Continuing Our Vital (and Vibrant) Instructional Days

At St. Anthony Catholic School, we have assigned new meaning to the COVID acronym:
Continuing
Our
Vital (and Vibrant)
Instructional
Days

Teachers and staff received the news of a potential campus closure on March 9, 2020, a day already planned for professional development, and spent the day preparing distance learning packets for students that would provide two weeks of reinforcement and practice of current material.  The decision of a two week campus closure, effective March 16, was announced on March 12 and student packets were distributed with high hopes of returning to in-person learning on March 30.

Nevertheless, to prepare for a potential extended closure, teachers eagerly began learning new platforms and tools for distance learning during the first week of campus closure so that they would be ready to test those platforms with students in the second week of distance learning.  Teachers were given opportunities to learn or hone their skills with Google Classroom, Google Meet, Zoom, SeeSaw, virtual interactive whiteboards, and recording instructional videos. Meanwhile, our students’ families implemented new routines to provide optimal learning environments at home and monitored completion of the distance learning packets.  

Teachers excitedly launched practice sessions for distance learning during the second week and, along with students and families, tangled with technology glitches and navigating new platforms. Teachers and students enjoyed seeing each other again, virtually, and spending time together as a learning community. The partnership of families in the academic progress of their child(ren) was very evident and helped to smooth the transition to what became Phase Two of distance learning when it was announced that the campus closure would be extended until April 24.  
The school arranged times for families to pick up books from school or to lend devices to families to provide a smooth transition to Phase Two as the local government announced a stay-at-home order. Events on the school calendar began to be cancelled, students videotaped their science fair presentations and submitted them, and it seemed that we would be heading toward Easter without our usual gatherings for the Stations of the Cross, the canned food drive, or the Rice Bowl service project.

During Phase One it had become clear that providing concise information to families would help them empower their students to navigate the distance learning platforms and establish manageable household schedules to maximize learning success.  To launch Phase Two on March 30, St. Anthony released a Continuation of Teaching and Learning Plan detailing the platforms and communication strategies that would be used at each grade level to ensure that vital and vibrant instruction would continue to be provided to students. Third quarter grades were closed on March 27 and, for the first time ever, on April 3, report cards were emailed to all families instead of being distributed in person. 

Instruction on March 30, began with lots of energy and enthusiasm, almost like the beginning of any new quarter, but as the reality of families working from home with students working from home and everyone under a stay-at-home order while news of cases of Coronavirus infection continued to rise, it was clear that life was not the same. St. Anthony began highlighting each day with photos to celebrate our school spirit: Academic Monday with pictures of students learning from home; perhaps in uniform, Teacher Tuesday spotlighting a faculty member, Sharing Wednesday with photos of students enjoying extracurricular fun, Throwback Thursday to share inspiring or important moments from our past, and Spirit Friday with photos of students or staff wearing their St. Anthony Spirit T-shirts while doing an activity.

The Easter break began on April 9. On April 17, the local government extended the campus closure through the remainder of the school year. Classes continue to meet online and assignments continue to be completed, events on the calendar continue to be cancelled and bulletin boards in the school still reflect the journey of the Lenten Season. We are looking forward to changing them to “Welcome Back!” and conducting in-person classes as well as resuming our community gatherings and activities. Whenever that happens, it will feel like a resurrection! 

Meanwhile, we reflect on the psalm from our last school Mass, on March 6: I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in His word. My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn. Let Israel wait for the Lord. While we wait, our intrepid and talented teachers and staff, along with our stalwart, supportive families, and diligent, eager students will be Continuing Our Vital (and Vibrant) Instructional Days (COVID), strengthening our community, and praying to know God’s will to better follow his Way.