UPDATED: March 12, 2020

As the school bell rings each morning, parents and teachers are busy ensuring that students have a year full of happy, healthy days in schools everywhere! Promoting safety, health, and wellness in the classroom are sure-fire ways to ensure that students stay healthy, strong, and ready to learn all year long.

In light of recent coronavirus concerns, there are several steps that parents and teachers can take to help keep healthy practices at the forefront and germs at bay throughout the school year and beyond. 

Keep Germs from Sprouting up in Your Classroom

During the school year, classrooms can become breeding grounds for millions of tiny bacteria, causing quite the stir as sniffles and sneezes are constantly whirring in the background. Healthy classrooms promote healthy minds, and promoting healthful practices every day will help keep kids in the classroom and learning at the head of the class.

Promote Practices for Good Health and Hygiene

Establishing healthful habits requires repetition. Remind students every day to do their part to keep germs away. A great place to start is by promoting healthy restroom practices. Proper hand washing is essential for preventing the spread of germs and disease.

While eye-catching hand washing signs will easily remind older children to properly wash their hands, teach the little ones to use lots of soap and water and scrub hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds before rinsing. You can customize a hand washing sign with a simple message, give a step-by-step tutorial, or warn of the danger of spreading germs.

Set up hand sanitizing stations around your classroom for an easy way to prevent the spread of bothersome germs. With just a small squeeze of sanitizer before playtime or meals, after recess, or anytime throughout the day, this practice will help keep those germs from invading your classroom. Be sure to put a station at the classroom door, where students can sanitize every time they come or go.

Creating a classroom cleanup routine will encourage everyone to be mindful of daily responsibilities while helping to keep germs away. Have your “classroom cleanup crew” focus on different areas each day, using disinfecting wipes with an alcohol content of at least 60% or 70% (they’re handy, neat, and disposable) to regularly wipe down everything including desks, doorknobs, light switches, handles, computers and keyboards, bathroom sinks, lunch tables, toys, and other surfaces commonly touched throughout the day. Anything little hands touch or any materials that are shared among students should be on the list.

Encourage Personal Space to Keep Germs at Bay

With any contagious disease, including colds, the flu, and the novel coronavirus, establishing personal space is a must, and in classrooms full of children who love to play together and are often in close proximity to one another throughout the day, creating physical boundaries are a must.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend keeping a distance of six feet from one another to avoid the spread of contagious germs and bacteria. In addition, teach children to cough or sneeze into a tissue that can be immediately thrown away, or into the elbows of their sleeves. 

Encourage children to refrain from touching their faces, especially eyes, nose, and mouth, especially with unwashed hands.

Encouraging mindful behaviors and healthy habits in school will help keep germs out of your classroom and students filing in, eager to learn, play and grow all year long!

TEACHER TIP:

All That Glitters – Germs Are Everywhere

First things first! Help children to “see” how germs travel by having students participate in a “sparkling” science experiment that demonstrates the importance of keeping germs at bay. Begin by having each student rub a thin layer of lotion on his or her hands. Next, sprinkle some glitter on each student’s hands, using one color for half the class and another color for the remaining students.

Have the children go around the classroom, shaking hands, opening doors and closets, picking up books, and moving about as usual. After a few minutes, have everyone look at their hands and see that the “glitter germs” have easily spread throughout the class. Finally, have everyone wash their hands with water only, demonstrating that the germs are still there. Then, bring on the soap suds and watch the germs wash down the drain!

How Can Custom Event Banners Help Your School?

Custom designing an original school banner is one of the most effective ways to get – and keep – the attention of students, teachers, and parents alike.

While there are many school events that take place annually, there also are many new and exciting events that take place each academic year – and even a few throughout the summer.

Full-color, durable, vinyl banners are a colorful, festive way to get your message out while putting your school spirit on display!

What Makes A School Banner Effective?

Purpose

To begin with, identify your purpose and target audience and begin designing your banner with these objectives in mind.

For those events that happen each year, such as orientation and welcoming children back to school, sporting events, and book sales, just to name a few – keep your message general and non-specific by not including dates and/or times. These event banners will be ready to go with each new school year.

Design

Add as much color (school colors are a favorite!) and detail as you like! The brighter and more eye-catching the banner, the more likely students will take notice and be excited.

Using a combination of text (no more than two font styles is ideal) and images (be sure they match your message!) is a terrific way to help young minds remember whatever message your banner is relaying.

With that said, be sure not to create a banner that is overly “busy” with too many colors, text, or images so that your message doesn’t get lost in a sea of clutter.

Sending a Message

For any banner, whether it will be used every school year or it’s a banner designed for a specific event, it is best to keep the message short and simple.

Focus on a single message and include an encouraging call to action. Additionally, bullet points or numbers are perfect for highlighting key information that will be easier to remember.

Ideas For School Banners:

Custom Banner Options and Standard Features

Our Custom Full-Color Vinyl Banners are perfect for a variety of uses for your school throughout the year. Whether you’re welcoming students or promoting your school’s latest fundraiser, our banners are an eye-catching way to get your message noticed! Our banners come with:

• Choice of background color
• Choice of several banner sizes
• Customizable text, choice of font style, color(s) & font size(s)
• Option to upload your school logo, mascot, or other image
• Are suitable for indoor & outdoor use
• Choice of wind slits (for outdoor use)
• Choice of grommets and grommet placement (if needed)
• Are fade resistant with vibrant colors

When is the Best Time to Order School Banners?

Long gone are the days when students head back to school after the Labor Day holiday has passed. Now, back to school dates vary widely across the country – some students even head back to the classroom at the beginning of August. Starting early to prepare for your new year is key. Place your orders early to avoid the last minute back to school rush. Custom banners typically ship within 1-2 business days.

