Welcome Back!
2020-20201 Back to School Information
Dear St. Patrick Faculty and Staff,
I am excited to report that we are welcoming 119 students to St. Patrick this year - a 10% increase from last year. We will begin the year with 12 Virtual Learning students - which will create a bit of added stress, BUT will also help decrease our in-person class sizes. Regardless of how our students are learning this year, I know we will provide each one of them with our best!
On Monday, we will meet for our first diocesan professional development day where we take a look at our standards, create essential standards, and build a scope and sequence chart for the year. It sounds like a daunting task, but we will work under the guidance of Jen Marks, the diocesan Curriculum Director, and she is really good at what she does. Regardless of what subject you teach, Jen will walk you through creating a scope and sequence for your classes. (Breakfast and lunch will be provided)
Tuesday will be our first faculty/staff meeting of the year. We will begin and end our day with Faith Formation and will hopefully find a little time throughout the day to be reminded of our "why". I'm certain we will need this reminder often throughout our year. Our fabulous PTO will be providing breakfast and lunch on this day.
The rest of the week I have freed up for you to work in your classroom with no interruptions. Feel free to come and go as you need. We will keep the coffee hot for you!
On Monday the 17th, we will gather in the gym for Opening Convocation. I will have breakfast goodies for you starting at 8:00. Mass begins at 9:00 and will be live-streamed from St. James. Immediately following mass, Dr. Peters will give his opening address and then we will hear from the Keynote speaker - someone they've kept on the down-low. :) Once the morning has wrapped up, you are free to leave, work in your classroom, do whatever is needed to prepare for Back to School Night. This night begins at 5:00 with our Virtual Learners and is set to conclude by 7:00pm. We will talk more about it on Tuesday.
On Tuesday the 18th, you are free to take the day off (head to the spa!) or work in your classroom. This day is yours to do with as you please!
When we begin on Wednesday, it will undoubtedly be the most unusual start to a school year that we've ever had, BUT just imagine how cool it will be to one day be able to say that you were a part of something extraordinary! (Look at me being super positive!)
I demand you find time to relax this weekend and focus on nothing school related! That is an order. :)
See you Monday!
Kaci
Required Diocesan Training Videos
Important August Dates
August 11 - Required Staff Work Day - (information below)
August 12 - Staff Work Day - classroom work day
August 13 - Staff Work Day - classroom work day (I have a Virtual Diocesan Meeting all day)
August 14 - Staff Work Day - classroom work day (Virtual Diocesan New Employee Meeting - Lauren)
August 17 - Staff Work Day - Opening Convocation (Information below)
August 18 - On your own ( take the day off if you're ready for tomorrow!)
August 19 - First Day of School (Classroom teachers will meet outside at 7:30am; Specials teachers will be staggered throughout the building at 7:30)
August 21 - School Pictures; Staff Picture at 7:15am.
August 31 - Sept. 4 - Fall Benchmark Window
Diocesan PD - August 10 - 8:00am - 3:00pm
Please bring: Laptop, notebook/pen
Dress: Casual
August Curriculum PD (August 10-12) Reminder
Pod professional development days are on August 10th , 11th , and 12th , running from 8:30am-3:00pm. Staff will focus on building curriculum documents for year-long planning of instruction. Key agenda topics include:
- Introduction to the Curriculum Development Process
- Review of Updated Math, ELA, and Science Standards
- Overview of ELA and Benchmark Exams
- Identifying Essential Standards at the School Level
- Creating Scope and Sequences for Grade Level Subjects
Staff will need to bring computers and be able to access Diocesan Learning Standards and School Google Drive Curriculum folders. Dr. Jen Marks will provide an introduction of each topic, followed by facilitated work sessions for staff. The goal is to have completed Essential Standard and Scope and Sequence documents for each grade level and/or subject that can be referenced throughout the school year. Protocols and information apply to all grade levels and subject areas. The session agenda will be sent out to principals at the beginning of August. Feel free to contact Jen Marks with any questions at Jen@hsesil.org .
