2020 St. Louise School Re-Opening Plan

St. Louise Parish School

2020 Reopening Plan – Updated to Include Grades 6-8 First published: September 18, 2020 Updated: October 26, 2020

To safely reopen school for grades K-5 on September 28, after six months since school was last held inperson, the St. Louise Parish School administration, staff, faculty, and parish staff extensively worked over the summer to create procedures to help lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure and a coronavirus spread on campus during the school year. Now after seven months since our grade 6-8 students have had in-person schooling, we are making plans for their return on November 2.

It is important to acknowledge that the following actions in this reopening plan are intended to mitigate the risk.

We recognize that no single action or set of actions will completely eliminate the risk of any type of virus in an on-campus setting, but implementation of several coordinated interventions, such as those detailed below, can greatly reduce that risk.

It should go without saying that St. Louise School does not want to put any family at risk of a serious illness, and ultimately the decision to send their child to school this school year will be up to the parents. Being that the St. Louise Parish School community consists not just of 300 children, but also consists of hundreds of school parents and dozens of teachers and staff members, we want to make sure our school buildings and daily practices provide a healthy and safe environment for all.

The more people that a student, a parent, a teacher, or a school staff member interacts with, and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread. COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that COVID is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person: • Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).

• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks.

• These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

The CDC goes on to say that it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

The COVID Precautions and Procedures we establish for St. Louise focus on disinfecting surfaces and on personal prevention practices, such as handwashing, physically distancing oneself, wearing face coverings, and staying home when sick.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation with these prevention practices! We were excited to be able to reopen school for grades K-5 on September 28, and are thrilled to do likewise for grades 6-8 on November 2.

1

2020-21 COVID Precautions & Special Procedures Hand Washing The preferred method to wash hands is with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. (A recommended way to make sure one is washing long enough is to recite one Our Father followed by one Hail Mary when washing.) Handwashing may be accomplished by the use of sanitizing gel when soap and water are not available. Classrooms will have multiple areas available for hand washing, including a sink, a wall-mounted gel dispenser, and a portable gel bottle. Free-standing gel dispensers (as shown below) are available inside entry doors to the main building.

Additionally, individual students are encouraged to bring their personal bottle of sanitizing gel, provided it stays in their backpack, desk, or pocket and is used properly.

(Note: The FDA notes some sanitizing gels may be dangerous. The school does not purchase these brands, but parents should take note if they are purchasing sanitizing gel bottles for their children.)

• • • •

•

Teachers have students wash their hands prior to and immediately following both snack time and lunch time.

Teachers remind students about the importance of washing hands after using the bathroom and after sneezing or coughing.

Students are directed by their teachers to wash hands immediately as they return from recess.

Teachers have students wash hands whenever they come into a classroom, such as during morning entry or when entering a specialist classroom. o Each teacher is responsible for making sure his/her students wash their hands prior to heading to another classroom, such as a specialist’s room. o Teachers observe the students as they head to other classrooms, making sure students are staying physical distant in line and keeping their hands from touching anything. o Immediately after the specialist class ends, the teacher gathers his/her students to bring back to the homeroom, making sure hands are again washed prior to or when entering the next classroom.

When students are waiting in line to wash their hands, teachers reinforce the importance of keeping a safe distance from the classmates in line with you. Teachers have procedures for staggering the number of students sent at the same time to the sink or gel dispenser.

All adults (parents, teachers, school staff) wash their hands in similar situations as those noted above for students.

2

Cleaning & Disinfecting In general, elimination of high-touch surfaces is preferable to frequent cleaning.

• Classroom and office doors are left open as much as possible, rather than having people constantly touch the door handles to open the door when entering and leaving rooms. At times it is not practical for classroom doors to be left open, such as due to noise, and exterior school doors will most often be locked closed, due to security.

• The student bathroom doors in the main building are always propped open (realizing that there is still privacy as no one is able to look into the bathrooms even with the doors open).

• Since leaving doors latched open not only eliminates the touching of door handles, but also improves a room’s ventilation, windows throughout the school are also left open as much as possible, except when too cold or noisy outside.

When elimination of high-touch surfaces is not possible, door handles, light switches, sink-faucet handles, stair handrails, and other surfaces that are used frequently are disinfected twice daily by the custodial staff.

• Teachers and school staff also disinfect these surfaces when necessary and practical throughout the school day.

• Due to the low availability of disinfecting wipes, the custodial staff provides teachers with paper towels and spray bottles of an EPA-registered disinfectant.

• Prior to their students eating snack and/or lunch, teachers make sure students’ desks/tabletops are disinfected. The conventional method for accomplishing this is for the desks to be sprayed by the teachers with disinfectant, with the liquid remaining on the desk for as long as possible, and then followed up with wiping off with paper towels.

The custodial staff also nightly disinfects the backs/tops of students’ chairs. The custodial staff will increase their disinfecting routines on any weekends when the parish faith formation attendees are using the school building. As floors and non-high-touch objects such as bookcases do not need emphasized disinfecting, these areas are cared for as typical by the custodial staff. The custodial staff also makes sure to conduct regular inspecting and/or replacing of HVAC filters throughout campus.

The main building’s HVAC system is of high-quality, annually inspected by a professional company.

Shared equipment, especially computers, keyboards, art supplies, music equipment, play toys, and p.e. equipment, is disinfected frequently as needed, using wipes or spray.

• The teachers and school staff in charge of this shared equipment is responsible for disinfecting after a student has used the equipment.

• Hand washing is promoted before and after touching shared equipment. For example, students will wash or disinfect hands as they enter the computer lab, art room, and library, and immediately after class will wash or disinfect hands again.

Teachers minimize the use of shared, communal supplies, such as pencils, markers, and scissors. If supplies are shared among students, a “used” pile collects these supplies to be disinfected later.

3

Eating and Drinking Regarding lunch time, if a student forgets to bring his/her lunch, the teachers do not ask classmates to share their lunch contents, as in the past. Instead, the secretary in the school office has limited, storebought, individually-wrapped food items to give the child.

Our hot lunch vendor, Lunch Ladies, is in operation on Tuesdays through Thursdays, providing optional lunches that may be pre-purchased by parents online. Lunch Ladies follows proper health department rules for preparing their school lunches in their commercial kitchen. They deliver the ordered lunches daily in individual containers, labeled with the students’ names and rooms. These lunches are left on a table in the main lobby (for grades PreK-5) and on a table on the 2nd floor (for grades 6-8) prior to lunch time, and at lunch time, the homeroom teacher allows students who preordered lunches to retrieve their name-labeled containers.

Milk is ordered for the year by parents as in the past. The office staff daily gathers from the milk cooler each homeroom’s specific number of ordered milk cartons in labeled, insulated bags and place them on the tables in the lobby (for grades K-5) or 2nd floor (for grades 6-8) just prior to lunch time. Each homeroom’s assigned milk-student comes at the beginning of lunch time to retrieve the milk bag for their class, and these milk-students wash their hands before and after this task.

