Coronavirus Update: Week of March 23-27 (Sent Thursday, March 19 at 4:30 pm)

Dear Family,

We hope everyone is doing well and adjusting to this uncertain time. As previously indicated, we will be providing a weekly update to our families as we move forward in this unprecedented period. Please see below for information including the status of and procedures for Cyber Days, Teacher and Counselor Availability and next week’s schedule.

Student Grades
As you may have seen in the news, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has declared these days to be “Acts of God,” and therefore they will not need to be made up by changing vacation days or adding days to the end of the year. While ISBE does not require that the provided assignments be graded, Saint Patrick High School’s philosophy is that for learning to continue, assignments of value must be provided to our students. If the assignments are worth doing, then they are worth the time to assess and provide feedback to improve student learning. Therefore, we will continue our policy of grading the students’ work during this time.

Cyber Day Assignments
With regards to assignments, the policy is that they need to be posted to the teachers’ pages no later than 9:00 am. Teachers have been encouraged to post their assignments in advance of that time (i.e., the day or evening before or even earlier, if possible) so students may work on them ahead of a given day. Important Note: please be sure that you are completing the correct assignment for a given day. With this additional flexibility, students should be able to complete their assignments by the 4:00 pm timeframe.

Teacher Communications
With regards to communication with your son(s) teachers, we are asking faculty to be available throughout the given Cyber Days from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm to respond to any student emails in a timely fashion. If they receive emails after 5:00 pm, they will respond the next Cyber Day.

If a student or parent wishes to speak with a teacher by phone, we are offering time next Tuesday, March 24 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm as part of a Professional Development/Office Hours Day (see below). If you would like to speak with a teacher, we would ask the student or parent to email them in advance with the best number and time to call. The teacher will call at the given time (Please note: the number will appear as a blocked number since we wish to keep their contact information personal). We hope this can be a way to help address any concerns or provide additional understanding of material during this time. Please click here for the Faculty Directory.

Next Week’s Schedule
Monday, March 23 – Cyber Day
Tuesday, March 24 – Professional Development Day/Office Hours for Check-In with Faculty from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm (no assignments will be given)
Wednesday, March 25 – Cyber Day
Thursday, March 26 – Cyber Day
Friday, March 27 – Classes will not be in session (no assignments will be given)

Counselor Availability
Our counselors will also be available if a student or parent needs to speak with him regarding the social-emotional support needs. We would ask students or parents to contact the counselor via email with a phone number and time next Monday through Thursday between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm that would be convenient to speak. Please visit the Student Services Directory to contact your son(s) counselor at least 24 hours in advance of the call so that there is time to coordinate. When the counselor returns the call at the given time, the number will be blocked.

Building Closing
The building is closed to all parent and students until further notice.

Additional Resources
Please visit our dedicated website page at: https://www.stpatrick.org/coronavirus-information/ for more information and resources to help you through this time.

Here is an article from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) that offers suggestions to manage stress during this time, including the importance of keeping up with a regular routine: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html

All of us are doing our best to deal with this disruptive time in our lives. We have responsibilities for our children who are getting a really fast lesson in e-learning, for others in our lives for whom we are acting as caregivers, and within our other personal and professional relationships. Please know that we are here to support you just as much as you are helping your son(s) get through this difficult time. Thank you for your partnership in working through this as smoothly as possible

God Bless,

Jon Baffico