COVID-19

District and state news that affects the FCMS community will be posted here. In addition, you will find links and resources below to help you navigate this time.


Helpful Links



Illness Exclusion Guidance

A montessori guide is sitting in a room with a sign that says illness exclusion guidance.

Thank you all for your continued communication, patience, and vigilance as we continue to navigate life in this pandemic. As much as we’d all like it to be behind us, we aren’t in the clear yet. Overall cases in the community have looked better, however, more of the variants have been detected. At the same time, Larimer County continues to make progress with the vaccine.


I wanted to send an update regarding current exclusion guidelines. We are still following the state’s Return to Learn guidance. This guidance is only intended for those who develop any symptoms that could be Covid. The following does not apply to someone who is determined to be a close contact to a Covid case.


In summary:


Mild Symptoms


  • Sore throat
  • Runny nose or congestion
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea/Vomiting
  • Diarrhea


Major Symptoms


  • Feeling feverish, having chills, temperature of 100.4 or greater
  • New or worsening cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing


Critical Symptoms


  • New loss of taste or smell


*If any symptoms last <24 hours/no symptom progression – may return to learn without Covid test 


*If any minor/major symptoms last >24-48 hours, the child must have a documented negative Covid test before returning to school. Please see acceptable tests below. 


*Any loss of taste or smell (of any duration) requires a negative Covid test 


Currently (subject to change),per Larimer County Public Health and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, acceptable tests for return to learn currently are: PCR (continues to be the gold standard and most accurate), Abbott ID NOW (molecular rapid test), and BinaxNOW (rapid antigen test).


Be well!
Nurse Jen

Drop-off And Pick-up Procedures (Rev. 9-30-20)

Our new school has a dedicated drive through lane for both drop-off and pick-up. It is extremely important that we keep to our window for drop-off to limit both traffic on our cross streets as well as mitigate potential group mixing.

Families will be provided two vehicle tags with your child’s name and teacher to be displayed in the front right side of your vehicle to assist with both drop-off and pick-up. 


Staff members will be present to support children. All traffic signs must be followed while on campus and while exiting to ensure everyone’s safety. Please remember to respect our neighbors when entering and leaving our campus by driving slowly and carefully.


  • Drop-off times Elementary only 8:00-8:15.
  • Drop-off times Primary and families with both Primary and Elementary 8:15-8:30


Procare App Check-in


  1. Please download the Procare app (Android or Apple
  2. We have set up Geo-Fencing for our campus so you can sign-in without having to touch another device. Simply open your app on your device and sign-in when you come into range of our Geo-Fence. If you do not have the capability for this service, we will also have iPads with scannable QR codes to assist you with contactless sign-in. Please contact the office if you are unable to use either of these services so we can help find an alternative solution.


Drive Through Process


  1. For families coming in off of East Harmony, you will turn left into the property and drive through the parking lot. Following the direction of traffic to enter into the drop-off lane (far right lane when facing the East side of the building.) Once in the lane, a staff member will greet you and begin our check-in process. Once your child has been checked-in, you will follow traffic to exit campus onto South Shields.
  2. Families coming in off of North Shields, you will turn left at the turn pocket on North Shields following all traffic signs. Once on campus, you will then follow the through signs to the right-hand side of the drive ellipse in order to enter the Drop Off Lane on the west side of the ellipse, right in front of the building.
  3. Children may only be dropped off while in the Drop Off Lane. If you or your child has forgotten something, you may re-enter the drive lane by continuing around the drive ellipse to re-enter the Drop Off Lane, no exceptions. No one is to leave their vehicle while in any of the through lanes.


Walking/biking Families


  1. Biking to School: If you are riding your bike to school and will want to store your bike on campus during the day, our bike rack is located on the Northwest corner of the building right next to the trash enclosure. Please make sure to secure the bike in the rack and remove any belongings that may be misplaced or mistakenly taken. Then proceed to the walking process.
  2. Walking to School: If you are walking to school, please enter the campus via one of the sidewalks on East Harmony road and proceed to the East front of the building. There is a cross walk across the parking lot that will allow you entrance to the front of the building. We will have cones set out to mark locations for walker/bike riders to wait to be checked in.


Check-in Process


  1. All vehicle drivers and passengers, walkers/bikers, must wear masks during drop-off and pick-up times to protect the safety of everyone.
  2. Temperature check by an office staff member at the vehicle, or walker waiting line. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 or greater will be asked to wait for 10 minutes for a recheck before being released into the building. Walkers/bikers will be checked at the designated location with a cone. Please wait for a staff member to assist you.
  3. A scan of the Procare app QR code which will prompt you to fill out the COVID-19 self-screener questions.
  4. Caregivers will be responsible for opening doors and helping children in and out of their vehicle.
  5. Staff members will be stationed throughout the building and outside to escort children to their classrooms.


Pick-up Process


*Please remain in your vehicle until you are ready to buckle your child’s seat belt.


  1. Parents will display their vehicle tag with the child’s name and teacher on the right side of the vehicle to assist with dismissal.
  2. When you are in the drop-off lane and your tag is displayed, a staff member will radio your child’s teacher to bring them to the pick-up zone.
  3. Please sign out your child in the Procare app.
  4. The driver will be responsible for loading and buckling your child.
  5. When exiting the drop-off lane, please be aware of traffic in the through lane to avoid crashes.
  6. Exit the campus via a right hand only turn onto South Shields or circle back around the drive through ellipse to exit via the right hand only turn onto East Harmony.


General Safety Precautions


General building practices:


  • We are restricting nonessential visitors, volunteers and activities from entering the building.
  • Masks will be worn by everyone while inside the building. Please take some time to practice wearing masks for extended periods of time in preparation for the upcoming Phase change.
  • Parents will be responsible for providing masks for their child(ren). It is recommended that each child has multiple masks in their backpack in the event that one gets soiled or wet.
  • One-way direction signage is placed throughout the hallways to limit the possibility of students from different groups mixing.


Some Classroom practices:


  • Children in different classrooms will not be allowed to interact with each other to limit potential cross-contamination.
  • Hallway work will be suspended, and students will remain in their classrooms throughout the day unless they are going outside for lunch/recess/mask breaks or going home.
  • Handwashing before and after using any materials will be the normal practice. Each classroom has multiple sinks to ensure children are able to wash their hands quickly and safely.
  • HEPA filtration has been added to the brand-new modular classrooms that are not on the main building HVAC system but do have their own brand-new AC and heating.
  • Mask breaks and lunch/recess will be outside, and we will encourage outside work as much as possible and practical.


Share by: