Principal Points, July 25th

Dear St. Theresa's Catholic School Families,

I hope and pray all our STCS families are well and staying healthy. The demands of my to-do list and the pace required to keep up have pushed my publishing day from Friday to Saturday for the second straight week. Though I will continue to aim for Friday, there may be another Saturday or two edition of Principal Points in the near future. 

In recent weeks the Gospel has focused upon sowing seed and what, if anything, that grows from these seeds. Many of us planted a seed in soil in a plastic cup in Kindergarten. We were instructed to provide adequate (but not too much) water and position the cup where the best sunlight would fall upon the seed in the dirt. We watched with wonder as the seedling sprung forth and grew into a small plant. This experiment provides a very beautiful, but also practical demonstration to us of the wonder how things grow.

A dear friend and teacher at my former Catholic school sent a note of hope and inspiration to my wife, Carolina and I this week. I would like to share a beautiful portion of it with you: "These are very challenging times we are in, and in these times, the call to personal holiness and knowing that our life is mission only intensifies, but so does the grace given! Perspective is everything, and in a world that is racked with fear and anxiety, we need to reevaluate where we are, and what thoughts we are feeding. We must feed what we want to grow, and it will either be faith or fear."

As we move through this summer with all its twists and turns toward a new school year, let us choose to water our faith and place it confidently in the sunlight to grow for the benefit of our children and our Catholic school. 
 
Health Authority Order
On July 14, 2020, the Interim Health Authority issued an order preventing all public and private schools in the City of Austin and Travis County from opening for in-person classes prior to September 8, 2020. The order cited evidence of a rapid rate of coronavirus transmission through community spread and that given these rates of transmission schools would most assuredly open with students and staff infected with COVID-19. It was later clarified, by the Attorney General of Texas, that such an order could not apply to religious schools. The order was considered and discussed with the Catholic Schools Office and all the Catholic school principals in Austin and Travis County. The determination was made that each Catholic school in the jurisdiction of the order would independently respond to the order based upon the the factors unique to the Catholic school.

At St. Theresa's we discussed the order with several members of the Admin team, Fr. Larry, and we surveyed all our teachers and staff. We have also referenced the current COVID-19 infection and death rates in Travis County from July 11-24, 2020. The sad news is, the trend is not good. In this 14-day period infections have increased everyday from 14,304 reported on July 11 to 18,939 reported on July 24. Likewise, the morbidity rate has also steadily risen from 124 to 229 deaths in the same range of days. 

As eager as we are to return to in-person classes, in order to safely re-open our Catholic school, the 14-day trend must show the cases of community spread of COVID-19 are decreasing in our area. Therefore, the teachers, staff, and administration of St. Theresa's Catholic School have decided that the most prudent decision at this time is to follow the Health Authority Order and not re-open our Catholic school for on-campus, in-person instruction until after September 7, 2020. For students in First (1st) - Eighth (8th) grades, we will begin with remote learning on August 18, 2020 to avoid extending our school calendar into June 2021.

For Kindergarten and Prekindergarten students, we are still considering our options and will provide you with more information next week.

Return to School Outline
As announced above, we will be starting the school year with Remote Learning (eLearning) for the first three weeks of school. When our Catholic school reopens for on campus, in-person learning, STCS will implement a Dual Learning Platform, where families will have a choice to continue with Remote Learning (eLearning), or to return to school for on campus, in-person learning. 

In our preparations for an eventual return of students to campus, the plan we are working on is likely to exceed 20 pages. Topics we are addressing include: public health considerations, school health safety guidelines, communication, in-person learning model, remote learning model, technology use, student schedules, social and emotional support, uniforms, attendance, school Mass, classroom spaces and use, student movement, special and electives, snacks and lunch, breaks and recess, water bottles, athletics, supplies, after school care, student activities, drop-off and pick-up carline procedures, and visitors to campus.

On July 31, the final draft of the plan will be sent to our Superintendent for review and shared with our medical consultants and parent committee for feedback as well. In an effort to provide you with key details in a less overwhelming format, what follows is an overview of the the Dual Learning Platform which includes the two components of on campus, in-person learning and remote learning (eLearning).

Dual Learning Platform Remote Learning (eLearning)

• The student will use their STCS issued device at home (monitored by GoGuardian) to view a live Zoom video lesson by a teacher in the classroom utilizing Swivl technology. (See video below)
• Students will be able to interact directly with the teacher and fully participate in the lesson.
• Students in Remote Learning will complete the same activities and assignments at the same time as the students who are physically in the classroom. 
• Students follow the same schedule as students present in school. 
• Two weeks prior to the end of the quarter, families will have the opportunity to request a change to an in-person model, if desired.

On Campus, In-person Learning

• Students will have limited exposure to other students outside of their classroom. We will make every effort to keep the students with the same cohort group of students all day.
• Students will not switch classrooms. Rather, teachers will move to the student’s classroom for instruction. Students will remain in the same classroom, except for PE, recess, and outdoor learning opportunities. Some exceptions to this in Middle School may be necessary.
• Frequent hand washing practices will be implemented, including easily accessible hand sanitizer dispensers stationed across each campus.
• Common spaces such as handrails, door handles, and bathrooms will be disinfected twice during the school day.
• Students will eat lunch in the classrooms or in outdoor spaces, when possible. 
• Students will have specials daily, but the specials schedules will be redesigned to limit student movement and exposure.
• Daily screenings of students will occur at drop off. The school nurse will closely monitor student health and isolate students with symptoms, and the parent/guardian is required to pick up the student within 1-hour. The nurse's office is being remodeled to accommodate this need.
• Masks will be worn 4th through 8th grade, Face Shields will be worn for PreK3 through 3rd grade. Parents will need to supply these for their children. We will provide links for these next week, however a quick search on Amazon can show you a nifty sun hat/shield that will work particularly well for our smaller learners.
• Social distancing - Desks will be spaced based on recommended social distancing guidelines. Close contact for academic activities and group work will be limited. 
• There will not be any whole-school gatherings or assemblies. 
• There will be no field trips for the first semester (diocesan wide).
• Social distancing guidelines will also be maintained at Drop Off and Pickup. Parents who have children in both buildings will go through both carlines. There will not be Walkup.
• At any time, families will have the opportunity to change to the Remote Learning (eLearning) model, but once this request for a change is approved, the family will follow the Remote Learning (eLearning) model and policies.

Next Steps
Search continues for Middle School ELA and Religion teachers. 
Finalizing Return to School Plan by July 31 for Diocese, Medical and Parent committees.
Focus on acquisition of PPE for Return to School Plan.
Looking into how to utilize outdoor spaces in campus to enhance of RTS plan.
Working on more efficient student/teacher schedules for Dual Learning Platform.
Begin search for box lunch provider(s) for Dual Learning Platform.

I hope you have a blessed and beautiful weekend.

St. Theresa, pray for us.

In Christ, 

Brian R. Wheeler
Principal
bwheeler@st-theresa.org
 

Checkout on YouTube what we can do for Remote Learning with Swivl!