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Health & Safety

Health and Wellness

We are committed to the health and wellness of our entire school community. Supported by our Health Center nurses, a team of counselors, and athletic coaches and trainers, Bryn Mawr helps students understand their own emotional and physical wellness, what they need to thrive, and how to make educated and healthy choices. Parents and families are our partners in this work.

Keeping our Community Healthy

A student’s health and wellness is key to her academic and overall success. It is more important than ever for students and families to pay close attention to their everyday health and stay committed to keeping the Bryn Mawr community healthy.

Students should stay home or leave school for any of the following reasons:
  • A fever greater than 100.0 F. Students must be fever-free for 24 hours, without the use of fever reducing medicine before they return to school; 
  • Vomiting and diarrhea: Students must be symptom free for 24 hours before returning to school;
  • Untreated head lice;
  • Strep throat: Students must remain home until two doses of antibiotics have been administered;
  • Pink eye/conjunctivitis: Students must remain home for 24 hours after starting eye drops or until symptoms clear, there is no discharge and the eye is not irritated;
  • If an adult or student on campus presents symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive, we will adhere to the most recent guidelines set forth by the Maryland Department of Health, the Maryland State Department of Education and the CDC.

Please notify the Health Center at 410-323-8800 ext 1242 or nurse@brynmawrschool.org if:

  • Your child or a member of your household tests positive for COVID-19. 
  • Your child develops another communicable disease. These include : chicken pox, monkeypox, measles, influenza, meningitis, hepatitis, tuberculosis, pertussis, MRSA, mononucleosis, scabies, conjunctivitis, ringworm and impetigo. Treatment and return to school guidelines are outlined under Communicable Diseases Summary (COMAR 10.06.01). Since many communicable diseases have symptoms that overlap with COVID-19, staying home when ill will help keep members of the school community healthy.
  • Your child has an active case of head lice.
  • Your child has a serious illness or injury incurring an absence of more than three days. A doctor’s note is required for returning to school and participating in athletics, PE, or dance as well as implementing any academic, medical or physical accommodations that might be needed.

COVID-19 Health Policies

This section serves as a family resource for health and safety protocols related to COVID-19. While all plans listed here are subject to change, we are striving for flexibility and transparency in our protocols to prioritize in-person teaching and learning for all students and employees. Please read our Community Commitment to Health below.

  • Testing: Students and employees who develop symptoms of COVID-19 while on campus can be given a rapid antigen test to determine the presence of COVID-19. Bryn Mawr reserves the right to require all students and employees to participate in screening testing at school, should conditions warrant.
  • COVID Vaccination remains the single most effective strategy to eliminate COVID-19. Bryn Mawr strongly encourages up-to-date vaccinations of all eligible individuals. Annual flu shots are also strongly encouraged.
  • Masking: Bryn Mawr follows the most recent guidance issued by the CDC, Maryland Department of Health and the Maryland State Department of Education related to masking. The school is currently mask-optional in all divisions in both indoor and outdoor environments.
    • Bryn Mawr reserves the right to require individuals to mask indoors, such as after returning from a 5 day isolation period due to COVID-19 or when community metrics warrant an additional layer of virus mitigation. Students should have a spare mask in their backpack or locker or can always obtain one from the Health Center if necessary.
  • Hand Hygiene: Students must wash hands frequently throughout the day, for at least  twenty seconds, using soap and water, including when entering and leaving a building or  classroom, before and after meals and after using the restroom.
  • Illness: Students who have a temperature greater than 100.0 or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 may not come to campus. Symptoms of COVID-19 include: fever, headache, body aches, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, new loss of taste or smell, chills, abdominal pain, diarrhea, runny nose and body aches. Parents should report student absences to the Health Center and their respective division.
    • It is the expectation that if a student becomes ill during the school day, a parent/guardian or caregiver will pick that student up within one hour of notification. Students who become ill with COVID-19 symptoms will be isolated in the Health Center until they are picked up. If an adult or student on campus presents symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive, we will adhere to the current Maryland Department of Health and CDC protocols for isolation.
 

Current Protocol Following COVID-19 Exposure or Positive Test:
(Updated August 2022)

Positive Cases:
  • Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for 5 full days. Day 0 is the day symptoms begin or the day of the positive test if asymptomatic. 
  • Individuals may return on Day 6 provided they have been fever-free and symptoms have improved significantly in the previous 24 hours.
  • Upon return, individuals must be able to wear a well-fitting mask indoors at school on Days 6-10.
    • For students under the age of two or anyone unable to wear a well-fitting mask, a negative antigen test on Day 5 or later is required before returning to school.
  • All positive cases must be reported to the Health Center.
  • Employees and parents of students who test positive are encouraged to notify anyone they potentially exposed.
  • Universal contact tracing is no longer recommended for schools or childcare, except in the event of an outbreak or if local metrics warrant. Bryn Mawr will only notify the class, grade, team or other cohort in the event of an outbreak (defined as three or more cases that are epidemiologically linked).

Exposure to COVID-19:

  • Employees and students, including those in Little School, who have been exposed to COVID-19 will need to wear a mask while indoors at school for 10 days, regardless of their vaccination status. They can continue to attend school as long as they remain asymptomatic. For children under 2 who are unable to mask, alternate mitigation strategies, such as distancing indoors will be employed for the 10-day period following exposure.
  • A rapid antigen test is recommended by the CDC on Day 6 after exposure. 
  • Universal contact tracing is no longer recommended for schools or childcare, except in the event of an outbreak or if local metrics warrant. Bryn Mawr will only notify the class, grade, team or other cohort in the event of an outbreak (defined as three or more positive cases that are epidemiologically linked).


