
NOVA COVID-19 INFORMATION
UPDATED AUGUST 1st, 2020
AUGUST 1st, 2020
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We are excited to let you know – we are beginning our reopening on September 8th!
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Hello Nova families,
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First and foremost, we wanted to thank each and every family that has continued with their gymnastics training online. I know that this has been extremely difficult for your kids and families to have their entire lives switch to an online format. All of us at Nova are beyond grateful for everyone’s support over the last three months. We know that this has been a tough and testing period for so many of our families, and we want to express our gratitude for those who have been with us every step of the way.
With that being said, we are beyond thrilled to let everyone know that we are going to be officially opening up on September 7th! We have been given approval by King County and the Boys and Girls Club of Bellevue to use our facility as outlined in the guidelines for Phase 2.
While we make the slow transition back into the gym, we ask for everyones cooperation and understanding. We know some of you are looking forward to the prospect of getting back in the gym. We also know that some of you are understandably concerned about a return, and some just aren’t sure how to feel – we completely understand all the different degrees of uncertainty. Please see below for important information regarding September classes and our fall re-opening.
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Because on our required reduced capacity, we will need to re-enroll recreational gymnasts that are ready to return to the gym into a new class for the fall. We know that we had asked everyone to stay enrolled in their old classes because at the time, we had no way of knowing how long we’d be closed or what reopening would look like. We appreciate everyone that stayed enrolled while payments were suspended, and we will be giving everyone who did priority to return. We will do our best to accommodate as many gymnasts as we are allowed.
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Nova will continue to give our Covid-19 discount through the end of August. In September, Nova will be returning to our regular tuition rates.
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We are still working on a new enrollment process, but we’re hoping your initial takeaway can be these four things:
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For anyone previously enrolled at Nova when we closed in March, your tuition will not be reinstated (auto-payments will not begin) unless you enroll in a new class. Priority enrollment will be given to those who maintained their enrollment during the closure before we open up enrollment to the general public.
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As the state continues to re-open in phases and our reduced capacity limitations are adjusted, we will modify our schedule again moving into the Fall. Families enrolled in the summer session will again receive priority enrollment moving into the 2020-2021 class season.
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We are currently working on scheduling out options for families to have their children be able to participate in in-person lessons back in our Hidden Valley location starting in September. These classes will be limited to small groups with proper social distancing and sanitization practices in place.
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We will absolutely not force anyone back into the gym that is not fully confident and ready to do so. And even when some of us do physically return to the gym, we will also continue our virtual classes for as long there is demand for them.
Please know, as we’ve said before, we understand the decision if and when to return to any of our pre-COVID activities is very personal. We hope the information here is just that – informational. As we’ve striven to do during our whole closure, we want to make sure we are keeping all of you as best informed as we can – we are all in this journey together.
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Please look for continuing information in the coming days.
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APRIL 27th, 2020
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Hi Nova families,
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We hope everyone is taking care and staying safe. We miss you all very much – more than we can say – but we’re keeping our spirits up by knowing we will eventually see everyone again.
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On this note, as you are probably aware, the Governor of Washington has extended the stay-at-home order past May 4, and we wanted to update you on what this means for tuition or other activities at Nova. We did not run auto-payments for April tuition. (no auto-payments were collected for April). We are anticipating a closure that extends past May 4th, as the only businesses that are able to open on May 4th are elective surgeries, hiking trails and State Parks.
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However, we all know this is an ever-changing situation, and as such, we will not be running any auto-payments for May tuition on May 1st.
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Nova will not be planning or requesting any auto-tuition payments until:
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We know for certain when we will be able to reopen, and at what capacity, after which:
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We will give all enrolled families one week’s notice before running payments, to assess their status and situation, to decide if they would like / are able to return classes, or if they need to drop or take a break.
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We will be prorating all tuition payments for the month of return, depending on when during the month we are back in the gym and for online sessions that may have been paid for.
While tuition payments are suspended, we would encourage you to keep your gymnasts enrolled (this requires no action), ensuring they keep their place in class for the time-being, as we hope as many of you as possible will be there to join us when we are able to reopen. We’d like to keep as many children in their same familiar classes as we can, so they too can feel a sense of normalcy return, when we are able to do so.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns, but to reiterate again, we will not be processing any payments until we know we can reopen, and only after a one week’s notice to all families – no action is required by you until that time comes.
