Dear St. Louis Families,
I want to thank all of you for your flexibility as we know there were a lot of last minute changes/decisions regarding book and material pick up today, it went very smoothly and that is due to the huge team work from our faculty and PTO board. I am also grateful for your continued support and understanding as we move our learning to remote virtual classrooms. Please know that our teachers have been working above and beyond with limited expertise and training to change up their planning. Our faculty and staff will ensure that the integrity of learning is not adversely impacted and that all essential diocesan curriculum objectives which are necessary for student progression into the next grade level are being attended to for student mastery. Teachers have been collaborating to provide digital lessons that encompass several curriculum learning objectives across all content areas. It is important that you know that St. Louis is doing more than simply providing educational continuity, we are teaching differently but it is still instruction necessary for grade promotion. The tasks, assignments, and projects will count towards the 3
rd
trimester academic grades in K-8
th
subject areas. Recognizing that no two families are the same in electronic devices and are experiencing unique learning circumstances, teachers are also carefully utilizing school textbooks to limit screen time wherever possible.
What can you expect our e-learning model to look like?
As we make this transition into unchartered territory overnight, we want to reiterate that we are happy to partner with you, the parents, who are the primary educators of your children. We fully believe that a lot of learning can and will happen organically each day and our teachers are seeking to supplement that with specific curriculum related tasks, assignments, and projects. Teachers will continue to assess learning though digital means and some out of the box ways as well as check in with their students in a variety of digital forms. Perhaps the greatest difference is that learning will mostly occur asynchronously---you can expect approximately 2-3 hours of instructional assignments and work per day to be worked on as fits into your daily routines best. Students in K-3 may be closer to the 2 hour mark and students in grades 4-8 closer to the 3 hour mark. Know that you will receive emails from your child’s homeroom teachers if you haven’t already by Wednesday at the latest that will explain what to expect daily and weekly. All classroom teachers will be available between 9am-1pm to answer questions or clarify through email and/or Google Classroom.
School Website Page COVID-19
To ease the process for our school families, we have created a COVID-19 section attached to our school website. You will need the direct URL to access it which your child’s homeroom teacher will share with you in their weekly email correspondence. It is meant to streamline our e-learning so that everything you need to know will be located on the specific grade page for K-5 and on the teacher’s page for Middle School. In addition, Specials teachers, our school Counselor, and our Resource team will have pages with suggested activities and important links to videos as well as other resources your family may find helpful during this time.
It is important to us to promote the same learning environment as much as we can, so we encourage families to actively share with us images and videos of your children completing tasks. Just because we may not be able to see one another daily, we are still one community and we want to see all the cool learning that is happening organically within your homes. Send your pictures to
development@stlouisschool.org
so we can include them on our social media pages! We are also seeking to find fun virtual family nights that allow us to continue to build and foster community albeit virtually!
How long can we expect to be remotely learning?
With COVID-19, there is no easy answer to that question. We have been directed by the Diocese of Arlington Office of Catholic Schools to follow our local county school system, Fairfax County Public Schools,
for closures only
. At this time, we are scheduled to go on Easter Break April 9-19 but that could change depending on the circumstances surrounding the global health crisis of COVID-19. We are continuing to monitor and evaluate all the health websites and will follow the guidance of our local and national governmental agencies in addition to our central governing body, the Diocese of Arlington to make a determination—we are committed to keeping everyone safe, healthy, and well! We will let you know as soon as we know something.
As of now, our school building is officially shut down. Please continue to check your emails daily for updates from teachers and know that any official news regarding St. Louis will come from Constant Contact. If you haven’t already downloaded the
School News app
, do so because it sends alerts in real time.
We pray for all those affected by the global health crisis and I especially pray for each of you to stay well.
God bless,
Anne M. Dyke
Principal
