July 3, 2020 Update

Dear SCS School Families,

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the summer already! Thank you for your warm welcome and I am excited to be here. In the midst of so much uncertainty over the last several months, I hope that you and your family are doing well. I look forward to meeting and working with each of you. I realize there are many questions as to how school will resume in August and below is the information we have thus far.

Changes to the school day will be made in order to comply with the state requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic. Please know that these changes are made to ensure the safest possible environment for students, faculty and staff. The administrative team has been working on the school reopening plan for August. Although we cannot predict exactly what the future will look like, we’d like to share with you some of the plans we have in place for safely reopening our school. These plans were developed following the most recent CDC Guidance for Reopening Schools, guidance from the Louisiana Department of Education, guidance from the "Safe to Return School Team" through Ochsner Healthcare System, and guidance from the faculty, staff and Archdiocesan Office of Catholic Schools.

This is our tentative plan which will be updated and adapted as things continue to evolve. We will keep you informed as further plans develop. If you have any questions, please reach out to us!

We will begin classes in-person in August with the following safety precautions being implemented:

• Continuing Education
  • SCS has partnered with the Ochsner Safe to Return School Team to ensure a safe plan for reopening school.
  • This team of doctors and healthcare professionals will be meeting with the faculty and staff before school starts.
  • This team will also be presenting to SCS parents at the start of school on August 6th at 6 pm in the church to educate everyone on ways to protect our children. We would ask that only one parent per family attend to comply with the Covid restrictions. If unable to attend this presentation it will be livestreamed.
  • We will continue this partnership with Ochsner throughout the school year.

• Daily Temperature Checks
  • All faculty, staff, and students will have their temperature checked daily upon arrival.
  • Anyone with a fever of 100.4 degrees or more will not be allowed on campus.

• Masks
  • During class time, adults and students (3rd grade and up) will wear facecoverings, as able, to the maximum extent possible. Any child over age two may wear a face covering.
  • During dismissal and arrival, all students Prek-3 to 7th grade must wear face coverings. Face coverings should be worn in all areas of the school to include classrooms. (When in doubt, wear a mask.)
  • Students will be required to have a face covering in their possession at all times and be encouraged to wear them in the classroom as appropriate, and especially if they are not able to be socially distant.
  • Individuals with severe breathing difficulties should not wear face coverings. Parents must provide a doctor's note if the child is unable to wear a face covering.
  • Please obtain a washable/reusable cloth face covering for your child. You may get any color or type of washable/reusable cloth face covering. No extreme designs.

• Lunch/Recess
  • Students will eat lunch in their classrooms or outside (weather permitting).
  • They can either bring their lunch or to-go plates will be delivered to their classroom from the cafeteria.
  • All students will have two recess times each day.
  • Recess groups will be separated by homeroom in designated areas per an internal schedule.

• Student movement
  • Students in all grade levels will remain in the same classroom throughout the school day.
  • Instead of students changing classrooms throughout the day, the teachers will rotate to the different classrooms to eliminate movement.
  • Specialists (Spanish, Art, Music, etc.) will move into individual classrooms to teach with the exception of P.E.

• Desks/Lockers
  • Classrooms will be set up so that desks are spaced out as far as possible from the next student.
  • All desks will face the same way.
  • Appropriate social distancing will be utilized in early childhood classrooms. Details for individual grade levels will be given at orientation night.
  • Lockers will not be utilized this school year. Instead, students will use their desks to store books and supplies.

• Campus Visitors
  • Parents, grandparents, and outside visitors will NOT be allowed on campusduring the school day.
  • This includes but is not limited to the following events:
    • Eating lunch with students during the day
    • Classroom birthday parties (treats can still be sent in to share with class)
    • Classroom activities such as little scientist, seasonal crafts, etc.
  • Parents will not be allowed into the building on the first days of school as normally practiced. Parents will be allowed on the blacktop until the 8:15 bell rings for the first two days of school only. Parents will be required to wear masks while on the blacktop.
  • Location of parent meetings will be handled on a case by case basis.

• School Masses / Prayer Services
  • School Masses and prayer services will be limited to only students and teachers.
  • No visitors (parishioners or parents) will be permitted to attend school Mass or prayer services.
  • Students will be divided into grade level groups and will attend Mass every other week (grades 1-4) (grades 5-7).
  • Students will remain with their homeroom class and spaced out throughout the church.
  • Early childhood students (PK3 - K) will attend prayer services twice a year by grade level.

