COVID-19 Updates

Collage of Lions Learning at Home photos

St. Mark's Cathedral School is closely monitoring all updates regarding COVID-19 and is committed to the well-being of our community. Please visit this page for information on this dynamic situation. We will continue to send updates to our families via email as needed.

Our office is currently open for summer hours. Personal tours are available to prospective families by appointment.

2020-2021 Reopening Plan

At present, barring any directive otherwise from civil or ecclesiastical authorities, we plan to begin school on August 12 with all students attending five days per week, no matter what phase we are in.

Our 2020-2021 Reopening Plan is intended to reflect how the school as a whole will run; the separate divisions, or even grades, may have more detailed plans specifically designed to address situations unique to that division or grade.

In order to comply with state expectations for operating schools in the pandemic, we have adopted some specific health and wellness policies for the current year. These policies will be emailed to all parents and will include an electronic signature to acknowledge that you have read and acknowledge the policies.

Phase 1 vs. Phase 2

Fewer than 10 people

Format

Daily in-person instruction
Some enrichment teachers and administrators teach core classes.
Modified class/instructional schedules

Schedule/Offerings

Five days of direct instruction per week
Virtual option available upon consultation with the division head
Preschool will have limited enrichments.
Lower School will have one enrichment period per day.
Middle School will have all core classes, homeroom, and study hall, but no electives or P.E.
All instruction will end at 11:30 a.m. on Fridays; students may then go home, or ASM will be provided at no charge until 3 p.m. for K-8th grade. Regular ASM rates apply for PS and for K-8th grade after 3 p.m.

Lunch

Students will eat in classrooms or outside.
Students may bring lunch or order meals from lunch vendors through the normal online ordering system.
Vendors will individually package and label each student’s order, and orders will be delivered to classrooms.

Fewer than 25 people

Format

Daily in-person instruction
Normal assignment of core/enrichment teachers
No modification of schedules

Schedule/Offerings

Five days of direct instruction per week
Virtual option available upon consultation with the division head
All divisions will follow normal schedules with all enrichments.
Playground and P.E. activities will be organized so as not to exceed maximum group size.

Lunch

Students will eat in classrooms or outside; in some instances students within the same grade may be able to join friends in another classroom if maximum group size is maintained.
Students may bring lunch or order meals from lunch vendors through the normal online ordering system.
Vendors will individually package and label each student’s order, and orders will be delivered to classrooms.

Virtual Learning Option

St. Mark’s will have virtual learning in place throughout the 2020-2021 school year. Virtual learning will be offered in the following situations:

Full school closure in response to directives from civil or ecclesiastical authorities
Specific grade-level closures as a result of directive from the Office of Public Health
Individual students in isolation at home in accordance with either a doctor’s orders or parent concerns

In the event of an all-school or all-grade closure/quarantine, the school will employ both pre-recorded (asynchronous) and live-video conference (synchronous) instruction. Each grade level will have a pre-established plan for synchronous instruction.

In the instance of individual students who are engaged in virtual learning while their peers remain at school, the school will facilitate video conferencing instruction throughout the day in accordance with the student’s schedule; students will be able to interact with teachers and classmates during these sessions. The video conference sessions can be recorded and made available to students who are not able to watch them live. Teachers will not offer separate instruction in addition to classroom instruction but will be available to students for help as necessary. Assessments will be taken at the same time as students who are in class, and attendance will be recorded.

Health & Safety Measures

The school will make every effort to comply with the requirements and suggestions of the Louisiana Department of Education with regard to sanitation and hygiene.

Healthy Hygiene Practices

Hand-sanitizing stations will be placed at all school entrances, and all classrooms will be provided with hand sanitizer. Students will disinfect their hands upon arrival, before and after eating or going outside, and throughout the day.
Masks will be worn by all adults and all students in grades 3-8. Students in PS3-2nd grade will have masks at school and wear them for arrival/dismissal, when in halls, and as directed by teachers. Teachers of students in grades PS3-2nd grade may request that students wear masks in class. The school will provide a mask to all students, but any mask/cloth facial covering may be worn.
Students will bring water bottles from home and will not use shared water fountains.

