Dear BK Parents and Students,
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Joseph, Jesus' earthly father and the Blessed Virgin Mary's husband. Talk about someone whose plans changed! The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary's pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself to be great. He accepted what the angel of the Lord told him - “ ....do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. ” (Matthew, 1, 18-21)
May we not be afraid as our plans for school, sports, work, spring break, etc. change. And remember during these challenging times that God is with us.
Speaking of God being with us, our Chaplain, Fr. Greg Vance, has written a letter to our community on suggestions of what things we - both Catholics and other faith denominations - can do without Masses or worship services. As you have likely read, Bishop Peter Christensen asked for all public Masses to be suspended as of this coming Saturday and Sunday (March 21st and 22nd). We now enter an even more challenging time for our lives of faith in Jesus Christ. Here is the
link to the letter.
It is important in these daily communications to remind our community of the five goals that we set for the uncertain period we are entering and that are guiding our decisions and actions::
- Prioritize the health and well being of our faculty, staff, students, and greater community.
- Continue to provide a great education for all students via virtual learning
- Maintain the strong sense of community we have here at Bishop Kelly
- Find ways to acknowledge, appreciate, and celebrate members of our community
- Deliver predictable, daily communication to our entire community
Students coming back to gather supplies and meet briefly with teachers over the last two days went very well. Students were scattered throughout their two hour time slots, keeping appropriate social distancing and never gathering in groups greater than five or so. They seemed to truly enjoy seeing their teachers, getting what they needed, taking some makeup tests, and seeing some of their friends. And as we mentioned yesterday, we loved seeing them. We miss them. A school without students just is not right - but it is our reality for the foreseeable future.
Toward that end we will be sharing with you tomorrow in our Just in Time Communication the details of our plans for virtual learning for the week of March 30th - April 3rd. It will include class schedules, student expectations, and processes for counselors and student support services.
A final note - there are many wonderful things happening in the midst of this crisis. We have seen BK students step forward to help take care of their siblings while their parents work … community members offering to help pay a student’s tuition because of tough financial situations … teachers uncomfortable with technology stepping up to embrace virtual learning because they know it is important to continue providing a great education for their students … our new softball dugouts and backstop project completed due to the hard work of many - especially Coach Missy Nichols, past parent Jim Redinger, our Director of Buildings and Grounds, Chad Blue, and the generosity of our community … and, the entire BK team - teachers, staff, and administrators - working collaboratively all week to ensure we are ready to go live on Monday, March 30th, with virtual learning. We will be a better school and a stronger community thanks to the efforts of so many through this crisis.
We are archiving these communications and future FAQ’s that arise on our
Info for BK Families about COVID-19
webpage. Please let us know if you have any additional questions by replying to this email with your questions or calling the BK front office at (208)375-6010.
God bless,
