Early morning on March 12, West Orange Public Schools announced that teachers across the district will meet at West Orange High School tomorrow to create 10 official online lesson plans during a professional learning training in the case that school will close for 2 weeks. Students will be out of school on Friday, but as of right now school is not cancelled next week.

Until the time being, here are the top 8 tips to get through the COVID-19 outbreak at home during school closures where we will most likely rely on E-training to proceed with lessons.

1. Stay updated on Google Classroom

Teachers will be frequently utilizing Google Classroom to conduct lessons, so it is imperative that you keep updated on what assignments are required to be completed. Keep in mind that this applies to all courses, including Physical Education, so take all assignments as seriously as you would if they were assigned in school. Failure to do so will impact your grade.

 2. Frequently watch and read the news

As the COVID-19 outbreak rapidly unfolds, stay updated by watching the news, reading articles or even going on trusted platforms such as Twitter. The more informed you are on the virus, the more you know on how to protect yourself from it!

3. Stay updated on Social Media 

If you don’t already follow the district social media (woschools) or Superintendent Dr. Cascone (dr.jcascone), we strongly suggest that you do so. On these social media sites, town officials bring updates about school closures and any other district wide decisions that affect students. To get updates quicker than you would through phone calls or emails, follow the district Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

4. Try to avoid large, public spaces

Spring weather is quickly approaching, and with more possible school closures on the way we understand your desire to leave the house. Our suggestion is to simply be aware that if you are in large spaces, you are more likely to be exposed to the COVID-19. Keep in mind that this virus is airborne, meaning that you can be exposed to it through close contact with anyone infected.  If you can avoid it, try not to visit crowded spaces like concerts, gyms, or doctors offices.

5. Wash your hands for 20 seconds… frequently throughout the day

Chances are, since West Orange has no cases of COVID-19 at the moment, you are still going to leave your house. If you aren’t exactly up to self quarantining for safe measures, make sure that you frequently wash your hands, because that is easily a way to carry germs.

6. After coming home, do not sit on any furniture with outside clothes

It will be quite hard to decipher if your clothes carry outside germs or traces of the virus, so to be safe, always put on fresh clothes upon returning home. This is a safe way to ensure that you are not transferring anything dangerous into what would have been an other wise COVID-19 free household.

7. Disinfect your electronics

Be mindful that electronics like your phone, computer or tablet have a lot of germs on them. For safe measures try to clean your electronics twice a day. Avoid using house hold cleaners to do this, and instead try to use Wet Wipes or other sanitizing wipes.

8. Don’t touch your face!

It’s easy to fall into the habit of touching your face. Whether you are using your hand as a chin rest, or doing it out of habit, be mindful of it! It’s hard, but in the long run, not touching your face will lessen your likelihood of gaining exposure to the virus if you come in contact with it.