The Pima County Health Dept. has strongly urged online learning at least through Labor Day.  Our Mother of Sorrows is following these guidelines in an effort to keep our students, faculty, and families healthy. All students will begin online academic instruction on August 17th.
 
The state and local authorities have indicated that schools should have allowances for students to come onto campus in order to access the free and reduced lunch program, to access internet, and for the children of essential workers to have a place to take their online classes. Based on the guidelines, Our Mother of Sorrows will provide limited spaces for students in K-8 to access the online instruction on-campus beginning August 17th.
 
Students using this service will be required to do the following:

1. Wear a mask.
2. Maintain social distancing.
3. Participate in the online classes.

 
Students will be arranged in classrooms, and an adult will monitor the online instruction for the students in grades K-8. The day will be structured to include:

1. A monitor in the classroom where the students are present
2. Children from a family will be grouped together
3. Children will be grouped with no more than 9 children per room to allow for social distancing
4. Scheduled recess times will be arranged by cohort
5. Breakfast and lunch will be available to students
6. Supervised learning environment from 7:30-3:30

 
During the week of August 10th, times will be scheduled for families to check-out Chromebooks, textbooks, and other learning supplies. All families will need to arrange a time to come and get the learning materials for the start of the year.
 
In order to determine the number of monitors needed as well as the number of Chromebooks that need to be checked-out, we need all families to complete a survey by Wednesday, August 5th.  In order to select the on-campus arrangement for online learning, you must complete the survey and meet one of the following criteria:

1. Student is the child of an essential worker
2. Student lacks reliable internet at home
3. Student would otherwise not have lunch available
4. Student has a documented CAMP plan
5. Student has no other daycare option

 
Here is the survey: https://forms.gle/vmhJ7yTJZv1yHKdt9
 
For students in preschool, on-campus learning will begin on August 17th. Preschools and childcare facilities are licensed through the Arizona Department of Health Services, and they are permitted to operate. The preschool will follow the guidelines as outlined on the pandemic plan.

Can you believe we are less than one month away from starting the 2020/2021 school year?

Yesterday, Governor Ducey made an announcement related to schools. The announcement stated that schools and districts will receive additional guidance on August 7th. Following the additional guidance, an update will be sent to parents. Currently, on-campus learning is still scheduled to begin on August 17th for all students, and we are still offering a full online option for families who would like to participate in online learning.

The school will continue to offer both options, and most of our families have already indicated whether they are choosing the online or on-campus learning option for the first trimester. In order for families to determine whether online or on-campus learning is the best option for your family, we ask that families notify Mrs. Lanik at [email protected] by August 12th if you want to change your learning option from on-campus to online or from online to on-campus.

On our website, families can review the full plan for the school related to COVID-19. Many of the pertinent details are in the COVID-19 re-enty plan, but there are also details in the Parent Handbook. I encourage all our families to review both these documents in their entirety since they include critical information for parents and students. The information related to the procedures due to the pandemic are subject to change based on the recommendations from the Diocese of Tucson, Pima Health Department, and the CDC.
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Thank you for your patience as we try to navigate this unprecedented situation. 

During this time when live Masses are impacted by the pandemic, I stumbled upon a weekly Children's Liturgy of the Word. Each Sunday, Catholic TV airs the Children's Liturgy of the Word hosted by Miss Heidi. The Liturgy incorporates sign language, songs, prayers, and God's Word into an engaging 20-25 minute program, and it can help children to understand the message in the Gospel. It is aired live at 5:30 a.m., but after that, families can watch the program at their desired time. The link for the weekly videos can be found here: http://www.catholictv.org/shows/childrens-liturgy 
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I hope you are all having a peaceful Sunday.

We hope that you are having a safe summer! A few weeks ago, I sent out a revised calendar, but in light of Governer Ducey's order, we have revised the calendar again. Governor Ducey is requiring all schools to delay opening their on-campus learning until August 17th. In order to meet this requirement, we are moving our first day of school until Monday, August 17th for all students. 
In order to move the start date back, we have revised the calendar. Here are some of the important changes:

• Christmas Break: December 19-January 3
• 8th Grade Promotion: June 1
• Last Day of School: June 4

For the full calendar, please visit our calendar on the website.
We appreciate your flexibility with these changes. Our hope is to provide a safe learning environment for our students, and we will continue to follow the recommendations from Pima Health, Department of Catholic Schools, and the Governor's orders as we develop our plans including our school calendar for when classes are scheduled.