Please contact the Health Center either by phone or email if you have any questions.
All students need to have the COVID-19 screening app (MyMedBot) filled out each morning by 7:15 a.m. Parents will fill this out for Lower and Middle School students; Upper School students may fill this out for themselves or have a parent do so. 

Symptoms of COVID-19 often resemble symptoms of other illnesses. It is the expectation that if a student becomes ill during the school day, a parent/guardian or caregiver will pick that student up within one hour of notification. Students who become ill with COVID-19 symptoms will be isolated until they are picked up. If an adult or student on campus presents symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive, we will adhere to the following protocol outlined by the Maryland Department of Health. Click here for a full size view the chart.
 
Travel Policy (Updated May 2021)

Fully vaccinated students and employees may travel domestically and do not need to quarantine or obtain a COVID-19 test upon their return to Maryland. Fully vaccinated students and employees may travel internationally, but are required to get tested 3-5 days after their return to the United States and stay home until the test results are received. No quarantine is required following a negative test.

Unvaccinated students and employees who travel internationally need to be tested 3-5 days after their return AND stay home and self quarantine for 7 full days, even if your test is negative. Individuals who do not get tested need to quarantine for 10 days. All unvaccinated students and employees who travel internationally should self monitor for symptoms for 14 days after their return.

At this time, the CDC and the State of Maryland still discourage non-essential travel. If families choose to travel either domestically or internationally by any mode of transportation, any unvaccinated individual age 4 and older will be required to be tested for COVID-19 prior to their return to school. Individuals must stay home while awaiting results. Unvaccinated students who travel internationally will need to follow the guidelines in the paragraph above. This applies to any travel that includes an overnight stay in all states, with the exception of Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Only PCR tests will be accepted. Test results should be emailed to nurse@brynmawrschool.org and must include the name, date of the test, date of the report, and confirmation that it is a PCR test.

Quarantine Policy (Updated April 2021)

Bryn Mawr has updated its policy for quarantining close contacts of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 to reflect recent changes made by the CDC and the Baltimore City Health Department. As a reminder, close contacts are defined as someone who was within 6 feet of an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes over a 24 hour period.

  • Close contacts of an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 must quarantine for 14 days if they live in the same household as the positive individual.

  • Close contacts of an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 and does not reside in the same household as the positive individual may be able to shorten the quarantine period to 10 days after consultation with the Bryn Mawr Health Center.

Please contact the Health Center either by phone or email if you have any questions.

Medicine at school

Students may not carry medicine at school with the exception of emergency medications such as asthma inhalers, EpiPens, insulin, glucagon and benadryl.

All other prescription medications required to be administered during the school day will be kept in the Health Center, in a pharmacy labeled container. Prescription medication must be accompanied by the appropriate medication administration consent form. Please contact the Health Center directly for more information.
 
 

Medical Forms

Bryn Mawr partners with the online health management system Magnus Health to securely collect and store student medical information. Parents and guardians are responsible for uploading annual physical forms and immunization records and completing all consents and other forms in Magnus Health.

 

Campus Communication

In the event of a weather-related or emergency school closing, Bryn Mawr will notify families via the e2Campus Emergency Notification System (ENS). All parents must subscribe to the system, which will broadcast notices via email, voice, and text messaging. Communications from the headmistress and the divisions will be sent via email and posted on the Parent Portal.


The school uses campus-wide bells and alarms, broadcast phone messages, web alerts, and e2 Campus to notify school personnel and students of an emergency. School marshals communicate the protocol to be followed on our campus and, when necessary, campus security is in communication with our coordinate schools, Gilman School and Roland Park Country School, by two-way radio, email, and cell phone.

List of 1 items.

  • Asbestos Management Plan

    In 1986 Congress enacted the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). This law contained comprehensive regulations developed to address asbestos problems in schools. In compliance with these regulations, Bryn Mawr's campus was inspected in 1987 to determine the location and condition of asbestos. As a further part of the regulations, a plan was developed to manage the asbestos. This includes semi-annual inspections by our staff, as well as inspections by certified inspectors once every three years. The school's Management Plan, which is required to be maintained by law, is updated on an annual basis.

    The whole plan is available for inspection in the Business Office on regular work days from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Assistant Head of School for Finance and Administration and/or the Director of Operations are also available to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to call either one at (410) 323-8800.


Important Contacts

Director of Security Jeff Coleman
colemanj@brynmawrschool.org
410-323-8800, ext. 1616

Campus Security
410-323-8800 x1567 (Security Office)
443-744-7424 (Security Supervisor)
443-552-8896 (Guard on duty)

Switchboard
410-323-8800
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Health Center
Barbara Scott, RN
Amy Robinson, RN
nurse@brynmawrschool.org
410-323-8800, ext. 1242
Monday-Friday, 7:45 a.m - 4:00 p.m.

General Campus Safety

  • The school grounds are patrolled and monitored seven days a week, 24 hours a day, by several full-time school security personnel and a professional security company.
  • All school employees are required to wear identification and visitors to Bryn Mawr must display a visitor's badge.
  • The school's full-time athletic trainer works with our student athletes and adults on campus to help reduce and prevent injuries and maintain health and wellness.
  • The school has after-hours emergency protocols in place, and school personnel are specifically trained to handle emergencies that may occur during off-school hours. In addition, a school administrator is on duty each school day between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. as an emergency contact.
  • After-school programs are supervised and staffed until every student is picked up.
  • All school buildings are locked on a regular schedule in the evening; both the Little and Lower Schools are locked and on a buzzer system during the day.
  • Emergency drill procedures are posted in each school building and classroom. All personnel and students participate in emergency drills throughout the year, which include fire drills, lockdown drills, and weather drills.
  • Information about campus safety and security is shared on a regular basis with the tri-school community as well as with area neighborhood associations.