Dear Bishop Hendricken Family,
Now, more than ever, we are truly understanding the value of adaptability and patience, two of Reopening Bishop Hendricken’s guiding principles. When we released our return-to-school plan two weeks ago, we emphasized that changes would not only be probable, but nearly guaranteed.
In response to the Governor and Education Commissioner’s announcement on the delay of school reopening across the state, Bishop Hendricken has also decided to begin its first full day of classes for all grades on Monday, September 14th. At this point, our goal, intention, and hope is still to utilize our Full Model of reopening. We will provide an updated schedule for the beginning of the school year in the coming days.
While we know this delay may be inconvenient or frustrating, we believe it will better equip students, faculty, and staff for the unique rigors and challenges this year will bring. To this end, we have expanded our orientation program for all students. Most importantly, this extra orientation time is an opportunity to reinforce critical health and safety information specific to our campus with the boys. Additionally, students and faculty will together review important technology applications and expectations across all models, including synchronous and virtual learning. The expanded orientation also gives students ample time to meet their teachers, review class expectations for the year, follow along their schedules period-by-period, walk the building to better understand campus life changes, take their yearbook photos, participate in ministry activities, and even enjoy some recreational time together.
Moreover, this delay will provide faculty more time to continue comprehensively planning for all model scenarios we may encounter throughout the course of the school year. On our previous timeline, we firmly believed that the educational experience we were ready to provide our students was strong. With even more time to fine-tune plans and address further issues, we believe that experience will be even stronger.
In terms of our four reopening models, there are currently no changes to report. Our administration and strategic reopening committees continue to work alongside the Catholic Schools Office, as well as guidance from state, education, and public health officials to make adjustments as needed.
As a reminder, our Opt-In for Virtual Learning applications will be available for submission beginning on Sunday, August 16th at www.hendricken.com/reopening. We’ve extended the application deadline to Tuesday, September 1st.
At this point, we cannot overstate the importance of flexibility. We’ve seen over the past two weeks just how much can change. We anticipate more changes ahead, too. We will continue to communicate adjustments to our plans as they are made, as well as openly and transparently provide our rationale for decisions.
We thank you for your continued patience and understanding. Keep doing your part to keep everyone safe!
