This coming Friday marks the one year anniversary of when we got the news from Governor Inslee that the state was going into a “Stay-at-home” order due to Covid. Who would have thought that we would still be in the thick of it one year later? But, a ray of hope arrived last Tuesday evening when the governor announced that school faculty and staff were now eligible for the Covid vaccine. The staff has worked tirelessly to keep our school healthy and safe. They are so deserving of this opportunity. Our teachers couldn’t be happier and most are now scheduled with appointments over the next week. A HUGE thank you to Ester Burkhart, who spent an afternoon and into the evening helping secure appointments for our staff. She was scouring sites from west to east across our state and she was able to schedule most appointments in the Seattle area. Thank you Ester! You are our hero!
We have had a couple of questions regarding why classes are watching videos or listening to books on tape during their lunch time. We have asked teachers to have something for the students to watch or listen to during the time that they are eating to reduce the amount of talking that takes place while students are without masks. We understand that this is not optimal and we’d like to reduce screen time for students, but safety needs to take precedence here and we will continue the practice until any CDC/Health Dept guidance is given removing this recommendation.
Just a reminder that there is no school for students this coming Friday, March 12th. All teachers and staff will be participating in the virtual Archdiocesan Regional Curriculum Development Day. We will start with a keynote from Superintendent Kristin Dixon at 8:30am followed by morning and afternoon sessions on various classroom subjects areas, methodologies or technologies.
Finally, this coming Sunday, March 14th there will be a full-page ad in the Seattle Times highlighting Catholic schools being open during this time of Covid. The ad is sponsored by the Fulcrum Foundation and the Archdiocesan Office for Catholic Schools. A group of our second graders is pictured in the advertisement, though no connection to the school is evident. They are representing all Catholic schools in the diocese, celebrating that we are all open to in-person learning.
Have a great week!
Mary