Dear Parents,
Thank you to all who attended yesterday's town hall meeting. We had 206 attendees! I appreciate your ongoing commitment and involvement. It reassured my belief that Academy Sacred Heart is more than a physical place. It is a community of support, love and faith. As we pull strength from the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, let us continue to look out and care for one another each day.
Dr. Visocchi, Mrs. Pietrangelo and I shared where we are in this, our seventh week of remote learning, and the many ways we are contingency planning for the summer and beyond.
There are a few key points I'd like to reinforce:
- We are hopeful we will be able to re-open our Early Childhood Program on campus as of June 15. When we are cleared to be back in the building, you can expect to see new processes in place to protect the well-being of our community. We will ensure that the practices we implement meet and exceed the recommendations outlined by the state and county, and commit to keeping you informed about how these processes will affect your daily experiences.
- Likewise, we are cautiously optimistic about our ability to run Summer at Sacred Heart on campus while adhering to state guidelines and enacting best practices to protect the health and well-being of each camper. Should an on-site camp ultimately prove untenable, we are also planning for virtual camp programming. The decision to re-open the Early Childhood Program and/or Summer at Sacred Heart will be made based on the ages and number of children participating; one program may reopen before another.
- Our COVID-19 task force and various sub-committees are engaged in proactive scenario planning for the 2020-2021 academic year. These scenarios include in-person, remote and hybrid learning models, as well as plans to accommodate individual student and/or faculty absences due to illness. Just as we quickly pivoted to remote learning in March, we are well-prepared to offer an exceptional learning experience for our students throughout the many phases of this pandemic.
- You heard us reference Dr. Visocchi's "Good morning, Sacred Heart" messages to the faculty. You can watch today's here, or bookmark her YouTube channel to see them all. Thank you again to Dr. V for helping us start each school day with Goal I in mind!
Most importantly, please reach out to any one of us personally if you have a particular concern related to re-enrollment, remote learning or Academy of the Sacred Heart's response to the pandemic. We stand ready to assist you in any way we can, and we will continue to share updates and information as this situation evolves.
One resource we're offering to our parents, as well as those in the wider community, is our upcoming Heart of the Matter webinar with Dr. Lisa Damour. I am excited to offer this webinar from Dr. Damour, which has been generously underwritten by The Wudyka Family. I think you will both enjoy it and learn much from it. I encourage you to register now as space is limited.
As we head into what promises to be a weekend full of lovely spring weather, I invite you to watch our #DecisionDay video, honoring the senior class and the universities they chose. I promise it will fill you with pride and bring a little sunshine to your day. Additionally, I remind you that next week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Please thank our Sacred Heart faculty for the amazing work they do for our students.
In faith,
Damian Hermann
Head of School