Regarding treats in school, if a family is providing treats to a class, such as for their child’s birthday, these must be store-bought and individually-wrapped items. For example, we ask that parents please not send homemade cupcakes for the class, but purchased & wrapped Rice Krispy Treats, Fruit RollUps, etc. are allowed to be distributed. (Please remember our “no nuts” rule for communal treats.)

The drinking fountains are temporarily disabled, so students will want to bring refillable water bottles, using the classroom sink to refill with water as needed. For P.E. class, students carry their bottles to the gym. Otherwise, bottles are to stay in homerooms.

As mentioned in the Hand Washing and Cleaning sections, all wash hands and clean desktops before eating. Hands are also washed after touching the sink handle for filling a water bottle, unless a paper towel is used to touch the handle.

4

Face Coverings The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Department of Health (DOH) require that all students, teachers, school staff, and visitors (parents) in a school wear face coverings.

Preferably, this is in the form of a medical or cloth facemask, but also allowed are face shields (with conditions), bandanas, or gaiters.

Face coverings can be removed by a teacher, staff member, or volunteer working alone in an office or room. Face coverings can be removed at school when students, teachers, staff, or visitors are eating or drinking. Homeroom teachers have procedures for where students safely and sanitarily place their masks when not needed at lunch time, such as using a hook attached to each student’s desk.

OSPI states that teachers and instructional assistants may remove their face coverings for a particular period of time if needed for effective instruction, such as for enunciation or phonics-instruction purposes. In addition, educators may wear a plastic face shield in place of a cloth or medical face covering when instructing, based on the educator’s judgment of students needing to more distinctively hear him/her. Naturally, physical distancing of at least six feet is to be maintained during this period of no covering or only a face shield with no cloth draping from the bottom edge.

The state DOH has mandated that masks must be worn outdoors whenever one cannot physically distance themselves from others by six feet. Thus, face coverings are worn by students when out at recess and in p.e. class, since the six-feet-rule is too difficult to constantly attain. If students need a “mask break” due to physical exertion while playing, they are to check with a recess supervisor or the p.e. teacher to ask if they can have a monitored mask break. This will be a time for the child to remove the face covering and catch his/her breath, all the while being beyond 6 feet from anyone.

Face coverings are worn when outside at both morning and afternoon carpool times (drop-off and pick-up).

Similar to our school rule of teachers and school staff telling students to “please tuck in your shirt” when the uniform shirt is seen untucked, teachers and staff tell students to “please put on your mask” when the facemask is seen not being worn. And as the same with the untucked shirt situation, where students do not need to concern themselves with telling fellow students to tuck in their shirts, students typically do not have to concern themselves with telling fellow students to put on their masks, unless this can be done in a nice tone as a friendly reminder.

It is appreciated that parents have already taught their children about the why/when/how of wearing a facemask, including that a mask covers both the nose and mouth.

• Children are to be instructed to refrain as much as possible from touching the mask once it is on the face.

• Since children must remove and reposition the face mask throughout the day, parents are to teach their kids proper handling, which includes how to remove or adjust the mask by grabbing from the straps, and avoiding touching the front of the mask.

5

When purchasing masks for school use, parents, teachers, and school staff should purchase scores of disposable/medical masks or purchase/create at least a week’s worth of cloth masks. In addition, the following face covering procedures are followed by parents/students: 1. Each student both wears a face covering when arriving at school daily and has in his/her backpack, desk, or locker a spare mask at all times.

2. Face coverings are brought home at the end of each school day to be disposed of (medical types), washed (cloth types), or disinfected (face shields).

3. If a child forgets his/her face covering and/or can’t find his/her spare mask that is to be stored in a backpack/desk/locker, the teacher provides an emergency backup, disposable mask to the student. In this situation, the teacher sends home a “mask reminder” slip to the parents to have a new face covering worn to school the next day and to make sure a spare mask is put in the backpack/desk/locker.

4. When purchasing or creating facemasks, please note that for children, the right fit is important. o Pleated face coverings with elastic ear-loops are likely to work better for kids than ones that have straps which must be tied. o Whereas adult cloth facemasks are usually 6x12 inches, child-sized ones are around 5x10 inches, but even these child-sized ones may be too large for small kids. Thus, please verify you are purchasing or creating the correct fitted types. o Gaiters, face shields, or bandanas can be worn for face coverings, but they must properly fit students so they can remain secure and allow for safe vision.

5. If face coverings have any designs, they must be in good taste, with no crude, controversial, or otherwise inappropriate designs for a Catholic elementary school.

6. Also, similar to other pieces of clothing brought to school, parents are asked to please mark their child’s name on the inside of any non-disposable face covering that comes to school.

King County offers information on how to make masks and get free masks: • https://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/constantine/covid-response/covid/getmasks.aspx; • https://publichealthinsider.com/2020/05/18/d-i-y-face-coverings-tips-on-making-cloth-masksfrom-the-public-health-crafters-corner/ If school families are able to purchase or create bulk numbers of disposable or cloth facemasks and donate them to the St. Louise office, the school will appreciate this! We use your donations for emergency replacements when students, staff, or visitors forget, lose, or break their masks and don’t have their own backup.

The DOH states that individuals who are exempt from the requirement to wear a face covering are those “persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, developmental or cognitive condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering.” Thus, although the regulations state that all students age 5 years and older must wear cloth face coverings in school settings, children are allowed the “acceptable alternative” of a plastic face shield if a child has any of these above noted conditions. There is no requirement that the child must also wear a cloth mask under the shield or a cloth drape hanging below the shield.

6

As for adults (teachers, school staff, volunteer parents, and visitors) in a school setting, all must wear a face covering except for these exemptions: 1. Educators (teachers, instructional assistants, etc.) may remove the medical/cloth face covering for the period of time that the covering reduces the effectiveness of teaching. a. The educator leading the instruction is the one who determines what are the circumstances when a face shield is necessary so to not reduce the effectiveness of instruction. b. When removing the face covering during these instructional times, the educator should at least wear a plastic face shield, while making sure physical distancing of at least six feet is strictly maintained during this time.

2. Adults may wear a plastic face shield at any or all times in place of a medical/cloth face covering, as long as the shield has a cloth drape extending from the bottom of the plastic.

(Examples of this type of shield can be found here or here.)

3. Medical/cloth face coverings should not be worn by those with the following exempted conditions, and those with these exemptions are not required to document or prove they qualify under an exemption (due to HIPAA privacy): a. Those with a disability that prevents them from comfortably wearing or removing a face covering. b. Those with certain respiratory conditions or trouble breathing. c. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing, and who use facial and mouth movements as part of communication. d. Those advised by a medical, legal, or behavioral health professional that wearing a face covering may pose a risk to that person.

