SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Some of the early childhood development classes at Syracuse’s Jewish Community Center have been affected by New York state’s COVID-19 guidelines. New York state requires that students socially distance at least six feet and advises sanitizing. Gymnastics, dance and junior sports classes are some of the classes that have had to adapt.
Director of health and physical education Sherri Lamanna is responsible for dance and gymnastics classes at the JCC. She has had to use creative measures to ensure that her students are socially distant.
“We put markers on the floor, these little Velcro dots, to keep them distanced while we stretched, and spatial while we were waiting for turns on bars and balance beam,” Lamanna said.
Class sizes have also had to change to allow for social distancing. The preschool age classes have been split into what Lamanna calls “pods.”
“In the past years, they would sign up for gymnastics and they would all mix in,” Lamanna said. “This year, only room A gymnasts can go and only room B gymnasts can go, … So instead of having 12 kids in one class, I might have five kids in one class, six in another class and four in another class. It makes the classroom smaller, and they’re just not combining.”
JCC staff have also had to make changes to the equipment that is available for students. Typically, gymnastics classes have a communal chalk bucket to help students grip the bars. This year, each student is required to carry their own bucket with their name on it, Lamanna said.
Other precautions are also taken, according to Lamanna. All equipment is sprayed and sanitized after each class, all students must wear masks and everyone who enters the JCC is subjected to a temperature check at the door.
A small number of parents have still chosen to keep the kids out of the programs. Those parents are also choosing to keep their kids virtual for school, Lamanna said.
The JCC does have a plan in place in the event of a positive test.
“It would, obviously, go to the health department, and they would do contact tracing,” Lamanna said. “I haven’t had any gymnastics classes have to be quarantined, at all.”
Gymnastics and sports classes kick off this week, and dance classes are set to begin in April.
