Dear St. Louis Families,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! My own children were a little green today over all the foods I found I could add some green food coloring to in the spirit of the day! Today begins the first day of our new virtual adventure, and we are ready! By now, everyone should have heard from their classroom/homeroom teacher regarding what to expect for this week and going forward. Some classes have already delved into the virtual learning world today and some begin tomorrow.
Grades K-2
Teachers have prepared weekly learning packets focused primarily on Reading and Math skills but have also included some excellent Religion, Social Studies, and Science assignments too. While you have the full week’s assignments, please make sure that you are working each day on the assigned tasks and try not to work ahead. Each teacher is finding different methods to connect with you visually in addition to the packets. Teachers are available between 9am-1pm daily online if you have any questions or concerns. Please send an email to the teacher directly and they will get back to you.
Grades 3-8
Teachers will be utilizing a virtual classroom approach and assignments will come daily for your student to simulate the classroom experience. Teachers will upload work each day by 9:00am and then will be available between 9am-1pm online for clarifications, questions, and communication. Each teacher will share with you the preferred/best method to communicate with them during this time period. Please make sure that students are not emailing the teacher directly, but posing questions within the virtual classroom on the STREAM thread. Teachers will also be incorporating a variety of visual ways to connect with their students whether it is through a synchronous classroom mini lesson via Zoom meetings or a brief instructional video.
Dedicated pages within the school website
For efficiency and efficacy, Mrs. Matheis has created a dedicated COVID-19 section within our school website. It has everything you need to know to be successful digital learners. It can only be accessed directly through a URL which your teachers will share with you in their weekly reminder emails. You can access the general COVID-19 page
here
.
Clicking on the e-learning link will provide you access to grade level pages where you can find all digital tools and links for your child’s specific grade level, our Resource team, our school Counselor, and the Specials teachers. For Middle School, because of departmentalization, each teacher has her own page. It is a one-stop shop for students and families to be able to access all of their classes and keep updated while we are on this digital journey. Please be patient with us as we continue to transition into distance learning.
School Closure Schedule
We received word late yesterday from the Diocese of Arlington Office of Catholic Schools that we will continue with our planned Easter break from 11:30am Holy Thursday, April 9th through Divine Mercy Sunday, April 19th. There will be no digital learning during that time. We will monitor and evaluate any changes and continue to provide updates as we receive them in a timely manner.
As we continue with our Lenten spiritual journey, we are reminded daily of the importance of community and our faith—may we have the fortitude to push through these challenges with joy, love, and compassion for one another. Let us not forget that our virtue this month is temperance, finding moderation and a proper balance to our lives.
Praying for your health, safety, and well-being,
Anne M. Dyke
Principal
