Good Afternoon Everyone,
I wanted to provide everyone with some updates in regards to our Re-Opening Plan for the 2020-2021 school year. The Archdiocese Task Force – Catholic Schools Onward, has been working to create a series of guidelines that we can use for planning and implementing the re-opening of school. Each school is tasked with taking those guidelines and the local parameters put into place by the Department of Health as well as the School Districts to create our own plan specific to our school and community. With that being said, I wanted to provide some items in the hopes that it will answer some of the questions that I have heard recently in regards to the upcoming school year.
- We will welcome students back for in person learning on our start date of August 31st.
- We WILL NOT be utilizing a staggered model where some students go on Monday/Wednesday and others go Tuesday/Thursday.
- Our classroom desks will be arranged so that distancing protocols of 3 to 6 feet between students can be observed.
- Our class sizes allow us to use the Cohorting Model for a majority of our grades – students will remain with their cohort (homeroom) for the duration of the day – classes, lunch, recess, etc – so that contact tracing can be easily documented.
- Grades that switch teachers (5th-8th and honors math) will follow guidelines in regards to cleaning the classroom and transitioning to and from classes.
- We are working on modifying our lunch/ recess procedures to limit the number of students in the cafeteria and school yard to help better facilitate social distancing where possible.
- As of right now, the plan is that masks will be worn on the bus, when entering the building and walking the hallways. When in the classroom, masks are not required to be worn.
The CSO continues to discuss the question of “what happens when my child is absent from school but still wants to access the classroom learning environment.” We are still working on those logistics for when this situation occurs. As more details become available, we will share those with our families so that you can plan accordingly.
Please know that we are doing our best to create a comprehensive plan that ensures the safety of all of the members of our community. Beyond working with the task force, the local Catholic School principals have been meeting frequently to ensure that we are all creating similar plans for our students.
We look forward to seeing everyone back in the building at the start of the school year!
Stay safe and healthy!
Mr. Vince D’Andrea
Principal, St. Joseph/St. Robert School