Greetings St. Edmond Families,
This week we welcomed teachers back to school for the first time in five months while a few others are joining our teaching team for the very first time. It has been wonderful sharing the excitement of returning to school with others as we have worked hard to finalize many details as we plan to begin classes. I wanted to share with you these updates and changes that I hope will help you and your family prepare for starting school tomorrow, Monday, August 24th.
Mass:
- Mass will be offered starting in September. As a Catholic school, Mass is at the center of the education and formation of the whole child. With the sacrament of the Eucharist being vital to our students’ development, Fr. Feller will be offering Mass four times a week in order for students in Grades 3 - 12 to have the opportunity to receive the gift of Christ weekly and for our second grade students to prepare for their First Holy Communion in the spring. The kindergarten and first grade classes will have a celebration of the Liturgy of the Word each week until we begin using our new church. Once the new church is open, we will transition to having Masses there.
- During the first two weeks of school, we will be offering the sacrament of reconciliation to Grades 6 - 12 during their religion classes. If students in Grades 3 - 5 desire reconciliation, they may request an appointment to receive the sacrament, or they will have the opportunity to receive the sacrament later in the semester.
Morning Arrival/Breakfast:
- All students must wear face coverings while on school grounds.
- Breakfast: Students who eat breakfast may arrive at 7:30 am. They may enter the building through the elementary commons doors. Breakfast will consist of a meal, or students may choose from a few al a carte items: juice, fruit, cereal, etc.
- We will open the building for all students at 7:45 am. Upon entering all students will report to their classrooms or first period class. In our return to learn plan, we designated doors for specific grades to use. These are guidelines to help minimize traffic at any one place; however, we understand that some families will be arriving as a unit. Therefore, those families may enter the building through the same entrance and proceed to their appropriate classrooms. If an older child must accompany a younger sibling to their classroom, that is acceptable.
- For parents dropping off students in Grades PreK - 5 using the north entrances: The drop off lane, adjacent to 6th Avenue N., has been extended and connected to the new church parking lot. However, with construction still in progress at the church, the parking lot will not be available for use during this time. A construction road block has been placed at the entrance of the new parking lot; therefore, vehicles must turn left and exit the drop off lane onto 6th Avenue N.
- All classes are scheduled to begin at 7:55 am; however, this first week - or two, if needed - we will be functioning with lots of grace and flexibility. Our first priority is to have all students arrive safely. We believe as we continue to function with these new measures, we will grow into a more fluid routine.
Afternoon Departure:
- Teachers in Grades PreK - 5 will walk students outside for departure. At that point, parents will need to pick up their students. Teachers will require visual contact with the parent or guardian prior to releasing a child.
- As stated in our return to learn plan, we are not allowing parents into the building. So please remain outside and wait for your child. Parents and guardians who are picking up students after school and will be on school property must wear a face covering.
- If an older sibling is responsible for picking up a younger sibling, they may come to the classroom to pick up their sibling. Again, the teacher must have a visual contact prior to releasing the child into their care.
- Middle school and high school students can use the same designated doors for arrival to exit the building.
Lunch/Snacks:
- All students will be eating lunch in their classrooms or Gael Pride classrooms. We plan on using the commons at some point and will work on building a schedule that will allow for safe physical distancing practices while in that space.
- Elementary students will be having their lunches delivered to their classrooms while middle and high school students will go to the commons to pick up their meals in shifts and then go back to their Gael Pride rooms. As usual, students may also choose to bring their own lunch from home.
- Grades 6 - 12 will be issued a lunch card with a barcode, which they will be responsible for maintaining day-to-day.
- Snacks (Grades 6 - 12): With lunch offerings being minimized (at this time we will not be offering seconds or al a carte), we are allowing students to bring their own healthy snacks that may be eaten during a free time in their schedule - for example, during study hall. We understand that adolescents experience rapid growth during their development which increases their appetites. We will provide students with guidelines on making healthy choices and proper procedures for having them in the classroom. We trust that they will appreciate this privilege and abide by the guidelines in place.
Parents Entering the Building/Students Leaving Early:
- As a parent myself, I understand that this may be a difficult request to ask of you as parents. However, in order to maintain the safest environment possible, we must reduce contact with visitors. Therefore, we are not allowing visitors, including parents, into the building during school hours. If a parent needs to pick up their child for an appointment, because they become ill, or for any other reason, we are asking that you use the intercom system to announce your arrival, and we will send your child out to you.
- Please use the administrative office doors for ALL pick ups within operational hours.
- This is going to require diligent communication. We would appreciate you emailing or calling the office in advance to communicate an upcoming early departure or appointment. This will allow us to have your child ready for pick up to minimize your wait time.
- The same procedure will be used if you must drop off an item for your child. We ask that you announce yourself at the administrative office, and they will open the door to the entryway so you may leave your child’s items in that space. Once you have departed, an administrative assistant will collect the item from the entryway and deliver it to your child.
- SEAS Evening Pickup:
SEAS parents may enter the building and go to the main SEAS room. Once at the main room door, we are asking parents to wait in the hallway and one of the SEAS teachers will bring your child to you.
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Water fountains and water bottles:
The water fountains will NOT be used due to Covid, but the water bottle fillers will be used. We are allowing ALL students to bring a water bottle to fill with water throughout the day to encourage hydration.
We understand that this will be an adjustment for many families. We have taken into consideration many factors that will disrupt what used to be “normal” routines for our families, but as we know, navigating a global pandemic is not normal. The staff and faculty of St. Edmond have made many commitments as well as sacrifices to ensure the safety of our students. In our partnership with parents, we understand that we are asking you to make similar commitments and sacrifices. We may over time be able to adopt additional measures that will allow for more flexibility and opportunities, but this is how we will begin the year.
As the title of our return to learn plan suggests, opening with trust will be the key to our success. We are all dependent on our parent - school partnership to provide an atmosphere full of love that provides a safe, nurturing environment for our children. Parents, I sincerely want to thank you for entrusting your children to us. We are blessed that you have shared them with us this year, and I am - as well as all the faculty and staff - beyond excited to see children enter the doors of St. Edmond tomorrow as we begin a new journey together.
Best to all of you,
Mrs. Abby Glass
PreK-12 Principal