Exciting News and information for St. Francis of Assisi School
October 9, 2020
October 9, 2020

Dear St. Francis of Assisi Parents and Guardians,

It is with great pleasure that I share with you we are officially launching our outdoor classrooms!  Our final inspection with Orange County Fire Authority occurred on Thursday morning.  The inspectors were very supportive and presented us with our official permit, which means we can have students under the tents!  Staff quickly began cleaning desks and preparing for the return of hybrid students.

So what does this mean?  Beginning Monday, October 12, all students who registered for hybrid for the first trimester may be on campus 5 days a week.  On their normal cohort day on campus, students will learn in the classroom with their teacher.  On the days where they would normally learn remotely, students will be supervised by paraprofessional staff in the tents located on the blacktop.  The classrooms are organized by their cohort.  Each tent is organized with safety in mind, just like in the regular classrooms.  Outdoor classrooms provide additional safety with open air circulation for all.  Each tented classroom is set up with tarp dividers between the rooms and plastic barriers between desks.  The junior high tent has additional desk shields installed.  Outdoor classrooms will also be sanitized with an electrostatic sprayer daily.

Since the tents are located so close to the lunch tables, we are changing the format of lunch recess for our students so that we can reduce distractions for learning.  ALL students will now eat their lunch at their desks and then will play outside.   Cohorts will remain on separate areas of the field.  No towels are necessary moving forward!  We hope this lightens up your weekly laundry. 

Part of our permitting with the Fire Authority required that we leave two ends of the tents open for easy exit access.  So, when the weather is inclement, such as rainy days, we will close the tented classrooms and students will learn from home.  We will do our best, based on the weather forecast, to inform you of closures the night before.

Drop off and pickup procedures will be the same for all students whether they are in the classroom or under the tent.  Since this may impact our morning drop off carline, please be sure to have your app ready and students prepared with all supplies easily accessible to exit the vehicle.  Students in the outdoor classrooms will be able to utilize the walking passes after school.  While we look forward to more of our virtual students returning to campus, we are unable to accommodate changes for the virtual students until the trimester ends, due to staffing and spacing limitations. 

Thank you for your prayers, patience, and perseverance on this journey of reopening.  We are thankful that all are healthy and safe and we continue to see joy on the faces of your children (even with masks on).

Under the big top,

Jeannette Lambert
Principal


5330 Eastside Circle
Yorba Linda, CA 92887
714-695-3700
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