Dear St. Giles Families,
Typically we do not have enews throughout the summer, but this will not be our typical summer. There will be information to share and I want to be as transparent as possible about our plans. Therefore, we will continue with enews weekly and you will be updated with our processes and progress.
As you saw in the Cardinal's video this week, we, along with all Archdiocesan schools plan to reopen with in-person learning in August. We know that this year will look and feel different than past years but are committed to bringing back the community in person. On a webinar with the Archdiocese yesterday, we were given guidance on what we can do now in preparation for opening with a more formalized plan coming from the Office of Catholic Schools.
Here are a few things we are doing now to prepare for your children to come back:
- Removing ancillary furniture to allow for larger physical spacing of desks
- Adding plexiglass dividers to areas to prevent the spread of germs (i.e. main office, library, student tables)
- Adjusting our schedule to allow for more teacher movement, less student movement in the hallways from classroom to classroom
- Ensuring there are breaks throughout the day for washroom and hand washing
- Investigating portable hand washing stations on floors in the Frawley Building
- Ensuring a consistent supply of hand sanitizer in each classroom
- Evaluating schedules and times for lunch and recess--there will be recess!
- Adding regular cleaning and sanitizing throughout the day in classrooms
Walking through the hallways this week felt very surreal, the silence was deafening. In our middle school hallway I found the above picture on a bulletin board. Each of the tags resonated with me as I thought about this past year. While it was put up at the beginning of the year, we definitely encountered each point and grew together these past several months.
I look forward to staying in touch with you and sharing information weekly as it becomes available. Have a safe and wonderful week!
Peace,
Meg