Although exempted from wearing a medical/cloth face covering, the hope is this person would be able to wear a plastic face shield.

Finally, it should be noted that various government documents have some common questions and answers regarding facial coverings that all should remember. (See below.) In the spirit of good will, and respecting HIPAA privacy, adults and children alike should assume the best of a St. Louise community member who is not wearing what is normally deemed the “proper face covering.”

Q) What should I do if I see someone not wearing a mask?

A) Just wear your mask and stay six feet away. Some people have conditions or circumstances that would make wearing a cloth face covering difficult or dangerous.

Q) I have a reason I cannot wear a face covering. Am I required to document or prove that? What if others harass me?

A) The Department of Health’s mask-wearing order does not require documentation. Please do not contact your healthcare provider to obtain documentation. You are not required to provide proof of any condition that qualifies you for an exemption. It is important for people to be supportive and tolerant of one another during this pandemic. Avoid confrontations.

7

Physical Distancing Teachers and school staff practice physical distancing and are responsible to remind students to “distance please.” This includes initial education by teachers on what “distancing” means, realizing that keeping a physical distance of the commonly prescribed “6-feet” is not practical in many instances in a school environment, but that distance is the ideal, particularly when people will be together for more than 15 minutes, such as when seated in desks in the classroom. Fortunately, St. Louise School’s sizeable rooms and small numbers of students in each homeroom does allow us to often provide needed physical distance between students seated in our classrooms.

The reminder for students to “distance please” is typically left to the adults to convey, however students are able - in a nice tone – to remind fellow students to “distance please.” Students should also be aware of their own space and choose to simply back-away themselves and create distance if they feel others are getting too close.

A) COMMUNAL AREAS The main building has numerous exit/entry doors, and the grade levels are spread out to utilize specific doors, so to avoid crowded exits/entries.

Teachers are more flexible in allowing students two-at-a-time to use the bathrooms during class time, instead of the typical procedure of having students wait for the start of recess or class-switching times. This reduces the crowds in the bathrooms.

Students are reminded of the school’s customary approach for walking on the stairs or in the hallways – stay to the right side.

B) CLASSROOMS Some common practices of teachers and staff to keep students physically distant in classrooms include: • Spreading out student desks in the classroom to be 6-feet from each other, with all students facing the front (the same direction).

• Removing non-essential furniture in the classroom, such as tables or couches, so there is more room to spread out students’ individual desks.

• Having students line up with at least two arms-length of space between them and the persons immediately in front and/or behind them - accomplished by extending one’s arm and making sure it doesn’t touch the extended arm of the person in front and/or behind.

• Creating a procedure in a homeroom for staggering the number of students sent at the same time to the backpack/coat area; or having students keep their backpacks/coats at their individual desks at all times.

• Reducing the number or group-work projects, and when that is not possible, having students work in small-groups and reminding them to keep their physical distance as much as possible.

8

• • •

Incorporating a plexiglass screen at the teacher’s desk if he/she needs to have private 1on-1 meetings with individual students when it is not practical to be physically distant.

Spreading out seating when in large gatherings, such as when classes are gathering in the church or in the parish hall.

Spreading out seating when in classroom “circle time” or similar group-gathering lessons.

Example of what a homeroom looks like with desks spaced 6-feet apart.

C) SPECIALISTS’ ROOMS a. MUSIC o Students wash/sanitize their hands before coming to music class and also immediately after class, as monitored by both the homeroom and music teachers. o The Music curriculum has been adjusted to eliminate vocal singing. Lessons instead focus on music history, music terminology, playing rhythm instruments, dancing, etc. o Because of limited space in the music room, music classes for PreK through grade 6 have been moved to the larger Parish Hall. o For the time being, the school choir – Chorale – will not be rehearsing or performing and the school band program will not take place. b. COMPUTER o Students wash/sanitize their hands before entering the computer lab and also immediately after class, as monitored by both the homeroom and computer teachers. o Computer classes are held as usual in the computer lab, as the computer specialist is able to safely distance students when teaching using the desktop computers. o The computer teacher disinfects each computer/mouse/laptop between classes. c. PHYSICAL EDUCATION o Students wash/sanitize their hands before entering the gym and also immediately after class, as monitored by both the homeroom and P.E. teachers.

9

o The P.E. teacher utilizes the outdoor court and field as weather permits. o Students are required to wear masks during P.E., and are taught by the P.E. teacher how to safely remove the mask if finishing a strenuous workout and needing to catch one’s breath. o Grade 6-8 students do not change into P.E. clothes, so to limit the use of the bathroom. o Students are spaced out in the gym to change shoes. o The gym’s drinking fountain is temporarily disabled, so students are advised to bring their own, filled water bottle from the classroom to the gym for P.E. d. ART

o Students wash/sanitize their hands before entering the art room and also immediately after class, as monitored by both the homeroom and art teachers. o Only art materials that can be safely disinfected are incorporated into lessons. o The art teacher sanitizes supplies and tables before each class session. o Students remain in their seats during class, working independently while creating visual arts.

e. LIBRARY o Students wash/sanitize their hands before entering the library and also immediately after class, as monitored by both the homeroom teacher and librarian. o When students are eventually allowed to check out books, they will check out only one book at a time. For grades K-3 they will choose a book selected from a mobile cart. Grades 4-6 will choose a book from the library shelves on a rotation basis during class. o Once a book is returned, it will be quarantined until it is safe to check in. o Students cannot have more than one library book checked out at a time.

10

D) GRADES 6-8 Regarding the 2nd floor’s locker-bays, the grade 6-8 teachers have developed a system that works best to keep students physically separated at their lockers, while also being practical.

The idea is to reduce the exposure time when grade 6-8 students are in close quarters with each other. This adjusted locker-bay system includes the following procedures: • Locker numbers are assigned in such a way that homeroom students’ lockers are separated in space more than in past years.

• Teachers of the same grade level have worked out a schedule between class sessions so that just one homeroom at a time reports to the locker-bay to return/retrieve belongings.

Teachers monitor the locker-bay constantly and remind students of the first homeroom to quickly leave, so to allow the second homeroom to then enter the bay.

• Students store their jackets, PE shoes, and lunches in their individual lockers. Their backpacks and school supplies/books are kept with them at their desks, and carried from class to class.

• Padlocks for lockers are eliminated to cut down on the amount of time students are standing at their lockers.

For P.E. class, where grade 6-8 students would typically change into gym clothes for class, these middle school students now only change their shoes. They are asked to bring a pair of athletic shoes exclusive to P.E. class, stored in their lockers and brought to the gym. Girls who wear uniform skirts wear something under the skirts such as no-show bicycle shorts.