Updated Standards
If the Iowa test has 16 questions based upon one standard, our benchmark has 8. We are not copying the Iowa test, but mimicking the standards tested. It is important that you are reviewing your standards for Math, ELA, and Science to ensure you are teaching, assessing, and re-teaching throughout the year.
In August, we will have PD where you will be creating Essential Standards in Math and ELA by creating a Scope (what is taught) and Sequence (when it is taught) for the entire year. This will be your "road map" to guide your planning throughout the year.
Originally, I said that the Essential Standards were bolded, but they told us today that they did not create Essential Standards. Instead, they are going to have us work on them during the August PD day with Jen Marks. At this time, we will create our own Essential Standards that are school specific - which is a much better idea. There will be more information about that in August. As for now, the standards on the website are the updated standards. It is important that you know your standards well, are able to track when you've taught them and when you have assessed them, and have a plan in place to re-teach and re-assess throughout the year. I know...it's a lot. But, if you focus on the standards, you can start to eliminate some of the "fluff" that comes along in our text books.
2020-2021 Benchmark Dates
Winter: January 4-8
Spring: May 10-14
You will be able to give the 3 assessments all in one day, or spread them out throughout the week. They are working on a Google Form for students to submit answers so that teachers will not need to grade them.
St. Patrick Staff Meetings and PD - August 11 from 8:30am - 2:30pm
Bring: Laptop, notebook/pen
Dress: Casual
Staff Meeting Schedule:
8:00 - Breakfast goodies available in the gym/staff lounge.
8:30 - Faith Formation Activity
9:15 - New HR Information
9:45 - Break
10:00 - New School Policies
10:30 - Virtual Learning
11:00 - Administrivia (A fancy name for "going over a bunch of stuff that you need to know")
12:00 - Lunch (provided by our fabulous PTO)
12:30 - Father Matthew
1:00 - Grade Level Teams
2:00 - Closing Faith Formation Activity
2:30 - Dismiss
Opening Convocation - August 17 - 9:00am
Convocation Mass
On Monday, August 17, we will have our traditional Convocation Mass. However, it will be streamed to each of your locations. We will view together on a large screen in the gymnasium. Once the streamed Mass is complete, all teachers will need to switch to a zoom meeting where Dan and keynote speaker will deliver a message.
Desk Shields
Due to high demand, the desk shields will not be here at the start of school. They are set to ship on August 31 and should arrive shortly after. Until then, please take extra precaution in your classrooms when keeping students distanced. I apologize for the delay in getting these to you - it's just unavoidable.
New Morning Routine
1. Upon arrival, staff will submit the daily health and wellness checklist via Google form.
2. Once form is submitted, staff will come to the school office to receive a temperature check.
3. School doors will open at 7:30am.
4. Mrs. Monaghan, Father Matthew, and Mrs. Angotti will stand on front sidewalk performing temperature checks for students as they arrive beginning at 7:30am.
5. Mrs. Eads and Mrs. Orr will be in the office area to collect anything students are dropping off.
6. Teachers will be at their classroom door at 7:30am.
7. Coach D will stand in the school lobby to direct students to their classroom at 7:30am.
8. Mr. Prim will stand in the upper level (near the double doors) to direct students to their classroom at 7:30am.
9. Mrs. Nolan will stand in the lower level (near the staircase) to direct students to their classroom at 7:30am.
10. Middle school students will use the front stair case to go downstairs.
11. From 7:30 - 7:50 students should have a routine to put backpacks away, gather supplies, and start on morning work while maintaining social distancing in the classroom.
12. Morning Announcements will begin at 7:50am. I will provide you with a YouTube link each morning in my Morning Message. Please have this pulled up and ready to begin at 7:50am. I will try to pop into a different class each morning to listen to the announcements, say prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance together, and wish the class a good day.
New Recess/Lunch Time Routine
2. Give each student a sanitizing wipe to wipe down his/her desk, chair, desk screen, and any other items in his/her personal area.
3. The teacher (or appointed student) should use a sanitizing wipe to wipe down any commonly touched surfaces such as: pencil sharpener, door knobs, classroom materials, etc.
4. All students should be encouraged to wash hands with soap and water.
5. Once you have sanitized the classroom, do not allow students to return to desk area or classroom until after lunch. It is important to give the sanitization time to dry.
