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November 30 Return to Full On-Campus Learning

Dear St. Michael’s Families,

With the season of giving and gratitude upon us, we all have much for which to be thankful. For 12 weeks, the energy of students’ laughter and learning have filled our classrooms. Our faculty and families have shown great resilience and commitment to our health and safety protocols and most certainly, this dedication has helped us maintain our ability to both offer on-campus learning and keep our infection rates low. Our beautiful 70-acre campus has been used more than ever for engaging outdoor lessons and discovery. And we are honored that so many new families chose St. Michael’s to be an integral part of their children’s education and social-emotional development. Our community continues to shine in these uncertain times and for that, we count our blessings each and every day.

As we move ahead towards our November 30 return to full on-campus instruction, below please find important updates and guidance to help make the much-awaited transition a success.

Thanksgiving Week

A friendly reminder that the entire week of November 23 is a STUDENT HOLIDAY. St. Michael’s will use Monday and Tuesday to move furniture and prepare classrooms for the return of all students. St. Michael’s will be closed Wednesday-Sunday for the holiday. Emails and calls received during that time will be addressed on Monday, November 30.

As you celebrate the holiday, PLEASE REMEMBER that your off-campus choices can affect the entire St M community. As COVID case numbers are rising locally and in our region, we urge you to continue to prioritize safe health practices (masks, physical distancing, hand-washing, limiting larger group sizes) so that we have the best chance of keeping our community healthy and our school doors open. We cannot overstate how important this is and all of us need to remain vigilant to avoid campus closures. As a resource, please review the CDC’s advice for upcoming holiday celebrations and gatherings.

If at any point during the holiday a member of your family feels ill or you believe that your family has been exposed to any kind of illness, please keep your child(ren) home the week of November 30.

Last week, Governor Northam announced new statewide measures in response to COVID-19. While there are new limitations and requirements, schools are allowed to continue operating. St. Michael’s will remain open for on-campus learning following the guidelines laid out in our Reopening Plan, which already meet the new regulations. As always, we continue to monitor the health of our community with our COVID Dashboard and ongoing dialogue with national, state, and regional advisors and medical consultants.

Return to Full On-Campus Learning

On Monday, November 30, our entire community transitions to full on-campus learning as per our plan dated October 23. Below please find a handy reference outlining school hours.

How Families Can Help:

As part of our health protocols, families MUST continue to submit a completed before-school health screening received daily via text message. We ask families to always err on the side of caution and keep home any child that is not feeling well.
We do expect that the carpool lines the first week back may take longer than normal as we adapt to having all students arriving at the same time. Thank you for your grace and patience.
Effective November 30, we will transition to random temperature screenings in the morning carpool. Temperature screenings will be taken each morning only for cars that stop at Cone 3.
Students at all other cones aside from Cone 3 may now embark from their cars on their own to help facilitate the arrival process. Please alert your children to this new protocol. Masks must be on when students exit their cars.
Lastly, all students should be dressed for the weather DAILY as they will be going outside. As winter looms, we ask that parents check weather forecasts to ensure their children are dressed appropriately (pants, jackets/coats, hats and gloves, sturdy footwear, and rainwear as needed) for outdoor learning and activities every day.

Faculty and Staff Update

St. Michael’s is delighted to welcome the following new faculty and staff members to our team. As shared in our October 23 update, the need to divide classes in order to achieve proper distancing of desks and students was the catalyst to both hiring new team members, as well as re-deploying some staff members who joined us this past August as part of our Extended Day program. Thank you in advance for welcoming all of these new Dragons with all the warmth that is a hallmark of St. Michael’s. To learn more about these faculty and staff members, click HERE for short bios.

Lower School Sections and Middle School Class Schedules

Lower School families will receive their sections via email by Thursday, November 19.

Middle School students will receive their schedules in class on Wednesday, November 18.

School Calendar

A copy of the School calendar (updated as of October 28) may be found HERE.

School Supplies/Materials

Our students have been very resilient this fall carrying all of their school materials back and forth daily in the absence of cubbies and lockers due to COVID-mitigation protocols. That said, we want to make this easier for our students.

Lower School: Effective November 30, Lower School students will be able to use their classroom cubbies as instructed by their teachers. Teachers will be sending students to cubbies in a spaced-out order to ensure safe usage. Students should bring art supplies and other school supplies to class on November 30. Unless a teacher requires otherwise, Lower School Chromebooks and tablets will remain at school.
Middle School: The School is purchasing bins so each Middle School student will have one next to their assigned desk for storage. Students should bring art supplies and other school supplies to class on November 30.
All students should bring a lunch, snack, and water bottle every day. No Hot Lunch will be served.
IMPORTANT: All students should bring a second mask each day in a ziplock bag as students will change masks at lunch.

In closing, it has been said that “acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” (-Eckhart Tolle) And there is so much “good” happening at St Michael’s. We are thankful for our St M parents and for the faith and confidence placed in us during these most difficult of times. We are thankful for our students who come to school each day joyfully ready to learn. We are grateful for our faculty and staff who care about student success and have the best interests of our students at heart. We see these dedicated and hard-working individuals going above and beyond daily to ensure that great things happen in our School and for our Dragons. Despite all the challenges of 2020, our blessings are indeed abundant.

I would like to wish all of our families a happy, healthy, and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday!

Sincerely,

Bob Gregg, Head of School

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St. Michael's Episcopal School 10510 Hobby Hill Road
Richmond, VA | 23235 United States

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