E) KIDS’ CLUB & EXTRA-CURRICULAR PROGRAMS Kids’ Club before-school and-after-school daycare continues on a daily basis in the Lavelle Center.

• The Kids’ Club staff incorporates the precautions and procedures in this document, as well as develop unique plans based on their unique location and program.

• These are similar to the Summer Camp plans that were successfully undertaken this past summer in the Lavelle Center.

• This unique Kids’ Club addendum of precautions and procedures are shared with parents whose children are enrolled in before-school or after-school daycare.

Extra-curricular, school-sponsored programs have been curtailed, eliminated, or adjusted on an individual basis, based upon each program’s unique setup and the current health concerns at the time. For example, Speech Team is being run virtually, and Chorale Choir has been canceled. As each program’s situation is determined, parents will be notified.

The CYO Athletics program is run by the Archdiocese in direct union with parishes, not schools, and thus the decisions on holding, postponing, or canceling after-school sports practices and weekend games for the three sports seasons are decided and announced by the Archdiocesan CYO Office or our parish’s Athletic Board.

11

F) MORNING DROP-OFF WAITING AREAS When students are dropped-off between 8:00-8:15, they wait in their designated areas at a physical distance from their classmates, as shown on the diagram below. There are four teachers and staff on supervision duty from 8:00-8:30 to remind students about the need to keep two arms-length of space between them and the persons immediately in front and/or behind them. All students and staff keep on their facemasks when waiting outside.

The entry bell rings at 8:15, and the tardy bell rings at 8:30. To not have too many students waiting outside the school for the 8:15 entry, parents are asked to please try and time their drop-off time to fall between 8:10 and 8:25.

8th Grade Grade 8 students are allowed to enter the main building independently starting at 8:00 through the southwest corner door and stairs that lead directly to the 2nd floor. The 8th graders go directly to their lockers and then to their homerooms.

7th Grade Grade 7 students initially gather in the north courtyard of the original school building. At 8:10, they are directed by the staff member on supervision duty to leave their courtyard waiting area before the 8:15 bell and enter the main building. They enter through the front doors and then up the central stairs. They go directly to their lockers and then to their homerooms.

6th Grade Grade 6 students initially gather in the central courtyard of the original school building. At 8:10, they are directed by the staff member on supervision duty to leave their courtyard waiting area before the 8:15 bell and enter the main building. They enter through the southwest corner door and stairs that lead directly to the 2nd floor. They go directly to their lockers and then to their homerooms.

5th Grade Grade 5 students initially gather immediately west of the main building, outside of the building’s west exit/entry door, in the blocked-off faculty parking spaces. They are directed at 8:10 by the staff member on supervision duty to leave their west-end waiting area before the 8:15 bell and enter the main building through the west-end doors.

Grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4 Grade K-4 students wait in their designated areas for the 8:15 entry bell at which time their teachers come outside to lead them through their assigned entry doors into the main building.

Pre-K Preschoolers are walked by their parents to the courtyard immediately outside the PreK classroom, waiting for their teacher to let them inside beginning at 8:15. PreK parents are first asked to bring their children to use the bathroom and wash their hands.

12

Morning Drop-Off Waiting Areas 13

G) AFTERNOON PICK-UP PARKING AREAS The dismissal bell rings at unique times for various grades levels, and teachers make sure students dismiss from the classroom safely, while keeping at least an arm’s length away from others: • The bell rings at 2:55 (1:55 on Mondays) for grades 5-8 to dismiss and walk to their waiting areas.

• The bell rings at 3:00 (2:00 on Mondays) for grades K-4 to dismiss and walk to their waiting areas.

• Grade PreK waits for parents or older siblings to personally pick them up outside their classroom at 3:00 (2:00 on Mondays).

Traffic poles are set up 6’ feet from the original wings sidewalk, along the entire south-to-north length of the waiting sidewalk, to be used as the walking lane for students (and parents) not waiting on the sidewalk. The sidewalk itself is an area for grade K-2 students to spread out and wait while watching for their vehicles to park.

The BigToy is closed and off limits after school. Thus, families are not allowed to play on or around the BigToy after school. This helps reduce the congregating and speed up the ability of cars to park for after-school pick-up and then leave quickly.

While waiting for their children for after-school pick-up, we encourage all parents (except PreK) to remain in their vehicles unless they need to locate their children. Not congregating in the carpool waiting parking spaces speeds up the pick-up process and reduces the risk of exposure to others.

When students are waiting in the pick-up areas, the five teachers and staff on supervision duty remind students to keep two arms-length of space between them and the persons immediately in front and/or behind them.

All students, staff, and parents keep on their face coverings when waiting outside.

Ordinarily, the sidewalk along the west ends of the original school building wings has been the area for all K-8 students waiting after school to be picked up. To provide the necessary spacing between students when waiting in this pick-up area, some grade levels are being asked to please wait for their carpool vehicles in a different location this year, as shown in the diagram below.

The school community appreciates the cooperation and extra effort of our 5th, 7th, and 8th grade families, in changing their carpool pick-up habits so to improve the ability of the entire student body to properly distance themselves while waiting for pick-up! (Note: When the new school building was under construction 10 years ago and parking spaces were limited,, we were forced to have similar changes to our carpool locations, including “off-site parking” for many school families, and families adjusted well. We are grateful for your cooperation.)

14

8th Grade Grade 8 students (and any younger grade siblings or carpool mates) meet their vehicles outside the St. Louise property – either parked on legal street parking areas or parked at the two nearby shopping centers. Both the parents and teachers of 8th graders teach these students about their responsibility to follow all pedestrian/traffic rules when walking off campus.

• Legal street parking for 8th grade parents/carpool drivers may be found on the following side streets near St. Louise: o 152nd Place SE o 153rd Place NE o 155th Avenue SE o 156th Avenue SE o 157th Avenue SE o SE 1st Street o NE 1st Street o SE 4th Street • Shopping center parking for 8th grade parents/carpool drivers may be found at: o Lake Hills Village – corner of 156th Avenue SE and Lake Hills Boulevard o Kelsey Creek Center – corner of Main Street and 148th Avenue SE • Grade 8 families have a set plan for their family’s unique meeting location at 3:00 each day (2:00 on Mondays), so their children know the exact location to walk to every day.

7th Grade Grade 7 students (and any younger grade siblings or carpool mates) wait on the sidewalk immediately south of the church/Father Phil fountain, near the parish hall entrance. The 7th grade parents/carpool drivers are asked to park in the campus’s far south lot, immediately upon entering from 156th Avenue SE. • Thus, 7th grade drivers should always stay to the far right lane when entering from 156th, as they will want to then turn left into the diagonal parking spaces.

• Departing the lot is still to be by heading north through the parking lot, exiting only out the Main Street gate. It is not allowed to exit out the 156th entrance.

