Reopening Information

Arrival

  • 7:45 through 8:10am

  • Students will exit their cars, have their temperature checked, immediately go into school, sanitize their hands and report to their homerooms.

  • Bus students will exit the bus, enter school via the school lobby entrance facing Chestnut Street, have their temperature checked,sanitize their hands and go directly to their homerooms.

  • Walkers will enter the main school entrance lobby, have their temperature checked, sanitize their hands and report to their homerooms.

  • Should there be a questionable temperature, the student will stay at the designated area by the main school office and await parent pick up. Car riders will have their parent wait until they have passed the temperature check.



Attendance

  • We are strongly encouraging parents to monitor health closely and keep their children home if they are sick or show symptoms. The grading of attendance has changed.

  • Students will be marked as attending in person or attending virtually.

  • Only when a student cannot or do not participate in any of the virtual lessons, will they be marked absent.


Birthdays

  • We will announce your child’s birthday as we have always done.

  • Food can’t be shared, so please do not send in a treat for the class to share.

  • Your child may dress casually for school on their birthday. Students may dress casually on the Friday before their Saturday or Sunday birthday.

  • Summer birthdays will also be announced and celebrated with a free casual dress day for the birthday student.


Classroom Set up

  • Classroom Configurations have been altered for maximal social distancing, non-essential furniture and materials have been removed, students’ desks have been spaced as close to six feet as feasible and facing the front of the classroom.

  • Schoolbags and jackets will be stored on the back of the student’s desk chair.

  • Lunches will be stored in the student’s school bag. Students will eat their lunches in their homerooms.

  • Classroom windows will be opened during the day to ensure ventilation.

  • Signage will remind everyone of the importance of practicing good hygiene


Cleaning

  • The maintenance staff will increase the cleaning and sanitizing of common areas and highly-used fixtures such as door knobs, handrails, and restrooms routinely throughout the day.

  • Our after school cleaning service will continue as it has in the past with cleaning and sanitizing the school.

  • Automatic hand sanitizers have been installed in all classrooms.

  • Automatic hand sanitizer stands have been placed in the main school lobby and in the hallways.

  • Sneeze guards have been placed on the students’ desks in Grades 1-8 .


Cohorts

  • All students will remain with their cohorts (homerooms) and not mix with other classes.

  • Prayer Partners will continue, but will be virtually.

  • Departmental and Special Subject Teachers will travel to the cohorts instead of students traveling to them, with the exception of Grades 5, 6 and 7 Honors Math Classes. Those students will meet with Mrs. Plower in the Spanish Classroom. They will travel to and from the class with Mrs. Plower and sanitize their hands entering and leaving the classroom.



Dismissal

  • Afternoon Dismissal will be staggered to accommodate social distancing and the number of students traveling in the halls, stairs and reporting to their designated area for dismissal.

      • 2:50pm Walkers

      • 2:55pm Car Riders

      • 3pm Bus Riders

  • Chestnut Street Walkers Line will leave school from the Chestnut Street doors by the nurse’s office escorted by two teachers to the Ridge Pike crossing guard. Germantown Walkers Line will leave school through the front lobby doors escorted by two teachers to the Germantown Pike crossing guard.

  • Car Line students will meet in the gym and be dismissed from the gym to their parent’s car. Parents are to follow our regular routine for the pm car line by entering from Ridge Pike, form lines between the islands facing Chestnut Street and proceed to the back of the school building to the side of the gym at the stop sign.

  • Bus Line students will meet in the cafeteria and be dismissed to their buses from the cafeteria doors facing the field. Upper grade students will enter the buses first followed by the lower grade students since the older students sit in the rear seats of the buses.

  • CARES Students will be called last and report to the first floor special subjects’ hallway.


Lunch

  • Lunches will be eaten in the homerooms.

  • Parents will need to pack a lunch for their child/children since the hot lunch program won’t be available for purchase.

  • Children may not share or exchange food. Parents may not bring outside vendor lunches into school.

  • Students will clean their desk before and after eating their lunches along with sanitizing their hands prior to eating their lunches and before leaving their homeroom for outside recess.

  • If a child forgets their lunch, you will be called. Late lunches will be placed on a table outside of the main school office. Please be sure to label the lunch with your child’s full name.

  • Students need to bring napkins/paper towels and utensils each day.

  • Lunch Period will be scheduled in three time segments to accommodate social distancing and limiting the number of students during the lunch recess.

  • Lunch recess will be scheduled outside weather permitting. Each grade will have its own designated area of the blacktop. Unfortunately, the playground may not be used. Students will be assigned socially distant places to line up in the recess yard.

