I am writing to keep you updated on our progress towards opening our doors to students on September 9, 2020. I have been in continued discussions with Diocesan leaders, as well as other local area principals about the best paths forward to begin the school year. I have also taken into consideration the experiences in schools around the country that have already opened. In light of the forgoing, as well as the upgraded guidance from the Diocese received in recent days, we will be amending our policy to require face coverings for all students in Kindergarten-Grade 8 while they are in the building. Mask breaks will be provided in such a manner as to maintain the safety of all students. This updated policy will not affect our Preschool students at this time. Please click here to review the updated Diocesan policy.

The building is a work in progress with sanitizing and maintenance, however, the progress has been significant with most of the classrooms prepared for the safe return of our students. Some of the building repairs and updates include: maintenance to classroom radiators, all exhaust fans were inspected and will be running daily at full capacity, blinds repaired and/or replaced as necessary throughout the school, the gates to the playgrounds have been repaired and can be locked after each cleaning, all classroom moves and necessary repairs are completed. A huge thank you to The St. Mark Father’s Club, Miss Sarah and student volunteers for their time and hard work!

The school hallways as well as the school bathrooms are scheduled to be painted next week. The Parish Center roof is being replaced by the generosity of St. Mark parish and we are in the process of upgrading all of our lighting to be energy efficient which will produce a much brighter environment for student learning. We were fortunate to obtain many, many items including furniture and school supplies from an area Diocesan school that will sadly not be opening in September. You will see coat closet style cubbies for the Grade 4 classroom as well as for the Grade 8 Classroom (Science Lab). These cubbies will now be located in the hallway.

We have made a significant investment in the safety of our students and staff. With the assistance of the Grants Administrator from the Town of Stratford, we have secured funding from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), which supports the safe opening of schools with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have. I am excited to report that the grant will supply us with some of the many items necessary to keep both students and staff safe.

Among our purchases are:

I have contracted with our janitorial services to employee a day porter who will be working throughout the school day to keep the school building, classrooms, bathrooms, and playground clean and sanitized.

The Class of 2020 has purchased a hand sanitizing station to be positioned outside of Grade 8 as their Class Gift to the school. With their presentation of the gift, they left us with these words, “The St. Mark Faculty and staff have always kept us safe and we would like to help to ensure the students of St. Mark continue to be safe and healthy.” We are grateful for their generosity.

With the school opening September 9th for grades K-8 and September 14th for Preschool, our teachers will be spending the end of August and start of September in workshops to prepare for these new safety protocols at school. Teacher training will include best practices for health and safety, as well as teaching students to socially and emotionally address the concerns they may have about returning to school.

I am excited with the progress that we are making on our COVID protocols and I look forward to inviting parents into the classrooms. Please stay tuned for further details for supply drop off dates and times where you will have the opportunity to safely (socially distant) drop off supplies, see our classrooms and meet your child’s teacher. Once supplies are dropped off, the building will be closed to all, including faculty and staff, for a number of days for a complete sanitization in anticipation of our student’s return.

I am sure many of you have questions, please send all questions to our COVID response team at covidresponse@stmark.org. There is no such thing as a silly question and all questions will help us build a FAQ database that we can share with our community. I will continue to keep you updated as progress is made. In the meantime, please visit our social media pages to stay in touch.

Yours in Christ,

Melissa Warner

For Parish information, visit: https://www.saintmarkchurchstratford.org/

For important information and updates on COVID-19, visit the

Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Schools website

Please visit our school website regularly at www.stmarkschool.org. Important school updates including copies of notices, newsletters, HSA links, and school calendars can all be accessed on the website.