5th Grade Grade 5 students (and any younger grade siblings or carpool mates) wait immediately west of the main building, outside of the building’s west exit/entry door, in the blocked off faculty parking spaces. The 5th grade parents/carpool drivers are asked to only park on the dirt soccer field.

• Thus, 5th grade drivers should always stay to the far left lane when entering from 156th, as they will want to eventually be on the far west side of the parking lot as they pull forward to enter the soccer field.

• The 5th graders will need to be watching for their cars entering the soccer field, and when spotted, the 5th graders will use the north crosswalk to walk over to their vehicle on the soccer field.

15

Grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 For these grade levels, students wait in the traditional waiting area for pick-up, along the sidewalk and in the courtyards adjacent to the three original school wings. • Note that grades 3, 4, 6 wait inside the courtyards between the wings, so they and their parents will need to be more watchful to be able to spot each other. • Their vehicles park in the traditional, central parking spaces.

Pre-K Grade PreK parents should park on the basketball court, since they will be leaving their vehicles to pick-up their preschoolers in person from the PreK classroom.

16

Afternoon Pick-Up Parking Areas

17

H) MASSES, ASSEMBLIES, FIELD TRIPS All-School Masses are being adjusted on an ongoing basis, based on the current guidelines the Archdiocese is following for church liturgies and following Father Gary’s guidance.

• This could include only select grade levels attending a school Mass, so to have the space to be able to keep students and adults physically distanced in church.

• This could also include students watching a live, streamed Mass, with the priest visiting the classrooms after this Mass to distribute Communion to students and teachers.

• It is also possible we will need to ask parents to not attend school Masses for the time being, so to give us enough space in church for physical distancing.

• Specific plans for each school Mass will be updated as each date approaches.

All-School or Multi-Class Assemblies will be curtailed, eliminated, or adjusted in how students gather, based upon each individual event and the current health concerns at the time.

• Examples could be to move the junior high’s whole-group meetings to the larger parish hall where students may be safely spread out, or to cancel the portion of the annual earthquake drill where students in past years would gather together after practicing evacuating the building.

• Furthermore, annual, grade-level Concerts may be postponed or if feasible, altered to be video-recorded programs.

Field Trips will most likely be canceled until further notice. However, it is possible that some annual field trips will be able to continue with precautions, due to their unique set-up. For example, one grade level’s annual field trip to the Mercer Slough, that is outdoors and allows space for physical distancing, might be able to take place.

I) ADULT MEETINGS, VISITORS & VOLUNTEERS, FAMILY EVENTS Given what is known about transmission dynamics, and given what is known about adults more likely to be infected by COVID than children, it is most important for the adults in the St. Louise School community to attempt to maintain a physical distance of 6-feet from other persons. Thus, there will be changes in how many adult gatherings are conducted in the 202021 school year.

• Parents may enter the school building or school rooms to fulfill essential volunteer jobs, such as office assistant or recess supervisor, but other reasons for visiting school in the past, such as for impromptu chats with teachers, or setting up their children’s parties, will be curtailed.

• The past practice of allowing visitors to school, such as prospective school parents who want to observe in a classroom, will also be curtailed.

• Consideration will be given to holding more virtual meetings of teachers, school staff and/or parents, such as for Curriculum Nights, Staff Meetings, School Commission & Parents’ Club Meetings, and Parent-Teacher Conferences. Specific plans for each adult event/meeting will be updated as each date approaches, based on that particular time’s 18

•

health conditions and the ability to safely hold an in-person meeting or to effectively hold a virtual meeting.

Events such as the Auction and St. Nicholas Breakfast will make decisions on if their events will be held or held virtually as each date approaches, based on health concerns at that particular time and the ability to safely hold an in-person event or to effectively hold a virtual event.

19

Recess Being able to get outside for recess is an important emotional, physical, and social part of a student’s day. Recess times are divided into three groups - grades K-2, grades 3-5, and grades 6-8. (PreK has their own private recesses.) The morning and late-afternoon recesses will be supervised by staff; the lunch recesses will be supervised by a combination of staff and parent volunteers.

• Morning Recesses o K-2 at 10:10-10:25 o 3-5 at 10:35-10:50 • Lunch Recesses o 6-8 at 11:10-11:40 (Tuesdays through Fridays) o K-2 at 11:50-12:20 o 3-5 at 12:30-1:00 • Late-Afternoon Recesses (Tuesdays through Fridays) o K-2 at 1:45-2:00 At each recess time, the playground is divided into grade level zones with a specific grade level assigned to play only in their zone for all recesses on that particular day.

• With each succeeding day, the grade levels are able to rotate to a different zone on the playground.

• Teachers remind students prior to going out to recess which zone they are to exclusively play on that day.

• Parent volunteers who are assisting supervising the two lunch recesses are assigned to supervise the same one zone for both recesses.

• Both the volunteer and staff supervisors are not only watching for safe play, but are making sure grade levels stay in their zones, and remind children to keep physically distant from classmates as feasible.

Each grade level zone has its own unique set of playground equipment.

• Equipment for each zone gets sanitized prior to each recess by the staff recess supervisors.

• Equipment that a student chooses to no longer play with during the middle of their recess time or when the end-of-recess bell rings is placed in the “used/dirty” bin, and this equipment is not able to be played with again until it is sanitized by the supervisors.

In order to allow students to be able to socialize and play with their classmates, students wear face coverings while at recess.

• If students need a “mask break” due to physical exertion while playing, they are to check with a recess supervisor in their zone to ask if they can have a monitored mask break. This will be a time for the child to remove the face covering and catch his/her breath, all the while being beyond 6 feet from anyone.

• The recess supervisors also wear face coverings.

Students are monitored by their teachers to wash their hands in their classrooms or school bathrooms immediately before and after each recess period.

• Students are led to and from the playground by their teachers, who supervise not only the hand-washing, but also that children are walking in a physically-distanced manner.

• Hand sanitizer is provided for students’ use with each zone’s playground equipment.

20

The BigToy area is closed for grade K-8 students until further notice. This includes not only during recess time but also at the end of the school day. Our small class of PreK students have limited access to the BigToy during their private recess time, with the PreK staff disinfecting after each play session any BigToy areas which were handled.

Our P.E. teacher Mr. Evans incorporates in his P.E. lessons new games for kids to learn that can be played at recess for social and physical fun while reducing the possibility of close contact with classmates.

21

Daily Health Checks and Illnesses As has always been the case, parents are the first line of checking their children’s health at the beginning of each school day. In this time of a coronavirus, it is more critical than ever that parents verify every morning that their children do not have any symptoms of COVID-19 or the flu that would keep them from coming to school.

If a child exhibits any one of the following symptoms – which the CDC lists as common symptoms of COVID and flu - he/she must remain home. (See below for further explanation of how long a student must remain home.) If the child is already at school, he/she will have a parent contacted to immediately come to school to bring home his/her child.

