Yesterday's readings at Mass were all about love...and the greatest of these is love.  Fr. Alex spoke about the obligation we, as Christians, have to love one another as Jesus loves us.  The students even journaled about what love looks like and how we can show love to others.  What a great topic for discussion around the dinner table.

 

     Talking about showing love and kindness, the following was in the Catholic Telegraph and I thought I would share if:

 

I PLEDGE:  

CIVILITY

To recognize the human dignity of those with whom I disagree, treat others with respect, and rise above attacks directed at me.

CLARITY

To root my political viewpoints in the Gospel and a well formed conscience, which involves prayer, conversation, study and listening.  I will stand up for my convictions and speak out when I witness language that disparages others' dignity, while also listening and seeking to understand others' experiences.

 

COMPASSION

To encounter others with a tone and posture which affirms that I honor the dignity of others and invite others to do the same.  I will presume others' best intentions and listen to their stories with empathy.  I will strive to understand before seeking to be understood.

     As we move through this unprecedented year, some of the guidelines we have in place may get tweaked  as we all become more experienced with our protocols.  One area that we have reevaluated is Birthday Treats.  Originally, we had thought of having no birthday treats this year.  However, after some discussion, we are going to reinstate birthday treats with the following guidelines:

     Teachers will pass out the treats either at lunch, so children can eat the treat in the cafeteria, or send the treats home with the children.

 

     The teachers are working to get things connected so that we can offer streaming for students who are absent due to sickness.  When everything is set, parents will get a document from their child's teachers(s) showing how to "stream in'' when home sick.  Parents need to email the HR teacher and the school office by 7:30 if a student is going to be absent and stream, or just absent.  A child cannot just show up in the online classroom, teachers must know he/she is attending virtually that day.  The homeroom teacher will reach out to the other teachers who the child might see on any given day, to make them aware of the student working virtually.

 

There are guidelines for streaming in the Parent Handbook in the back where it deals with Covid changes: 

Below are the online etiquette guidelines that we feel will be the most beneficial to the student at home, the students in the classroom and the teacher.  If your child is streaming or working online, please go over these guidelines so everyone knows what is expected.

     If a student does not follow these guidelines on a repeated basis, we (parents, teacher, administration) will evaluate whether online learning is the proper avenue for education at this time.

     Our Google system is closed so parents do not have direct access to their child's online calendar, however, their child can share their login so the parent can see the calendar and work with the students to plan homework, projects etc...  Google classroom does offer a module that will send daily or weekly updates to the parents on upcoming assignments, projects and missing work.  What Guardian will not do is give you access to grades.  That comes through MSP.   Teachers will set up, if they haven't already, the Guardian module and parents will get an invitation to join Guardian.  You must respond if you want to have access to Guardian and note if you want daily or weekly updates.  It is very important that teachers have the correct email address that you want them to use to communicate with you.  If you ever want to communicate with teachers, we all have emails that follow the same pattern:

 FirstInitialLastName@stveronica.org

(Ex. sbresler@stveronica.org)

     Lunchtime has been working well.  The students are getting into the routine of spacing out at the tables and staying on the blue dots while in line.  One of the hardest things for the students to remember is to leave their chairs out instead of tucking them in so we can sanitize them more easily.