Fall 2020 Covid-19 Protocols
During these odd times, TAASC must mandate protocols to keep both students and their families safe. There is an inherent risk in all activities, and that risk is significantly heightened during this pandemic. We are mitigating these risks through the policies below. We believe that these few risks are worth taking to provide a vibrant educational environment for our students. As a program; we will be following all State and Federal mandates concerning Covid-19. These protocols are subject to change as our regions’ conditions change.
- The possession of a mask is required during all TAASC events.
- TAASC meetings will require masks to attend
- Meetings will be held outside – we may have to cancel meetings if weather is extreme enough to prevent us being outdoors.
- We expect full transparency from our community about symptoms, exposure, and testing results.
- Students who are sick must not attend any TAASC Events.
- Students who have significant exposure to Covid-19 (prolonged proximity to a suspected or positive case) will stay home for 14 days.
- If our program experiences an outbreak, TAASC events will be suspended for a minimum of 14 days.
- The Bus Capacity will be limited to 8 and masks must be worn + windows all open
- We will be running several day trips for each group. This includes a water-safety and canoe/kayak series (for all groups). These water based programs will be run out of the old Camp Woodson in Fairview. More details about these will be emailed to you.
- TAASC will not be hosting overnight trips — This will be re-evaluated often
- We will be offering day trip experiences this fall. The first is a water safety skills series – info will be sent to you soon
- Masks and social distancing will be required on all trips (unless in the water, in which case we will still ask everyone to socially distance)
Trip Transportation
We understand how important providing student transport is and that suspending that option would put added stress on families. We also understand that in providing transport more students will be able to attend trips and other events. All things considered, we will be providing student transport with the TAASC Bus. Students will be required to wear masks and limit each row to one student; this limits the bus’ capacity to about 8. Dependent on your comfort level and as always, you are welcome to drive separate. We will be re-evaluating this on a monthly basis.
Meetings
TAASC will have weekly meetings on Thursdays during the usual times.
Meetings will resume on September 10th.
Both Girls Groups and the Boys Group meet from 4:00pm-5:30pm; Olders will meet from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.
Our meetings will take place in a variety of outdoor places like the Folk Art Center, the Mountains to Sea Trail and also at Evergreen. Our goal is to be outdoors and in action, learning skills and leadership.
[As the season progresses we may look at shifting the Older Group slot to an earlier time on a different day. We’ll be asking for your input on this shift as we get started.]
Sophia Cross, Asheville High senior and long standing member of TAASC, has attended nearly all sessions, bringing her expertise, fine role modeling, and enthusiasm for girls and the program. All of the girls love her and so do the staff! She is an excellent example of how this program so positively informs and creates a confident, strong leader with amazing outdoor skills. We are so fortunate to have her with us!
This week our six and seven year old Taasc girls embraced the dark as we turned our attention toward our upcoming day trip to go caving! These girls have already been building trust with one another at meetings. It wasn’t that long ago that each girl was leading her blindfolded partner on a trust walk in the woods, and then they took it to the next level as they back up belayed each other at the climbing gym.
“The kids are allowed to be who they are at that developmental stage without constantly being under scrutiny. While they are being kids, they are learning how to do important things and being tested in real-life situations. When they are out on the water, those are real-life environments. And when they come back, they are very aware that they’ve done something important.”
There are many young people who do not identify with a traditional template of leadership – the one with the person at the top or the front, making decisions and telling everyone what to do. Many kids especially do not want this role. It’s not cool, it’s not comfortable and doesn’t feel right to them. I feel the same way. The traditional template is stale and outdated. We live in a new world that needs new thinking and new leadership ideas.