Our Lady of the Lake School Welcomes Students Back Safely and with Options

OLL Pandemic Handbook can be accessed on our school website olleuclidschool.org

Finding the New “Normal” For the School Year whether In person or Online

Now that the State has released the guidelines on how to safely return to our school building, we can begin to put into place the policies and practices that we have been working so hard on this summer.

Since the pandemic began, we have been busy ensuring that our students remain engaged and successful with school. I am so proud of our staff! We were able to go from traditional learning to online learning in a matter of days. It wasn’t a typical end to our school year, but each teacher and student made the most of it.

The spring experience has allowed for us to refine what actions the school needs to take, not just academically, but physically and emotionally when we return. This summer, we have been busy working on creating a plan and putting policies into place to safely return to the building. We have formed a committee to address these issues. The committee is comprised of staff and parents.

We know that many of our families do not feel comfortable sending their children back to school yet, and we respect that. Any student that is not able or ready to return to the school building can complete the curriculum online.  We are working on creating the policies for these students to receive the same engaging education from the safety of their home. We know that these students will be able to participate in Zoom sessions or Google Meets, and we have been researching other ways for our teachers to reach the students at home. The teachers are busy spending their time participating in professional development opportunities to learn more about simultaneous learning.

We are excited that this year that all of our students will be equipped with a device whether at home or in the school building. Our preschoolers through grade one will have Ipads, while grades two through eight will have Chromebooks. We are also equipping our classrooms with Chromecast, which will allow teachers to easily share their screens with the students.

In the fall, we will also be opening our preschool playground, located at the Ministry Center. This will create a wonderful opportunity for our young students to engage in learning while playing.

Next school year will definitely bring some challenges, but we know that we will be ready for whatever lies ahead. Ensuring that our students and staff are in a safe learning environment is our priority.  There is an OLL Pandemic Guidebook on our school website for perusal at olleuclidschool.org.  To register, please email Jenny Millet at jmillett@olleuclid.org or call the school office at 216-481-6824. .