ready to respond. This plan requires two school days to mobilize.

We rely on families to check risk symptoms at home. The table below outlines early and late symptoms. If your child presents with these symptoms, please keep your child at home.

Please note that symptoms occur 5 to 7 days after exposure.

If a child demonstrates symptoms at school. Teachers and or the nurse may check temperature and communicate with parents as needed.

Click here to read more information on  COVID-19: Symptoms, Self-Isolation and When to Seek Help