Cayuga Lake Seido Karate
Our Commitment to Health
Update: March 13, 2020
While we had hoped to continue to offer in-person classes as usual, Tompkins County has just taken the extraordinary step of closing all schools through April 12th. As such, we have decided we must stop our in-person classes immediately. As details become clearer over the next several days, we hope to be able to provide a realistic timeframe for restarting in-person classes.
As we mentioned in our email earlier today, we will continue to offer classes through a variety of video sources. As this situation has developed at breakneck pace, please allow us a couple of days to plan and work with each of our instructors on the best delivery plan possible. Expect to receive an email this weekend with details about how you will access each of our video channels, and expect a schedule of our first offerings to be available by mid-week.
Thank you so much for your patience and support.
Jun Shihan Robin
Jun Shihan Gail
We wanted to provide an update on some important things happening at Cayuga Lake Seido Karate. There's a lot of information here, so please read through this email carefully.
As we have mentioned in our previous communications, we are working hard to make sure the dojo remains a clean, safe environment for everyone. In addition to the thorough cleaning protocols we have always followed, we are cleaning and disinfecting common surfaces many additional times each day. We're also taking time in class to help our youngest students learn good habits, like covering coughs and sneezes and taking time to wash their hands properly. And we've recently upgraded to touchless paper towel dispensers and low-touch soap dispensers in our restrooms to lessen the contact we all have with those common surfaces.
The two best practices we can all follow remain the same:
--If you or someone in your family is unwell, please do not attend class. The best way for us to keep our dojo community healthy is to practice good individual habits, and staying home while sick is one of the best things we can do to keep everyone safe. Even if your illness is mild, we would appreciate your staying home until you are symptom-free for at least 24 hours. We will be happy to schedule a catch-up lesson with you upon your return.
--Everyone--students, parents, and instructors--should wash their hands (or use hand sanitizer) as soon as you arrive at the dojo, before entering class or sitting down to watch. Please don't skip this vital, simple step that makes such a big difference. And please don't forget to re-wash or sanitize if you cough or sneeze into your hand while at the dojo.
To support further efforts in our community, we're also taking some new steps to help everyone stay healthy:
--We are instituting a no-contact rule for all classes except for Adult Kumite. We will work on individual skills and technique but will not be working on the parts of our curriculum that involve partner work. We are also lining classes up a bit differently to create appropriate distancing between students.
--We will not be using shared equipment in class (no passing of pads back and forth). We will still occasionally utilize individual pieces of equipment (every student has their own pad, for example) and these will be thoroughly cleaned after each use before they are stored away for the next class.
--To help with crowding in our entrance (particularly at the end of PeeWee and Junior classes), we will be using multiple exit doors. If your child's class is upstairs, please remove coats and shoes in the entrance as usual when you arrive, but bring them upstairs with you. At the end of class, you may exit using the rear staircase. If your child's class is downstairs, you may leave coats and shoes in the main entrance and exit through the front door as usual at the end of class. Or, you may bring shoes to the back of the dojo (near the rear glass doors) and hold coats on your lap, and exit through the rear door at the end of class. This will take a bit of getting used to, but in the end will provide us all with a lot more space during our peak transition times.
In this time of stress and uncertainty, we want to make sure that CLSK can continue to provide community, support, and a positive experience for everyone. To that end, our plan at this time is to continue providing in-person classes according to our regular schedule. Should that need to change, we will inform you as soon as we can. In the meantime, one thing we plan to do is make many of our classes available via video to those who are unable to attend due to illness or confinement. We will be utilizing a combination of Facebook live videos, Zoom videoconferencing, and YouTube to continue to provide instruction to all of our current students. You will be receiving a separate email with the details on how you will be able to connect to those resources.
Lastly, we are still hoping that our annual Punch and Kick-a-Thon will take place, but not in its usual format. We will be making some significant adjustments to the schedule to create smaller groups of students. Details of all changes will be forthcoming to those who are signed up. In the meantime, we ask that all of you consider supporting the Cancer Resource Center and Hospicare. Both of these organizations have been forced to cancel large fundraising events this month, and could really use the support. Please consider sponsoring a fellow student, or using one of these links to donate via Facebook (and share the links on your own page):
Link for Cancer Resource Center: https://bit.ly/33bGkQ8
Link for Hospicare: https://tinyurl.com/vl4slg5
As always, we thank all of you for your support and understanding, especially during difficult circumstances. We hope that you will contact us with any questions, concerns, or ideas you may have. Together, we will persevere!
Osu.
Jun Shihan Robin
Jun Shihan Gail
With the continued spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across the world, as well as the strong cold and flu season that persists in our area, we wanted to take some time to let you know about how we are working to keep the dojo healthy and safe for everyone.
First, it's important to know that COVID-19 is not spread through sweat, but through respiratory droplets expelled when a person coughs or sneezes. This makes it very important to practice good habits around these two behaviors in particular.
--If you cough, make sure to cover your cough with your elbow and not your hands
--If you sneeze, make sure to sneeze into your elbow or into a tissue
--If you use a tissue to cover your sneeze, follow up by washing your hands with soap and water
Hand washing is still the best defense against the transmission of any virus. We are asking that everyone wash their hands upon arriving at the dojo before entering class. While at the dojo, we also request that hands are re-washed after using a tissue or visiting the restroom. Hands should be washed with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds--about the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice. That's a long time compared to how long most of us usually spend washing!
Hand sanitizer is also available throughout both floors of the dojo--near entrances and bathrooms. While not as effective as hand washing, it does help to cut down on the sharing of germs. As recommended by the CDC, the sanitizer we stock has an alcohol content above 60% for maximum effectiveness.
Surfaces at the dojo that are encountered by most people--door handles, faucets, light switches, equipment, etc.--are cleaned and disinfected multiple times each day.
Some other good personal habits that can help:
--Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth, and face
--Keep your personal equipment (kumite gear, bag gloves) clean
--Do not share equipment, drinks, or food with others
Lastly, we ask that anyone who has a fever (100* Fahrenheit or higher), persistent cough or upper respiratory infection please stay home until you are feeling better and fever-free for at least 24 hours. As a rule, if your child wasn't healthy enough to attend school today, they probably aren't healthy enough to attend class at the dojo either.
We're grateful for all of you, and we'll continue to do all we can to provide a safe and healthy dojo for everyone. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let us know.
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