Student/Staff Screening

Student temperatures will be taken in cars at morning drop-off. If the temperature is above 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit, students will be required to go home. (See Health and Wellness Policy for additional details.)
If a child has a fever of 99.5 F at any time during the school day, he or she will be sent home.
Children who have been sent home with a temperature above 99.5 F must have a doctor’s note clearing them to return to school OR a parent note stating they have been fever-free for 72 hours.
Faculty and staff temperatures will also be taken, and the same protocols will apply.

Sickness/Attendance

St. Mark’s specifically requests that parents monitor their children’s health and refrain from sending to school children who are or may be sick.
In particular, children should not come to school if they have had a fever or taken fever-reducing medications within the past 48 hours; have a persistent cough, sore throat, or breathing difficulties; or have had vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours.
Faculty and staff are expected to observe the above guidelines.
In accordance with DOE guidelines, an isolation room has been established for students who are sick. It is located in the Little School in a room adjacent to the nurse’s station.

Known COVID-19 Cases

Social Distance Practices

Parents/visitors will only be allowed into the school by appointment after sanitizing their hands and having their temperature checked. Parents who are bringing lunches or forgotten items to school will leave them in the space provided outside the front doors and will not come into the building.
Classroom seating will be arranged to allow as much social distance as possible.
Efforts will be made to limit the numbers of students in the halls at any time. Some stairways and doorways will be unidirectional.
Playground schedules will be designed to prevent students of one grade from interacting with students of another.
Chapel will be live-streamed with only one grade or classroom physically present in the Cathedral for the service.
All students will eat lunch in classrooms or outside.
Carpool pick-up procedures will be modified to prevent students from different grades intermingling with each other.
There will be no field trips, pep rallies, or musical performances.

Cleaning & Disinfection

OPH guidelines for cleaning of shared spaces, restrooms, and high-touch areas will be implemented as directed for early childhood and K-12.
Student desks will be wiped down throughout the day as appropriate. In shared classrooms, desks will be wiped down at the end of a class period when students are leaving and upon the arrival of the next group in the classroom.
Teachers are encouraged to keep doors/windows open to allow for increased circulation.
The school is installing GPS Bi-Polar Ionization in the HVAC system. This technology uses charged atoms to kill 99.9% of microbes.
The daily cleaning service will hand-disinfect all surfaces and additionally spray ionized disinfecting mist in all classrooms.

ASM (Extended Care)

Athletics

The traditional spring sports of golf and tennis will be offered in the fall of 2020, along with cross country. Girls basketball will not be offered in the fall.
The Association of Shreveport Private Schools basketball league will determine later in the fall whether the girls and boys basketball seasons can be moved to winter and spring or will need to be shortened or eliminated.

Updates from the Head of School

Weekly Update and Reopening Plans
July 30, 2020

Start of School, Classroom Visits, and More
July 23, 2020

Update for 2020-2021 School Year
July 14, 2020

Summer Update #3
June 26, 2020

Summer Update #2
June 17, 2020

Summer Update #1
June 5, 2020

Summer Office Hours

Monday - Thursday
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Closed July 1-7

Masks must be worn inside the building.

Resources

Another pandemic woe: Zoom fatigue

How Will Social Isolation During COVID-19 Affect Our Kids?

Parent Perspective: Distance Learning During COVID-19 Closures

How 'regular school' parents can homeschool their kids

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Louisiana Department of Health

Medical Advisory Committee

Dr. Margaret Crittell

Dr. Amanda Haynie

Dr. Cherry Horton

Dr. Eric Thomas

Dr. Wanda Thomas

Questions?
We're here to help!

Dr. Chris Carter
Head of School
318.226.4028
ccarter@smc.school

Jessica Russo
Preschool Director
318.226.4030
jrusso@smc.school

Alexis Wedgeworth
Lower School Director
318.226.4052
awedgeworth@smc.school

Allison Nolen
Middle School Director
318.226.4039
anolen@smc.school

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