• Morning Drop Off
  • All students entering campus will be temperature-checked at point of entry using touchless infrared thermometers. If a student has a fever of 100.4 or higher, the student will not be allowed on campus and will be sent home with his/her parents. (Students will be welcomed back on campus when fever free for 48 hours without fever- reducing medicine.)
  • Normal carpool procedures will remain.
  • Once on campus, 1st- 7th grade students will be expected to sit in their homeroom lines until 8:15; students will then be dismissed to the classroom at 8:15 and class will start at the normal time (8:30 am). On rainy days students will go directly to their homeroom classrooms.
  • Carpool: PreK-4 and Kindergarten morning drop off at the Barrett will remain the same. However students will go directly to their classroom after being cleared by the temperature check.
  • Walkers: PreK-4 and up families who walk will need to enter through the Codifer gate. After cleared by the temperature check, students will be walked by a faculty member to their designated area.
  • PreK-3 students: Parents/guardians will walk their child to the Church gate where a teacher will meet them, conduct a temperature check, and then the teacher will walk the child to the classroom. Parents/guardians will not be allowed to walk their child into the school building.
  • Detailed instructions for drop off and pick up will be sent to you at a later date.

• Afternoon Dismissal
  • Carpool dismissal will remain the same. However students will sit in homeroom groups as opposed to last name groups while waiting for their car.
  • PreK-3, PreK-4 and Kindergarten siblings will have a designated area to sit, older siblings will pick up younger siblings and proceed to dismissal location.
  • Dismissal from Barrett, Church gate, and walkers will remain the same.
  • Detailed instructions for drop off and pick up will be sent to you at a later date.

• Early Check Out
  • If a student needs to be checked out for any reason throughout the school day, the parent/guardian will pull into Codifier driveway, remain in the car, call the front office and the student will be walked out to the car by a faculty or staff member.

•  Late Arrivals
  • If a student arrives after the 8:30 am bell, parents will have to walk their child to the door of the main office. 
  • Students will be buzzed in and have their temperature checked; parents will not be admitted into the school building.

• Handwashing
  • Handwashing and hand sanitizing will be regularly scheduled throughout the day.

• Normally Scheduled Events Altered/Canceled
  • In order to protect our students from unnecessary exposure to large groups or situations where social distancing is not possible, the following events may not occur:
    • Meet the Teacher scheduled for August 10th
    • School Field Trips
    • School Plays
    • Grandparent’s Day
    • This list will be expanded throughout the school year.
  • Summer Start- Up Program and Shout will be canceled.
  • Due to the new constraints we will not be able to offer privately contracted outside individuals to provide therapy during the school day.
  • There will be no perfect attendance award.
  • Orientation Nights will continue as planned. If there are any changes we will notify you via email.
  • At this time we are unsure as to if/how athletics will resume.

•  COVID19 Release Form
  • All teachers, staff, and students will be required to sign a release form prior to the first day of school. Please fill out one form per child. Please click the link, complete and submit 

• Exposure to COVID19
  • If a teacher, staff member, or student tests positive for the Coronavirus, they must quarantine for two weeks at home. A more detailed policy will be communicated closer to the opening of school.
  • Should a faculty member or student be diagnosed with the virus, we will contact our office of public health regional contact and the Office of Catholic Schools and handle on a case- by-case basis.

• Before and After Care
  • We are working on the logistics of these programs and will keep you informed; however, please prepare for the possibility of not having these services.

May God keep us all safe and healthy during the remainder of the summer and this coming school year!

Sincerely,

Maria Ward, Principal
Alex Scamardo, Upper Elementary School Assistant Principal 
Amanda Gelpi, Lower Elementary School Assistant Principal

July 8, 2020 Update

Hi SCS Families,

Thank you for the positive responses and feedback to our return to school letter.  There have been several questions regarding the possibility of online learning.  Should we need to close school or quarantine during the upcoming school year, we do have a plan for student online learning established.  We will discuss this plan and expectations with our faculty and staff upon their return in August.  Online learning has become a reality in our educational framework and we will be prepared.  Many lessons were learned during the end of last school year and changes will be made accordingly to provide students with a meaningful online learning experience.  Thank you so much for your cooperation and support.  I am looking forward to meeting all of you.

