I want to thank all of you who took a few minutes to complete Friday's survey. If you have not done so, please make sure we hear from you. It is very important and it is just 5 quick questions:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/63CYT97

I want to give you the best update we have of what is happening at this point, as I know that this is all stressful and knowledge can help to reduce the anxiety and aid you with planning.

• The Superintendent (for the Catholic Schools) is in discussions with the Archbishop regarding this matter, especially for Pierce, King, and Snohomish Catholic schools so that we can have further guidance/direction. Ultimately, the Archbishop has the final say for Catholic Schools (not the Superintendent of Public Instruction/OSPI)
• The Catholic school principals will be meeting with the Archdiocese Office for Catholic Schools multiple times this week to discuss options and guidance/directives for re-opening.
• The principals of Catholic schools in Pierce County are working on getting a meeting with Dr. Chen of the Tacoma Pierce County Health Dept to try to have our sites/facilities looked at separately from the public schools to get additional guidance on school re-opening/remote learning. We did not have the opportunity to provide any input into the announcement on Thursday and were not even officially notified of this announcement until Friday.
• All options for the Fall of 2020 are being discussed right now, including: further reducing the number of students on campus at one time by having students attend class on-site 2 - 3 times per week so that classes can be staggered throughout the week (hybrid model), returning children in Pre-K through 2 to school daily, the possibility of running childcare only options, and others.

I want to say how much I appreciate your thoughtful responses to the survey questions. We would love to hear from 100% of our families so all voices are heard. At this point, we still have some flexibility with our decisions. If the Archbishop, the Governor, or the Health Dept direct us to do remote-only learning, that flexibility will change.

We are aware of the challenges many have mentioned: paying tuition and childcare, remote learning for very young students, trying to work while your child is at home, etc. These are all very valid considerations and we hope to have more information for you by the end of this week. I just wanted to let you know what is going on "behind the scenes" right now so that you are fully in the loop! I may have one more survey for you to drill down a little more if I get some additional information in the next day or 2. So, stay tuned...and contact me with questions/concerns.

Stay cool, stay safe, mask up.

Blessings,

Katie Dempsey

Principal