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We want to say again how much your support means to us. Your emails and encouraging comments on social media go such a long way! And to those that have joined us for our online classes, we are so pleased with the progress we have seen from everyone!
Stay safe and stay well, everyone. The state of Washington is making progress to flatten the curve. Stay diligent – we’ll all get through this!
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-Nova Gymnastics
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MARCH 18th, 2020
Dear Nova families,
As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis continues, we are aware of the new developments over the last few days, including the extension of the school closure (statewide) through April 24, and the Governor’s mandate for the closure of all restaurants, bars and entertainment / recreational facilities & gyms / sports facilities (that’s us) statewide. This means Nova will need to remain closed until this executive order is lifted.
As we have done during the duration of this situation, we want to let you know that we are currently working through what this means for us, and what our next steps are. We do want to let you know, however, that we will NOT be running any tuition auto-payments for April. While the state government is currently advising the earliest this order will be considered to end is March 31, we are anticipating not being able to reopen before April 24, when school may resume, which is why we have made the decision to suspend April tuition.
As we are suspending tuition charges, we do want to encourage you to keep your child enrolled, ensuring they keep their place in class, as we hope as many of you as possible will be there to join us when we are able to reopen. We’d like to keep as many children in their same familiar classes as we can, so they too can feel a sense of normalcy return, when we are able to do so. We will notify families in advance when we will be resuming auto tuition once the mandate is lifted and we can safely go back to classes, and give families the opportunity to assess their status.
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Since our closure last week, many of you have reached out to ask questions about our staff and coaches, and their well-being; this is just another indication of how amazing all of you in our community are. We can’t tell you how much this support means to all of us – everyone has so much worry to deal with right now, it’s so heartwarming to know that our staff is on your minds, too.
While we are still working through all the details, we want to let you know that Nova is committed to weathering this storm and giving our staff as much of the same financial support as we can, as if business had continued on, providing them with work to complete while we are closed – this includes their help in creating content that helps keep us connected to you, and your gymnasts to gymnastics, while we are away. We will have more to share with you around this in the coming days, while we work through the plan and also talk to all our employees directly.
LIVE ONLINE SESSIONS!
We want to let everyone know that Nova will be implementing an online training program that will be free for families for the remainder of March. Nova gymnasts will work with their usual instructor as they have been for the past few months.
We will be offering highly discounted rates for participation in April, for those who wish to have their child participate in our online programs in the case that the executive order is not lifted. Our coaching staff has been hard at work this week coming up with at-home friendly sessions that will help keep your child active and focused!
Nova will be using the ZOOM software to provide lessons. We understand that many of our students have online schooling sessions, so we will be scheduling gymnastics times for recreational classes later in the afternoons to allow parents to keep up with their child’s daily routines. Team will be emailed their session time.
Please await a separate email from me in the coming days with your child’s class schedule, meeting time and URL to join the meeting. We appreciate your understanding and patience as this is a huge transition for our program that has many moving parts. We know that many families are making adjustments and undergoing drastic changes in their daily lives, and our goal at Nova is to help keep some normalcy for everyone.
We’re all in this together, and we know about the worry and uncertainty you feel, because we, as people, feel it too. But countries that took these same drastic steps earlier, are already seeing the curve bend and flatten, and that’s what we need to do here. And it’s only through our shared sacrifice, that we can get through this together. In the meantime, please continue to stay safe, take care of yourself, your families, and each other.
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-Nova Gymnastics
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MARCH 14TH, 2020
Dear Nova families,
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It is only after great consideration, and a difficult decision, that effective Saturday, March 14th, 2020, Nova Gymnastics will be closed for 14 days, due to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) recommendations issued by Governor Jay Inslee, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. As it stands, we plan to reopen on April 1st.
