COVID-19 Response

The outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted our community in many ways, and we at Kim Studio Lancaster remain committed to helping our students grow in mind, body, and spirit through traditional Tae Kwon Do training.  This page will be updated continuously to inform our students, families, and community how we will fulfill our mission while working to safeguard their health and wellness.

Updated Covid Protocols – January 2022

In light of the updated CDC guidelines released on December 27th, we wanted to share some updated Covid information and protocol on how we will be handling contact tracing moving forward. You can also find this information on the CDC Website here! Please make sure you read the information below carefully. Additionally, please make sure that if you are feeling unwell, play it safe and do not come to the studio!

1. If You Test Positive for COVID-19 (Isolate)

Everyone, regardless of vaccination status, please notify the studio ASAP by calling 717-392-7100

Stay home for 5 days.
If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days, you can leave your house.
Continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever resolves. Please do not come to the studio if you have had a fever in the past 24 hours.

2. If You Were Exposed* to Someone with COVID-19 (Quarantine) *NOTE: Exposed means close contact, less than 6 feet away, from an infected person for more than 15 minutes total in a 24 hour period.

If you:
Have been boosted
OR
Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months
OR
Completed the primary series of J&J vaccine within the last 2 months

Wear a mask around others for 10 days.
Test on day 5, if possible and notify the studio ASAP if positive
If you develop symptoms, get a test and stay home.

If you:
Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 6 months ago and are not boosted
OR
Completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted
OR
Are unvaccinated

Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
If you can’t quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.
Test on day 5 if possible and notify the studio ASAP if positive
If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home

We continue to clean the studio regularly and sanitize high touch locations after each class. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

1) Our Friday, December 11th classes will be conducted as normal;

2) The studio will close to in-person instruction from December 12th through the morning of January 4th;

3) Online classes will be conducted Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (except for Thursday the 24th and Thursday the 30th) at 6:00 PM via Zoom;

4) Forms practice and instruction will occur following each class according to the following schedule– Tuesdays White and Yellow, Wednesdays Green and Blue, and Thursdays Brown and Black;

5) Zoom invitations will be emailed using our existing system the morning of each class, and

6) We will use this opportunity to continue growing our online archives.

This is by no means ideal, but we are hopeful our Governor’s measures will help to slow the spread of this terrible disease and enable us to get back to in-person instruction as soon as possible.

Thursday 10/1/20 two more face-to-face classes were added to our teaching schedule providing students with face-to-face options every weeknight.

Our expanding roster of students and continued streamlining and success with our cleaning protocols have enabled us to safely add face-to-face classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 6:00.  These classes, as well as our Wednesday 6:00 class, will be streamed for students to train from home.

Monday 7/29/20 an expanded offering of face-to-face classes and online instruction made available to students.

Collected feedback from students and families following our first several weeks of reopening was used to implement an expanded schedule of face-to-face instruction and new online-only instruction.

Monday 7/21/20 Kim Studio staff drafted a new class schedule based upon extensive discussions and communications with students and families.

Following two successful weeks of online and face-to-face instruction, studio staff collected feedback from students and families regarding the demands and use of online versus face-to-face instruction to evaluate our existing class schedule and instructional offerings.

Monday 6/29/20 Kim Studio Lancaster reopened for face-to-face instruction.

Students returned to our physical location for face-to-face instruction following strict safety protocols including the wearing of face masks, social distancing, and scheduled cleaning of all common surfaces.

Friday 6/12/20 Grandmaster Kim announced the results of promotion testing and our reopening plan is released on the student side of our website.

Weeks of research, discussion, and planning resulted in a comprehensive reopening plan to be implemented when Lancaster County becomes “Green.”  This plan was crafted to emphaisze the health and safety or our students and to be flexible and responsive to ongoing discoveries and needs related to Covid-19.

Friday 6/5/20 Student library video instruction resources surpass 30 hours.

Our online student library continues to grow, and Kim Studio students and families have access to over 30 hours of instruction for use at home or on the road.

Monday 6/1/20 Online promotion testing began following our 5:00 online class.

Students prepared for their promotion tests through ongoing online instruction, use of resources in our online student library, through one-on-one Zoom meetings with Master Instructors, and through email/phone conversations.

Wednesday 5/20/20 Important information is available to students regarding online promotion testing and our archived online instruction videos have surpassed twenty hours.

Our studio is moving forward with online promotion testing opportunities.  More information will be made available during our online classes and through our newsletter.  The Student Library now possesses over twenty hours of archived instruction for use twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.  Potential students are encouraged to contact our studio for information regarding online Beginner’s Lessons.

Wednesday 4/15/20 Online classes have continued Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and our student library has expanded.   

Over 9 hours of online classes and one hour of short video tutorials have been archived in our online student library.  These classes and tutorials can be accessed by all enrolled students. 

Monday 3/30/20 We conducted our first online class broadcast from Master Cooper’s home due to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s directive for all non life-sustaining businesses to close.

Classes will continue on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule.  All enrolled students will continue to receive emailed links and passwords each morning of a scheduled class.

Thursday 3/26/20 Our first full-length online class (conducted 3/23) was uploaded to our website’s library.

A recording of our entire online class streamed on 3/23 is available to students through the student side of our website.

Wednesday 3/25/20 Masters Wagner and Cooper conducted our second full-length online class.

