Dear Bishop Kelly Parents,
In this Just in Time, we will provide an update on our Instructional Plan for the three weeks after Thanksgiving and the end of the fall semester, give you an update and some context for the COVID-19 numbers here at Bishop Kelly, share a letter the SIC Superintendents/Presidents authored and signed to send to our communities, and ask for your help in thanking our faculty, staff and administration for their work this semester.
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Post-Thanksgiving Instructional Plan |
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In thinking about what our instructional plan should be for the three weeks after Thanksgiving, we considered our four goals for the year, the 11 week parent survey feedback you provided, a pulse survey of our faculty, our learnings to date, the rising cases in Ada County, and Thanksgiving behaviors and risks. This document summarizes all of these factors should you wish to see what was behind our thinking and decisions.
Considering all these factors, here is what we have decided for the final three weeks of the fall semester:
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For the first 6 instructional days after Thanksgiving (three A/B blocks, Mon, 11/30 - Mon, 12/7) we will institute a FLEX Instructional Model.
- Instruction, lessons, and content will be delivered online by all teachers, following our existing bell schedule, with teachers delivering online instruction from their classrooms.
- Any students that have had no/ low exposure are welcome to come to school to attend classes with their teacher and some classmates in order to have structure, routine, and in-person support. The expectation is that students will be at school for the entire day if they choose to come to school.
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Any students that have had high exposure potential during Thanksgiving break (airplane travel, travel to a hotspot, gathering with people outside of your immediate household, etc.) are STRONGLY encouraged to remain home during our FLEX Instructional Model time period. (Read more about risks here on the CDC website.)
- Any student experiencing any illness symptoms must stay home per our usual protocols.
- Students may choose to stay at home and learn virtually and get the same experience as if in the classroom. If in doubt, stay home.
- All services (lunch, study center, library, etc.) and activities/sports will be operating as usual, with appropriate safety and health protocols and regular school policies, practices and procedures will remain in place with all students that choose to attend in person. We would ask that student-athletes who have had high exposure potential during Thanksgiving break not attend practices or games the first week back after the holiday.
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FLEX MODEL ATTENDANCE EXPECTATIONS: Teachers will take attendance via ZOOM and/or in person in the first 15 minutes of each block period.
- After these three blocks/six days, we plan to move back to all students on campus and an in person instructional model for the final 5 days of instruction (Tues, 12/8 - Mon, 12/14)
- Students may choose to study at home during this period given we are still in red, but would be encouraged to come to school for in person learning
- Final Exams (Tues, 12/15 - Fri, 12/18) will be in person with alternatives for students that have stronger COVID concerns. (See final exam schedule below)
We see numerous advantages for our students, families and faculty/staff with this plan:
- One instructional model for teachers during the first three blocks simplifies their work and improves their teaching effectiveness for all students
- Allows those students who wish to come to school each day to do so, especially those who might struggle online at home, whether educationally, socially, or emotionally
- Gives students and families the option to attend in person or virtually with no consequences educationally
- Enables students who have travelled over Thanksgiving or attended local family or friend gatherings to stay home, keep others safe and not impact their educational experience
- Reduces risk of increased number of students or staff being put in 14 day quarantines
- Provides similar educational experience for all students, whether at school or at home
- Allows additional one-on-one time for students that have been out on quarantine or need additional assistance approaching finals
- Further reduces the already low risk of possible transmission within school
- Allows us time to assess risks associated with return from Thanksgiving break
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Click on the image below to open a printable PDF. |
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Printable Final Exam Schedule |
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Click on the image below to open a printable PDF. |
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*Students that are pre-approved for the alternate final exam schedule will take exams in the classroom with their teacher at the designated times. Parents will initiate all requests for approval in writing to their child’s counselor the week prior to final exam week. |
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COVID-19 at Bishop Kelly
Here is the midweek update on the COVID-19 numbers for Bishop Kelly. After a record of nine cases last week, we have had four cases so far this week, with 62 students and no faculty/staff members in quarantine, a significant drop from 95 students and three faculty/staff last Friday. Our data continues to show that our quarantining of students and faculty/staff is working and helping eliminate spread.
SIC Letter to our Communities
As mentioned in last Tuesday’s Just in Time communication, we have been working on a letter signed by all SIC schools districts, Central District Health and Southwest District Health. This includes Bishop Kelly (Rich) and Idaho Catholic Schools (Superintendent Sarah Quilici). Each SIC district/school is sharing this letter with our parents and communities asking them to do what is needed to stop the spread and keep schools and businesses open. You may also see stories in the media discussing this letter and the messages to our communities.
Faculty and Staff Care Week
Our “Care Week” has been going very well with “Let it Go” Monday, “Spirit” Tuesday and “Wellness” Wednesday! What we would ask of you, our parents, is twofold - 1) pray for our faculty and staff; 2) share your gratitude to our faculty and staff. We are asking that you click here to go to FLIP GRID and simply record a short video message to our faculty, staff and/or administration. We will share this with our BK team at the end of the week on “Gratitude” Thursday and “Community” Friday. Thank you for your support and care for our BK team!
In Conclusion
As our community has demonstrated since March when the coronavirus hit Idaho, we have worked exceptionally well together facing adversity, demonstrating perseverance, showing creativity, and supporting each other. We are truly in this together - BK team, students and parents. Thank you once again for all you have done in partnership with us to make the first 14 weeks of in person learning so successful in most every way. Let’s work even harder together in the coming weeks as we conclude our semester to be able to sustain this success and continue to make the learning experience exceptional for all students and faculty and to keep all students, faculty, and staff safe and healthy.
We wish you and your families a very happy, safe and healthy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be grateful for, especially our BK families, faculty/staff and community!
God bless,
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Mike Caldwell
Principal
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- Front Office: 375-6010
- Fax: 375-3626
- Business Office Manager: 947-1209
- BK Development Office: 947-1325
- BK Foundation Office: 323-4789
To add, remove, or change your email address, or to remove your name from our regular mailing lists, please contact Chrissy at cbeckner@bk.org.
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Bishop Kelly High School | (208) 375-6010 | www.bk.org |
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