Dear Families,
I wanted to check-in with our school families as we end our Spring Break week. It certainly has been a Spring Break like no other. I know many are feeling very anxious as our school and parish community, city, state, country, and world continues to face the challenge of a global pandemic.
As of today, the plans for school closure through April 3, 2020, remain the same. We all recognize that there may be extended closures, and we will continue to monitor the ongoing situation and keep families informed.
While a few of our teachers came in and worked a bit in their classrooms through this week, today we began staggered time in the building to minimize the risks to our faculty and staff. Homeroom and auxiliary teachers have begun to put materials together for their students, and they will continue via staggered times through Monday. Monday will be a day of finalizing this work. As a reminder, St. Peter's School will approach home-based study with both learning packets/hard copy resources and some online learning. I am sure many of you have noticed the plethora of resources that are currently available for students/teachers/parents to utilize! It is a great time to take advantage of online museum visits, for just one example. St. Peter's faculty and staff have been sharing resources, and our Diocese has also compiled a list of vetted resources recommended for teacher and student use.
If not tomorrow, Sunday at the latest, I will send another Constant Contact message to all of you with more specific information. This will include a schedule of times for families to pick up students' materials curbside on the south circle drive of the school Tuesday, March 24. We are NOT sending home all materials and belongings at this time. Home-based study will be designed for Wednesday through Friday next week, as well as the week of March 30 - April 3, to allow teachers preparation time Monday in addition to family pick-up times next Tuesday. Hopefully your students are reading daily already!
Today I have a couple of requests. If you do not have a computer or tablet that your child can use for SOME work from home, please let me know, as we will arrange to check out Chromebooks as we are able. There is not an expectation that every child has a computer/tablet/phone to access all at the same time; we plan to exercise flexibility. I
f you need additional books for independent reading, please let us know, as we will check out books from our school library on your child's behalf and arrange to have them with materials for Tuesday's pick-up.
This morning most of our teachers were able to join together in an online Zoom meeting; admittedly, we probably mirror our parent/family community - some of us are very anxious about what school at home will look like, while others are more relaxed. Regardless, we all want you to know we are going to do our best and that we will make adjustments in our planning as necessary. It is worth repeating: I am blessed to work with such a wonderful team. We will work hard to make this transition comfortable for children. I cannot thank our faculty and staff enough for all they are doing with little notice and preparation time to "redesign what school looks like" (attributed to Ken Buck).
I was reminded by our School Board members in a Zoom meeting just a short while ago that we are stronger when we work together. This is what makes our St. Peter's school and parish community so special. We typically do that very well. We have all been thrown into a situation that none would have chosen nor imagined. I love hearing from you - parents have shared some of the wonderful things their children have done already this week, such as creating an obstacle course with a sibling for some outdoor play!
We know that there are faculty/staff and family worries - for one, keeping children home and keeping them engaged but also other worries, such as job reduction and a hurting economy. Some of our community members have loved ones or friends who are waiting on test results or have already tested presumptive positive.
Please know that all are in our prayers.
If we can help, please let us know! Please remember that our St. Peter's Food Pantry is available for anyone in need, and I encourage you to reach out for assistance. This is a time to lean on one another.
A thoughtful parent shared this perspective: "We will figure it out." We will. I have often said, "Family first," and that certainly rings true at this time. Take care of your families. Take care of yourselves. God Bless.
Angie Meyer
A prayer from the Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time
Dear Jesus,
Grant us the courage and strength we need to get through the day. When sadness and loneliness weigh us down, stretch out your hands and lift us up. Help us to never give up, just as you never gave up. We know, Lord, that with you all things are possible. We are called to persevere on our journey of faith, because our journey is His. Amen.