Due to bandwidth problems, the recording of this class could not be used.  Based upon our experiences with the Wednesday night class, we improved our system for broadcast and recording to be used during the Friday 3/27 class adding a redundancy to the recording process.

Tuesday 3/24/20 We uploaded a new tutorial to our website’s library.  

This combination tutorial and short work-out can be accessed through the student side of our website. 

Monday 3/23 We conducted our first full-length online class at 6:00 and Master Cooper consulted with Grandmaster Kim regarding the teaching of forms online.  

Viewership increase dramatically since our trial run on Saturday morning.  Grandmaster Kim and Master Cooper discussed some options for teaching forms online given limited space for participants at home and the need to differentiate this instruction.  Grandmaster Kim and Master Cooper will continue to explore this part of online instruction.

Sunday 3/22 Master Wagner and Master Cooper worked to streamline and update our studio’s website (much of this was “behind the scenes), and we expanded our use of the ZOOM application in anticipation of more online offerings.

Through a conference call, Masters Wagner and Cooper worked with the interface between You Tube and our website to expand our “Student Library” page in preparation for the upload of more tutorial videos.  We also removed some old data and draft web pages to make working with our website more efficient.

Masters Rowe and Cooper also upgraded our subscription to Zoom and experimented with more options to improve our ability to offer online classes and to conduct online meetings with studio leadership. 

Saturday 3/21 We launched our first 30 minute online class to our enrolled students with much success. 

We are working on expanding this offering for the coming week.  Participants in our first online class were encouraged to provide feedback, technical and otherwise, to aid in this process.

Friday 3/20  The following message was sent to our public inquiries list serve in an effort to make sure our students and families were receiving messages only sent using the student list serve:

We at Kim Studio Lancaster hope you and your family are well during this challenging time.  You are receiving this message, because you are currently on our “Public Inquiries” email list.  If you are an enrolled student, or a family member of an enrolled student, please email me with your name and current email address so I can move you to our student email list.

We will be providing a number of learning opportunities to our students remotely until our physical location can reopen, and placing your contact information on the correct mailing list will ensure you receive information regarding these experiences.

Thank you!
Master Cooper
dcooper@kimstudiolancaster.com

Wednesday 3/18 and Thursday 3/19 studio directors create a three-fold action plan for continuing the teaching of Tae Kwon Do and maintaining our studio community in light of the need to close temporarily our physical location:  

1) consolidate and confirm electronic communications contacts for students and families,   

2) maximize use of our online resources (studio website and Facebook), and   

3) prepare for what may be a gradual and/or limited return to our physical dojang based upon state and local guidance. 

Monday 3/16 Master Bender conducted an outdoor class.

Several discussions were held regarding the continuation of classes outdoors, and our studio leadership felt this was a safe and reasonable alternative to indoor training as weather permitted. Master Bender tested the concept with a family of three, keeping each at a safe distance.

Saturday 3/14 The following announcement regarding the cancelation of studio-related community events and temporary changes in our instructional practices was made during classes and sent to all students and families via our email list serve: 

Our teachers and staff continue to monitor our community’s ongoing health concerns regarding the COVID-19 (Corona) Virus, and we consult frequently with our Kim Studio medical professionals for guidance.  Our Master Instructors, teachers, staff, and students work hard— collectively— to keep our studio clean and safe.  In light of growing concerns, we will be instituting the following additional scheduling and temporary safeguards:

1. Our Bring-A-Friend Class and Demonstration scheduled for Tuesday, March 24th will be postponed and rescheduled for a future date (this includes scheduled demonstration practices);
2. We will discontinue temporarily the teaching and practice of all grappling techniques (grabs, locks, escapes, throws, etc.);
3. All sparring and partnered work requiring contact will be discontinued temporarily, and
4. We will not use focus pads and targets until further notice.

Please remember to refrain from shaking hands before, during, and after classes.  Continue to bow and use your “yes sirs” and “yes ma’ams.”  If you are not feeling well, please stay home and rest.  Finally, remember to do what Grandmaster always encourages us to do to stay healthy and strong: eat well, get plenty of sleep, and continue to exercise practicing at least two to three times a week. 

Please do not hesitate to see me, Master Rowe, Mr. Maher, or our returning Office Manager Ms. Rettew if you have any questions.

Monday 3/9 The following special announcement was sent to all students and families via our email listserve:

As concerns continue to grow regarding the spread of the flu, and the Coronavirus in particular, we would like to offer the following reminders about precautions you and your family can take to help prevent the spread of illnesses:
 
1) Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and water for at least 30 seconds;
2) Cover mouths and noses with tissues (preferably), with the inside of your elbow, or with your shoulder when sneezing or coughing;
3) Clean common surfaces like door handles and light switches frequently with disinfectant cleaners;
4) Avoid shaking hands– for us, bowing communicates the same degree of respect as a greeting, sign of appreciation, and/or a farewell, and
5) Stay home from school, work, and public places if you are sick, particularly if you have a fever.
 
In addition to these preventative practices, continue to eat well, exercise often, and get plenty of sleep to keep your bodies, minds, immune systems, and spirits strong!

Friday 3/6 Grandmaster Kim and Master Cooper discussed additional safety protocols and temporay changes to instructional techniques including prohibiting handshaking, increased vigilance with disinfecting common surfaces, and reminding students to stay home if not feeling well.  In-class announcements began with the 6:00 class.