Javascript Menu by Deluxe-Menu.com
 

SAINT SOPHIA UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

An Institution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

 

Seminary’s Plan to Resume In-Person Instruction

June 29, 2020

Beloved brethren: dear members of St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary family: CHRIST IS AMONG US!

I write with important updates regarding St. Sophia Seminary’s Campus Reopening Plan. In assembling the guidelines below, the Seminary’s leadership team has continued to closely monitor the spread of COVID-19 and the recommendations from local, state and federal public health agencies – all to ensure that we are making the right decisions for the health and safety of all those within our community. Based on New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education reopening guidelines for all educational institutions, we will be opening many areas of our campus effective September 1, 2020.

Please read the following information carefully. All of these steps are effective Monday, August 31, 2020, unless otherwise stated:

Masks and social distancing: As described in the CDC’s guidelines, we will continue to adhere to social distancing and mask requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For those who need them, masks are available in our main Seminary office.

This is important: If you are feeling sick or are part of a vulnerable population, you should remain at home and report any symptoms to the Dean of Students, at 732-356-0090 or StSophiaSeminary@aol.com

Campus offices: All Seminary offices will be open. Faculty and staff should watch for an email from Office of the Academic Dean and Human Resources with more information about returning to campus.

Visitors: The campus will be reopened to visitors, but they will be required to adhere to social distancing and mask requirements.

Occupancy of campus classrooms and meeting spaces: The current guidelines of the Seminary will allow for up to 10 students in a class for indoor meeting spaces with masks and social distancing required remain in effect until further notice.  

Metropolitan John Theodorovich Seminary Library: Due to low traffic during this time of year and the requirements for use of these facilities, the library will remain closed until the start of fall classes as of September 1, 2020. Faculty and students can still request materials, which will be pulled and provided for pick-up at an arranged time. Please contact Oksana Pasakas, Seminary Librarian, at 732-356-0090.

Seminary events: We will continue to make case by case decisions relative to events based on social distancing and occupancy restrictions. Visit the Seminary’s website and search the calendar to find up-to-date notices about public events.

Food Service: Meals will be provided by the Seminary twice a day for Full-Time students, adhering to social distancing and masks requirements for the staff and students. General Protocols for Cleaning & Sanitation of the Seminary will be followed.

Cleaning & Sanitation: We are committed to the safety and well-being of students, faculty, and staff, as we prepare to return to the Seminary campus in the fall. We have implemented additional safety processes and protocols to help ensure the safety of Seminary’s operations, following the CDC’s cleaning protocols.

  • Cleaning and sanitization – done twice a day
  • Requiring face coverings
  • Adequate supplies, such as personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies will be provided by the Seminary Main office
  • All staff, faculty and students required to engage in social distancing practices at all times
  • All staff, faculty and students required to engage in a training of social distancing practices and protocols.

CLEANING: Each location maintains a variety of tools and processes designed to ensure the highest levels of cleanliness are maintained at all times. 

HIGH TOUCH CLEANING: Extra and frequent cleaning of all surfaces and items that are at higher risk of contamination (door handles, light switches, condiment stations, etc.).

Hand Hygiene:

GUESTS: Increased availability of hand wash stations, hand sanitizer, ‘no-touch’ service options and targeted signage and communication to promote hand hygiene.

EMPLOYEES: Substantial and ongoing hand hygiene training, an increased schedule of mandatory hand washing (every 20 minutes) and appropriate use of PPE (gloves).

Chemicals, Equipment & PPE:

CHEMICALS: Specified chemicals are designed specifically for food service environments. Every location will also maintain an inventory of Sanitizing Wipes, a CDC approved disinfectant for the pathogen treatment of spaces that have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus.

EQUIPMENT: All equipment utilized in cleaning and sanitation, including dishwashers, glass cleaners, chemical dispensers, etc. are checked multiple times per day for correct temperatures, concentrations and functionality.

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE): Seminary Kitchen facility ensures that all locations are properly equipped with the necessary PPE to ensure guest and employee safety - including gloves, masks (where required), eye protection, thermometers, aprons/gowns, etc.

Product Safety:

SUPPLIERS: All suppliers must pass stringent safety and sanitation requirements to gain and maintain approval.  Additional controls will be placed on vendor deliveries to ensure the safe transfer of all products.

FOOD SAFETY: Standards for food receipt, storage, handling and preparation are very detailed and specific. Each step of the process is monitored and documented so that quality, temperature control, and contamination risks are managed at all times.

