Dear SHCS Families!
We are off to a great start! Thank you for trusting us with your children. I just wanted to give you an update on the COVID-19 situation at Sacred Heart Cathedral School. Today, August 26th,
we have 10 active student cases, 1 staff member, and 26 students who have been quarantined due to contact tracing. Most of the positive cases have been contracted at extracurricular activities or from a parent who had tested positive, not at school. The most recent positive cases are from students who have not been on campus since last week. We will keep you updated; please keep our students and staff in your prayers.
Tuesday, September 7th, has been designated as an At-Home Learning Day. The reason for this is three-fold: 1. It will give the school’s maintenance staff a long 4-day weekend to do a thorough cleaning and disinfection of the classrooms. 2. Teachers and parents can practice using google classroom and prepare for future at-home learning days that may occur because of inclement weather, sickness, or other school closings. 3. It will give teachers and students a mental health day away from the stress of COVID-related procedures that have been part of their school day for the past couple of weeks.
These are some guidelines for the At-Home Learning Day:
-Teachers will instruct students to bring home all relevant books and study materials on Friday, September 3rd.
-Teachers may send home hard copies of work, email assignments or assign them in Google Classroom. (Google Classroom is for grades 4-8, and email for grades K-3).
-The teacher will communicate all relevant information regarding how to turn in assignments, links to videos, resources, and/or screen-casts.
-If students experience power outages or internet disruptions, don’t worry about being penalized for not completing assignments; however, they should continue to study with available materials at home.
At-Home Learning for each class is expected to last up to 30 minutes per subject area for grades 4-8 and up to 20 minutes per subject for grades K-3.
-Teachers may require students to submit work to demonstrate completion in each class. Examples could include worksheets, practice work in IXL, a discussion post, a reading log, etc. Teachers will communicate how to submit work for their individual classes.
-If families do not have access to the internet and/or a computer, please notify your child’s teacher before Friday, September 3, 2021.
Our Awesome Students:
A new maintenance worker at the school has commented on how polite and thankful our students are. “They even thanked me for cleaning their bathroom! I’ve worked at a lot of schools, and that has never happened before.”
Our new Middle-School Spanish teacher, Laura Cotter, has commented about how respectful and polite the Sacred Heart students are.
Friday’s All School Mass music will be accompanied by three of our students: Braden McDermott on bass and violins played by Molly Kalafsky, Zoe Snell, and Matthew Aranda.
Middle School Elective Classes are beginning today. Students were able to choose from classes such as Peer Tutoring, Yearbook, Health and Wellness, Leadership, Learning to Embroider, Book Club, Art Appreciation, Creative Writing, 20th Century World History, Art, and Ukulele.
Wednesday, September 8th, will be Independence Day at Sacred Heart School. Since we have been in school for over a month, children should know where their classroom is and be able to get there on their own. If they have questions, teachers and staff both outside and inside the school can help direct them to their classroom. The best thing we can do for our children is to give them roots and wings. Give them hugs and kisses and let them know how much you love them before they get out of the car, and then let them know how smart and capable they are by letting them navigate to their classrooms on their own. They can do it!
At dismissal, please do not park and walk up to the front of the school to collect your child. Our priority is to assist children into cars first, to ensure the car line moves quickly. Students whose parents walk up to collect them will now be sent out after the car line has left. An exception will be made for parents or caregivers who walk to school to collect their children from neighboring houses. In the event of an emergency and you need to park and pick up your child, please enter the school office and wait for them to be called.
Last Wednesday afternoon, Sacred Heart teachers met with Jamie Goodhard, Diocesan Dean of Accreditation, to look at last year’s Iowa Test of Basic Skills scores and how those results would drive our goals to improve instruction for the coming year. In almost every subject area, our school scored above the Diocesan average. Last year our teachers did an amazing job despite all the obstacles that COVID-19 posed.
Teachers pave the way to the future with wisdom and understanding. They give of themselves daily, building character, instilling knowledge, and unlocking the doors of tomorrow.
Yours in Christ,
Joan Turbyville
we have 10 active student cases, 1 staff member, and 26 students who have been quarantined due to contact tracing. Most of the positive cases have been contracted at extracurricular activities or from a parent who had tested positive, not at school. The most recent positive cases are from students who have not been on campus since last week. We will keep you updated; please keep our students and staff in your prayers.