Bright Futures Fund

  • Bright Futures Schools
    • Holy Cross School
    • Our Lady of Hope School
    • Our Lady's Montessori School
  • Bright Futures Students
    • Whom We Serve
    • MOScholars Scholarships
    • Mock Scholars - High School
  • Events & Campaigns
    • Capital Campaign
    • School Bell Breakfast
    • Bring your BFF to...
    • Bishop Johnston's Golf Classic
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Shine Brightly – Pathway to Student Success
    • Supporters + Affiliations
  • Support
    • MOScholars Tax Credits
    • Donation
    • Volunteer
  • Bright Futures Schools
    • Holy Cross School
    • Our Lady of Hope School
    • Our Lady's Montessori School
  • Bright Futures Students
    • Whom We Serve
    • MOScholars Scholarships
    • Mock Scholars - High School
  • Events & Campaigns
    • Capital Campaign
    • School Bell Breakfast
    • Bring your BFF to...
    • Bishop Johnston's Golf Classic
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Shine Brightly – Pathway to Student Success
    • Supporters + Affiliations
  • Support
    • MOScholars Tax Credits
    • Donation
    • Volunteer

A Year of In-Person Learning...Throughout the Pandemic - What did the 2020-2021 school year look like?

7/8/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
Safely returning to in-person classes at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year was a challenge, but a great benefit to our students and families.
We wish there was a way to capture the facial expressions of teachers, staff, parents,
and children when asked, “What was school like this year?” For nearly all, that reaction
looks like an exhale ridding their experience of tension, stress, and being alone.
​
Yet, in the exact same breath, a moment of pause reflected a sense of accomplishment,
of joy, and of hope. Hope that has turned into certainty. The certainty that will lend us to
a better, brighter future.

“Unlike so many public schools, we were able to continue to meet in person,” says Barbara Dean, Principal of Holy Cross School.
 
Untold in that sentence were the countless hours spent, countless hours in preparation for what was to come; time spent outside of teaching, additional meetings, phone calls, logged into Zoom conferences, scouring the web, and speaking with mentors, advisors, and other experts on how they also plan to move forward.
 
Principal Dean doesn't speak about the importance of our school’s educational commitment to students without mentioning the role of the school to protect and keep our students safe. Shelley Henn, teacher and incoming principal for Holy Cross, echoes that sentiment. “Safety was as much of a priority to our students and our staff as education is.”
 
One of the most effective ways both Holy Cross and Our Lady of Hope were able to ensure student health and safety and preserve the in-person learning environment was to group students into cohorts, keeping them together as much as possible. Meals, recess time, and of course, classroom learning at both Holy Cross and Our Lady of Hope provided a safer and healthier space to diminish potential exposure and halt school-wide spread if there was a positive COVID test.
 
If a positive test was presented these small groups could shift to online learning and quarantine for 14 days without additional disruption to the remainder of our student body. The goal all along was to have as many children in our building actively being educated in as familiar a manner as possible each day.
 
Incoming Principal Henn of Holy Cross reflects, “I liked having students in their classrooms for meals. It was a perfect way to start the day because I knew that our kids had all eaten before jumping into learning.”
 
Families were also given the opportunity to keep their children home full-time for online instruction, challenging teachers to fine-tune their lessons for both in-person and virtual students. For example, Kerry Ysals, pre-K teacher at Our Lady of Hope; ensured that the online instruction option was still optimal for her students, building lesson plans producing at-home packets for these children weekly. “The simplest tasks become difficult over Zoom, like teaching proper holding of a pencil,” Miss Yslals remarked.
 
Another way we navigated the challenges of the pandemic was through our events. Choir concerts were one such example as they needed to be fully reimagined. Where music rehearsals could take place in-person during school hours with students in their smaller ensembles, concert attendance was hosted via Zoom and social media streams to adhere to health guidelines.
 
Students worked in our classrooms to record their performances, with Jennifer Weiman, the choir teacher at Holy Cross, managed all aspects of production. Her efforts in filming, editing, and streaming created a fantastic full virtual Christmas recital of our students for their families, friends, and our community that was shared in a safe manner. This school year has included many changes and challenges, for students, families, teachers, and administrators alike. The learning environment certainly has been different for all, and we are pleased to see how open to change our students and their families continue to be.

By Kendra O'Sullivan
How you can help!
You can insure that our students continue to have access to an incredible education. Click below to see some of the incredible changes that will be coming to our students and our schools through the SHINE Brightly Capital Campaign.
Learn more about the SHINE Brightly Capital Campaign
Donate Here
2 Comments
Mia Evans link
10/20/2021 10:41:14 pm

It's interesting to know that students will be able to record their performances in the classroom during this time. I hope that my son can experience that when I find a Pre-K school program for him. It's to help his social skills now that he is 5 years old to avoid being shy with other kids soon.

Reply
Dia Jayan link
6/24/2022 10:05:56 pm

Good Information

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2023
    August 2022
    June 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    October 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    August 2016
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    Catholic
    COVID
    Holy Cross
    Literacy
    Our Lady Of Hope
    Parents
    Religious Studies
    School
    School Safety
    Science
    SHINE
    Students
    Virtual

    RSS Feed

Bright Futures Fund
PO Box 419037
​Kansas City, MO 64141
816-714-2356

How to Donate
E-Newsletter Sign Up
Bright Futures Fund is a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation. 
Donations made to the Bright Futures Fund are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Copyright 2020 | Bright Futures Fund
Website Design + Development by The Brave Creative   |   Photography by Jenny Wheat -
Wheat Photography