Sincerely,
Maria Ward, M.Ed.
Principal
St. Catherine of Siena School

 

July 24, 2020 Update

Hi St. Catherine of Siena Families,

We hope you are having a relaxing summer and enjoying time with your family.  We wanted to give you an update since our last letter regarding the plan for reopening school in August.  Keeping our students, faculty, staff, and families safe is our number one priority.  Therefore, the following are the updates of which you need to be aware:

1. Parent Health Care Meeting: Please remember that on August 6th at 6 pm the Safe to Return School Team through Ochsner Healthcare System will be presenting to SCS parents in the church to educate everyone on ways to protect our children. We would ask that only one parent per family attend to comply with the COVID restrictions. If unable to attend this presentation will be live-streamed.

2. Before and After School Care: Sadly, we will not be able to offer before and after school care due to the current health restrictions.  As soon as we are clear to return to business as usual, we will immediately open the before and after school care programs.   While we discussed options among our administration and those from other schools in the area, before and after school care with our size school and the staff necessary to run these programs, is not feasible. During the school day, all students are kept in a static group which eliminates cross-contact allowing for less possibility of infection.  During before/after school care, we cannot provide the same static groupings.  Please know this is not ideal for any of us and we realize this may cause extra hardship for some families and we will do our best to open these programs as soon as possible.

   • In an attempt to make things easier for all,  we will not have 2:30 dismissals on Wednesdays until further notice. Wednesday will be a regular dismissal time of 3:30. 

3. School Start Date:  School will start on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.  Thank you for your feedback on the parent survey regarding school start dates.  Based on that information, approximately 80% of the 804 respondents would like to proceed as planned to start school on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

4. Staggered Start Days:  In order to help students, faculty, staff, and parents adjust to the new drop-off and dismissal procedures, we will have staggered start days for the first three days of school for grades one through seventh.  Early childhood start procedures will remain the same, as they already have staggered start days.  The schedule will be alphabetical as follows:

   1. Wednesday, August 12th - Students with last names A - F

   2. Thursday, August 13th - Students with last names G - O

   3. Friday, August 14th - Students with last names P - Z

   4. Monday, August 17th  - All students return to school

5. Mask Requirements: Please obtain a washable/reusable cloth face covering for your child. You may get any color or type of washable/reusable cloth face covering. No extreme designs. We do recommend purchasing a neck gaiter. The school has ordered and will provide one neck gaiter to each student as soon as they arrive.  The Co-Op will also be selling a more traditional SCS mask. Both options will be available for purchase at the Blue and Gold Shop. 

6. Chromebooks: We have purchased Chromebooks for grades one through four.  So in the event, we are mandated to quarantine at home at some point this school year, online platforms will be more accessible. Chromebooks will remain in the classroom unless the school is mandated to close. 

7. School Nurse: We are in the process of finalizing our contract with a school nurse.  We are very excited about this opportunity. Once our school nurse is finalized we will send a welcome letter with more details and an introduction. 

8. Meet the Teacher Day:  Meet the Teacher Day will be on August 10, 2020. We are thrilled this event is happening, as we feel it is an essential activity for our students to meet their teachers which we hope will then make the start of school transition easier.  See attached for more details.

9. Orientation Nights: We are planning to host orientation nights as per the school calendar; however,  because of current health restrictions we will have to modify the evening. Please look for information regarding Orientations nights to come. 

10. Cafeteria Procedures:  Due to health restrictions, students will eat lunch in the classrooms.  Pigeon Catering will provide limited selections for lunch options for purchase daily just as they have in the past.  The food will be delivered to the classrooms each day. Payment options will remain the same.

11. P.E. Uniforms: 1st- 4th-grade girls are allowed (not mandatory) to remove jumpers or skirts on PE days. To do so the only shorts allowed are the St. Catherine PE shorts that can be purchased through the eshop on the school website.  5th-7th grade boys and girls are required to dress out on PE days. This consists of both the St. Catherine PE shirt and PE shorts. Which can be purchased through the eshop on the school website. Middle school students will be given designated areas to change that allows social distancing to occur.

The above information is the most up to date that we have and we will continue to provide more information as the school start date approaches.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Ward, at mward@scsgators.org.

We can't wait to see all of our students back on campus!  

In partnership and prayer,

Maria Ward, M.Ed. Principal, 
Amanda Gelpi, Lower School Assistant Principal,
Alex Scamardo, Upper School Assistant Principal

Meet the Teacher Information

August 3, 2020 Update

Sincerely,
Maria Ward, M.Ed.
Principal