Happy New Year! We are excited to usher in 2021 with the promise of the vaccine and some return to "normalcy." We hope that your Christmas, New Year, and break have been relaxing and peaceful.
On Wednesday, January 6, we will return to class remotely. All students in grades kindergarten through 8th grade should have taken home their Chromebooks for e-learning. Students in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade should have received adjusted schedules from their teachers to meet their age levels for learning remotely.
Attached to this email is the schedule for students in grades two through eight. If any student has issues with the Chromebook working properly, please email me so that I can arrange for a time to meet you at school to pick up another Chromebook. The remote learning day begins at 8:00 and ends at 1:30.
PLEASE NOTE: these days count as part of the regular school calendar (175-day state requirement) and attendance will be taken each day. Students who do not show up for class will be marked absent. If a student logs in later than 8:10, he/she will be marked tardy.
All students should wear the gym uniform or spirit wear each day to class, even though it is remote learning. This will help students remember that these days do count as regular school days. Grades taken will be recorded, as well as attendance. It is imperative that the students treat the time as if they are in school.
Students are not permitted to eat or drink during class periods. We have built in breaks for bathroom use as well as snack breaks. Please remind them of this. The teachers' time is limited to 30 minutes of teaching time per period so as not to tax the students with digital learning. However, any distractions like eating or drinking will take away from that time. Students will be told to put food , drinks, toys, etc. away during class time.
We will strive to make e-learning as productive as possible. Some of the teachers may assign students lessons in I-Ready. Most students in kindergarten through grade eight have taken the I-Ready diagnostic. The Archdiocese has noticed a trend in higher standardized test scores with steady practice in I-Ready.
We end e-learning on Friday, January 15 and return to in person instruction on Tuesday, January 19. There will be no school on Monday, January 18 in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Classes will resume at the normal time on Tuesday. We will have early dismissal (1:30) on Wednesday, January 27 if you want to plan ahead. Catholic Schools Week will be held January 31 to February 6.
Should we experience inclement weather after we return in person, we will use e-learning in place of "snow days." This will keep us from having to make up days in person at the end of the year. We will utilize the same schedule that we are using for our quarantine period.
The remote learning is meant to give everyone a chance to quarantine. Please remember to limit contact to immediate family members only and do not travel out of state. If you do travel out of state or come into contact with someone who tests positive, your child(ren) will be required to quarantine beginning with the day after your return or isolation from an infected person for 14 days. Please notify me if this happens.
While we won't see each other in person for 2 weeks yet, we are glad to welcome everyone back to school! If you have any questions or need anything, please email me. We are not keeping regular hours at the school right now to quarantine ourselves. So, email is the best way to get in touch with me or any staff member.
Thank you so much for being a part of St. Gerald School! We are so blessed to have you as a part of our family, and we can't wait to see everyone in person again! God bless you in the new year!