Dear Families:
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We could sure use the luck of the Irish now! What a whirlwind week we have had! From our normal, regular routine, to a two-week shutdown that is now stretched to six weeks, the COVID-19 virus has put us in unprecedented times. Just last week we were saying, “Let’s take it day by day,” now it is more of, “Let’s monitor this hour to hour.” The impact and spread of the virus has turned our city, state and world upside down. Today, nothing is more important than all of us taking the necessary steps to protect and assure the health and well-being of our families, friends, school and parish communities. We will get through this! At the heart of our faith is the ability to pray to God for peace, comfort and a swift end to these circumstances.
Yesterday, we started our adventure into remote learning. For the most part, teachers are pleased with how it began, especially after having such a short time to get set. All of them spent hours over the weekend familiarizing themselves with the myriad of online resources and programs. We will keep learning over these next weeks and things should go much smoother once the students (and teachers) adjust to the new routine.
I cannot thank our teachers and staff enough for all they have been doing to adapt to this. It was very hard on them having such little time to say good-bye to their students. There have been tears and sadness, but we all realize, this is the best plan to try and keep everyone healthy.
The trimester ended last Thursday and teachers are also busy preparing report cards. We plan to keep to our original schedule and have them sent to you via US mail on Tuesday, March 24th. So many other things over the weeks ahead are cancelled, including OPI for our 5th graders, the middle school Lenten retreat, class picture day and our Lenten/Easter activities.
Finally, thank you once again for all you are doing to support this new learning process. When many of you are having to work from home, it adds a whole layer having to manage your children and their online needs. (Many of our teachers are in the same boat trying to teach and help with their own children’s learning!) Remember to use your stannesea.org e-mail if you are accessing attendance or communicating with teachers. They cannot manage dealing with personal e-mails too and we will only communicate via the school e-mail. We are all available, daily, if you have any questions or issues. Please know how much we appreciate all you are doing.
Stay healthy, wash your hands, respect social distancing and have a great week!
Mary