• • • • • •

Fever (100.4 or higher) Chills Fatigue Cough Sore throat Runny nose or congestion

• • • • • •

Headache Muscle pain or body aches New loss of taste or smell Diarrhea Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Nausea or vomiting

In case a parent did not observe any of these symptoms on a particular school morning, teachers and staff are vigilant throughout every school day to be aware of any students who may exhibit symptoms.

• The homeroom teacher begins each morning during morning prayer and pledge time asking his/her students to instigate their own overall health-check – e.g. “Are you feeling feverish?”, “Do you have a sore throat or runny nose?”, etc.

• Each grade level has a touchless-thermometer to check individual students’ temperatures as students enter the classroom every morning.

Should a student be noticed by a teacher or staff member to have any of the above symptoms, or should the student report a symptom to a teacher, the student will be sent to the nurse’s office. The nurse or secretary will take the student’s temperature, and if it registers 100.4 or higher, or if any one of the other above, bulleted symptoms are confirmed, the student’s parent will be called to pick up the child from school immediately.

Even though it is most likely the child displaying any of these symptoms does not have COVID-19, but simply has a cold or flu, or perhaps a lingering condition due to asthma or allergies, we appreciate in advance the recognition of school parents that accepting this disruption of keeping your child home when first exhibiting symptoms is one of the compromises that allows us to conduct school in-person in our school building.

In unique situations, the school will work with families whose children’s chronic condition exhibits symptoms similar to COVID, but who are obviously not contagious. (See Scenario 1 below.)

These practices and restrictions for students’ health are similarly applied to any teachers, school staff, or visitors/parents who enter the school building and have coronavirus or flu symptoms. Employees 22

self-verify every morning before entering the school building that they do not have any symptoms of COVID-19 or the flu.

The reality is this hyper-attention to symptoms which in the past were assumed to be a cold or allergies, will most likely cause more teachers, staff, or parent volunteers to stay home from school than in past years, out of precaution. Thus, there may be a disruption in how classes, activities, and programs are conducted on any given school day.

• For example, more frequent teacher absences could result in eliminating a specialist class for all grade levels one day if we need to use that specialist teacher to substitute teach for an ill homeroom teacher.

• Similarly, more frequent absences of instructional assistants or volunteer parents could result in not having enough recess supervisors and needing to ask teachers or other school staff to substitute as a recess supervisor for a particular day, or to cancel outdoor recess on a particular day.

In any case of a student or adult registering as possibly ill with COVID or influenza, a custodian will be notified to immediately disinfect the areas that the person was in and the objects he/she touched. If needed, the school office’s conference room will be used as an auxiliary holding space for a suspected ill student, instead of the nurse’s room, until the parent is able to come to school to pick up their child. Both the conference room and nurse’s room will be disinfected by the custodial staff when the suspected ill student departs.

In this case of a person confirmed to have COVID-19 having been in any school buildings, local Public Health officials will guide our school administration on the best course of action for either continuing school (after thoroughly disinfecting), canceling in-person schooling for specific students/staff/classes, or canceling all grade levels in the school for a period of days. (See the scenarios below about the decision for when specific classes or the entire school may need to close down.)

In accordance with laws and regulations, and while maintaining confidentiality in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the school administration will notify Public Health officials immediately of any case of an individual infected with COVID-19 having been on campus, as well as notifying school parents and employees, and notifying the Seattle Archdiocese. The name of the infected student or staff member will not be shared unless that person allows it, but the school community would be informed of the involved homeroom (of the student) or general job description (of the staff member) so to help identify for the community the places the infected person would have been in and/or the people the infected person would have associated with.

It is important that parents and employees self-report to the school office if they or their children have symptoms of COVID-19, a positive test for COVID, or had close contact to someone with COVID within the last 14 days. The CDC defines “close contact” as someone who was within six-feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.

23

St. Louise School will abide by the following CDC guidelines for when a student, parent, or employee with COVID symptoms, suspected symptoms, or exposure may return to school:

Scenario 1: I do not have COVID-19 but instead have another illness or condition, such as diagnosed allergies or asthma.

a) With no fever present, a student or staff member who has a runny nose or a cough that won’t cease, but is due solely to a chronic, non-contagious condition such as allergies or asthma, will be able to attend school, provided a note from a health care provider that explains this chronic condition is presented to our school nurse, Jane Reynolds. b) Until this condition is confirmed by a health care provider, the student/staff member will need to stay home from school if exhibiting one of these symptoms.

Scenario 2: I might have COVID-19 because I am showing symptoms, but I have not had a test to confirm it.

a) If a person is showing any of the listed symptoms for COVID-19, he/she must remain home until any fever subsides for 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine (e.g. without Tylenol) AND no sooner than 10 days since the symptoms first appeared. b) Additionally, possibly beyond 10 days, the person must remain home until other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving, besides fever.

Scenario 3: I thought I might have COVID-19 because I am showing symptoms, but I took a test, and it was negative. a) The person can return to school after 24 hours have passed since any fever subsided with the use of fever-reducing medicine (e.g. without Tylenol) AND if symptoms are improving. b) However, even if the person’s COVID test was negative, if he/she has been in close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case, he/she must stay home for 14 calendar days after their last exposure to the infected person. The CDC defines “close contact” as “someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, starting from 2 days before illness onset.”

Scenario 4: I tested positive for COVID-19, but I had no symptoms.

a) If the person tested positive for COVID BUT never showed symptoms (was asymptomatic), he/she may return to school after 10 days have passed since the test. b) The person is to immediately inform school so an announcement can be made to the school community (without using the person’s name, so to protect privacy).

Scenario 5: I tested positive for COVID-19, and I showed symptoms.

a) If the person tested positive for COVID AND showed symptoms, he/she must remain home until any fever subsides for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine (e.g. without Tylenol) AND after 10 days since symptoms first appeared. b) Additionally, the person must remain home until other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving, besides fever. c) The person is to immediately inform school so an announcement can be made to the school community (without using the person’s name, so to protect privacy). d) Note: a person who is severely ill with COVID-19 might need to stay home up to 20 days after symptoms first appeared, and a person who is severely immunocompromised may require testing from a healthcare provider to determine when he/she can be around others.

24

Scenario 6: I do not have COVID-19, but I was in close contact with a person who has COVID-19.

a) If the person has been in close contact with a person with COVID, he/she must stay home for 14 calendar days after their last exposure to the infected person b) After the 14th day of self-quarantine, the person is able to return to school provided no symptoms appeared. c) An exception is if the person himself/herself had COVID-19 within the previous 3 months AND recovered AND has remained symptom-free. In this case, the person who had close contact does not need to stay home. d) The person is to immediately inform school so an announcement can be made to the school community (without using the person’s name, so to protect privacy).

