Update on Serra High School Reopening Process |
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As many of you are aware, our county has been within the Red Tier on the state’s monitoring list for a two-week period. This status opens the possibility for Serra to hold on campus instruction in the future.
In light of this status change, the San Mateo County Office of Education communicated that all schools wishing to return to on-campus instruction must go through an application and approval process. Members of the administrative team attended a webinar Monday that outlined the application requirements. At its core, the plan must demonstrate consistency with the San Mateo County Pandemic Recovery Framework for Schools. The county is also requesting that proposed reopening plans be phased slowly and carefully to ensure proper implementation of health guidelines. The office of education and the county health department will need up to two weeks to review and approve a school’s return to campus plan. If the health department finds the plan meets its criteria, a school will be able to bring students back to campus for in-person instruction.
Serra is reviewing the county application process, and we are planning to submit an application in the next couple weeks. Our hope is that we can be approved to return in a methodical, phase-in system that would bring smaller groups of students to campus. However, we are well aware that this is a challenging and complicated process and changing health and/or regulatory conditions can impact our planning process and timeline.
We will be sending a survey to parents next week to assess Serra’s distance learning program to date and to gauge the number of students we can anticipate will select on-campus instruction (hybrid) or choose to remain in distance learning.
We thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this situation. We will continue to inform you of any changes as we move forward.
Thank you,
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Barry Thornton, Ed.D.
President
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Charlie McGrath
Principal
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Serra Opens New BSN Sideline Store for Padre Gear |
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We are excited to announce that we have just launched a new Serra Padre sideline store, which features customized, branded, print-on-demand Serra Padre fan apparel and accessories. These items are brought to you through our partnership with BSN Sports.
Be sure to take advantage of the 25 percent discount afforded to our Serra customers as a grand opening incentive. Use the code GRANDOPENING20.
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From Chaos to Calm: Building Teen Resilience and Agency: Common Ground Event Oct. 8
Parenting teens is not easy, even in ideal circumstances. But parenting with imposed social distancing when adolescents thrive on face-to-face interactions creates unprecedented challenges.
Dr. Laura Kastner identifies resilience and personal agency as key strengths that can help both parents and teens in these complex times. With warmth and calm reassurance, Dr. Kastner will provide parents with action-oriented and effective strategies for encouraging coping, problem-solving, and optimism in our teens today.
This virtual event takes place at 7 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. on October 8.
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Freshman Retreat in October will Welcome Freshman to Campus
In lieu of our annual Freshman Day of Service, we would like to share with you our plans for an upcoming Freshman Retreat Experience, which will allow you to be on campus with your cohort. Our Campus Ministry team, along with our senior Encounter leaders, have prepared the Camino de Padres. This freshman retreat will take place on Wednesday, October 14 for the Blue Cohort from 9 a.m. to noon and on Thursday, October 15 for the Gold Cohort from 9 a.m. to noon.
The pillars of this retreat day will be welcoming you to campus, building community, hearing the faith journey of our student leaders, embracing the Serra school prayer, learning about the value of service and the Christian Service requirement, and celebrating Mass together.
Obviously, there will be a lot of health and safety protocols in place in order to have the cohorts on campus for this retreat. We will be sending out more information about that next week. Also note, while this retreat is mandatory, you may opt out of the in-person retreat and participate virtually at the same time.
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Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences Will Take Place Tomorrow |
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Parents, please mark your calendars for Thursday, October 8 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. for virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences. This is an optional event for parents, and although all parents are welcome to attend, we especially want to encourage parents to attend if their sons are experiencing difficulty in their classes.
Parents will need to sign up beforehand. Please look for an email on Saturday, October 3 for instructions to sign up through the PCR Parent Portal.
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Zoph Library Blog This Week: It's Election Time: What you need to know
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Admissions Season is Upon Us: Tell Your Friends About Our Virtual Admissions Events!
Serra admissions season is upon us! We encourage all of our current parents and students to help us get the word out about some of the virtual events created specifically for prospective families.
Families can register for these Serra events after creating a profile on the Ravenna Hub. This will allow prospective students and families to view Serra through the viewpoints of students, teachers, parents, coaches, and staff.
We hope to showcase why so many young men have chosen Serra for their high school education through our Wednesday Webinar series, our Padre for a Day program, Community Connections talk and Admissions Chat.
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Mothers' Club to Host Virtual Bingo on Tonight at 7:30 p.m. |
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We hope to see all registered moms at Virtual Bingo on October 7. We will hold a brief announcement period and then begin the game via Zoom. The link will be sent via email.
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October Teach-In for Justice
The Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice is an annual gathering for members of the Ignatian family (Jesuit institutions and larger church) to come together in the context of social justice and solidarity to learn, reflect, pray, network, and advocate together. It is a place where people are empowered, re-energized, inspired, challenged, and supported by a community that sees faith and justice integrally linked.
Join the Serra contingency of students and faculty and engage in deep, focused discussion on Migration, Ecological and Racial Justice on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24-25. Take action on Monday, Oct. 26 as you practice advocacy with your local representatives.
The registration deadline is Oct. 1. The $50 registration fee will be processed through TADS. This fulfills the Christian Service requirement.
Please contact Mary Dowden, Campus Ministry Service Immersion Coordinator, for more information or register using the button below.
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Mother-Son Prayer Day to be Virtually held on October 24
Did you know that this past week we celebrated National Son Day? Did you know we were celebrating that before you checked social media? Do you wish there was a way that you could spend some time with your son focusing on how you can mutually build each other up and remind you both of times that bring a smile to your face? Do you wish there was a way you can share with your son some little slice of the many prayers you have said for him?
That’s what we hope this “Mother/Son Prayer Day” will do for you! A Saturday morning to spend with your son, in prayer, in remembering good and funny times together, and the chance to share these stories with your son. Join us for this virtual prayer time that will give you one-on-one time with your son with guiding questions and prompts for getting your son to share some of his love for you. This Mother/Son Prayer Day will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, October 24. An email with a digital invitation will follow. Please contact Father Michael Liliedahl with any questions.
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Download our free Serra App TODAY!
Select your mobile app store below and download directly to your device. Or, search for the app on your phone. Once you download the app, you can log in with your last name and email address.
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Wishing you a safe and healthy week!
Director of Marketing and Communication
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Junipero Serra High School | 451 West 20th Avenue | San Mateo, CA 94403 | serrahs.com
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