Sunday, August 23, 2020

 

Re-Opening Guidelines for Parents 

Mr. Woods hopes everyone is well.
Mr. Woods wants to remind parents that the transition to the re-opening of the school is based on CDC guidelines and the Superintendent of Schools Office for the Archdiocese of New York.
Parent cooperation and understanding is paramount as we transition students to a new way of experiencing school.
I want to outline on a weekly basis what will happen when school opens on September 9, 2020. I will just list them numerically and will update more in the next week.
This is based on the Re-Opening Plan that has a link below that was drawn up the task committee of the Archdiocese of New York which is below on this blog.
Parents who wish a copy of the re-opening plan should 
e-mail Mr. Woods at olqm1@aol.com. 

There are two options based on parent survey that was completed by 133 parents:

Option 1 - Full 5 day in classroom instruction 
Option 2 - Remote learning from home with live stream from classroom.

Once a parent chooses an option that option is in place until the end of the first quarter. There is no back and forth with options. If parents wish to change that option they should contact the school office.

1. All students, all grades will be required to wear a face mask- ALL DAY.
If your child is coming into our PreK programs please start to practice having them wear a mask.

2. Only one entrance will open up at 7:45 AM - the Church doors.
The left side of the staircase will be for entering and the right side for exiting.

3. Temperature testing of students as they enter will be conducted at  in the hallway of the second floor outside the supply room.
NO PARENTS WILL BE PERMITTED past that point.  
As per the guidelines parents will be requested to remove themselves and their child from the building should they attempt to not follow the guidelines outlined in the re-opening plan.
The classroom aides and teachers will be there to bring the children to the classrooms.
In order to have an easy flow the first few days all PreK students will not be permitted into building until 9:00 AM.
I know that parents will be upset that they cannot go to classrooms to wish their child the best but as the guidelines strictly say - no adults past the testing point.

4. Early pickup of children will NOT be permitted. If a child needs to go to the dentist or doctor then they should remain home for the day and login remotely to the classroom.

5. Breakfast will be served in the classroom after everyone has settled into the rooms.

6. Students must bring their own bottled of water with them. The vending machines will be turned off and their will be no refrigerators in the classrooms as per the guidelines.

7. There will be no heating of food as all microwaves have also been removed from classrooms.

8. Students may bring their own lunch, snacks etc. from home if parents so wish.

9. Students will be served lunch in their classrooms - there will be hot lunch this year as the gas has been turned on.

10. Dismissal - Parents will not be allowed in building at dismissal. Students will be lined up a various locations and parents will be able to pick them up from the line.

11. There is NO After School Program until Phase Two of the guidelines — which most probably means October.

12. Parents who need to speak to the teacher MUST make an appointment with Alba by phone.  Parents will not be permitted to come to the school office. They will be required to remain in the hallway near Ms. Resto's office.  Alba and Mr. Guzman will only be available by phone during Phase I. 
Only one parent at a time and there will be a temperature check beforehand. 
All appointments will be after 3:00 PM ONLY.
Teachers will set up Zoom meetings and also give out the school e-mail address wherein parents will be able to communicate with them.

13. There will be no general parent meetings until Phase 4.
Parents will be invited by the teachers to join a Zoom call. 

14. Teachers will post supplies needed by August 15th. All materials should be labeled as they may only be used by the child labeled— there is no sharing of crayons, pencils, hand sanitizer etc.

15. The supply room will be closed to parents. Students may bring an envelope with money for supplies and the classroom teacher will escort the whole class to the supply room for the purchase of supplies.

16. Students will NOT be taking gym classes. Instead they will be taking a daily walk - each class (cohort) by themselves. There is no need for a gym uniform.

17. Departmental Class Grades 2-8. Students will not move between classrooms, The teachers will move from class to class.

18. Classroom schedules will be available in September for students who will be working remotely from home.

19. Students in the PreK For All program and the 3K program — parents should purchase gym uniform from them. The students wear that uniform when they go out for a walk so that teachers and aides can keep an eye on them.

20. Parents are requested to read the blog weekly. Parents are also requested to listen to the IRIS messages to keep up to date.
Also, parents are requested to have all telephone numbers updated and emergency numbers and contacts updated