  • Students will sanitize their hands after lunch recess.



Masks

  • Protective Face Masks will be required to be worn by the students, faculty and staff at all times and in all areas of the school including wearing in their cohorts/homerooms.

  • Teachers will be wearing face shields as well as face masks during instruction.

  • Teachers will schedule mask breaks throughout the day.

  • Masks aren’t worn while eating lunch. Students will need a small bag to store their face mask when not in use.

  • Students will also be required to wear their face masks on the school buses.

  • The mask cannot have any inappropriate writing or logos on it. Scarves or bandannas are not permitted to be worn.


Miscellaneous

  • Physical Education Classes will be held outside weather permitting or safely in the school gym. Homeroom teachers will escort their students to and from the school gym. Students will sanitize their hands entering and leaving the gym. The gym and equipment will be sanitized after each use.

  • Children’s Liturgy will be live streamed at 9:15am each Thursday. The start date and further information will be shared with you at a later date.

  • Field Trips are experiences that break cohorts and expose students and staff to the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Therefore, field trips are postponed at this time.

  • After School Activities that are held at school are postponed until further notice.


Symptomatic Students/Staff

Monitoring Health: Teachers will be vigilant about the health conditions of the students before them. The school will implement random temperature monitoring. Staff will self-monitor themselves daily.

If a student, teacher or staff member becomes symptomatic during school hours the student, teacher or staff member will leave the classroom immediately and report to the nurse’s office. The nurse will fully assess the student, teacher or staff member including a temperature check and questions about any pre-existing conditions that may explain the symptoms. As the situation warrants, the nurse will contact a parent/guardian to arrange for transportation off-site. Staff, teacher or students with elevated temperatures will be placed in the St. Raphael Room and we will call someone to help transport them home. The student, teacher or staff member can return to school when:

1. They have 3 days with no fever and

2. Symptoms improved and

3. 10 days since symptoms first appeared

or 4. If cleared by a Primary Care Physician.

If there is a student, teacher or staff member as a confirmed COVID-19 case, we will:

1. Notify the Montgomery County Health officials and ask them for guidance.

2. The student, teacher or staff member will be dismissed for 2 to 5 days until the health official can determine the next step.

3. We will consider the dismissal of the homeroom related to the suspected case of COVID-19 using the health official’s guidance.

4. We will communicate to staff and families any confirmed student, teacher or staff member case, without using a name or identifying information.

5. We will close off the area the person was in and wait 24 hours and clean areas related to the identified case of COVID-19.

6. During the initial 2 to 5 day period, we will evaluate if there are any other cases related to the confirmed case and make a decision to extend or end the homeroom dismissal. Virtual instruction will be given to those students who have been dismissed due to a confirmed case.

7. If an asymptomatic student, teacher or staff member tests positive, the health department will fully investigate the case and determine the return criteria.

8. The student, teacher or staff member can return to school after the following conditions have been met: - 3 days with no fever and - Symptoms improved and - 10 days since symptoms first appeared and - Cleared by a Primary Care Physician


Virtual Learning

Two types of non-traditional learning will be available:

1. If a child is sick, or a parent suspects the child may be sick, we will have an option where the child can join the class via a telecommuting practice. Materials will be exchanged through Google Classroom.

2. In the case where a cohort (homeroom) has been dismissed from school and COVID-19 has been identified, the entire cohort will utilize distance learning for the isolated period. Lessons will be delivered through a telecommuting platform.

Learning Management System:

  • Google Classroom will be our Learning Management System (LMS) to centralize materials, lessons, instruction. assessments, feedback and communications.

  • Google Meets will be used for livestreaming instructions.

Guidelines and Expectations for Virtual Learning:

  • The students will be logged into the classes at their scheduled times.

  • Teachers will be livestreaming their classes. Lessons will not be recorded.

  • Students are to be dressed appropriately with cameras on so the teacher can see the student. School uniforms may be worn as an option.

  • Students are to be seated in a room, at a desk, table or counter. Not in their bedroom. The space needs to be quiet and free from distractions. (TVs, Gaming devices, etc. turned off)

  • The background should be appropriate.

  • Students should use Chromebooks, lap tops, desktops, tablets, or IPads.

  • All assignments/homework must be completed and submitted on the days they are scheduled to be done.

  • All assessments, tests, quizzes must be done when the rest of the class is doing them and submitted at the end of the class period.

  • Parents will be responsible to periodically come to school to pick up learning materials and or drop them off. Parental supervision is highly recommended.