Testing/Tracing/Quarantine Isolation: The Seminary will work with the local Medical institutions in order to establish testing opportunities.  The focus of this effort will be in testing symptomatic students and those who have come into direct contact with positive cases of COVID-19.  Direct contacts are those individuals who have come into direct contact (at least 10 minutes of contact within 6 feet) of a positive or presumed positive case.  Seminary staff will conduct an initial trace of possible direct contacts with the student in question.  Residential students who test positive or are presumed positive based on symptoms will be required to relocate to a self-isolation room on-campus and their close contacts will be required to quarantine.  

Travel registration: Students, faculty and staff who are traveling should continue to complete Seminary’s travel form before traveling and must check-in with the Main Seminary Office upon returning to campus.

Disease FAQs and prevention guidelines: Please read and follow the guidelines prepared by the CDC. 

As mentioned above, if you are sick, please stay home and away from others until you are feeling better. Use handwashing and cleaning protocols to prevent the spread of disease. If you have any COVID-19-related questions, please reach out to 732-356-0090 or StSophiaSeminary@aol.com

These decisions have been informed by expert advice and relevant information. Our Seminary team is continually monitoring the situation and working through plans for managing our operations moving forward. We will continue to provide you with updates as new information becomes available and make updates to our webpage as appropriate.

Sincerely in Christ,

 

Archbishop Daniel, Provost

St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

South Bound Brook/Somerset, NJ

Additional Information to

Seminary’s Plan to Resume In-Person Instruction

St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary will continue to follow the guiding principles created in our reopening plan. They are:

Caring for the whole person and community. We want to ensure the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff. We also want to be mindful of the varieties of stress and trauma people are experiencing, while providing the best support we can. Individuals and families are increasingly stressed and fatigued by chronic anxiety, existential uncertainty, grief and loss, debilitating economic challenges, spiritual demoralization, and unequal/inequitable access to resources.

Stewarding our fiscal responsibilities. We are grateful for the generosity of many of you along with alums, friends, trustees, and foundations who have given gifts or grants to the Seminary providing us with a strong endowment. We need to honor those gifts by continuing to be mindful of how we manage our resources so that St. Sophia Seminary remains strong for generations to come.

Community transmission of the COVID-19 virus continues to increase locally, in our region, and in the United States. The vast majority of people who get infected (80 percent or so) have mild cases. As has been our practice over these last few months, our Seminary maintenance crew will continue to disinfect common areas of campus in accordance with public health recommendations.

According to public health authorities, how a community responds to an outbreak can have a direct impact on its duration and severity. By working together—and heeding the wealth of public health expertise that is available to us—we can take significant steps to slow the spread of the virus.

All Faculty, Students and Administration upon entering the physical buildings of the Seminary shall undergo the following screening measures:

  • Temperature Screening
  • Name and Phone number for Contact Tracing will be recorder

MINIMIZING DISEASE SPREAD: Preventing the spread of disease is everyone’s job. You can help by doing the following:

Wash your hands frequently – especially after touching doorknobs – and follow proper hand-washing procedures:

  1. Use warm water and soap, wash hands for 20 seconds.
  2. Use hand sanitizer with at least 60-95 percent alcohol.
  3. If you feel ill, stay in your residence and let us know you are feeling sick by e-mailing StSophiaSeminary@aol.com (please note, confidentiality will be upheld)
  4. Separate yourself from other residents and pets.
  5. If you need to leave your unit to go to a doctor, please wear a mask over your nose and mouth and disposable gloves. Discard these items upon return and/or wash immediately.
  6. Any co-residents should use a facemask and gloves when in the same room as you.
  7. Do not use public transportation, ride sharing, or taxis.
  8. Do not enter any public areas in the building.
  9. Before leaving to go to the doctor, call ahead to let them know if you may have been exposed to a virus.
  10. Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and discard immediately in a lined trashcan and wash your hands immediately afterwards following the steps noted above.
  11. Do not share personal items (dishes, utensil, cups, bedding, towels, etc.).
  12. Clean all high-touch surfaces every day.

Some people infected with COVID-19 do not have symptoms and may still be able to transmit the disease to others without knowing that they have it. This is why physical distancing is so important.

