St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy Reopening Guide

Communication with Families Research shows that family involvement and open lines of communication promote student success. Positive interaction between teacher and parent strengthens the feeling of support all children need for success in school. Our goal at St. Francis is to foster and promote an atmosphere of open communication regarding your child’s progress and behavior in both home and school. Our families are our partners as we chart this new path forward, and we will be in communication with you through Option C Blasts, our mobile app, our website (www. stfrancisacademybh.org), and our social media page. Contacting the School Parents are encouraged to contact the school at admin@stfrancisschoolbh.net or (718) 634-2775 whenever they have questions or concerns. If you desire to schedule a conference with a specific teacher or administrator, you must call/email in advance and arrange for an appointment (phone or Zoom) Busing

The DOE is in the process signing contracts with bus vendors. Routes have already been prepared which will hopefully allow a quick turnaround. As soon as contracts are signed vendors will receive the routes which will then be populated in the Ridership Report that we will have access to. We will then be able to notify families with route information.

With that being said at this time the use of the NYC Yellow Bus Service does not seem likely for the week of September 14th and 21st. Although things change daily, I would recommend any family that uses the bus or plans on using the bus to begin to have other arrangements for morning drop off and afternoon pick for the month of September. We will continue to advocate with the city to get this service up and running and soon as possible.

As soon as any further information comes in, we will notify all immediately. Thank you for your patience.

Orientation Days (First Days of School) Wednesday 9/9- Grade 3 and Grades 5-8 Blue Group- Report back for orientation 8am-12pm Thursday 9/10- Grade 4 and Grades 5-8 Gold Group Report back for orientation 8am-12pm Friday 9/11- Grades K-2 Report back for orientation 8am- 12pm Monday 9/14- First Day of Classes for all Grades Nursery and Pre-K will start on Monday September 14th. Pre-K will attend half day in-school until Monday, September 21. Uniform Policy St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy as always remains a uniform school. However, during this period of unknown, students are permitted to wear their gym uniform daily if they choose to do so. Students can always wear their dress uniform to school as well except on gym days. Please note summer uniform (Gym or Dress) can be worn up until Friday October 16th. Supplies Supply lists by grade band can be found on our website. Students will utilize their own supplies and supplies will not be shared with the class. Learning Platform St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy will continue to use Google Classroom as our main learning platform in Grades 3-8. In grades K-2 we will use SeeSaw. We will also utilize Google Meet for grades 5-8 hybrid learning and Zoom for parent meetings. Health and Safety Visitors: Minimizing opportunities for spread is a necessary component for maintaining health and safety in our academy. In an effort to limit the number of visitors in a school at any given time, we will attempt to address all visitor and parent concerns by phone or virtually. When it is essential to hold an in-person meeting, all visitors are required to follow the visitor protocols, including undergoing a temperature check, completing a health screening form, complying with physical distancing requirements and wearing a face covering. If a guardian is called to the school to pick up their child, the child will be escorted to the main entrance to meet the guardian. Social Distancing: St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy will comply with the COVID-19 health and safety protocols including maintaining at least six feet of physical distancing. Signage will be posted, including but not limited to signs to remind individuals to remain six feet apart, signs to support appropriate movement protocols, and floor markers that show six feet in distance.

Hand Sanitizing: Hand sanitizing dispensers were installed in all classrooms and throughout high traffic areas. Hand Washing: There will be increased opportunities for students and staff to wash hands or use hand sanitizer throughout the day. Masks: Face coverings are a proven effective tool in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and are a necessary component for school reopening and for ensuring the safety of students and staff. As face coverings contribute to slowing the transmission of COVID-19, face coverings will be required inside St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy at all times except while eating or taking a mask break. Families are encouraged to send their own face coverings. We also encourage all students to have an extra mask in their book bags at all times. Classroom and Hallway Doors: Doors within the school building will remain open to the greatest extent possible to reduce the amount of contact on shared surfaces. Wellness Barriers: Wellness barriers/sneeze guards will be placed in the lobby, office, and on all teacher and student desks. Sanitizing the School Building: Custodians will sanitize school building on a nightly basis with an electrostatic sprayer that is CDC approved. Cleaning and disinfection will include all high touch surfaces: classrooms, desks & chairs, fountains, door handles, light switches, and restrooms. Student Movement: To reduce movement throughout the building, teachers will travel from class to class, with students remaining in the same room throughout the day to the extent possible. If students have to travel, proper social distancing protocols will be followed. Daily Health Screenings for Students: Daily health screenings, including temperature checks, must be completed at home by families. This will be done through the MyTempTracker App. Temperature Screenings: Every morning, prior to entering the school, students and staff will have their temperatures taken using non-touch thermometers. Any student who has a temperature of 100.0 or over will be sent to the nurse for further evaluation. Air Ventilation: Our custodial staff are performing regular maintenance of all heating, ventilation and A/C units to ensure the maximum amount of outside air is entering the school building. Our staff will begin ventilating the school buildings one hour prior to building occupancy at the start of the school day, and one (1) hour after the school session has ended at a minimum. We are fortunate that our rooms have windows. Windows will remain open when spaces are occupied Although few, some of our classrooms also have air conditioners, which bring in outside air into the classrooms when they are on. Air conditioner filters will also be cleaned and maintained on a continual basis.

Arrival Procedures

Dismissal Procedures

Hybrid Schedule

Please check our website daily to see our calendar for a reminder of what cohort is in school on that day. However, if a student comes to school on the wrong day, the student will be supervised in the main lobby until we can contact a family member to pick them up. They will not be able to walk home.

Testing and Tracing Protocols