Dear Families:
Once again, thank you for your patience and your conscientiousness as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 virus. I am so appreciative of the parents who have kept their sick kids home, even extra days, to make sure they are not exposing anyone to any type of germs. It is due to the commitment of all of you that we are staying ahead of this virus (so far)! Let’s just pray that we continue to keep the virus at bay. Please know that if any child presents with any symptoms at school (even without a fever) we will be sending him/her home.
We will persist in our on-going sanitation of the school. Every morning, Mr. Alan is arriving early to disinfect door handles, light switches, water fountains and hand rails. Bathrooms, classrooms and common areas are cleaned every evening and teachers will continue their efforts with students to sanitize desks and wash hands, as often as reasonably possible. On Friday, when we have our inservice, away from the school, the entire building will be disinfected by custodial staff.
At our faculty meeting tomorrow we will be discussing and finalizing plans for online learning in the event that we need to close for an extended period of time. Along with an Educational/Tech. speaker, teachers will be working together and individually to prepare lessons and best practices for delivery methods. Stay tuned. We will be in communication via our emergency alert system if any change in schedule is necessary.
As you know, typically we start our new school year the day after Labor Day. With the holiday coming so late this year, we put out a survey to our parent community to gauge preference on a starting date. After receiving 108 responses, the preference is as clear as MUD! We had a virtual 50/50 split on preference (52 to 49 with 7 – no preference). Once I learned that all of our deanery schools and the Seattle School District are starting before Labor Day, we set our calendar to do the same. Our first day of school will be Wednesday, September 2nd. Please click here for the complete calendar. I am sorry we couldn’t honor all preferences, but once I got into the details of meeting all of the day/hours required by the state, it became clear that we would be going into the last week of June to fulfill the requisites.
So, let’s leave all this depressing talk behind and focus on our biggest FUN-raiser of the year! “Denim and Diamonds” will transport us to an evening in Nashville. At this time, we are monitoring the COVID-19 situation but hoping on still having a foot stompin’, barn burnin’ good time, full of Southern charm. So, grab those cowboy hats, denim duds and sparklin’ jewels and get ready to raise the roof (and lots of money) all to benefit the students of St. Anne School. If we have to reschedule the event for later in the spring, we will do so. We are also exploring online options. We just don’t want to miss out on the fun (and income) that comes with this great community builder. Invitations went out last week. Just click the link in the post below and reserve your spot! If any changes need to be made, we will refund all ticket sales. A decision on our direction will be made by next Tuesday, March 17th at the latest. We are currently consulting with health professionals and exploring various options.
Finally, I promised the “Weekly Why” would reappear this week. So: Why can’t we have some turf or grass on the playground for the children to play?
The “playground” is actually a “parking lot” not a playground. When the building was remodeled and Banchero Hall built in 2003, the City of Seattle designated it as such due to the multiple uses of Banchero Hall, and the number of parking spaces required for not only church Masses but for the many uses of the hall/gym. We’ve met the requirement of the minimum number of parking spaces leaving no room to add any turf or grass fields. Let’s hope the long range Facilities Plan can be creative in finding ways to “green” our space.
Have a great week!