Scenario 7: I do not have COVID-19, but I was in contact with a second person who himself/herself was in close contact with a person who has COVID-19.

a) A person who was 2-persons-removed from an infected person does not need to selfquarantine or stay home, but is simply asked to monitor for developing symptoms. b) There is not a concern for the person with no COVID symptoms who had contact with a second person who also has no COVID symptoms, and that second person was actually the one who had the close contact with the infected patient.

Scenario 8: I was in a classroom or parish/school building with a person who has COVID-19.

a) If there was a belief that students and/or a staff member had close contact with a positive-tested student or staff member when that person had COVID-19, some or all of these students and staff member might need to stay home and self-quarantine for 14 days (as explained in Scenario 6). b) The determination of which students and/or staff member has to stay home and selfquarantine in this case would be based on a Public Health official’s guidance and if the concerned students/staff member were deemed to have been in close contact – i.e. within 6 feet of the infected person for at least 15 minutes. It is possible not all the students in the classroom would be identified as having been in “close contact.” c) Since it would be rare for all the students and staff in the entire school to have had 6 feet close contact with a positive-tested person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes, it would also be rare that the entire school would need to shut down for 14 days because an infected person was inside the school. Instead, it’s possible that the entire school would be shut down for 24-48 hours for thorough disinfecting, should there have been a confirmed COVID-case in our building and that infected person had been in multiple school rooms and locations.

Please note that in any of the above scenarios where students must remain home for an extended period of time, cooperation between the teachers and parents will occur to make sure the students will participate in daily distance learning from home and keep up with school work, as medically feeling able. (See the “Absences” and “Distance-Learning Option” sections on our Reopening Plan.)

For St. Louise School employees in the above scenarios, any time taken as days-off-work due to COVID-infection or COVID-quarantine-precautions will be paid for by first using any available sick leave, and if no sick leave is available, additional days will be counted as paid leave. There may be the possibility of an employee able to work from home and not needing to utilize his/her sick leave.

25

For those who should be tested for COVID, if you have a regular doctor or health care provider, call them about your symptoms and testing options. You may also find free test sites through King County and/or receive testing at some Walgreens locations, the Bellevue Allegro Pediatrics clinic, and Indigo Urgent Care locations.

Although influenza vaccination (the “flu vaccine�) is not required for school attendance, in the 2020-21 school year, it is highly encouraged for all students, siblings & parents, and school employees to receive this vaccination in October or November. We want to be cautious of our students not catching coronavirus, but we need to remember that seasonal flu can be more impactful on an elementary school community than COVID. Various studies and reports show that school-aged children have a much less chance of dying of COVID-19 than of influenza: o o o o

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm; https://freopp.org/estimating-the-risk-of-death-from-covid-19-vs-influenza-or-pneumonia-by-age630aea3ae5a9; https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/01/children-almost-20-times-likely-die-injury-covid/; https://www.acsh.org/news/2020/07/14/coronavirus-covid-deaths-among-children-andreopening-schools-14909

This flowchart explains who can/cannot attend school because of COVID-exposure or diagnosis.

26

Absences When a student must remain home for an extended period of time due to coronavirus, coronavirusexposure, or the flu, cooperation between the teacher(s) and parent will occur to make sure the child can do distance learning from home and keep up with school work, as medically feeling able.

The school’s current policies on students being absent from school for non-illness reasons, such as a family trip, continue as stated in the policy handbook. Please see: “Planned Absence of Less than Three Consecutive Days”; “Planned Absence of Three or More Consecutive Days.”

The school’s current policies on students being absent for “modest” illnesses, such as a cold, are slightly altered as follows: Absence Due to NON-COVID or NON-Flu Illness • When a child must be absent from school, his/her parent is asked to call or email the school office before 8:30 a.m. that day, to report the absence.

• Individual teachers will decide on the appropriate time allowed for the student to make up missed work. A student returning from an absence is to initiate the procedure for finding out from the teacher(s) the work he/she will need to make up and when it is due. Normally, the student has as many days to make up missed work as the number of days he/she was absent.

• A student who is absent from school due to illness may not attend or participate in any St. Louiseconnected activity (e.g., sports practice, rehearsal, meeting, dance, concert) that same day or night without prior administrative approval.

• The student should expect that missed tests which need to be made-up will most likely be taken during before-school or after-school hours, so parents must be prepared to please adjust family schedules as early as the first day the student returns to school.

The following policies are newly being added for the 2020-21 school year for absences specifically due to COVID-related or Flu-related illnesses, or due to COVID-precautions being taken.

Absence Due to COVID Illness, Flu Illness, or Precautions Taken Due to COVID • When a child must be absent from school, his/her parent is asked to call or email the school office before 8:30 a.m. each day, to report the absence. A daily call or email is needed even if it is known the child is intending to be absent for a prolonged period of days. To help the school follow the condition of the student, a daily report to the school nurse from the parent on the child’s COVID or flu symptoms is appreciated.

• Individual teachers will decide on the appropriate time allowed for the student to make up missed work. A student returning from this type of absence will work with his/her parents and teachers to determine what type and amount of missed schoolwork will need to be made up and when it is due. Because of the seriousness of a prolonged illness-absence, the teachers will be flexible in working out an arrangement that attempts to help the student catch up in schoolwork and instruction, but shows a compassionate understanding for the child’s fragile physical and mental health.

• If the student is physically well-enough to work on schoolwork from home, the following procedures will be performed: 27

o o

o

o

o

o o

The teacher(s) will work with the family to implement class-time live-streaming of class instruction, using Microsoft Teams. See section below on “Distance-Learning Option.”

Whether or not the “Distance-Learning Option” is initiated, parents may request assignments and school work which are being missed during this prolonged illnessabsence be given to the family. If the teacher is able to provide assignments and work to the student, it is expected that the work will be completed and returned the day the student returns to school, or soon after, as agreed to by parent and teacher. The usual late homework policies will apply only if the student neglects to submit completed, pre-assigned work on the day previously agreed-upon.

The teacher(s) is to work with the parent and/or will use the assistance of the ill student’s “study-buddy” to daily collect hard-copies of any daily lecture notes, teacher handouts, homework assignments, etc. Any soft-copies of these may be posted by the teacher(s) on Microsoft Teams or Skyward.

The teacher(s) will be available most days to connect with the student/parent via email, phone call, and/or Microsoft Teams to keep the student/parent updated on that day’s lessons, to explain that day’s schoolwork/assignments, and to check-in on how the student is doing.

If the teacher is not able to provide work to the student during this specific type of absence, or if the student found an inability to complete the work due to weakness/sickness, upon the student returning from this prolonged absence, he/she and the parent and teacher(s) will meet to work out an arrangement that attempts to help the student catch up in schoolwork and instruction, but shows a compassionate understanding for the child’s fragile physical and mental health.