New Recess/Lunch Procedures
When lining up for lunch, please ensure your own class is socially distanced while standing in line and that the different classes are separated far enough apart while waiting for prayer. As you enter the building, please ensure your students remain distanced. Students will sanitize hands before entering the lunch room.
Students will need to have assigned seating at lunch. Seating should be every other one so that no one is sitting right next to another student. Individual classes should sit together and should be spaced apart from the other class.
Students will not wash tables this year. Table washing will be done by lunch room volunteers to ensure proper sanitization. Please do not linger at lunch. In order for proper sanitization to take place, each group will need to leave on time and not interfere with the next lunch group
Important Specials Information
Please arrive to pick up your class on time. If you are late, the specials teacher will not have the time needed to sanitize the class, which could then shorten specials time for the next class. It is very important that you drop off and pick up your students at the designated time to make our specials schedule run more smoothly.
New Afternoon Procedure
2. Give each student a sanitizing wipe to wipe down his/her desk, chair, desk screen, and any other items in his/her personal area.
3. The teacher (or appointed student) should use a sanitizing wipe to wipe down any commonly touched surfaces such as: pencil sharpener, door knobs, classroom materials, etc.
4. All students should be encouraged to wash hands with soap and water.
5. While students are sanitizing spaces, the teacher should have a routine for calling students to get backpacks.
6. Once sanitization is complete, bags are packed, hands are washed, please have students either stand behind desks or stand (distanced) in a designated area in the classroom. Teacher will stand in the doorway to be able to hear when names are called.
7. All students/staff should wear masks at this time.
8. Mr. Prim will stand on the upper level.
9. Coach D will stand on the lower level.
10. Mrs. Nolan and Mrs. Monaghan will be outside. Mrs. Nolan will call family name on the walkie talkie. Mr. Prim and Coach D will then call the family name out to the classroom. Teachers will dismiss students.
11. Mrs. Eads and Mrs. Orr will be in the lobby area to direct students to exit through front doors.
12. Safety patrol will be on hand to open car doors for students. (Will wear masks)
Sending Students to the Office
Please talk with your students about this new procedure and please be sure you never allow a child to leave your classroom without wearing a mask.
Aerosol Sprays in the Classroom
Please do not use the following in your classroom:
- Lysol aerosol sprays
- Febreeze aerosol sprays
- Any generic versions of aerosol sprays
Never under any circumstances should a staff member spray disinfectant spray of ANY kind on a student, a student's clothing, or student's property.
Proper Cleaning Procedures in the Classroom
Rule #2: Never use disinfectant sprays or wipes unless leaving the classroom for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Rule #3: Aerosol sprays of any kind are prohibited in the classroom.
General Cleaning Protocols:
Tier 1: Prior to student/staff arrival each day
- Custodial staff will thoroughly clean and disinfect each classroom
Tier 2: While students are in the classroom
- Desks and desk shields can be sprayed with the soap/water mixture.
- Students can be given paper towels to clean desks with soap/water mixture.
- After cleaning with soap/water mixture, students should have time to wash hands or use hand sanitizer. (Teacher's preference)
Tier 3: When preparing to leave the classroom for a minimum of 30 minutes (Before recess or a the end of the day)
- Desks, desk shields, chair backs, and other frequently touched surfaces can be wiped down with disinfectant spray or disinfectant wipes.
- Once disinfectant spray is on the surface, it must remain there (wet) and allowed to air dry.
- Students should not dry areas that have been treated with disinfectant spray and should not return to desks after using disinfectant spray.
- After cleaning with disinfectant spray, students should have time to wash their hands with soap and water. Hand sanitizer is not encouraged at this point.
Tier 4: When the school building is empty.
- Disinfectant spray will be used in every classroom, office, gymnasium, library, etc.
- After disinfectant spray has been used, no one should re-enter the school building until the next morning.
What should I do if a child shows signs of illness?
1. Chronic Cough: If a child has a cough, please ask him/her to put on his/her mask. Offer the student to take a drink of water and a cough drop. Require the child to keep on the mask until the cough stops. If the cough continues after following these steps, please send him/her to the office.