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It’s summertime, which means more teens and young adults are joining the workforce, both long term and for temporary summer jobs. Statistically there is an increase in workplace injuries during the summer due young workers’ lack of work experience and safety training. To help combat youth work related injuries, OSHA has recently entered into a 2-year initiative called the “National Youth Safety Initiative.”

Under this initiative, OSHA will be proactive in providing young workers, aged 16-24, and their administrators and educators with detailed information about job related injuries that commonly affect young workers. During this 2-year program, participants will promote safety and health awareness to young employees, spreading statistics about common injuries that occur in the agriculture, healthcare and construction industries specifically.

OSHA and participating employers will educate youth workers about common injuries and illnesses such as slips and falls, exposure to hazardous chemicals and exposure to heavy machinery. This information will be shared through webinars, publications commonly read by teens and young adults, workshops, seminars and more. Participants in the National Youth Safety Initiative will also provide notices and reminders about occupational health and safety regulations and the rights and expectations of employers.

Every business owner knows that safety should be a priority all year, but precautionary measures should be heightened in the summer months due to the increase in young, inexperienced team members joining their staff. Due to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers have to pay close attention to youth workers and their exposure to risks. These risks not only include chemicals and machinery, but also shift duration. Depending on the employee’s age, he or she may only be legally allowed to work for 3 hours in a given day. (On school days, 14-15 year olds can only work up to 3 hours in a day.) During the summer, teen workers are expected to stop work at 8 hours or sooner.

OSHA’s latest initiative is designed to limit the number of workplace injuries to protect young workers, but businesses are also responsible for protecting their own liability. Along with sharing safety tips and regulations, businesses should also be proactive in making their work staff aware of potential injuries. Along with safety training, safety signs should be posted throughout warehouses and worksites to remind employees of potential harm.

A warning, caution or danger sign should be posted depending on the severity of bodily harm inherent to a situation. For example, areas where slips and falls commonly happen should be marked with a caution sign. Caution usually denotes an injury that can cause moderate injury. However, in areas where employees are exposed to high voltage that could result in death, a danger sign should be posted.

Signage should be well maintained and highly visible. Materials and other blockages should not prevent a worker from seeing a warning sign. As signage becomes dated and worn, it should be updated. From flammable materials signs to emergency eye wash station signs, CustomSigns.com has the appropriate signage for each work setting. Make sure you are aware of the risks inherent to your business and warn staff members accordingly.

As OSHA and participating employers take proactive steps toward improving workplace safety for youth workers, make sure you’re doing everything you can to make your business a safer place to work.

More details about the Youth Safety Initiative: https://safety.blr.com/workplace-safety-news/safety-administration/safety-general/Schools-out-Protect-teen-workers-on-the-job/

Smoking has never been as controversial as it is today. As more non-smokers become concerned with the health risks of tobacco use, the more state and local laws are written to ban smoking. California was the first state to enact a statewide smoking ban in 1995. Since then, smoking bans have become increasingly common, not just in bars and restaurants, but even on public sidewalks, in public parks, on college campuses and even in some public housing units.

It is common to see “please no smoking signs” posted in breeze ways, in offices, eateries, apartment hallways and more. As of July 2016, 82% of the United States population lives under a smoking ban in workplaces, restaurants and bars by either state, local or commonwealth law, according to Wikipedia. Similarly, 58.6% live under a ban covering ALL workplaces, restaurants and bars. Many would argue that banning smoking inside of restaurants and on school grounds is acceptable, but threatening apartment and public housing residents with eviction for smoking inside their homes has caused debate.

Smoking Bans In Public Housing & Apartment Buildings

As non-smokers become increasingly concerned with second hand smoke, smokers continue to be pushed out of businesses, from sidewalks and entryways, and more recently, their homes. In 2006 the Surgeon General stated that separating smokers and non-smokers in public places was not enough, and that “cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. The only way to do it is by banning indoor smoking altogether.”

HUD secretary, Julian Castro announced in November 2016 that public housing developments in the United States will be required to provide a smoke-free environment to residents. This smoking rule includes indoor and outdoor areas of housing units; smoking will no longer be permitted within 25 feet of the building or office. Residents can be fined or even evicted upon violation of the no-smoking rule, which has sparked debate over civil liberties at one of New York’s largest public housing facilities, Queensbridge Houses.

No Smoking In Public Areas

As public demand increases for clean air, smoking bans have been put in place for many public areas including sidewalks, outdoor patios, bus stops, county fairs, parks and recreation areas. Just this month, for example, Laguna Beach, California banned smoking and vaping in all outdoor areas. The only place left in this particular town for smokers to light up is within their car or home. To see a list of outdoor areas where smoking is banned or prohibited, visit no.smoking.org.

Smoking Banned On School Grounds

Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, continues to enact bans on smoking, not just to protect nonsmokers from the inherent health risks of second hand smoke, but also to set an example to children and teens. This has prompted bans on smoking on school grounds, many college campuses, and in some cities, on school board grounds. The Sarasota County School Board just announced this month that it will do away with all designated smoking areas, and all tobacco products will be banned from school buses, district owned vehicles and any portion of a building owned or leased by the school board.

Tobacco Use Prohibited In Workplaces

Many industries not only prohibit smoking to protect or accommodate staff and visitors, but also to prioritize safety. Industries that handle explosive materials are often required by OSHA to warn about the dangers of smoking in the workplace by posting no smoking signs including signs that state “no smoking, shut off engines”.

No Smoking or Vaping Signs

If you are looking to crack down on smoking or vaping in or outside of your business, CustomSigns.com has many pre-designed signs featuring “no smoking in this area” and “thank you for not smoking.” As controversial as smoking and vaping has become, it has become even more difficult to control. Posting the appropriate signs will kindly remind people that they can’t light up in certain areas.