The student should expect that missed tests which need to be made-up will most likely be taken during before-school or after-school hours, so parents must be prepared to please adjust family schedules as early as the first day the student returns to school.

A student who is absent from school due to this specific type of absence may not attend or participate in any St. Louise-connected in-person activity that same day or night without prior administrative approval.

28

Distance-Learning Option (D.L.O.) It is understandable that some students must stay home during times of epidemics because they or a family member have certain underlying medical conditions and thus are at an increased risk for severe illness from a novel coronavirus (or from influenza). There are also occasions when healthy students must stay home due to COVID-exposure and the requirement to self-quarantine. In addition, St. Louise School is providing an option not only to the above students, but also to students who have no medical conditions, but whose parents are not yet comfortable with a return to in-person instruction at school.

Our ‘Distance-Learning Option” (D.L.O.) allows a student to follow from home on Microsoft Teams the teacher instruction occurring live and in-person to the rest of his/her classmates at school. Throughout the school day, the teacher(s) will be logged into Microsoft Teams and projecting both the classroom interactive board display and his/her voice to the student who will be following along at home. There are times the teacher may also utilize a tablet to be able to have another photographed view projected to the student at home Please understand that some lessons on any given day could be difficult to convert to a Teamsdisseminated format. For example, there may be an outdoor P.E. lesson or a hands-on science lesson on any given day which may not be able to be easily broadcast, and thus not able for the student at home to follow and participate in. Relatedly, there may be technology difficulties on any given day – from either the family’s end or the teacher’s end – and a disruption in learning could occur.

Similar to when the entire school was mandated to work remotely from home, when a student who has chosen the Distance-Learning Option misses one or more online classes in a day (but logs in and participates in the majority of classes), he/she is marked as a half-day absent. Additionally, when participating in school in this online format, a student using the D.L.O. is expected to follow all school policies – including for behavior, uniform, and hairstyle.

Parents are to contact the school prior to 8:30AM on any school day when their child at home is not able to participate in remote-learning due to an illness or doctor appointment, similar to what is required during a usual school time when the child would have been attending school in-person.

Every grade K-8 student has a Teams account, and it is important that the family have all the proper technology at home: • Laptop or Desktop Computer: Mac or PC • Headset w/microphone • Printer (no preference for black/white or color) • Smart Device or Apple Device that take pictures • Microsoft Office: including Microsoft Teams • Mouse • Stylus (optional)

29

Additionally, the Plan for Online-Learning for 2020 document that all parents received in August stated the following expectations of parents to be engaged and assisting when their child is learning remotely from home:

GRADES K-3

EXPECTATIONS ON PARENTS • • •

The parent will print materials and assist their child with going to websites and online books.

•

The parent will be ready to verify their child is interacting and participating during the live lessons.

While the teacher is the primary teacher during live instruction time, the parent will be the instructor when offline and can use the teacher as a resource during office hours.

The parent will confirm their child is completing his/her assignments each day.

•

•

4-5

• • • •

6-8

The parent will help setup the home computer/tablet each day, and may need to help their child join the live instruction.

The parent is a helper, present to assist their child with the computer/tablet device.

The parent may not need to be present if their child is able to join the live instruction himself/herself and is able to responsibly print materials, access websites and online books, etc.

The parent may need to monitor their child is interacting and participating during the live lessons.

The parent may want to monitor all communication The parent will confirm the child is completing his/her assignments each day.

•

The student is capable of handling all aspects of communication and assignments

•

The parent may want to confirm the child has completed his/her assignments each evening.

•

The parent should reinforce the family’s rules for safe and appropriate computer use.

For further details regarding how to participate in the D.L.O., please see the separate document: Plan for Online-Learning for 2020 .

IMPORTANT: If parents are choosing the D.L.O. for their child even when school has resumed for inperson schooling, they will need to please email this decision to both Mr. Fitzpatrick (DanF@stlouiseschool.org) and the homeroom teacher.

30

Unique Grade 6-8 Schedules for Hybrid Teaching Grade 6-8 students are placed into one of three groups, based on their parents’ response to an October 19th Parent Survey asking, “If school reopens for grades 6-8 student to return in a hybrid model of half the class in-person and half learning remotely on an every-other-day schedule, will you send your child back to school for two days per-week beginning the first week in November?”

If a parent answered: a) “No” - their child was placed in the “White Group.” b) “Yes” – their child was placed in either the “Red Group” or the “Black Group,” as determined by teachers balancing out the classes.

Parents were allowed to note on the survey if they carpool to/from school with another grade 6-8 school family. If they do, these carpooling students were put in the same Red or Black Group.

WHITE GROUP – Students who will learn remotely all 5 days – MONDAYS through FRIDAYS for at least all of November and December.

RED GROUP – A maximum 50% of class (equal mix boy/girl) who attend in-person on TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS; distance learn the other 3 days BLACK GROUP – A maximum 50% of class (equal mix boy/girl) who attend in-person on WEDNESDAYS and FRIDAYS; distance learn the other 3 days October 28-30 are no-school days for all grade 6-8 students to give the middle school teachers time to prepare for reopening and a hybrid model: • Teachers will learn all the protocol for COVID-precautions and health-safety, such as handwashing, desk disinfecting, and new recess rules.

• Teachers will learn all the methods and technology needed for synchronously teaching half of a class who are remotely learning via Microsoft Teams and half who are sitting in the classroom for traditional, in-person learning.

• Teachers will continue to transform their previous hard-copy, in-person curriculum lessons into electronic versions that can be shared via Teams and taught/completed virtually.

When school resumes on Monday, November 2, all grade 6-8 students will be learning remotely – as is the plan for each Monday. Then on Tuesday, November 3, the Red Group students will return for in-person learning. On Wednesday, November 4, the Black Group students will return for in-person learning. School begins at 8:30 daily.

The Red and Black groups will have their in-person days switched on February 1, so to give students equitable periods of times for in-person specialist classes and some core classes. The White group will be given an opportunity in December to note if they would like to rejoin in-person instruction beginning in January.

31

Resources These are some of the resources used to help create the unique plans and procedures St. Louise School follows as we reopen our school for in-person instruction for students: • • • • • • • • • • •

Reopening Washington Schools: 2020 District Planning Guide (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) Coronavirus Updates (Seattle Archdiocese Office for Catholic Schools) K-12 Schools: Fall 2020-2021 Guidance (Washington State Department of Health) Consideration for Schools (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Re-Entry (American Academy of Pediatrics) Characteristics and Outcomes of Children with Coronavirus Disease (American Medical Association) Covid-19 in Babies and Children (Mayo Clinic) Covid-19 Resources (King County Public Health) The Impact of School Closures and Sport Cancellations on the Health of Adolescent Athletes (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health) Washington State Coronavirus Response (Washington State) The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

32