Learning in the Age of COVID-19
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n Monday, March 23, immediately following Spring Break, Bishop Dunne Catholic School transitioned to online learning in accordance with Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to close all school campuses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bishop Dunne was ready. Our teachers and students had planned and practiced and were prepared to tackle online learning head-on without missing a single day of school to transition. Our mission stayed at the forefront of our entire community throughout the remainder of the semester as we continued to teach and remind our student to explore, discover, lead, and thrive. Bishop Dunne was the first Catholic high school in Dallas to introduce e-instruction to its curriculum. Over the past two months, our students have demonstrated how ready they were and how well-versed they are with technology. 2
CONNECTIONS JULY 2020
Since 2010, Bishop Dunne has incorporated 1:1 BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to school, making technology an integral learning tool in our culture. Using Microsoft Teams to provide secure access between students and teachers, our teachers were able to provide a real-time virtual classroom. Teams also allowed us to meet with families for studentadvisories, keep parents and guardians up to date on online procedures, and to lend support as needed. The show continued on! The performing arts remained alive and well at Bishop Dunne as the music department prepared online performances. Our drama club students hosted numerous digital monologue performances, bringing joy to fellow Falcon fans. Our peer ministers created videos around sustaining faith while surviving the pandemic.
Student-athletes continued regular checkins with coaches, often engaging in online workout sessions. The Arts department encouraged students to express themselves using regular home items at their disposal, building altered book sculptures for 3D art, photographing color theory projects and taking self-portraits. The underlying theme for all was ‘creativity matters’. Our students faced the challenges of sheltering-in-place and school at home with grace and continued learning. They did this while missing friends and teachers, extracurricular activities, athletics and clubs, all while understanding the importance of observing state mandates, completing assignments, taking tests and always moving forward. Through trials and changes, Bishop Dunne will prove that together, we will emerge a stronger community. W W W.BDCS.ORG
