Dear St. Joan of Arc Families,
We are so excited to have all of you back to school next Monday! We are working to make sure we provide the safest environment possible for in-person learning to take place and wanted to take a minute and provide a few updates for everyone.
Drop-Off/Pick-Up
Our drop-off and pick-up will remain the same for the 2020-2021 school year, but with some added protective measures in place. Students will be not be permitted to enter the building prior to 7:35 AM., and at that time they will go directly to their homerooms. Upon arrival, students will unpack, gather the necessary materials for their school day and wash/sanitize their hands. They must proceed to their homerooms before going anywhere else in the building. Our teachers will monitor and allow student travel in the hallways in staggered times to alleviate congestion within the building.
For students who are picked up after school, we will be following the same traffic pattern as last year, but we will be utilizing the space along the building to properly social distance during this time. At 2:40 PM., the dismissal bell will ring and students who are car riders will be escorted outside along the building, where a staff member will then escort them to his or her car. We will be diligent in reinforcing social distancing at this time and ask that you remind your student(s) to do the same.
As a reminder, no parent is permitted to leave their vehicle during this time as every effort will be made to ensure that this as safe and efficient as possible for our students.
Supply Drop-Off
Due to the prohibitive guidelines set forth by the Ohio Department of Health, we were unable to have an in-person day for supply drop-off. We are asking that you send your student, over the course of the first week, with their supplies. Please do not send your student with all their supplies the first day as it will be unlikely that they are able to carry them at once.
Staffing Changes
As some of you may have heard, Mrs. Leach decided to retire after 40 YEARS of service here at St. Joan of Arc. We will certainly miss her and cannot thank her enough for the commitment and years of service she provided for so many families here at St. Joan of Arc.
Mrs. Frech will be assuming the fourth-grade teaching responsibilities this year and she brings a wealth of classroom experience into our fourth grade! Mrs. Frech is a veteran teacher who has served as the upper grade math teacher for the last several years. Mrs. Frech will be a tremendous teacher for our fourth-grade families!
Ms. Lescallett has been hired to teach our upper grade math courses including our Algebra 1 course. Ms. Lescallett comes to us as a recent graduate of Kent State University where she majored in Middle Childhood Education and currently works as an instructor at the Canton Ballet.
Masks/Face Coverings
Per the most recent order from Governor DeWine, ALL STUDENTS in Kindergarten through Eighth Grade are REQUIRED to wear a mask during the school day. Students will be permitted to remove their masks during lunch/recess and at times that the teacher feels it is appropriate during their instructional time. While students are not required to wear masks during outside recess, if you prefer your student to wear their masks, they are certainly permitted to do so. We will continue to encourage social distancing at recess to help mitigate the risk of transmission. Our staff will be wearing masks during the school day as it is required by the same order. Please remember that student masks must be a solid color, or one that is purchased in the office with the St. Joan of Arc logo (Central Catholic masks will be permitted as well).
**Please be sure to label your child's mask with their name or initials.**
Lunch/Recess
We will be having three lunch periods instead of two this year to allow for more social distancing during lunch and recess. Students in Kindergarten, First and Second will eat lunch and go to recess as one group. Students in Grades Three, Four and Five will eat lunch and go to recess as a group and students in Grades Six, Seven and Eight will do the same. During lunch students will be spaced out with assigned seating to allow for maximum social distancing during our lunch periods. Our staff will clean and disinfect all high touch areas including tables, counters etc. between lunch periods and students will wash/sanitize their hands prior returning to the classroom and before eating lunch. We will be diligent in utilizing the large space during outdoor recess and encouraging social distancing where applicable.
During this chaotic time, we inadvertently forgot to send home the August Lunch Menu. It is attached below, and you may call the office any day from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM to order lunch for this month. Please disregard the August 21st deadline for payment as you may bring payment Monday August 24th.
Safety/Health Measures
We have meticulously poured through the guidelines set forth by the CDC, ODH and Ohio Department of Education to ensure adherence to all requirements. We have hired additional staff to increase cleaning and sanitizing throughout the day and believe that we are able to create a safe and healthy environment for our students to return. We have purchased additional hand sanitizing stations to be put at every entrance, in addition to providing hand sanitizer in every classroom. Teachers have planned for times to clean and sanitize their rooms during the day, and we will placing a high priority on teaching proper hand hygiene to our students. We will be intentional about teaching proper procedures and movements throughout the building with safety being the top priority.
Please know that this will be a lot for your child(ren) to get used to and as a result we will be utilizing a great deal of time during the first couple of weeks reviewing procedures and protocols to help alleviate this stress. Our staff is committed to making your child(ren) feel comfortable, safe and happy while at school and during these first few weeks we will be incorporating social emotional learning during much of our classroom time. While this is not an exhaustive list of what we are doing here at St. Joan of Arc, we hope it provides some certainty for you during an uncertain time.
We thank you for your continued support as we kick off this new school year! We are excited to return and want to reassure you that we are committed to the health and safety of our students and staff at St. Joan of Arc. We will be providing additional details about our virtual learning for those who selected that choice later this week.
Sincerely,
Mr. Pollard