Each homeroom will operate as an isolated cohort, or pod, staying together throughout the day. The two homerooms in each grade will function as a larger cohort. These homerooms will maintain social distancing from one another (i.e., the two homerooms will not mix students) but will share common faculty members between them. The Early Childhood (EC) homerooms will each have two assigned teachers, and there will be one specialist assigned to work with the three Early Childhood classes all day. The students in these three classes will refrain from mixing whenever possible, and the students in each homeroom will only work with their two teachers and the EC-assigned specialist. Grades 1-5 will have three faculty members assigned to it – the two homeroom teachers and one specialist who will be only with those two homerooms all day. These will be the only adults these students engage with each day.
There will be no formal Early Arrival Program in the 2020-2021 school year. All doors will open to students at 8:00 a.m., following the procedures indicated below.
EntryAll faculty and staff must enter through the main entrance of the Lower School to check-in.
Each grade will be assigned a specific entrance to use each morning.
See assigned entrance maps on the Lower School Resource Board on MySewickley.
Students will proceed directly to their classroom, where faculty will be present to receive the students as they arrive and engage them in the necessary health protocol.
Students who use a bus or van as transportation to school will use a separate entrance and will remain there until they are escorted to their classrooms.
Students with siblings in multiple grades will still need to use their assigned entrances, but older siblings will be permitted to escort younger siblings to their assigned entrance.
While we will do our best to follow the new schedule that had been designed before the COVID-19 pandemic, we understand that some adjustments will be necessary. Each specialist will teach their subject matter to the students in the grade to which they are assigned. Since two homerooms cannot be together at the same time, the times of these sessions may vary somewhat. All other specials content will be delivered in a Virtual School model, supervised and supported by the specialist or homeroom teacher in the room.
Unstructured Play
Similar to other aspects of our initially planned schedule, some aspects of the Unstructured Play block will need to be adjusted as well. As originally planned, each homeroom will be assigned a designated outdoor space for their Unstructured Playtime, but these times are likely to be somewhat different than indicated on the original schedule.
Dismissal
At the end of the school day, each grade will exit through their assigned doorway. Students with younger siblings will be permitted to proceed to the exit of their youngest sibling for pickup.
Students who take the bus or a van will be picked up as a group from their homeroom and brought to the bus holding area.
After Ours and After School ActivitiesWe recognize the need for many of our families to have a childcare option for students upon the conclusion of the school day.
After Ours will take place in the commons of the Early Childhood building. Families can pick up their students from their homeroom at the end of the school day.
In accordance with the guidance from the CDC to keep gatherings under 25 people whenever possible, the After Ours program will be restricted to no more than 22 students.
While the operation of this program removes students from their pods and mixes them together, the importance of this program to our families warrants a risk that is equivalent to the mixing of students in any other activity that occurs outside of school hours.
All after school activities are canceled.
Community Events
Hopes and Dreams ConferencesThe Hopes and Dreams Conferences held just prior to the first school day will occur in-person, as originally planned. In a departure from previous years, we are requesting that students attend the conference with the family. All students and families will be expected to wear a mask to campus and enter using the assigned entrance for that student, as this will provide us the opportunity to introduce students and families to our new entry protocols prior to the first day of classes.
Parent Conferences
Families will have the option of scheduling an in-person conference with their homeroom teacher or to schedule a virtual meeting using Zoom.
Parent Coffees
Parent coffee events will take place as scheduled, but RSVPs will be requested in order to use an appropriate space. Each coffee event will have a theme or topic of conversation, and parents will have additional opportunities to speak with the Division Head during weekly office hours.
Assemblies
Assemblies will continue to take place every Tuesday morning, with the exception of those Tuesdays immediately following a day off. These assemblies will be delivered virtually to each classroom and will be made available to families to view shortly thereafter.
Field Trips
Field trips will be limited but will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Divisional overnight trips will be suspended for the year. Instead, students will have the opportunity to experience virtual field trips as planned by the classroom teacher.
Back-to-School Celebration
We will celebrate our return to school on Thursday, September 3, 2020. These celebrations will be planned on a homeroom-by-homeroom basis. Due to COVID restrictions, families and caregivers will be unable to attend.
Back-to-School Night
Lower School Back-to-School Night will be delivered as a virtual event for the 2020-2021 school year, and will not be held on campus.
Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day
We will suspend this event for the 2020-2021 school year.
Still to be Determined
Class Performances
Class Celebrations (birthdays, etc.)