St. Teresa Tidbits
St. Teresa of Calcutta School
Return to Learn Update
Thank you for your continued support of St. Teresa of Calcutta School. When the COVID 19 response affected our school year we responded to a crisis. Though St. Teresa did not have a plan to work through this type of crisis, I am proud of our staff and what we provided under the circumstances for voluntary continuous learning. As true educators, we have learned a great deal about where we are at, what we want for our students and school, and what direction we need to go to move our school forward. Your input through emails, conversations, and the survey sent out helped us to learn more about how to link our home and school learning opportunities.
I want to provide some of the details of what we are planning for the fall as we continue to navigate through the response to the COVID 19 crisis. As I have expressed before, St. Teresa has a team working on a Return to Learn plan to be better prepared, not just for a crisis but to make a pivotal move forward in what we provide at our school. The team meets regularly and takes direction from the Archdiocese of Dubuque, the Department of Education, the Governor’s response, and Winneshiek County Public Health. Decisions made today can change quickly dependent on the directions and recommendations of those entities.
The current understanding is that school will be back in session in August. We are writing a Return to Learn Plan that addresses academics, leadership & communication, health & safety, social-emotional, and infrastructure. Along with this plan we are addressing how school would look in the event we are: (1) In the building all together, (2) a hybrid plan that combines online and in-person learning, and (3) online learning. As we continue to plan for the future we continue to make our decisions on what is best for our students, families, and school community.
St. Teresa is looking at an Online Learning Management System to be implemented in the fall. The goal of this system will be to provide a ‘single sign-on’ to all resources, assignments, videos, and communication between teacher and student and school and home. In the event school would be required to be online again, this platform would provide for online instruction from our teachers, assignments that would be required to be completed, and resources and tools available to parents chosen by your classroom teachers. The platform would be implemented on day one of the school year. This would ensure that our students are familiar with the program and know how to use it fluently. The COVID response aside, this would enhance the communication between home and school. Students would have access to the tools at home for parents to see what their children are using at school. The decision to move forward with an online platform requires technology support. We have ordered more devices to be able to send home with students in the event extended online learning would be required.
In the area of health and safety we are working with our custodial staff to meet the needs required by the CDC to return to school. We will have an increase in cleaning measures in high traffic areas and frequently touched surfaces. Hand sanitizer stations will be in each classroom, the lobby, each hallway, and the gym. Classrooms will be required to schedule hand washing times in their school day. As the routines are established it will become another part of their day and students will continue on with their learning.
When your children return they will have been away from school for five months. We want to support the social-emotional needs of our students. Our team is working on exciting plans that will help students ease back into school-life and most importantly, connect as a St. Teresa family again. As soon as plans are finalized we will be releasing this to our families. I am excited for what is to come and share what we have planned for your children.
We know there are many questions and concerns, we have them as well. I can tell you we will keep in contact with you, we are planning and working on a safe, healthy, engaging, and rigorous year ahead for our students. Our commitment to St. Teresa goes beyond the walls of our school. We thank you for choosing St. Teresa of Calcutta School, supporting Catholic Education, and allowing us to be part of your children’s lives.
Blessings,
Mrs. Kristin Kriener, Principal
Important Dates
July 1- Return to Learn Plan due
July 7- Summer Tutoring begins
July 15- Second Round STO due
July 30- 2019-2020 tuition due
August 1- Local Tuition Assistance request forms due