St. Pius X Virtual Learning Week 6: Updates and News

VIRTUAL LEARNING AT

ST. PIUS X

UPDATES AND NEWS FROM YOUR FACULTY AND STAFF

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

One of the very tangible ways St. Pius X shows itself as a family is how our staff has come together to support teachers and students. That has been even more apparent with the recent happenings due to the coronavirus as staff members adapt to ensure St. Pius X runs well and is ready to reopen. Our staff has created a system from home that is just as efficient and supportive of the inner-workings of the school as it was when everyone was on campus. Bills are paid, attendance is checked, donors are thanked—a myriad relationships kept strong by a staff that loves our Golden Lions. That said, they not only miss our students, they miss each other! Zoom meetings don’t capture the vocation of our talented and caring staff members. Our gratitude is immense for these unsung ministers who are the backbone of what makes Pius great.

Chad Barwick

President

UPDATES FROM OUR STAFF...

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO...

MARSHA FREE, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL AND PRESIDENT

Now that I am working mostly from home these days, my two new office assistants (aka my cats) are all about helping, from reading my emails to drinking my coffee or just being downright cute. I am grateful for our IT department as they have made sure that I have access to all of my digital files and that I have all of the applications that I need on my work from home PC. The challenge has been not being able to talk to someone immediately about anything - I can't get up from my desk and walk to their office to talk to them. I miss my colleagues and I hope that we will all be allowed to be back on campus soon.

PAT FRIES, DEAN OF STUDENTS OFFICE

On Friday, April 24, I went to school for the first time since March 13 to file actual papers and help with senior cap and gown pickup. It hit me hard when I walked into my office and saw the “Spring Break Countdown” calendar (photo below) that we keep each year. It seems like forever (plus 22 days) ago that in a blink our new normal became an unimaginable “virtual reality." I am able to access PowerSchool from home and have been keeping student information up-to-date. That said, I sure do miss the old routine, the students, and our wonderful colleagues.

KAREN TRAVERS, REGISTRAR

New student enrollment and course registration carries on from my annex office in a guest bedroom. The dogs and cats are going to be VERY disappointed when I stop working from home.

JANE UDELL, COUNSELING OFFICE

I'm working from my beautiful new kitchen, managing to keep up with my usual tasks. I've been going to my office about once or twice a week for a few hours to accomplish the things I'm unable to do from home. Also, I am enjoying the weekly lunch bunch zoom meetings! The most difficult part has been not being with my coworkers and the students. I really miss everyone! The best part has been not commuting to and from school every day.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

FROM TIM STULTZ

IT has been working virtually and on campus, as we continue to support our campus infrastructure, as well as providing service to our faculty, staff, and families to make sure they are all able to function in a safe virtual environment.

We have been helping faculty and staff take advantage of the technology that they have at home, as well as supplement that with other equipment, such as web cameras, to make sure that they are able to fully function from home.

We had already worked on strategies to give employees more flexibility to access their files remotely, which has paid off. We continue to evaluate other tools that will continue to allow everyone to operate safely during this time.

OPERATIONS

FROM JOHN FAVIER

The Maintenance Crew has been busy taking care of the school while most people are away. Some of the day-to-day tasks include accepting deliveries that continue to arrive, making certain any areas that are still seeing daily traffic are disinfected, and getting a head start on tasks that require access to classrooms—like changing out overhead lights that have died. Routine summer work will become more of our focus soon, but we also are trying to limit the number of staff on campus at any given time, to follow shelter-in-place guidelines.

OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS

FROM AARON PARR

We have been working hard to innovate and share our school with our prospective families during this time of social distancing. We started something called "Virtual Hour", which was a Zoom meeting with our prospective families in which myself, Molly, and Steve were available to give updates on what we are doing at St. Pius X prior to the admissions decisions going out and the commitment deadline. Overall we had about 180 families tune in and received a great deal of positive feedback. Decisions were released April 4 (see our at home acceptance packet assembly line), and we have both been working hard from home trying to help the new families acclimate. We are excited to have 287 new families coming to St. Pius X next year!

DR. MARIAN ROSENBERG, INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR

A week prior to our planned Virtual Day (March 16), Mr. Spellman suggested that I start making a plan in case we have to extend our virtual day. At that point I started seeing what other schools were doing, collecting resources and professional development opportunities for teachers, and drafting a plan for alternative learning when we can't be physically at school.

The first two weeks were exhausting. I felt like I was working 24/7 and it was pretty stressful. Things changed rapidly. Emails, phone calls, texts, FaceTime, Zoom conferences, it was constant. Thankfully that has settled down some now and there are moments in my day to breathe and even unplug and go for a walk in the evening!

So, because I am also teaching a class this year (AP - Computer Science Principles), I make it a point to focus on my students first. Then I switch over to seeing what emails I've gotten from teachers (and also sometimes students). Frequently a teacher and I will jump on a Google Meet or Zoom call so that I can guide them through using a tech tool that is new to them or that they didn't use as much before we went entirely online. This includes things like PowerSchool Learning features (assessments, dropbox, discussion boards, WikiProjects, etc.), setting up a FlipGrid, EdPuzzle, Quizlet, Google Form, or WeVideo project, using the features of an etextbook, screencasting a lecture, recording a whiteboard, videoconferencing tools (and how to prevent some of the problems with these). Things come up all day long - and often (usually) continue into the evening and the weekends. I make time somewhere in there to grade my own students' work and to communicate with, and prepare materials for them as well!

"I so appreciate everything our teachers are doing to reinvent education.

None of them signed up to be completely online teachers.

This is way outside of the comfort zone for many of them, and they

have truly risen to the occasion - for their students."

Dr. Marian Rosenberg

#GIVINGTUESDAYNOW | 05.05.2020

St. Pius X Catholic High School is excited to be participating in #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving and unity set to take place on May 5, 2020 as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by the coronavirus.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected every family in our community though some have been hit harder financially than others. St. Pius X is committed to educating all of our students seeking a Catholic education. Your restricted gift on #GivingTuesdayNow will provide financial aid to current Golden Lions families as well as incoming Class of 2024 families who may need assistance.

Please consider supporting St. Pius X through #GivingTuesdayNow on May 5. If you would like to participate now, please click here . Thank you for your continued generosity and keeping St. Pius X in your prayers.

JOIN FR. REY FOR MASS

Our chaplain, Fr. Rey Pineda, has been celebrating Mass and sharing it live on his YouTube channel. Father is offering Mass on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3 p.m.

Please consider joining him at that time by clicking here . You also have access to previous Masses by subscribing to his channel.

ST. PIUS X CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL WWW.SPX.ORG