St. Anthony Indian School
Notice of School Closure due to Coronavirus | Covid-19
March 12, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians and Students of St. Anthony’s,
By now, I’m sure you have all heard the Secretary of Education’s statement regarding closure of all Public Schools in New Mexico for the next three weeks due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19 Outbreak). Last night the principals in the Diocese of Gallup received instructions to close, as well.
Therefore, St. Anthony Indian School will be closed from March 16th through April 3rd. Classes will resume Monday, April 6th, unless the closure is extended. Please make sure that the phone number we have on file for you is correct. We will use the St. Anthony Indian School Facebook page and the Messenger Service, which leaves messages on phones to advise of any additions or changes.
After meeting with the teachers and Fr. Pat, the following will be in place for the first two weeks of the closure to ensure that students do not fall behind in their studies:
• Students will have all textbooks with them during the closure. (Please ensure that these are kept in a space where they cannot be damaged, and that students are not eating or drinking anything while doing their school work.)
• Every Monday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the school office: Please come and pick up work packets for each student and grade. This will also serve as the day and time to drop off completed packets on March 23rd and March 30th. (The 1st week packets for Grades Pre-K, 1,2, and 3 were sent with students Friday, March 13th.)
• When you pick up the new packet for the second week, please drop off the completed first packet – please make sure that your child’s first and last name are on each page.
• Completed second week packets should be dropped off on Monday, March 30th from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the school office.
• Please ensure that there is quality time and space set aside each day (Monday to Friday) for completing this assigned work.
The third week will be our Spring Break, in place of the calendared Easter break which had been scheduled for the week after Easter – now we will be back in school for the week before and that week after Easter. There will be no assigned work packets for the third week, the “Spring Break” week.
Please have your children, except for Pre-K and K, complete their Science Fair Projects. We hope to be able to re-schedule our Science Fair for later this year, Coronavirus permitting.
Parent/Teacher Conferences also have to be cancelled until further notice. We will notify you if and when a new date is set.
Report Cards will be mailed.
Curriculum Content for first 2 weeks of closure:
1. Student Work Packets
2. Khanacademy is a free online program with well-developed lessons to be done at home/ can be downloaded as pdf or word document so it doesn’t eat up data on cell phones. There are lessons for students from K to 8th grade. Please use this program for 1 or more hours of instruction and application daily.
3. Scholastic has created reading lessons for all grades – go to Scholastic Learn at Home, website is: (www.scholastic.com/learnathome) and spend at least one hour with some quality reading.
4. Grades 1 to 8: Complete Science Projects
We are aware that not everyone has access to an internet connection, but 2 websites listed are free of charge to those who can access it, and is a fun and enriching way for students to add to their knowledge during the time of the closure. Perhaps those who do not have computers or internet, know someone who does, e.g., family/relatives? It’s a fun and enriching way to “keep up”, and most parents (and some students) have cell phones capable of picking up online programs, etc.
We would like to offer our help. As your partner in ensuring equitable access to learning opportunities for all students, we want to support you, your school, students, and families during this challenging time. To ensure all students stay academically active, we have created Scholastic Learn at Home. This free resource provides all students with exciting learning journeys carefully created by our editors that span the content areas, to reinforce and sustain student learning should their buildings close.
ITBS Testing will take place April 6th to 17th when we return.
From Diocese: You received the information about our preventative measures here at school, many of which I know are the same at home. A letter from the diocese came yesterday, with directives for church and for Mass.
In addition to all the precautions given by the CDC, these will be in place:
• Communion distributed only in the form of the Sacred Host
• Limiting person to person touching by discouraging handshaking and hugs
• Not holding hands during the Our Father
• “No-touch” greeting for the Sign of Peace during Mass (or temporarily suspending that option in the rite).
All of us here at St. Anthony’s realize this closure presents great difficulties for everyone, but we have no choice in the matter. The school will be rigorously cleaned and disinfected during the closure and we will continue the practices of cleaning, etc. done over the past two weeks when we return in April. We’re hopeful that the study measures we are putting in place will keep our students learning and growing academically. Please help us realize this goal. We’re grateful for your help!
Blessings on everyone in the coming weeks. Our prayers are that all will remain healthy, and that no learning will be lost.
As always, I remain…
Yours in Christ,