News From the Principal
July 29, 2020
Dear Saint Elizabeth Regional School Families,
We pray that you and your families are doing well this summer. Below please find the highlights of our school reopening plan as approved by the Diocese of Allentown.
Saint Elizabeth Regional School Fall 2020 Reopening Plan
Saint Elizabeth Regional School will open on August 31st, 2020 for students in Grades 1-8 and on September 2nd for students in Kindergarten. Kindergarten Pre-Screening is scheduled for Monday, August 31st and Tuesday, September 1st (additional information will be sent prior to August 31st).
Rest assured that our Saint Elizabeth team has designed an opening plan that includes safe and responsible social distancing as well as clean, reliable resources meeting all guidelines for a fluid reopening. Our plan includes returning to “live” face-to-face instruction. If you and/or your child do not feel comfortable returning to “live” face-to-face instruction full time, we can offer a part time face-to-face schedule which will include hybrid instruction as outlined by your child’s teacher. Please contact us as soon as possible for our team to prepare for this type of instruction.
Saint Elizabeth has invested grant money for PPE (personal protective equipment) as well as safety equipment for our school community. All faculty, staff, and visitors will have their temperature checked upon entering the building. Anyone registering a temperature equal to or greater than 100.40F will need to return home, schedule a COVID-19 test, and will be admitted back to school upon receipt of a negative results or 14-day quarantine. In the event that a member of our school community should test positive, a strategic plan by the Diocese of Allentown, for all Catholic schools, will be implemented.
We are asking that all students have their temperatures checked at home prior to arriving to school. This one simple and quick action is essential to ensure that our school remains safe and open. We trust that all families are completely transparent about their child’s health and/or exposure to illness. I have no doubt, that as a Saint Elizabeth community, we agree we are all in this together and must continue to operate our school with compassion and trust.
In addition, all individuals will be required to wear a mask or shield most times during the school day. We require all students arrive to school wearing an appropriate face mask or shield that covers their face from their nose to their chin. Using teacher discretion, students will be permitted to remove their face mask or shield when they are six feet apart. A twenty minute “open air” time has been scheduled for each classroom to be outside each day for instructional or non-instructional time.
In an effort to keep students from one classroom apart from students in another, a rotating cafeteria-use lunch schedule has been created. Only one classroom will use the cafeteria at a time. Lunches will continue as always, however, while one classroom is in the cafeteria the other two, during its regular lunch period, will eat in the classroom. ALL students must pack a lunch the first week of school. Lunch orders will resume the following week.
The Saint Elizabeth team will model adhering to social distancing guidelines. Desks will be arranged three to six feet apart and non-essential furniture will be removed from classrooms. Desks and room surfaces will be cleaned and sanitized routinely as well as between classes for middle school students. Hallways and stairwells will convert to “one way” avenues, bathrooms will be monitored, and multiple entrances will be monitored during arrival to allow for smaller groups to enter safely and travel a safe distance apart.
Saint Elizabeth has been working diligently with individual school districts to maintain our regularly scheduled bus transportation. Buses will drop students off at the parish hall entrance and car riders will be dropped off at the main entrance doors of the school. All students will report directly to their classrooms between 7:45-8:00 AM. Students will be met by their teachers and will be required to unpack and work independently until morning announcements. Please prepare your child/ren for morning work by sending a book to read or other quiet, independent activities.
The Saint Elizabeth team is implementing Google Suite for Education to ensure a seamless transition from live instruction to online instruction if needed. It is our goal to have each student successfully logging in with their own Google Account and each classroom to be sharing instruction using their own Google Classroom early in the first trimester.
CYO Update: We are still awaiting notice from the Diocese to the start of the fall season. As of now, cross country if permitted to start, will begin at a later time than usual. As soon as we receive an update from the Bishop, we will be in touch.
Thank you again for your support, patience, and understanding as your Saint Elizabeth team works diligently to provide a safe, faith-filled, outstanding learning environment for your child/ren. Please feel free to reach out with questions, concerns, and/or ideas. One thing is for sure, even with the current challenges, I am extremely excited for the start of school next month!
Blessings,
Mrs. Kimberly Kocher, Principal
Saint Elizabeth Regional School
altlse@sercc.org