2. Other symptoms (headache, stomachache, sore throat, fever, etc.): Please ask the child to put on his/her mask and then send him to the office.
Any time you send a child out of the classroom due to illness, please do the following:
- Put on your own mask and gloves.
- Spray soap/water mix on desktop and wipe dry.
- Spray disinfectant spray on the desktop and wipe dry.
- Spray disinfectant spray on desk shield and wipe dry.
- Use a disinfectant wipe to wipe back of chair.
- Remove gloves and throw away.
- Wash hands using soap and water or use hand sanitizer if you don't have a sink in your classroom.
Please do everything you can to keep from drawing attention to the ill child or that you are sanitizing the space. If you are uncomfortable completing the steps above, please call the office and we will send someone down to do this for you.
Enrollment
Mrs. Alexander's Kindergarten: 12
Miss Alsbach's (Duran) First Grade: 10
Mrs. Hamilton's Second Grade: 14
Mrs. Motta's Third Grade: 16
Miss Ross's Fourth Grade: 9
Miss Berry's Fifth Grade: 14
Miss Tucker's Sixth Grade: 16
Mrs. Combs/Miss Dwyer's Seventh Grade: 19
Miss Monachino's Eighth Grade: 13
Our parents have until August 5th to let us know if they are returning to in-person classes or if they are choosing Virtual Learning. After that, I will let you know how many (if any) students from your class are enrolled in Virtual Learning so you can prepare your classroom.
Virtual Learning Expectations
To make it easier on you, I think that utilizing the online format chosen by your team is the best thing we can do. Weekly, update your assignments and any other communication (important dates, upcoming due dates and deadlines, assessment dates, etc.). This way, Virtual Learning students will have easy access to their daily assignments and any student who becomes ill and must suddenly quarantine will have access and will already be comfortable logging onto this format to find all of your classroom information.
The diocese has asked us to provide video lessons for Reading, Math, and Religion. In thinking about this, recording any lesson that teaches a new skill will suffice. For example, if every Monday, I teach the reading, writing, grammar, and phonics skill that we work with all week, I can just record those lessons to be sent to the Virtual Learning student. Then, the student can refer to those lessons throughout the week rather than me filming a new lesson every single day. Or, if on Monday I am teaching a new Math skill and then I am teaching another new Math skill on Wednesday, I would record both of those lessons to be utilized by the Virtual Learning student.
I have asked Dana to provide training on recording and uploading your lessons.
Dana and I will connect with Virtual Learning students each morning and each afternoon. I will also film the morning announcements to send to Virtual Learning students daily. I will ask you to find time throughout the week when you can connect with these students as well. Perhaps you could create a Zoom call with the student to participate in a classroom read aloud or a special writing activity. The more we can keep these students connected to our classroom the easier it will be when they transition back in later in the year.
Thank you in advance for everything you do to keep our Virtual kids connected to your classroom. I know our families will appreciate your efforts!
Return to School Procedures and Policies
* You might be asked to help with additional morning/afternoon duties. This will not add to your contracted time, but we may need additional help in the morning getting kids into the building, so you may be asked to rotate time where you have a morning duty. Afternoon duties should really remain the same.
* Students will not come into the gym in the mornings. Classroom teachers will be asked to be at their classroom door by 7:30 to greet students as they come in, and to ensure the students are being safe as they enter the school building. As students come into your classroom, they will be asked to sanitize hands before entering. Students will wear masks into the building, but will be allowed to take them off in the classroom if they choose to do so.
* Teachers should not wear masks when standing in front of the classroom teaching. However, when walking around the room or working with individual students and small groups, teachers are encouraged to wear masks.
* Students should not be forced to wear masks in the classroom unless working in small groups or partners (which is not encouraged at this time - unless you can socially distance.)
* When weather permits, teachers are encouraged to utilize outdoor space for lessons.
* Water fountains will not be used during the day. Students will be encouraged to bring water bottles that can be filled at specific times during the day.
* Snacks must be individually packaged and not "buffet" style.