Social Distancing: Keeping space between individuals is one of the best tools to avoid being exposed to the COVID-19 virus and slowing its spread. Since people can spread the virus before they know they are sick, it is important to stay away from others when possible, even if you have no symptoms. Social distancing is important for everyone, especially to help protect people who are at higher risk of getting sick. Employees and students on campus should follow these social distancing practices:

  • Maintain a minimum of six feet of space between people whenever feasible
  • Do not gather in groups
  • When in a meeting or gathering, ensure that the room used allows for adequate distancing
  • Stay out of crowded places and avoid mass gatherings

SEMINARY ACCESS: Buildings will continue to be secured given the reduced on-campus population.

Visitors: Visitors with no legitimate business purpose and guests are not allowed in workplaces; this includes visitors who may be friends or family of employees.

Lobbies/Common Areas/Amenities: These locations will have hand sanitizer stations in strategic locations (to the extent that supply is available) as well as floor markings to encourage social distancing when queuing. Seating in lobbies, amenity spaces, or waiting areas is removed and rearranged to promote social distancing and clear lanes of travel.  

METROPOLITAN JOHN THEODOROVICH SEMINARY LIBRARY: Due to low traffic during this time of year and the requirements for use of these facilities, the library will remain closed until the start of fall classes as of September 1, 2020. Faculty and students can still request materials, which will be pulled and provided for pick-up at an arranged time. Please contact Oksana Pasakas, Seminary Librarian, at 732-356-0090.

Upon reopening of the Library, social distancing will be required with no more than 10 students at a time in the Library facility. Facial masks will be required.

We are committed to the safety and well-being of students, faculty, and staff, as we prepare to return to the Seminary campus in the fall. We have implemented additional safety processes and protocols to help ensure the safety of Seminary’s operations, following the CDC’s cleaning protocols.

The Seminary Maintenance Team will provide the following cleaning services at the Library:

  • Cleaning and sanitization – done twice a day
  • Requiring face coverings
  • Adequate supplies, such as personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies will be provided by the Seminary Main office

DINING SERVICES: We hope that eating in the dining room will be pleasant for everyone and have designed the following procedures to minimize traffic and confusion. More important, we anticipate that everyone will follow, at both sit-down and buffet meals, the commonly established principles of decorum that make dining a civilized affair.

St. Sophia Seminary has had a commitment to formal meals for over 45 years, and this tradition is critical in creating the sense of community that marks the school.

Students are required to sit at the tables to which they have been assigned, maintaining social distancing. 

No self-service will be offered. Meals will be served by the Dining Hall staff, wearing facial covering and gloves.

In addition, the Dining Hall will be limited to a number of people who can be in the kitchen/serving area at one time to 10 or less.

The Dining Room and Kitchen Staff will follow CDC guidelines and NJ State Regulations while preparing and serving food. The Ukrainian Cultural Center Manager shall provide in-person training to the Seminary Kitchen staff.

HOUSING: All seminary housing will remain open/accessible only to residents. We ask that seminary housing residents exercise caution and judgment with respect to each other, personal space and social distancing. There will be two students per room. We will counsel individually with any student who has been impacted by the coronavirus. Further questions on this matter should be addressed to the Dean of Students.

SEMINARY FACULTY AND STAFF: If you are returning from travel or were exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19, please contact the main Seminary office before returning to work. Employees who test positive for COVID-19 and are physically on campus should contact main Seminary office directly to report the case and seek guidance.

In the event a faculty or staff member becomes sick

  • Workers and visitors should stay home if they are sick.
  • If a worker exhibits COVID-like symptoms, while at work, he or she will be sent home or isolated in an office until arrangements can be made for safe transportation.
  • Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever/chills, coughing, difficulty breathing,
  • fatigue, muscle/body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat,
  • congestion or runny nose, nausea/vomiting, and diarrhea.
  • Areas used by the sick person will be closed off, cleaned, and disinfected.
  • Such areas will not be used until after they have been cleaned and disinfected.

Vulnerable Persons

Vulnerable persons are defined as 65 and older, those with underlying medical conditions. Underlying conditions include, but are not limited to, weakened immune systems, hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung disease, chronic kidney disease that requires dialysis, liver disease, severe heart conditions, moderate to severe asthma, severe obesity.

Vulnerable workers are encouraged to self-identify – Seminary staff must avoid unnecessary medical questions, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

Vulnerable workers should speak with their deans or department heads about the possibility of flexible work schedules and telework arrangements that will mitigate the risk of exposure to the virus.

Share This:




Powered by Orthodox Web Solutions