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As you are aware, Bellevue School District announced that they are closing for at least two weeks, starting March 13. Also, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced a ban on public gatherings of 250 people or more, and, along with other government agencies, is encouraging the practice of “social distancing,” keeping a distance of six feet or more between individuals. You can read Governor Inslee’s statement here: https://medium.com/wagovernor/inslee-issues-emergency-proclamation-that-limits-large-events-to-minimize-public-health-risk-38b4d79a563d
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Nova wants you to know that we, along with most places of business in the Seattle area, are trying to navigate these uncharted waters as best we can, and that we were planning to stay open for as long as we possibly could. However, with the recent cancellations of competitions in March and the likely postponement of National USA Gymnastics events, we want to do our part in slowing down the spread of the virus as well. In a recent statement, USA Gymnastics has suspended all sanctioned events and all National Team Travel for 30 days. You can read the statement here: https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=25345
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However, we have now concluded, after very careful consideration following these announcements, that we must close for a minimum of 14 days as well, effective immediately, Saturday, March 14, which we plan to end on March 31, 2020. As of this time, we would plan to reopen on April 1, however as this is a rapidly-changing situation, we will continue to monitor and assess, and take heed of any recommendations or mandates from government agencies.
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All classes and activities at Nova Gymnastics are suspended beginning Saturday, March 14, for the next two weeks.
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We know that you will have many questions about what this means for you. We are all working through this together, and our staff is prepared to take your questions and concerns as best as we are possibly able, but we do ask that you please read this statement in full as a first step. We also thank you in advance for your patience and graciousness with our support staff, who are on the front lines of your inquiries during this unprecedented event.
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This was a very difficult decision for us to come to, and was not made lightly, but one that was made in the best interest of both our employees and customers. As we have shared many times, our goal has been to keep our doors open as long as possible in order to support our students and families. Our incredible staff and Nova families / attendees have been unwavering in the commitment of our enhanced cleaning and safety protocols, and we appreciate everyone’s effort – this closure is in no way because of a failure in those practices. It is despite our best efforts to remain open, that we cannot continue to do so and still be in compliance with social distancing regulations. We have a responsibility, as a company who work with children and adults, to comply with these guidelines in order to ensure a safer and healthier community for all. So many of our gymnasts have loved ones at home that fall under the “high-risk” population, that we do not want to put anyone at risk.
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The truth is, there was no decision we could make that would satisfy every person that attends Nova. We know that we are a respite for many of our gymnasts and families, and we have heard from many of you that you were thankful we remained open. We are saddened to take a two-week break from the sport we are so passionate about, and more importantly, from the students that are like family to us.
However, we know that if our community is to stop the spread of this virus, that we have an obligation to adhere to the same actions. While we fall well below the 250 person regulation, we cannot safely adhere to social distancing. It is impossible to conduct progressive and safe gymnastics if we are unable to spot our kids, and keep everyone separated by at least six feet at all times.
We cannot put our vulnerable populations at greater risk by continuing the spread of this virus. The most responsible thing we can do, is to take greater action now.
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What does this mean for families enrolled in classes and paying tuition?
When we are approved to reconvene, we have come up with some alternative make-up options for students – in the same meaningful way that we strive to deliver in our regular classes, as if business had carried on as normal. This means all gymnasts will be given the opportunity to make up class time in formal classes. Our commitment to you is to fully and completely deliver everything we pledge with your tuition dollars – this plan is outlined below:
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Make-Up classes for students enrolled in Wednesday or Friday classes:
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Students will be eligible to attend three (3) scheduled make-ups due to the scheduled closure dates.
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Students who attend once a week, will be allowed to attend two (2) times per week up to three weeks to make up classes.
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Make-Up classes for students enrolled in Monday, Tuesday or Thursday classes:
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Students will be eligible to attend three (3) scheduled make-ups due to the scheduled closure dates.
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Students who attend once a week, will be allowed to attend two (2) times per week up to three weeks to make up classes.
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This schedule of makeup classes will take some time for us to put together logistically, we hope to begin implementing the makeup options by April 15th, pending approval to reconvene.
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Has Nova had a confirmed case of COVID-19?
No, to our knowledge, Nova has not had a confirmed case of COVID-19 at any location. This closure is not to quarantine, but rather to align with the protocols our government and local agencies have put in place and/or recommended.
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All of you are our Nova family, we could not, and will not exist without you. This storm is very difficult to weather both as a business, and as people. We all need to support each other. We need to help our neighbors. We need to support our small businesses. We need to keep our families safe. We do not have all the answers. But we do know that if we all pull together as one community, we can recover, and regain our strength. We are stronger as one.
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Please be safe, reach out to us with questions that we will try our best to answer, and we thank you now, more than ever before, for your support.
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- Nova Gymnastics
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