* Desks should be spaced 3 feet apart in the classroom. You might need to utilize parts of the classroom that you normally wouldn't utilize to make sure you can do this. Backpacks can be hung on the hooks. Teachers should spray lysol over the backpacks in the morning and should not allow students to go back and forth to backpacks throughout the day.
* Locker time should be staggered so that students are not huddled up near lockers. Students should come in the classroom, go straight to desks, and wait to be called to go to their locker. During the day, teacher will have to stagger times when students can go to their lockers.
* When leaving your classroom, students will be asked to put on their masks. Upon entering a new classroom (gym, art, music, STEM), students will be asked to sanitize their hands and then can remove mask.
* Specials teachers will sanitize tables/desks, door handles, and anything else students touch between classes, so it is important that you pick up and drop off your students at the scheduled time.
* No masks are required during recess. However, students should play with their own class. Therefore, a system will be established by recess duty teachers to determine where each class will play for that day.
* As students enter the building after recess, they will be asked to sanitize hands before entering the cafeteria. Students will be seated in every other seat in the cafeteria.
* Parent and other adult volunteers will not be allowed in the school building. You might get creative with mystery readers, using Skype or Zoom or Google Hangouts. Lunchroom volunteers will enter and exit through the lunchroom doors and will not enter any other part of the school building.
* Students will have assigned seats at lunch and should sit in every other seat. Students should sit with their own class.
* After lunch, students will be asked to sanitize hands before entering the classroom. This is a good time to offer a restroom break for students to wash hands - however, only 3 students should be in the restroom at a time.
* At the end of the day, teachers should have students sanitize their desks and should sanitize any surfaces that are touched often throughout the day (pencil sharpener, door handles, coat hooks, etc.) Once chairs have been sanitized, students should stack them on the linoleum and then stand next to their desk.
* Dismissal:
- Students should be packed and ready to go by 3:05. Chairs should be kept at desks. At 3:05, announcements will begin - reminders for the next day and prayer. Then, teachers will stand at their doors and wait for students to be called. Specials teachers will be positioned in both upper and lower levels and will call student names. Teachers will then direct students to exit through the front door.
- Teachers should remain in classroom until all students have been dismissed.
I know that these procedures take time and patience, but it's important that we can return to in-person classes in a way that prevents the spread of any virus as much as we possibly can. Hopefully, these things will become good practice for us all.
I know these procedures add a lot to our day, so it's important to plan extra time for transitions.
Classroom Requirements - per diocesan recommendation
- If using tables, seat students as far apart as you are able, utilize privacy folders when needed.
- If using lockers, stagger times when students are at lockers.
- When working one-on-one with a student or in a small group setting in which you cannot maintain 6 feet social distance, the teacher/adult should wear a mask.
- Masks are not required for students inside the classroom, but are allowed.
Updated Procedures to Plan on Teaching
- Entering your classroom (Allow for mask removal, hand washing, social distancing when hanging up backpacks)
- Walking in hallways (staying on one side, not touching walls, distancing from person in front of you)
- Sanitizing hands
- Washing hands (I saw a great idea to put a stamp on the students hand and they have to wash their hands long enough to remove the stamp)
- Lining up (maintaining social distance)
- Sanitizing desk space, etc.
Hand Washing
It would be a good idea to think about how you can add in time to your daily schedule to allow for hand washing often. Even though we will have hand sanitizer available, hand washing is always the better option.
Staff Wellness Checks
Please be sure to monitor your symptoms carefully. If you have a fever, don't push yourself to come. If you have a child at home, or anyone in your home for that matter, who is ill - be very careful to monitor yourself and isolate as needed.
More importantly than ever, I need to know if you are not coming to school. I know we've gotten into a habit of texting a substitute and often forgetting to let the office know you won't be here. It's vitally important that we know if you're not going to be here, and that we know the reasons why. While we don't want to violate your privacy, if your symptoms are Covid related, we would need to take the necessary precautions.
St. Patrick School
Email: kmonaghan@stpatrickkc.com
Website: www.stpatrickkc.com
Location: 1401 Northeast 42nd Terrace, Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone: 816-453-0971
Facebook: facebook.com/St.PatrickKC
Twitter: @StPatrickKc