I know that many of you are probably a little overwhelmed with all of the information coming from the school and the teachers, while you are helping to educate your children, working, trying to stay healthy (and locate toilet paper) and navigating this new reality in life. Please know that we are just trying to provide as much info as possible and we will all work together on assignments, due dates, technology, and any other items that we need to figure out. If you need more time, help with technology, or anything else, please just check in with the teachers or any member of our staff. We are getting A LOT of emails from students and some from parents, as well. So, we are trying to respond to them all. We ask for your patience. We are also trying to send out a lot of FAQ type info so you will be seeing a lot of newsletters in the first week or two. Just disregard what you do not need. The teachers are simply trying to touch on common questions and concerns in a mass email. Some of our teachers are getting 150+ emails from students right now. We ask the students to make sure they are reading through the instructions on assignments very carefully before emailing/contacting the teachers with questions. In response to family feedback, we are making adjustments to due dates. For grades 3 and 4, everything will be sent out for a whole week, with suggestions on how to pace it but assignments will not be due for a week from when they are sent out. For grades 5 - 8, most assignments will be due 2 - 3 days from when they are posted. Please contact the teacher if you need adjustments based on your specific circumstances. Also, please check in with your child to make sure they are staying on track.

Our staff is doing a check in a few times per week via Zoom video-conferencing and by email daily. We are discussing the issues that we are seeing and hearing about and doing our best to adjust things based on our available curricular resources and technology. So, this is a work in progress and, again, we ask for your patience and productive feedback as we navigate this. Please know that we are doing our best to support your child's learning and their acquisition of the learning standards during this school closure. We do not want this to cause your family more stress. So, just keep in touch with us and let us know what you are struggling with. In reviewing the comments from the survey, I have heard so many positive things and thank yous to the staff. I have also heard that people both want more work for the kids and less work for the kids. This is typical and what we frequently hear with respect to homework levels, as well. We are doing our best to provide an adequate level of learning, but you may want to supplement a little more on your own or check in with a teacher about expectations if what you are receiving is too much to see if adjustments can be made. We want to work with all of you to support our children while not making life difficult for families who are already under so much stress!

Stay safe and healthy and keep in touch! Enjoy this beautiful, warm afternoon! Maybe a trip to the dog park?

Katie

P.S. Remember, the school office is open on Tuesdays from 8 - 12 and Thursdays from 12 - 4, if you need to stop by for technology, books, or to make a payment.

Here is some important info regarding the due dates for next year's registration:

• This is just a reminder that the deadline for registration fees at the $150/$300 level is this Sunday. Due to the shortened office hours, we are extending it through this next week and you will be able to still register at the $150/$300 (one student/2+ students) level through Thursday, March 26th. After that time, the registration fees will go up to $200/$400 (one student/2+ students). We wish we could extend this further, but it is a critical time for us to make decisions related to classes and staffing for next year and we cannot do this until we know what our enrollment looks like.
• Please remember that you can do your re-enrollment online, including paying registration fees. If you want to enroll with a paper packet, however, you can stop by the office on Tuesdays from 8 - 12 and Thursdays from 12 - 4 to pick that up, complete it, and make a payment.
• We have processed all requests for reimbursement of the registration fees for next year for families who will not be joining us at the new Fife location or who have not yet made their final decision. The deadline for that was March 15th, so no more reimbursements will be done at this point.
• If you are intending to register for next year and have recently suffered a cut back in your hours or a lay off, we will gladly work with you. Please just contact us and provide a letter from your employer so that we can determine how we can best support you.
• We are hoping to have information on classes and staffing to you by no later than mid-April and will update you as soon as we can. Once enrollment and classes are determined, contracts will be offered to current staff members, and then postings for new teachers will be made through Indeed and Applitrack (Office for Catholic Schools).

Things you can do to support yourself

• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
• Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.
• Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
• Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.

For more info, log on to: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html