As the risk for childhood drowning increases amid the pandemic, Goldfish Swim School – Norwalk is on a mission to safely reopen its doors to provide children the lifesaving skill. While the global pandemic has caused much of the country to shut down and families to stay home, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warns of an increased threat in childhood drowning this summer.
As many families rely more heavily on unsupervised lakes and beaches, and parents seek to utilize backyard pools while balancing at-home distractions, remote working situations and more, swim lessons and water safety becomes increasingly important. Goldfish Swim School – Norwalk has resumed lessons on July 6th.
As Goldfish Swim School starts to welcome the Norwalk community back to its school, the safety and wellbeing of students, guests, and team members remain its top priority. While the school has always taken great pride in the cleanliness and safety of its facility, managers have been working closely with local health authorities and in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines on reopening plans to ensure the safest environment possible.
Protocol found in Goldfish Swim School’s Safer. Stronger. Together. ™ initiative will help ensure a safety-focused and thoughtful reopening. Notable adjustments have been made to class sizes, sanitization procedures, and school policies to ensure social distancing and to abide by Connecticut health department regulations. Some of the various updates include:
- Health Assessments: Prior to entering, members will be asked to self-assess their health and the health of their children. If anyone is not feeling well, has a fever, shortness of breath, or any COVID-19 like symptoms, or has been directly exposed to COVID-19, they are to cancel their lesson, and makeup lessons will be credited to their accounts. Team members will also be evaluated with a health assessment upon arrival for each shift.
- Protective Equipment: Face masks are strongly encouraged in all schools – for both members and team members – and will be required for entry where recommended by state and local health authorities.
- Social Distancing: Members are being asked to wear a mask and maintain social distance from one another in the parent viewing area. Chairs in the viewing area will be set up to reflect state and local recommendations. Children will also be seated at a safe social distance from one another in the pool during lessons, where required. Instructors will also maintain social distance from children where applicable, but will absolutely assist swimmers as needed to provide a safe swimming experience.
- Increased Facility Cleaning and Sanitization Stations: There is increased attention to high traffic areas and commonly touched facility elements. Schools will also continue to provide antibacterial hand soaps and hand sanitizer, with increased availability in key areas of the facility.
- Removal of Commonly Shared Amenities: Shared amenities such as books and toys, hair dryers, hair products, quarter candy, and in some cases, retail items will be temporarily removed to help prevent the spread of germs and bacteria. If members need something to purchase for lessons, the front desk will be able to assist.
“The last few months have been a challenge, but together we stayed separate, we stayed strong, we stayed safe – and now it’s time to reunite and dive back in,” said Lynn Deffendall, General Manager of Goldfish Swim School – Norwalk. “We thank our community for their patience and commitment and look forward to planning a celebration when we are permitted to do so. For now, we are so grateful to welcome back our members, both existing and new, as we can safely reopen during the summer months as water safety will become more important than ever.”
With rising concerns of an increase in childhood drownings this summer, Goldfish Swim School – Norwalk is committed to helping families promote water safety with their children, whether it be in the pool or out. Amid the pandemic, it launched ‘Goldfish At Home,’ providing free, virtual dry-land swim lessons to families throughout the community, along with a variety of online and interactive water-safety focused initiatives and activities.
As Goldfish Swim School – Norwalk reopens, families can enroll their children, ages four months to 12 years, in Jumpstart Clinics and a wide range of swim lesson and water safety instruction utilizing a proprietary curriculum, The Science of SwimPlay®, which helps to build life skills both in and out of the water using play-based learning in a fun and safe environment.
Given how quickly COVID-19 continues to evolve, Goldfish Swim School – Norwalk is continuously monitoring for new developments and will continue to reevaluate steps and actions to assure it continues to do the right things, as well as following the guidelines outlined by the CDC and the local public health officials.
For more information on Goldfish Swim School – Norwalk and reopening details, please visit www.goldfishswimschool.com/norwalk or call 203-590-9152.
